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Rumored Galaxy S26 camera change ditches iPhone inspiration for an upgrade I’ve longed for

By Abdullah Asim

Published: Feb 05, 2025, 10:17 AM

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*Header image is referential and showcases the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. | Image credit — Samsung

If a report is to be believed then it’s finally happening. What I’ve waited for for so long is taking place at last. A major phone manufacturer — Samsung to be precise — may finally be looking to switch over to under-display cameras for its next non-foldable flagship.

Words cannot begin to describe the relief I felt when I first heard about this. But alas, words are the only medium I can use to communicate my feelings to you, so I shall do exactly that.

The notch trend that iPhone popularized

Why, Apple? Why? | Image credit — PhoneArena

When the iPhone X came out in 2017 with a wide blank ditch at the top of its screen I had an immediate concern: everyone’s going to start copying this, aren’t they? Much to my dismay this fear of mine turned out to be more accurate than I had ever anticipated. Not only did almost every Android phone manufacturer consider this the next big thing but major players like Samsung adopted it too soon after.

The funny thing is that Apple wasn’t even the first phone company to make a display with a notch. Sharp and Essential beat the iPhone to the punch that same year but the notch remained an odd gimmick until Apple decided to jump on board. It was all downhill from there.

Samsung mocked it before it rocked it

When the iPhone X and its notch became the talk of the digital town Samsung thought it would be a brilliant marketing strategy to mock Apple’s design choice. In an ad the company showed off the various ways that the iPhone had remained a step behind the Galaxy phones. One of these was the notch which was shown off as a goofy haircut.

This ad had me breathing a sigh of relief because I thought this meant that Samsung would never fall to the dark side. Even if other manufacturers had wholeheartedly adopted the notch I’d still have the Galaxy phones to turn to, right? Well…fool me once I suppose.

I just want a normal display

Ah, the good old days. | Image credit — PhoneArena

I’ve never really liked phone manufacturers taking risks with the displays of their products. It’s a screen, it shows me stuff and that’s all it needs to do. I thought the Galaxy Edge phones were too weird when they first came out. How naive I was. Samsung first adopted the notch for its non-flagship offerings and then the punch hole design for the Galaxy S10 after testing it out on the A8s.

Eventually there came a time when whichever company I turned to was using notches or punch holes for their phones. If there was a manufacturer that was making normal displays then it wasn’t available anywhere near me. Eventually I caved and had to get a phone with a punch hole display: the slightly less offensive method of putting holes in perfectly normal screens.

But I never gave up hoping for a better solution. And now it seems I finally have reason to celebrate.

Under-display cameras aren’t without problems

The RedMagic 10 Pro has an under-display camera. | Video credit — RedMagic

Putting aside the fact the report about under-display cameras on the Galaxy S26 may be false, there is also another problem. Under-display cameras, as awesome as they sound, aren’t as adept at taking photos as their exposed counterparts.

Naturally the layers between them and their surroundings mean that these cameras don’t get a clear view of whatever they’re supposed to be photographing. A myriad of software and hardware solutions also need to be utilized to ensure a passable result. And in an industry where cameras are often the biggest selling point of a smartphone there’s a pretty good chance that Samsung won’t risk it.

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I guess I can only hope that the company gets too caught up in perfecting Galaxy AI to care much about ensuring the most perfect selfies. Yes, many people need a phone that can take good selfies, but I just can’t wait to return to normal displays again. Displays that don’t force the content I’m watching to contort itself around them and their needless oddities.

Perhaps it’s wishful thinking on my part but I truly hope that this report is accurate. Samsung could come up with a breakthrough in under-display cameras and all I’d care about would be the flawless display.

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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.