Galaxy S24 Ultra said to take better zoom photos despite killing 10x optical lens

Ben Schoon | Jan 5 2024 - 10:27 am PT

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is expected to bring upgrades such as a flat display and a whole bunch of AI, but it’s also getting rid of the 10x optical zoom lens. Despite that, though, one reliable leaker claims that zoom photos will be better without it.

Ice Universe, in a post on Twitter/X, says that “taking pictures at 10x zoom,S24U is better than S23U.” It’s a bold statement, but one apparently based on viewing actual samples from the device, even prior to the software being finished.

If true, it’s a big advancement on Samsung’s part. The company has been praised for the past few years on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, S22 Ultra, and the S23 Ultra for its stellar zoom performance as the optical zoom from the 3x and 10x telephoto lenses has just been absolutely excellent. But leaks have shown that the Galaxy S24 Ultra will forgo that longer optical reach, instead using a 5x telephoto lens alongside the 3x, standard, and ultrawide shooters.

How could it be better?

Most likely, the answer will be AI. Computational photography already plays a huge role in improving photos from our smartphones, and as AI gets more advanced, results are only getting better. Google, for instance, has been touting big improvements to Super Res Zoom on the Pixel series over the past few years.

We’ll largely have to wait and see how this all pans out, but if Samsung is improving its zoom photos using AI, it could also point to improvements on the other lenses. AI is obviously a huge focus for Samsung going into its Unpacked event in a couple of weeks, and the company has directly been teasing better zoom as a part of that.

The Galaxy S24 series launches on January 17, and free reservations are open now with a $50 credit when you pre-order a device.