- The Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra could have one less camera than its predecessor
- Reportedly, the 3x telephoto will be dropped
- That would leave it with just a 5x optical zoom for telephoto shots, assuming no other changes are made
Samsung’s Galaxy Ultra phones have long been the best options for telephoto photography, helped in part by the fact that they have two telephoto cameras, where most high-end phones only have one. But it sounds like the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra might be a bit more conventional as it reportedly loses one of its telephoto lenses.
This is according to @UniverseIce – a leaker with a solid track record – who claims that 3x telephoto will be absent on the S27 Ultra. Although their wording is a bit ambiguous, it sounds like Samsung will ditch this camera altogether rather than switch it to a different focal length.
In that case, if the second telephoto remains the same as on Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, you will be limited to only 5x optical zoom. However, it is possible that Samsung will change this camera or even allow multiple zoom levels through a single lens, removing the need for an additional camera.
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Early Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra rumors are coming: The oft-derided 3x telephoto, famous for being small and underwhelming, has finally changed. It didn’t get stronger. It didn’t get any weaker. It’s simply gone.😂30 April 2026
A camera that will not be sorely missed
Whatever the case, Samsung fans don’t seem too bothered by this news, with responses to the post including “good riddance, I say. Hope it’s not just the Ultra saying goodbye to the awful lens” and “finally. 3x was always the ‘meh’ middle child anyway.”
It’s certainly not currently the most useful of the Ultra’s cameras, as you can already get a 2x ‘optical quality’ image from the 200MP main sensor. The 3x zoom camera is also currently equipped with a 10MP sensor, while the other rear cameras are all 50MP or more.
While we’ll take the claim of its removal with a grain of salt, it is consistent with recent reports, The Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra gets a redesigned camera block (possibly in the style of the iPhone 17 Pro’s camera block) to facilitate MagSafe-like charging, so this could well be the case.
If that’s accurate, though, we certainly hope Samsung is planning some camera improvements elsewhere, because while the 3x telephoto is the least useful of the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s snappers, removing it without other changes would be a definite downgrade.
We probably won’t find out for sure what Samsung is planning until early 2027, as that’s when the Samsung Galaxy S27 series is likely to launch.
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