Update | Galaxy S26 Ultra touted to have biggest camera upgrade since Galaxy S20 Ultra with better night photos and more

Update

Because of the lack of any spacing between the "+" sign and the HP2 sensor naming, it appeared that "HP2+ larger aperture" wording by UniverseIce was pointing to a slightly tweaked HP2 with a large aperture. It seems it is not the case, as the Galaxy S26 Ultra, according to the leaker, will continue to use the same ISOCELL HP2 as the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

The original story continues below.

Earlier in July, we reported that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will feature, for the fourth year in a row, the Samsung ISOCELL HP2 camera sensor for the main shooter. However, this 200 MP sensor was alleged to be paired with a new lens, which has the potential to introduce some picture quality improvements.

Now, leaker UniverseIce reports on X that Galaxy S26 Ultra will have the ISOCELL HP2+ sensor. While we don’t know if the HP2+ sensor is, in any meaningful way, different than the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s HP2, the “+” marking in the branding suggests some minor upgrades, like a slightly bigger sensor size.

The real upgrade, however, is apparently a new lens with a larger aperture according to UniverseIce. The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s main shooter has a f/1.7 aperture. So, if the leak is true, the Galaxy S26 Ultra might see a lens with an f/1.6 or even lower. 

Interestingly, UniverseIce claims that the HP2+ and the larger aperture will “improve all existing problems” and result in better low-light photos thanks to the camera letting in more light. The leaker goes even further and calls the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s camera “the most obvious upgrade since Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra”.

Now, here is where we have to take things with a giant grain of salt. Samsung has introduced only a few camera hardware upgrades over the past years. This has allowed the competition, especially from Chinese brands like Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi, to get far ahead of the Galaxy S phones per Dxomark. For instance, the Galaxy S25 Ultra sits at a disappointing 17th place in the Dxomark smartphone camera rankings.

Evidently, Samsung has a lot to do to catch up with the competition. We’re not sure if using the ISOCELL HP2, even in its potentially slightly upgraded “HP2+” form, will help the Galaxy S26 Ultra bridge this gap.

We hope our speculation ends up being wrong and the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s main and secondary shooters are massive upgrades over the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra on Amazon