Samsung has started teasing the camera for its next-gen phones, focusing on zoom and low light skills.
The new phones aren't expected to make huge changes to the hardware but could make tweaks to improve the performance.
Samsung has started to tease its next generation of flagship phones, running a set of social videos that highlight properties of the camera. The Samsung Galaxy S26 family of phones is expected to launch on 25 February with the lineup thought to be similar to previous models.
These new videos focus on three areas – "Closer", "Groove" and "Glow". Each runs up the fairly distinctive trio of cameras on the back of Samsung's Galaxy S phones before pushing a property of the camera.
Closer is perhaps the easiest to understand, with a dial graphic at the bottom of the video changing as the picture zooms in. That lets us see a dog wearing sunglasses sitting in a car, which might just about distract viewers from the small print which declares that it's all AI generated.
That makes it about as useful as a chocolate teapot, and about all we can deduce is that the Galaxy S26 will offer better zoom than before, likely with AI correction at the far end.
Glow shows some people dancing in low light with sparklers where we're treated to some brightening to make things clearer – again with a declaration that it's not real, it a simulated image.
Finally, we have Groove which shows a DJ with an image that gets brighter and with more immersive sound, suggesting that it offers superior capture. Again, it's a simulated image that doesn't really show us what's coming.
Both the latter videos could be a nod to the rumour that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will have an F/1.4 aperture on the main camera, which would allow more light into the sensor for better low light performance.
However, most gains in low light shooting recently have come from processing rather than the hardware itself.
Each of the shorts ends with the word "smartphone" being replaced with "AI phone" as Samsung continues to push the narrative that these are AI phones, which, arguably, is a fringe part of what these devices offer.
Recent leaks have suggested that the core resolution of the cameras across these devices won't change, but we've seen various rumours about new sensors and new lenses, although the details are rather vague.
That might see the Galaxy S26 Ultra sticking to a 200-megapixel main camera, with a 50-megapixel ultrawide and 50 and 10-megapixel telephoto lenses. The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are expected to have a 50-megapixel main, 10-megapixel telephoto and 12-megapixel ultrawide.
Currently, aside from new core hardware, it looks like a privacy display could be the only new feature now that the inclusion of Qi2 support has been questioned.
