Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra will be the next flagship installment in Samsung's S-series and if a pair of new rumors is accurate the display and cameras may put the iPhone 15 Pro Max and even the iPhone 16 on notice.
The latest comes from the oft-accurate leaker Ice Universe on Twitter with new insights into Samsung's updated 50MP 3x zoom camera sensor and a new upgraded screen (via Phone Arena).
Samsung wants to keep its telephoto crown
The first rumor is far more detailed with Ice Universe claiming that Samsung will use "a new 3x 50MP sensor, 0.7μm, 1/2.52". With this sensor, Samsung can get a good 5x zoom image quality." That last piece is meant to clarify the discrepancy with earlier rumors that Samsung would move to a 5x optical zoom for its smaller telephoto lens on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
That's why it was initially rumored that S24 Ultra adopted a 5x sensor. Samsung will emphasize the 5x image quality of the sensor at thanks to the 3x 50MP zoom.August 14, 2023
While that extra optical zoom reach would be nice, the rest of those specs should put any worries about the quality of Samsung's new junior telephoto to rest. To remind you the 3x optical zoom on the Galaxy S23 Ultra uses a 1/3.52″ 10MP sensor with 1.12 μm pixels.
So this new sensor is considerably larger and while it does have smaller pixels, that's before you account for the quad-pixel binning that Samsung can employ with a 50MP sensor. By default, that sensor should produce a 12.5MP image that combines four adjacent pixels to create the equivalent of 1.4μm pixels, again at least theoretically vastly outperforming the current sensor. If accurate this should give users sharper images and superior low-light in the 3x-9x zoom range.
Samsung's display dominance
The second piece of the rumor from Ice Universe is far less detailed. The tipster only offers that the Galaxy S24 Ultra will finally get an upgraded screen. Yep, that's it.
I can confirm that the Galaxy S24 Ultra has finally been upgraded screen. pic.twitter.com/YXPiTN8j06August 14, 2023
The speculation is that this means Samsung may be using an M13 LTPO panel for the Galaxy S24 Ultra. That's significant because it is also the tech rumored to be coming to the iPhone 16, you read that right, iPhone fans have to wait over a year to get this display tech.
The new panels will be thinner and offer enhanced power efficiency, but we'll have to wait for future leaks to give us a more detailed look at Samsung's actual specs for its Galaxy S24 Ultra display.
Samsung has gotten some flack for "coasting" a bit with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, so this should whet the appetites of fans looking for a major upgrade in 2024.
