Samsung’s Galaxy S27 Pro may ship with a far less capable zoom camera than earlier leaks suggested, according to a new report from South Korea’s ETNews. The outlet says the phone’s telephoto camera would use a 12MP sensor and offer 3x optical zoom, not the 50MP 3.5x zoom sensor that multiple prior reports described.
A downgrade from earlier leaks
Leaks from earlier this year suggested that the Galaxy S27 Pro could feature a new 50MP ALoP telephoto sensor, matching the Ultra’s camera performance in a smaller body. However, ETNews now says that the device could come with a 12MP 3x zoom camera, which would be a big step down both in terms of resolution and zoom range.
The Galaxy S27 Ultra’s camera setup could stay closer to what’s already leaked. Industry sources say that it would keep its 50MP 5x zoom periscope camera, while dropping its separate 3x telephoto lens entirely, cutting its rear camera count from four to three. Both the Pro and Ultra could still share a 200MP main sensor and a 50MP ultrawide sensor, according to the report.
Rising component costs are reportedly driving the cuts
ETNews ties the camera changes to rising memory chip prices, which it says are pushing up costs across other components, cameras included. Citing industry sources, the outlet says Samsung shared the revised camera lineup with its supply partners earlier this month, naming Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Namuga, Partron, Powerlogics, and China’s Sunny Optical as suppliers. An unnamed component industry source was quoted as saying that camera image quality has largely plateaued across the industry, making it an easier place to cut costs.
The report also points to the Ultra’s outsized share of Galaxy S sales as a factor. Citing Counterpoint Research, it notes that the Ultra accounted for 46 percent of global Galaxy S25 series sales last year, making it the model where a single dropped camera would save Samsung the most money. The base Galaxy S27 and Galaxy S27+ would reportedly carry over the existing 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, and 10MP telephoto setup unchanged.
If these camera specs hold, the gap between the Pro and Ultra would widen on the one feature Samsung had reportedly built the Pro around. Samsung hasn’t made anything official yet and, since the Galaxy S27 series is not expected to arrive until early next year, things could still change in the coming months.