All the new camera features on the Galaxy S26 Ultra explained

The Galaxy S26 Ultra brings a range of camera upgrades that improve how you shoot photos and videos across different conditions and use cases.

Some of these changes are easy to notice, like improvements to low-light performance and video recording, while others work in the background to make the camera more consistent and reliable in everyday use.

Together, they make the Galaxy S26 Ultra a more flexible camera for both everyday use and more serious shooting.

One of the biggest upgrades this year is the wider f/1.4 aperture on the main camera. In simple terms, a wider aperture means the lens opens up more, letting in more light with every shot.

This makes a noticeable difference in two situations. In low light, photos come out brighter and cleaner. In good light, the camera can use faster shutter speeds, which means less blur when photographing people, pets, or anything that moves quickly.

It also helps the camera avoid pushing its sensitivity too high in dim conditions, which is what causes the grainy look in night photos. The result is cleaner, more natural-looking images across a wider range of lighting situations.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra continues to offer multiple zoom levels, including 3x and 5x optical zoom, but there are some meaningful improvements this year.

The 50MP 5x telephoto camera now has a wider aperture, which means it lets in more light. This helps with zoom shots in dim environments — like indoor events or evening scenes — where zoom cameras have traditionally struggled. It also makes it easier to keep moving subjects sharp at longer distances.

Portrait shots at 5x zoom also benefit from more natural-looking background blur, so subjects stand out more clearly against a smoother background.

Across all zoom levels, the camera is designed to keep colors and exposure consistent, so switching between them feels smooth.

Samsung has added a 24MP shooting mode that sits between the default 12MP and the higher-resolution 50MP and 200MP options.

The advantage of 24MP is that it captures more detail than 12MP — useful if you like to crop into shots — without the complications of shooting at full resolution. You keep access to all zoom levels, file sizes stay manageable, and the camera behaves the same way you’re used to. It is a practical option for everyday shooting when you want a bit more flexibility in editing.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra introduces a new video format called APV (Advanced Professional Video). The key thing to know is that it preserves significantly more quality than standard video formats, which matters most if you plan to edit your footage after recording.

Standard video formats compress footage aggressively to keep file sizes small. APV keeps far more of the original detail, colour, and tonal range intact. When you go to edit — adjusting colour, correcting exposure, or grading the footage — you have a lot more to work with.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra supports:

Because APV files are larger than standard video, Samsung also lets you record directly to external storage. Editing tools are built into the Gallery app, so basic colour work and exporting can be done on the device without needing a computer.

Beyond the new format, the Galaxy S26 Ultra also adds tools that make recording easier in the moment.

The standout addition is Super Steady^[1] with Horizontal Lock. Super Steady reduces shake when you’re filming while moving. Horizontal Lock keeps footage level even if you rotate the phone while recording, so the horizon stays stable whatever angle you hold the device. Together, they make handheld video significantly easier to shoot.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra also supports:

The front camera gets a wider field of view this year, making it easier to fit more people into the frame for group selfies or capture more of your surroundings without stepping back.

Autofocus is still there, keeping faces sharp at different distances. The bigger improvement is the addition of Advanced Selfie (AI Image Signalling Processor), which helps the camera handle skin tones and textures more accurately under artificial lighting — the kind of indoor light that can make selfies look washed out.

The result is more consistent, natural-looking selfies regardless of where you are.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra includes an Intelligent Document Scanner that is worth knowing about if you regularly scan documents on your phone. It automatically tidies up scans by removing fingers from the frame, straightening folded corners, and cleaning up shadows or patterns that can appear when photographing printed pages.

It also supports automatic multi-page scanning, so you can scan several pages in a row without tapping after each one. The result looks far closer to a proper office scanner than a standard phone camera shot.

^[1] Super Steady results may vary depending on editing method and/or shooting conditions.