The Galaxy S26 Ultra is official, and despite its shockingly stable price point, the flagship phone is hiding some significant camera upgrades. That includes enhanced “nightography” and lossless 8K video capture.
It was rumored that the Galaxy S26 Ultra would offer camera upgrades that make the Galaxy S25 Ultra look a little sheepish in comparison. While the differences aren’t as dramatic, it looks like Samsung has made some changes where it counts.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra still offers a 200MP main sensor, paired with a 50MP ultra-wide unit. For further shots, Samsung keeps the 50MP 5x and 10MP 3x telephoto cameras in play. On the surface, the spec sheet doesn’t give the impression that anything has really changed.
While it’s a little disappointing not to get larger sensors, Samsung has opted to equip the 200MP main and 50MP ultra-wide sensors with wider apertures. The company noted that these changes mean the main camera gets 47% more light, and the longer telephoto camera lets in 37% more. These changes play into Samsung’s overarching goal to offer a better low-light experience.
With those changes, Samsung expects the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s camera to be capable of smarter image processing in low light. The company is still using AI to power its “nightography” suite, removing visual noise from photos and videos captured through each lens by targeting lens and focal-length-specific noise patterns. The good news is that this targeted noise removal will work on any Galaxy S26 device. It just might have to work a little less hard with the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s new wider apertures.
It remains to be seen what this improved low-light capture looks like, but those numbers have the potential to equate to large gains in scenarios where Samsung’s cameras haven’t cut it in the past.
In video-specific features, the Galaxy S26 Ultra brings something new called “Super Steady” mode. The function works by using real-time gyro and accelerometer data to lock the horizon. With that, Samsung claims the S26 Ultra offers users a better experience during high-action shots.
If those shots require heavy editing, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will offer the option to record in the APV codec. In addition to the professional codec introduced on the previous model, APV retains video quality over repeated edits. It’s further support for more professional exports, which is great to see.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra will implement Galaxy AI tools for photo editing, just like the previous edition. More features are expected to come with updates to One UI 8.5, which debuts on the new phone.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is the only phone of the three that didn’t change price, coming in at $1,299. Pre-orders are live now, and Samsung store customers get credit that goes a bit further for accessories.
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