There's been quite a few rumors about the Galaxy S26 Ultra already, even though the device is over a year out, but that's never stopped the rumor mill before. Samsung is expected to make some significant changes to next year's top-of-the-line flagship.
Some of these changes might prove to be controversial, such as this year's decision to remove the Bluetooth features from the Galaxy S25 Ultra's S Pen. A new rumor claims that the Galaxy S26 Ultra might have one less camera on the back. Its setup may feature three sensors on the back, not four, like the current model.
Major changes on the cards for the Galaxy S26 Ultra in 2026
The rumor is based on a prototype of the Galaxy S26 Ultra that's reportedly being tested. This prototype is said to feature a 200-megapixel primary sensor alongside a 50-megapixel ultra-wide and 200-megapixel 4x optical zoom sensor.
The absence of another zoom lens might be backed up by another rumor which claimed Samsung would reintroduce variable aperture with the Galaxy S26 Ultra's primary sensor. Samsung introduced this feature with the Galaxy S9 series, with those phones being able to switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4 apertures. A few subsequent models had the feature before it was removed with the Galaxy S20 series.
This prototype is also claimed to have Bluetooth functionality for the S Pen, which is a bit surprising, since we'd not expect Samsung to bring back this feature so soon, even though some loyalist fans were left disappointed by what it did with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. This doesn't necessarily mean we'll see a return of this functionality just one year later.
On the battery front, this prototype apparently has a stacked 5,500mAh battery. Multiple rumors have pointed to the Galaxy S26 Ultra finally breaking beyond the 5,000mAh barrier that the top-of-the-line model has been at for the past few years, though the method used to break that barrier might either include stacked or silicon carbon batteries.
There's a larger consensus behind Samsung potentially going the Silicon Carbon route and providing a 6,000mAh battery for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Now that would be a change that's very well received, and it might just make people forget about Bluetooth on the S Pen.
