Samsung may be ready to do the thing it should have done a while ago: stop pretending the Galaxy Ultra’s 10MP 3x camera is pulling its weight. A new report says the Galaxy S27 Ultra could drop that lens entirely, freeing space for a bigger main sensor, a better 5x telephoto, and maybe even room for native Qi2.2 magnets.
That sounds dramatic, but it is also pretty practical. Samsung’s Ultra phones have leaned hard on small, incremental tweaks for years, while rivals like Vivo, Xiaomi, Oppo, and even Apple have increasingly used the main camera to handle 3x-style shots instead of relying on a weak dedicated mid-zoom sensor. Samsung may simply be admitting that a bad camera is worse than no camera at all.
Why Samsung may kill the 3x lens
The current 3x shooter has been stuck at 10MP since the Galaxy S21 Ultra in 2021, and the hardware is not doing it any favors. The source points to a slow f/2.4 aperture and a tiny 1/3.94-inch sensor, which is a fairly blunt way of saying Samsung has let this part age into irrelevance.
By removing it, Samsung could redirect that internal space toward the cameras people actually use. That could mean a larger 200MP primary sensor or a stronger 5x telephoto, both of which would probably do more for real-world photography than keeping a mediocre middle ground alive for another cycle.
What a bigger 200MP sensor could change
The interesting part is not just that Samsung might remove a lens. It is what replaces it. Early rumors say the Galaxy S27 Ultra will use a new 200MP sensor, and Samsung could lean on that camera to deliver near-optical 3x shots the way several competitors already do.
- Drop the 10MP 3x camera entirely
- Use the freed space for a larger primary sensor or better 5x zoom hardware
- Potentially make room for internal magnets for native Qi2.2
That would be a cleaner strategy than trying to prop up a weak lens with software tricks. The trade-off is obvious: 3x shots may lose a dedicated camera, but Samsung could gain a better everyday main camera, and that is the one most people will notice. The only real question is whether Samsung finally gets aggressive enough to make the Ultra feel like more than a yearly remix.