Galaxy S27 Ultra cameras may use this tech to reduce lens thickness, flare

A few months before Samsung launched its current flagship non-foldable smartphone lineup, the Galaxy S26 series, a report claimed that the brand would use an inkjet process for the camera lenses of these devices. The technology was expected to reduce lens package thickness and minimize flare.

While the company never confirmed whether it used the technology in these phones, a new report about the tech giant's next flagship non-foldable smartphone, the Galaxy S27 Ultra, claims that Samsung will use the inkjet process for more camera lenses on the device than it did on the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Typically, a smartphone camera consists of multiple lenses stacked above the image sensor. To ensure these lenses are properly aligned, they feature ribs. However, light can enter through these ribs, causing flare. To prevent this, the ribs are coated with black-colored light-blocking films.

While these films are extremely thin, measuring only a few millimeters, ZDNet says that Samsung attempted to eliminate the space they occupy on the Galaxy S26 Ultra by using the inkjet process. With this method, a black-colored light-blocking ink is printed directly onto the ribs, making it even thinner than the conventional film.

While there's no information on how many cameras on the Galaxy S26 Ultra used the inkjet process, the publication claims that Samsung will apply the technology to more cameras on the Galaxy S27 Ultra.

This will reduce lens package thickness and flare across more cameras, potentially making the device thinner, creating room for more advanced and larger components without increasing the phone's overall thickness, and improving imaging performance.