Why the Galaxy S20 Ultra remains the only phone to wear Space Zoom on its sleeve

Every Galaxy S Ultra released over the past five years boasts 100x zoom capabilities, but the Galaxy S20 Ultra remains the only model to carry the Space Zoom brand so prominently — right on the camera housing. Why did Samsung step back from that branding after 2020?

The S20 Ultra was a classic case of marketing overreach. Samsung hyped Space Zoom a little too much, and it backfired. Many who were dazzled by the name found themselves underwhelmed by the phone’s actual zoom performance.

While the Galaxy S20 Ultra was the first in the series to offer 100x zoom, it drew criticism for heavily relying on post-processing to produce “moon photos,” leaving some users feeling misled. Plus, the camera system performed admirably up to around 30x zoom, but beyond that, image quality noticeably declined.

Since then, the Galaxy S Ultra series’ zoom capabilities have steadily improved every year, thanks to better hardware, smarter image processing, and sharper algorithms. But the Space Zoom brand went away almost entirely.

Interestingly, Samsung still uses the Space Zoom buzzword, even for phones that don’t hit 100x. The difference is that Samsung only mentions Space Zoom in marketing material and press releases but doesn't slap the Space Zoom label on the phones themselves.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7, for example, offers 30x Space Zoom, according to the company. But it has no Space Zoom logo on its chassis or camera housing.

After the S20 Ultra, Samsung never again made a huge deal out of this branding, likely because it had lost some credibility. Technically, Space Zoom still exists, even when the zoom levels can't reach the lofty 100x mark, but now it’s more subtle.

In essence, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is the only Samsung phone to carry the Space Zoom brand visibly on the back panel, and given past events, it may well remain the only one. It's just one more detail that sets the Galaxy S20 Ultra apart from other Samsung phones.