Samsung’s Flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra Expected to Get Major Camera Upgrade

The upcoming Samsung flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, will reportedly feature a 50MP ultrawide camera, a long-anticipated upgrade.

While the launch of the Galaxy S25 is still some months away, leaks about Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone have already begun to surface. According to Ice Universe, the Galaxy S25 will include a 50MP ultrawide camera equipped with an ISOCELL JN3 sensor. The rest of the camera setup is expected to remain mostly the same, with slight improvements—a 200MP ISOCELL HP9 main camera, a 3x 10MP telephoto lens, and a 50MP Sony sensor for 5x telephoto.

Galaxy S25 Ultra camera specifications have been confirmed.
The only upgrade is the ultra-wide-angle sensor, 50MP 0.7um ISOCELL JN3 sensor, the main camera 200MP HP2 (small process upgrade model unchanged), 3x is still 10MP IMX754, 5x is still IMX854 50MP 0.7 um

— ICE UNIVERSE (@UniverseIce) September 9, 2024

It’s been nearly four years since Samsung upgraded its ultrawide camera. The last major upgrade to the Galaxy S lineup was in the Galaxy S21 Ultra in 2021, when it received the 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide shooter. Although Samsung has introduced several software enhancements to improve the overall image quality of the ultrawide camera, the hardware design has remained unchanged.

Why Is a 50MP Ultrawide Camera in the Galaxy S25 Ultra a Big Deal?

The major advantage Samsung will offer with the addition of a 50MP ultrawide camera is the ability to record 8K videos using the ultrawide lens. Currently, this is not possible with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which has a 12MP ultrawide camera—far below the required 33MP to shoot 8K videos. Additionally, a 50MP ultrawide camera would allow Samsung to provide digital stabilization for 8K videos through cropping.

Now that Apple has unveiled the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max with a 48MP ultrawide camera, it’s almost essential for Samsung to equip the S25 Ultra with a better ultrawide camera to stay competitive.

In addition to camera improvements, the upcoming S25 Ultra will reportedly be smaller in size compared to its predecessor. For reference, the S24 Ultra measures 162.3 x 79 x 8.6mm and weighs 233g, while the upcoming S25 Ultra is rumored to have slightly more compact dimensions of 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2mm and weigh 219g. This suggests the new model will be slightly taller, narrower, and slimmer.