Samsung's flagship smartphones usually have among the most balanced cameras in the Android ecosystem. However, it has been (four) years since Samsung completely overhauled the camera hardware on its flagship phones. The perfect time to bring that overhaul would be with the Galaxy S25 series early next year.Summarize in one-click with Galaxy AI
Galaxy flagships should have higher resolution zoom and ultrawide cameras
While Samsung introduced a high-resolution super-telephoto camera (50MP, 5x optical zoom) with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the other phones in the lineup (Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+) use the same old 10MP 3x optical telephoto sensors. Even the S24 Ultra features 10MP and 12MP telephoto and ultrawide sensors, respectively.
In comparison, other brands have moved on to 48MP, 50MP, and even 200MP sensors for their telephoto and ultrawide cameras. For example, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra uses four 50MP rear cameras and a 32MP front camera. The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra uses 50MP or higher-resolution cameras. The Vivo X100 Ultra has three 50MP cameras and a 200MP primary rear camera.
Even Apple and Google, which are considered slow movers like Samsung, are expected to bring major camera upgrades soon. The upcoming Pixel 9 Pro is rumored to use three 50MP rear cameras and a 50MP front camera.
The iPhone 16 Pro is expected to use 48MP primary and ultrawide cameras and a 12MP telephoto camera. The iPhone 17 Pro series is expected to bump up the telephoto and front camera resolution to 48MP and 24MP.
Samsung's existing cameras aren't bad. But they can be improved greatly with bigger and higher-resolution camera sensors, especially when combined with powerful chips and computational photography.
For example, a higher-resolution telephoto camera can double the zoom range without sacrificing image quality. An ultrawide camera can pack in more details with a higher-resolution sensor.
What to expect from the S25 series' cameras?
According to reports, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will feature a 200MP primary rear camera and 50MP telephoto, super-telephoto, and ultrawide cameras. Its selfie camera reportedly uses a 12MP sensor like the S24 Ultra and S23 Ultra, but I would have prefered a 24MP or 50MP sensor on the front as well.
If Samsung doesn't upgrade the camera hardware with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, it risks falling behind Apple–and Google, though that's less of a worry given the low sales of Pixel devices.
Moreover, it isn't just the Galaxy S25 Ultra that needs upgraded camera hardware. Even the base and Plus models should get 50MP ultrawide and telephoto cameras to compete with Pro phones from Apple and Google.
The South Korean firm must think long and hard about the camera situation on foldable devices as well. The Galaxy Z Flip lineup should have a dedicated telephoto camera. The Galaxy Z Fold lineup should match the camera prowess of Galaxy S Ultra smartphones. There's hope for the latter with the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim, though we won't start celebrating until we hear it from the horse's mouth.
