Samsung is expected to launch four Galaxy S27 phones in January or February 2027: the S27, S27+, a new S27 Pro and the S27 Ultra. On 9th November, a leaked list of the camera sensors Samsung is evaluating came out.
If the list holds, the S27 and S27+ keep the camera hardware Samsung has put in its cheapest flagships since 2022. The Pro gets most of the Ultra’s camera in a smaller phone without the S Pen, and the Ultra drops from four rear cameras to three.
The S27 and S27+ keep the S26’s cameras
The leak names Sony’s IMX564 for the 12MP ultrawide, the sensor in every regular Galaxy S since the S23, and Samsung’s own S5K3K1 for the 3x zoom. Samsung’s spec page already lists the same 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x and 12MP front cameras on both the S25 and the S26.
The main sensor might change. Samsung is choosing between the ISOCELL GNG in the S26 and S26+ and a 50MP Sony IMX955, and the leak doesn’t say which wins. S27 prototypes were tested with a Sony main sensor in July. If Samsung picks Sony, the S27 would be the first base Galaxy S with a Sony main camera since the S21 and S21+ in 2021. The leak gives no size for the IMX955, and a sensor’s size matters more than who makes it.
So if you have a Galaxy S24, S25 or S26, the leaked S27 has your phone’s camera hardware, apart from perhaps the main sensor.
The S27 Pro is a smaller Ultra without the S Pen
In April we reported Samsung’s plan for a fourth model with most of the Ultra’s hardware and no S Pen stylus. It’s expected to have a 6.47-inch screen.
The Pro gets the Ultra’s new 200MP main sensor, the ISOCELL HP6, and its 50MP ultrawide and 16MP selfie camera. Its 3x zoom uses the sensor from the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 3x camera, which Samsung lists at 10MP. In our August roundup, the leaked Pro had a 12MP 3x.
Against the S27+, that’s four times the main camera’s resolution and a 50MP ultrawide in place of 12MP. The Pro misses the Ultra’s 5x periscope, a zoom camera that turns its lens sideways inside the phone to reach further.
The S27 Ultra loses its 3x zoom
The Ultra’s HP6 stays at 200MP and is expected to be 1/1.3 inches, the same size as the HP2 Samsung has used in every Ultra since the S23 Ultra, with LOFIC added. LOFIC gives each pixel a small capacitor that holds the extra charge from bright light, so a bright sky keeps its detail in the same shot as a dark doorway instead of turning white.
The S26 Ultra has two zoom cameras, a 10MP 3x and a 50MP 5x periscope, and the leaked S27 Ultra keeps only the 5x. A tipster put that at “100% probability” in April, and a Korean newspaper later put it down to cost. That would make the S27 Ultra the first Ultra since the S20 Ultra in 2020 with only one zoom camera.
At 3x, the phone will crop the middle of the main sensor. A 3x crop uses one-ninth of the sensor, about 22MP, through the main camera’s f/1.4 lens, which lets in more light than the 3x camera’s f/2.4. Samsung already crops at 2x and calls it “Optical Quality Zoom”. We think 3x shots in good light will hold up.
| Camera | S26 and S26+ | S27 and S27+ (leak) | S27 Pro (leak) | S27 Ultra (leak) | S26 Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main | 50MP | 50MP | 200MP | 200MP | 200MP |
| Ultrawide | 12MP | 12MP | 50MP | 50MP | 50MP |
| 3x zoom | 10MP | Yes, MP not in leak | S26 Ultra’s 10MP camera | None | 10MP |
| 5x zoom | None | None | None | 50MP | 50MP |
The S26 columns are Samsung’s specs; the S27 columns are leaked, and we’ll update them when Samsung announces the phones.
What it means if you’re buying
There are no prices yet. The Galaxy S26 went on pre-order in Kenya in February at KES 120,900, and the S26 Ultra at KES 171,400, both for 256GB. Since then Samsung has raised US prices for the S26 phones by USD 100, about KES 13,000 at KES 129.98 to the dollar on 11th November 2026, because memory chips cost more. We expect the Pro to sit between the S27+ and the Ultra on price.
If you have an S24 or newer and want a better camera, wait for the Pro, since the base S27 brings nothing new beyond a possible main sensor. Ultra owners who use 3x every day should read reviews of the cropped 3x before upgrading. And if you’re shopping for an S26 now, the leak gives you no camera reason to wait for the regular S27.
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