The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphone has been tipped to feature a similar under-display selfie camera to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, suggesting a potential downgrade.
South Korean leaker Kro has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to claim that early Galaxy S26 Ultra prototypes are displaying one particular design flourish. “The camera hole is not visible”, to quote directly.
The implication is that Samsung is looking to remove the hole-punch selfie notch from view altogether with its next flagship phone, which is likely to launch in January 2026 (we only just got the Galaxy S25 series).
Why might this be a downgrade?
While offering an all-screen smartphone is the dream, and it might seem like an upgrade, but we’re not exactly pumped at the idea of an in-display selfie camera.
We’ve been burned by experience, some of which has come directly from Samsung itself.
The company’s full-sized foldable line-up has long used an in-display selfie camera, leaving its vast inner display completely blemish-free. This is great for appearances, but the actual quality of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 selfie camera (to name the most recent example) suffers badly as a result.
In-display selfie technology employs a lower pixel density over the hidden camera, which lets a reduced amount of light in through the gaps. Modern smartphone cameras are inherently light-starved things, so the last thing they need is more obstruction.
As a result, selfie quality is invariably terrible on such in-display selfie cameras – soft, mushy, and poorly exposed. Most recently, we’ve seen the fruits of this in the Nubia Z70 Ultra.
Jon Mundy / Foundry
Why there might be reason for hope
Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom.
For one thing, there are usually multiple prototypes of any major new smartphone, especially a year out from launch. This version of the Galaxy S26 Ultra might not even get off the ground.
Even if it does, though, there are grounds for optimism. For one thing, we found the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra to be ever so slightly boring, so perhaps it’s time that we saw something fresh from the manufacturer.
For another thing, the fact that Samsung is even contemplating such a thing suggests that it’s happy with the technology, to some extent. This implies that it’s made some kind of breakthrough and that the selfies on the Galaxy S26 Ultra might not be totally awful.
Here’s hoping. After Samsung downgraded the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen stylus, we’re not sure we can take another rollback.
