Quick Summary
Samsung's been using the same camera sensor since the Galaxy S22. A new report says it'll be sticking with it for the Galaxy S25 in 2025.
When Samsung introduced the Samsung Galaxy S23 in early 2023, it stuck with much the same camera arrangement as the Galaxy S22. And when it introduced the Samsung Galaxy S24 in early 2024, it stuck with much the same camera arrangement as the Galaxy S22. And now according to a new report, it's going to do the same not just with the Samsung Galaxy S25, but with the Samsung Galaxy S26 too.
The report comes via leaker Ice Universe on X, who says that "Sadly, Samsung decided to continue using the same sensor on the S25 and even the S26." Ice clearly isn't a fan of that choice, adding: "Desperate."
Sadly, Samsung decided to continue using the same sensor on the S25 and even the S26. Desperate. https://t.co/wYAdxS98W1September 21, 2024
Is Samsung really keeping its camera unchanged in the Samsung Galaxy S25?
The sensor that's currently in the Samsung Galaxy S24 is a 50MP version, and it's also in the Z Fold 4, Z Fold 5 and Z Fold 6. It's a good sensor, and in our review we felt that the S24 is still among the best Android phones for photography. But in the very competitive marketplace for flagship phones, keeping the same sensor for so long is very unusual indeed.
I suspect the thinking here is that physically, the Samsung's sensor is pretty good – and with the right AI enhancements it could be made even better. When we reviewed the S24 we found its AI photo features to be a bit of a mixed bag, so there's definitely room for improvement there. And it's worth noting that Ice Universe is only talking about the sensor here, not the hardware around it. So it's possible that we'll still see some hardware upgrades, even if the sensor isn't going to be upgraded this time around.
That said, it's worth considering this report alongside another Ice Universe leak, this time of what is apparently the Galaxy S25 Ultra; that appears to be getting a minor redesign and some as-yet unspecified camera upgrade, so Samsung clearly isn't standing completely still on the camera front.
I think what we're seeing is inevitable: after a long stretch of extremely rapid innovation, flagship phones have now settled into an annual cycle of relatively minor improvements. Don't get me wrong, the improvements are useful. But we're long past the point where annual upgrades were essential: at the risk of sounding like an old woman here, the upgrade from iPhone 3GS to iPhone 4 was massive. From iPhone 15 to 16, or from Galaxy S23 to S24, not so much.
