Samsung plans Galaxy S27 overhaul to keep it relevant – one major feature is reportedly gone already

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra — (Image credit: Future / Mike Lowe)

Quick Summary

Samsung could drop the 3x telephoto camera from the Galaxy S27 Ultra.

The camera lags behind the rest of the offering, but now it might be completely removed.

The Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra could lose one of its oldest features, with rumours suggesting that the 3x telephoto camera could be removed.

That was then ditched for 5x optical, with the 3x remaining. Through these changes, the "big zoom" has remained the focus, while the 3x just sort of hung in there. On the Galaxy S26 Ultra, there's still a 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom mixing it in with the rest.

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It's that little old camera that could be ditched, with established and frequently accurate leaker UniverseIce taking to X to share the news: "It didn't get stronger. It didn't get weaker. It's simply gone," they wrote.

That would suggest Samsung is just going to do away with the 3x camera entirely, reducing the number of cameras on its flagship handset overall.

Early Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra rumors are in: that often mocked 3x telephoto, famous for being tiny and underwhelming, has finally changed. It didn't get stronger. It didn't get weaker. It's simply gone.😂April 30, 2026

The question is whether Samsung would make this move, given that other Ultra devices are offering a wider selection of lenses – including a similar "portrait" lens.

We've previously heard that Samsung is planning to make other changes to the camera, including swapping to a new main camera sensor using LOFIC technology, and it might be that Samsung thinks it can bridge the gap between the main camera and 5x zoom camera with cropping on the main camera sensor.

It might be that there's a major reset in the lenses that are offered, with a camera that feels much newer than the version that's been rolling from phone to phone over the past few years.

The Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra is not expected to be announced until January or February 2027, so there's still a good way to go until launch day, so many of these plans will probably change.

We're certain that we'll be hearing a lot more about the Galaxy S27 over the coming months.

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Chris has been writing about consumer tech for over 15 years. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief of Pocket-lint, he's covered just about every product launched, witnessed the birth of Android, the evolution of 5G, and the drive towards electric cars. You name it and Chris has written about it, driven it or reviewed it. Now working as a freelance technology expert, Chris' experience sees him covering all aspects of smartphones, smart homes and anything else connected. Chris has been published in titles as diverse as Computer Active and Autocar, and regularly appears on BBC News, BBC Radio, Sky, Monocle and Times Radio. He was once even on The Apprentice... but we don't talk about that.