Galaxy S27 Ultra without a 3x camera would be a hard skip for photographers

According to a new report, next year’s Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra might drop the lackluster 3x zoom camera, moving the next-gen flagship to a triple camera system instead of the long-running quad-array that Ultra flagships are regularly known for. With the extra space, Samsung is reportedly revamping its main camera with variable aperture capabilities while doubling down on its 5x lens to capture distant detail with a 200MP sensor of its own.

Sounds reasonable on paper, but this rumor has me more than a little concerned. Not because Samsung’s 3x camera has been a must-have feature in recent Ultras. I agree with commentators who aren’t exactly enamored with Samsung’s mid-range telephoto lens. While it might come in handy for portraits, the level of detail leaves a lot to be desired, and it’s proven to be incredibly noisy in low light. However, today’s bigger, better 3x zoom lenses have quickly become my favorite tool on the best camera phones.

Take the cutting-edge OPPO Find X9 Ultra, vivo X300 Ultra, or Xiaomi 17 Ultra. All three boast large 200MP sensors with wide apertures, OIS, and other top-tier camera features, and have bundled them into a familiar 3x telephoto package. The results speak for themselves. Across the Android Authority team, we’ve been marveling at each other’s results from these powerhouse 3x shooters. Just take a look.

All three of these phones lend themselves to wonderful-looking portraits thanks to their 3x cameras’ natural compression-blur effect. They can capture exquisite details at moderate distances, deliver macro shots with better depth than ultrawide lenses, perform great in low light, and generally make framing your shots that much easier, with nicer results to boot. It feels like Samsung is giving up on the idea of a great 3x lens, just as other brands have proven the technology to finally make them truly brilliant.

At the same time, I’m far from convinced that a single powerful 5x lens is the solution to the phone camera versatility problem. For one, the typical 120mm focal length ends up in relative no-man’s land. It’s far too narrow for natural-looking portraiture, which ideally requires a lens in the 35-70mm range. Even the latest and greatest 3x cameras often land at the upper end of this ideal. At the same time, really long-distance photography for wildlife, sports, and the like typically starts at 200mm (around 10x). Although 400mm and beyond is better for turning distance shots into close-ups, hence the latest trend in mobile lens extender kits.

That isn’t to say 5x cameras are useless. They’re still very handy for zooming in on landscapes, delivering macros without getting up close, and, with enough pixel data and good lighting, they can provide sought-after 10x capabilities as well. They can be fine shooters in their own right.

The biggest problem is there’s a load of missing utility between the main/wide 22mm camera and a 120mm 5x that this setup will always struggle with. My time with the latest Pixel Pro models has been a frustrating experience, as I’ve battled the questionable quality between the 1x and 5x lenses. Portraits, in particular, really suffer from a lack of both natural blur and fine details. As you can see in the image below, crops from higher-resolution sensors can hold up in general presentation, but they don’t benefit from the natural compression of true focal-length lenses.

Compared to the quality I’ve been capturing with the aforementioned Chinese Ultra phones, the Pixel 10 Pro XL at 2x to 4x just doesn’t hold a candle. Whether it’s detail at medium distances, macro and portrait shots, or robust HDR capabilities in low-light zoom, these phones feel lightyears ahead. If Google’s computational photography hasn’t been able to resolve the issues with a modestly sized triple-camera formula, I’d be very surprised if Samsung could do any better, even with 200 megapixels on its main and telephoto cameras.

This brings me back to my initial concern: as welcome as an enhanced main camera and improved 5x zoom would be for the Galaxy S27 Ultra, it feels like the wrong bet to make given what the best in the business can currently do with a powerful 3x camera. Photography is about much more than having pristine megapixels, white balance, and HDR, which seems to be the Google and Samsung mantra.

Granted, cropping in from 50 or even 200 megapixels of data technically allows you to reach 2x and even 4x levels of zoom with “lossless” 12MP output, but that comes with caveats. You lose the benefits of pixel binning, meaning more noise, worse HDR, and less detail as you throw away pixel data. More importantly, the camera is still shooting through the same optics, with the same depth-of-field and background-compression settings as at 1x, resulting in flatter, busier images that make it harder to get truly creative. A great camera lets the photographer get the most out of whatever they’re shooting: portraits, landscapes, a gig, or even pets. For that, you need the right focal lengths, along with the hardware and software foundations.

Personally, I’d take a more modest main camera and even ditch those dubious ultrawides if it meant I could have just one powerful camera closer to the 50mm sweet spot. But don’t take my word for it, read any recommendation about the first lens a budding photographer should buy for their lovely new mirrorless. You always come back with the same answers: a nice 35mm prime or an 18-70mm variable. Why? These are the most versatile and true-to-life focal lengths for shooting.

So no, I’m not convinced that the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra dropping its rightly mocked 3x telephoto would be as good as it might seem. It would be far better to double down and build the best 3x camera that modern technology can offer. I hope the rumor is wrong.