How does the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra camera perform? What to expect from one of the most prominent flagships on the market? And has this year’s model moved forward compared to previous generations? Here is my detailed review, accompanied as always by a video featuring two hundred sample photos.

Where the Samsung S26 Ultra Fits and Who It’s For

The brief characterization of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is actually quite simple: it is undeniably one of the most powerful—and essentially best—mobile phones on the market, much like the previous generations of this legendary series.

On one hand, it’s relatively easy to praise—it truly offers top-tier performance, and in my rankings of the best camera phones, this series always holds the top positions. Thus, it is a logical choice for the most demanding users who want maximum performance and don’t hesitate to pay a relatively high price.

Which is one part of my recommendation: if a demanding user doesn’t want to experiment with top-tier Chinese phones like the Xiaomi 17 Ultra (review here), Samsung is always a safe bet. And the Ultra variant is the clear choice especially in situations where an exceptionally powerful zoom comes in handy—such as when shooting sports.

On the other hand, this series has been taking some heat lately because the progress compared to previous generations is rather incremental: the equipment and specs have been very similar since the Samsung S23 Ultra. And yes, it’s true that for a reviewer, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to find anything significant that has moved forward compared to last year’s generation, the Samsung S25 Ultra.

I’ve tested every Samsung flagship over the past seven-ish years. Personally, I consider the Galaxy S23 Ultra to be the key model that established this lineup’s legendary status. For subsequent models, it has been more about evolution than revolution.

Video: How the Samsung S26 Ultra Performs – 200 Photos in 4K HDR

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and the Camera – Specifications

As usual, let’s start by looking at the photographic hardware – what camera setup does the Samsung S26 Ultra have? Here is a clear table:

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – Camera: Sensors and Lenses
Main (Wide)	200 MP, 23mm, F1.4
Ultra-wide	50 MP, 13mm, F1.9
Telephoto 1	10 MP, 69mm, F2.4 3x optical zoom
Telephoto 2	50 MP, 115mm, F3.4 5x optical zoom
Front Camera	12 MP, 23mm, F2.2

The key element of the hardware is, of course, the quadruple camera setup on the back, plus the traditional selfie camera on the front, as has been the case in recent years. The main strength of this camera phone lies in this combination, as it offers a truly extraordinary spectrum for how and what to photograph.

The primary tool is the main, wide-angle lens with 200 MP. High pixel counts used to be a bit of a marketing gimmick; now they don’t dazzle anyone much anymore—we’ve simply grown accustomed to such high numbers. However, it’s even more true now that sensors with such high resolution really matter, because the ability to capture massive amounts of detail is useful in various scenarios, not just when zooming. It’s worth noting that the aperture in this generation is slightly better than the previous one: 1.4 instead of 1.7.

Another key feature is the simple fact that there are two telephoto lenses: one “shorter” one with 3x optical zoom, which is suitable for portraits, for example. It’s true that the 10 MP resolution already feels a bit archaic, though it doesn’t significantly impact photo quality. The second lens has 50 MP and 5x optical zoom, which can zoom in truly unprecedented ways—up to 100x digital zoom. This is more of a technical curiosity, as photos at these extreme values are no longer very usable.

The ultra-wide-angle lens is another part of this remarkable lens combination, and for certain types of shots, it is truly a key tool, see the sample photos on this page and in the video. Personally, I use this type of shot quite often, and I’m glad that manufacturers—including Samsung—no longer skimp on these lenses and they aren’t just “there for the numbers” with low resolution and average quality.

