Galaxy S26 Ultra camera rumor making the Galaxy S25 Ultra look outdated already

The Galaxy S25 Ultra hasn’t even hit the shelves yet but it’s already feeling ancient. That’s because the phone continues to feature a display with a punch-hole camera. This technology was introduced in 2018 and debuted on the S series in 2019. In the smartphone world, six years is a lot, and Samsung gets that, which is presumably why it’s testing a new design for the Galaxy S26 Ultra.Tipster kro says that a Galaxy S26 Ultra prototype exists without a camera hole cutout. This seems to hint that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will feature an under-display camera. This tech was first introduced with the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

This tech hides the camera under the screen, for an unobtrusive viewing experience. Instead of punching a hole in the screen, this tech lowers the pixel density, allowing for increased light penetration.

As wonderful as that sounds in theory, the truth is that UDC cameras are a step below pinhole cameras. However, the tech has come a long way since its introduction in 2021, and that, in combination with Samsung’s image processing smarts mean that there isn’t a huge parity between the results produced by the Galaxy Z Fold 6‘s UDC camera and a conventional front-facing camera.

The consensus is that it’s not suitable for high-quality photos though. The reason it still makes sense to use it for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is that that phone has five cameras in total, including a second 10MP front-facing camera.

That’s why, it might not be a good idea to embed the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s front camera under the display. However, it appears that Samsung is merely testing the idea right now, and there’s no saying that it will go ahead with it.

According to earlier reports, the company is also considering a battery stacking technology as well as a brighter and more efficient screen for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The phone is a year away right, so nothing can be said about it with certainty.