Should this rumor stop you from buying the Galaxy S25 Ultra?
With the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra getting unveiled today, the rumor mill is hard at work trying to get you to hold off on purchasing this year's top-of-the-line flagship model and wait for the Galaxy S26 Ultra instead. The rumor states that Sammy plans to make a major upgrade to next year's Galaxy S26 Ultra handset. According to proficient leaker Digital Chat Station, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will feature a 200MP periscope lens.
The Weibo post made by Digital Chat Station says that the 200MP periscope lens will work with the Galaxy S26 Ultra's 200MP primary camera to improve the zoom capabilities of the phone. This is a strategy employed by vivo although the 200MP sensor backing the Galaxy S26 Ultra's periscope camera will reportedly weigh in at 1/1.5 inches, slightly smaller than the 1/1.4-inch sensor employed by vivo on the X100 Ultra and X200 Pro.
Besides vivo, Xiaomi is also considering using this dual 200MP sensor system for the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, a phone that is supposedly coming to global markets this quarter. It isn't clear whether Samsung will use its ALoP (All Lenses on Prism) camera technology that places the lenses on top of the periscope prisms. Traditional periscope cameras place the lenses between the prism and the image sensor.
The advantages of using ALoP include a reduction of up to 22% in the length of the telephoto lens. The shorter camera module will allow Samsung to reduce the size of the camera bump; a larger camera bump would normally be one of the negatives to expect from the use of a larger telephoto sensor. Samsung's ALoP technology seems to make this concern go away. ALoP also allows for the use of larger aperture lenses which allow more light to hit the sensor improving the quality of images taken under low-lighting conditions.
So should you actually wait for next year to buy the Galaxy S26 Ultra instead of committing to the Galaxy S25 Ultra? That's a tough call since the use of a 200MP periscope lens for the Galaxy S26 Ultra is simply a rumor at this point. With approximately a year before the Galaxy S26 Ultra is released, keep in mind the old adage, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." This means that if you have the opportunity to purchase a Galaxy S25 Ultra now, you're better off doing so rather than waiting until next year for something that is not definite.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: