Samsung might bring an old but gold camera feature back in a future Galaxy S

What you need to know

• Recent Samsung rumors claim the company may reach back for an old dual aperture camera feature for a future Galaxy S phone series.
• A tipster on Chinese social media, Weibo, claims that this could be in response to Apple's supposed interest in a similar feature.
• What's facing us currently in the Galaxy S26 series, as the trio could debut on February 25, 2026.

Samsung is reportedly considering the possible return of a key camera feature from an old Galaxy series device.

Rumors from Chinese Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station (DCS) claim that Samsung may return "dual aperture" to its Galaxy series (via SamMobile). The tipster's post alleges an interesting scenario going forward, as Samsung may chase a dual aperture return to combat Apple. According to DCS (machine-translated), Samsung is "testing wide-angle folding screens and variable apertures in preparation for the 2026 iPhone."

The picture is painted in a way that suggests Apple is looking to deliver a dual aperture feature for its iPhone next year, and Samsung wants that magic back.

Currently, the tipster's Weibo post didn't state how Samsung's dual aperture could look, nor did it say in which series it might arrive. However, as the publication speculates, Samsung could bring back wide and narrow apertures for varying situations, as it did with the Galaxy S9 series. What we've come to now, especially with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, is a digitally altered aperture. There's nothing in its hardware that alters the camera's aperture.

If Samsung brings this back, a future Galaxy phone could feel a little more like a traditional, powerful camera. Lenses for cameras can, for example, reach lows of f/1.8 aperture and highs of around f/16. Applications are simple, as you'd use low apertures for low-light and the higher option for extreme light (to handle it). SamMobile theorizes that Samsung could drop this for the Galaxy S27 series, but we're still well off from knowing for sure.

Samsung's looking to make some moves

Despite not having many camera changes, aside from an upgraded 50MP ultrawide lens, the Galaxy S25 Ultra still fared well in Android Central's head-to-head (to-head-to-head). We placed the device up against three of the top devices: iPhone 16 Pro Max, Pixel 9 Pro, and the S24 Ultra to see how it performed in a camera battle. When up against Apple's iPhone, the S25 Ultra's telephoto came out on top.

Samsung's device also produces a much cooler image, as Apple's dips into warmer tones when utilizing the ultrawide lens.

What's occupying our thoughts right now is the Galaxy S26 series, which is expected to debut in San Francisco on February 25. The series also had its trio leaked, spilling the supposed designs for the upcoming models. The designs mirrored what we saw leaked previously, as the S26 series could feature a similar design to the S25, but with a revamped camera layout and even rounder corners.

The S26 Ultra is also speculated to rock a 3x telephoto sensor.