Latest Galaxy S27 Ultra leak brings good news for low-light shots, bad news for zoom

The race to 2027 is already well underway. Google, Apple, and several Chinese brands have shown their latest flagships, while Samsung fans still have to wait for the Galaxy S27 series. That hasn’t stopped the leaks. We already have a good idea of what the Galaxy S27 Ultra could look like, including its dramatically reworked camera area, and previous reports point to some meaningful imaging upgrades. Now, a new leak is filling in more of the picture.

Veteran Samsung tipster Ice Universe claims the Galaxy S27 Ultra produces noticeably warmer photos than the Galaxy S26 Ultra, moving away from Samsung’s cooler color tuning. The leaker also says Samsung has improved highlight control, particularly for small, bright objects such as illuminated signs or distant lights. Where the S26 Ultra can blow out those details, the S27 Ultra reportedly preserves more of their shape and color.

That improvement reportedly applies to both the main camera and the 5x telephoto. Ice Universe also reports less visible noise in darker areas, resulting in cleaner shadows and smoother-looking night shots.

Some of that could tie into another claimed hardware change. The leaker says the S27 Ultra will use a 200MP ISOCELL HP6 main sensor, described as a Galaxy-specific version of Samsung’s ISOCELL HPC. Samsung’s HPC uses its DeepPix pixel architecture, which increases full-well capacity and improves dynamic range while reducing noise.

In practice, that could help the camera preserve bright skies without crushing darker foregrounds, retain more detail around neon signs and streetlights, better balance faces against bright windows or sunsets, and produce cleaner shadows in low-light scenes. If the HP6 inherits those same technologies, the supposed improvements would make a lot of sense.

The zoom setup could change more dramatically, though. Ice Universe says Samsung plans to remove the dedicated 3x telephoto camera, leaving the phone to jump from its 1x main camera directly to the 50MP 5x telephoto. That 5x camera would reportedly retain its f/2.9 aperture.

That lines up with earlier rumors of a three-camera setup, warmer color processing, and upgraded Samsung Log and APV video tools. But none of this is official, so take it with the usual pinch of salt. Samsung hasn’t confirmed the HP6, the missing 3x camera, or these processing changes, and plenty could still change before the Galaxy S27 Ultra debuts next year.

For now, the leaks suggest Samsung is rethinking both the hardware and the image processing, but we’ll need the finished phone to see how much of that actually translates into better photos.