Similar to previous generations, there is an extensive collection of additional features; in the video, for example, you can see a demonstration of shooting panning in Pro mode, where, thanks to a long exposure time setting, I can elegantly blur the background behind a moving (but sharp) car. And yes, Samsung emphasizes a major shift in using AI for various photo editing options in its presentations, though I did not test that as part of this review.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – What I Liked

The bottom line: it really is world-class—debates about which phone is the best tend to be long and somewhat pointless. It truly depends on who is shooting with the specific camera phone, what they expect from the photos, what type of activities they will be recording (meaning mainly how much/little they need zoom), and how much they appreciate certain special features. Personally, I have considered phones in this series a very sensible choice for several years for those who want top-tier image processing, the ability to zoom a lot (with relatively high quality), and at the same time don’t particularly value some of the lures of other brands (larger physical sensor size, certain specialized photographic elements, etc.). In short: it’s a top-tier camera phone for universal use.

Very good image processing—what should you imagine under the term image processing? Basically the most important thing: “how the phone shoots,” how the algorithms can nail the ideal processing of the sensor data in various situations. And although it may sound boring or even banal, it’s true: Samsung does it brilliantly and delivers stable performance from shooting in full sun to night scenes. You can see this best from the sample photos on this page, or in the accompanying video (see above).

The main sensor/lens does a very good job—as is often the case with phones, the main sensor is crucial. It now has 200 MP, and its performance certainly won’t disappoint even highly demanding users. Thanks to its high resolution, it’s also possible to zoom—Samsung lists it as “2x zoom in optical quality,” which is a favorite “trick” of mobile manufacturers, including iPhones. Although zooming on the sensor is inherently digital, thanks to the resolution, the resulting photo still has a high pixel count and no interpolation is necessary. Personally, I tend to avoid this sensor cropping, but it’s true that the photos remain very high quality.

Up to 100x digital zoom offers remarkable performance—yes, examining and admiring how phones can zoom is getting a bit old. It’s nothing new or unusual, and it was true for all previous models that the zoom performance was remarkable. But it needs to be mentioned here too because—like it or not—the zoom here is top-tier. And it’s one of the big magnets for attracting new customers. I tested it thoroughly, and even around the 30x digital zoom level, the photos are more or less decent (though that will depend on individual user preferences).

The ultra-wide lens is truly useful. In the previous S25 Ultra generation, the ultra-wide lens/sensor underwent a major transformation, “jumping” from 12 MP to 50 MP, and there’s no doubt that it was definitely a good decision: it’s visible in the photo quality, and it’s definitely worth experimenting with these slightly wild angles.

Fine-tuned additional features—as is common with flagships, there is a very valuable set of additional functions that give especially more experienced users a wide range of manual settings. Which simply comes in handy in some situations.

Very good video—video is sometimes a bit overlooked by reviewers because it’s not easy to evaluate and compare with other models. However, it undeniably deserves a mention here because the quality is truly very good and won’t disappoint even demanding users—you can see clips in my video.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – What to Watch Out For

The leap from the previous generation is small—as I mentioned at the beginning, the Samsung S26 Ultra brings no dramatic improvements in terms of photography compared to last year’s generation. It’s true that there will undeniably be nuances in image processing, but in everyday shooting, the difference is not noticeable. For many users, the Samsung S25 Ultra will therefore remain a sensible choice.

10 MP for the telephoto lens feels a bit inappropriate now—the 3x zoom only has 10 MP; it’s not visible in the photo quality, they turn out very well, and the processor upscales everything to 12 MP photos. However, in the context of other sensors and general trends at the top tier of mobile phones, it feels a bit strange.

Portrait mode occasionally falters—I mentioned this last year, and it still holds true: portrait mode deserves a bit of fine-tuning; the digital background blurring is occasionally visibly inaccurate and imperfect. It’s not a serious problem and doesn’t complicate regular use, but given that this is Samsung’s “crown jewel”, some refinement would be appropriate.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – Summary in Two Sentences

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is once again what the previous generations of this series were: one of the best camera phones on the market—it will be appreciated by demanding users, but won’t disappoint those who just want to “point and shoot.” Its reputation is slightly hindered by the simple fact that, compared to last year’s generation, the changes are only cosmetic.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – More Photos from the Test

Review Summary