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Samsung may be planning massive hardware changes for the Galaxy S25 Ultra‘s camera. A wild rumor says the 2025 flagship might lack a 3x zoom lens. The phone could only feature three cameras on the back, the main sensor, an ultrawide lens, and a zoom camera with variable focal length.
Galaxy S25 Ultra to feature only one zoom camera, 3 cameras on the back
With the Galaxy S24 Ultra this year, Samsung removed a 10x zoom camera and replaced it with a 5x lens (resolution also changed from 10MP to 50MP). It kept the rest of the setup unchanged. Like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the new flagship has a 200MP main shooter, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and a 10MP 3x zoom camera.
According to X user @ISAQUES81, Samsung has started testing the Galaxy S25 Ultra cameras on a prototype, and there are more hardware changes for the zoom camera. The prototype in question doesn’t have four cameras on the back. The company removed the 3x lens, keeping only one zoom camera.
It is neither a 5x lens from the Galaxy S24 Ultra nor the 2023 model’s 10x lens. Instead, Samsung is testing a new camera with variable zoom. The new camera has a larger optical footprint (the current model’s 50MP 5x lens is 1/2.52 inches). The precise size is not known, nor is its zoom range. But the course says the camera won’t offer continuous zoom like the Sony Xperia 1 V which boasts optical zoom between 3.5x and 5.2x.
It will reportedly have two fixed focal lengths, i.e., optical zoom levels. The first fixed focal length will be between 4x and 5x magnification, while the second will be between 6x and 7x magnification. Samsung is still evaluating the ideal focal lengths. You will get optical zoom at those two levels but no continuous optical zoom between them. The phone will digitally zoom in between those two levels.
The main sensor will capture lossless photos up to 3x zoom
The current Galaxy S25 Ultra prototype has the same 200MP main camera and 12MP ultrawide lens. However, the former has been optimized to capture more light. Effectively, it can capture better photos up to 3x, hence Samsung decided to ditch a dedicated 3x zoom camera. The company believes it can achieve lossless photos up to 3x zoom with the main camera. It already does up to 2x zoom, so the firm has some expertise in it.
Since this is a prototype we are talking about, the final version of the Galaxy S25 Ultra could still keep two separate zoom cameras. After all, the device is still several months away and a lot could change by then. But if Samsung decides to keep a single zoom camera with variable focal length, it must test it thoroughly and ensure excellent performance from day one. The Galaxy S24 Ultra’s upgraded camera system has a lot of shortcomings. Samsung has addressed a few with software updates but there is still work to be done.