Is the Galaxy S26 Ultra's camera using a new zoom lens?

Samsung downgraded the telephoto camera on its Ultra phones two years ago. The Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S25 Ultra use a periscope-style lens with 5x optical zoom. While the company showcased its All Lenses on Prism (ALoP) zoom technology a couple of years ago, it has not used ALoP in any of its phones yet. Is the Galaxy S26 Ultra first to feature it?

Several images and videos of a real Galaxy S26 Ultra unit leaked yesterday. Based on those leaks, the phone appears to use a newer type of telephoto lens. Some users on social media claim it is using the ALoP zoom lens because the lens opening looks circular rather than rectangular, which was the case on previous-generation Ultra phones such as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S24 Ultra, and Galaxy S25 Ultra.

However, it is too early to confirm whether the Galaxy S26 Ultra uses an ALoP lens. Some other phones, such as the iPhone 16 Pro Max, feature a periscope-style lens without a typical rectangular opening. Samsung may have simply adopted a different lens arrangement within a periscope system.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra isn't using bigger camera sensors. It still reportedly features a 200MP primary rear camera with OIS, a 50MP ultrawide camera with autofocus, a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and OIS, and a 50MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom and OIS. On the front, it has a 12MP selfie camera with autofocus.

The only hardware camera upgrades it has are wider apertures for the primary camera (F1.4) and the 50MP telephoto camera (F2.9). In comparison, the Galaxy S25 Ultra's primary camera has an F1.7 aperture, while its telephoto camera has an F3.4 aperture. Wider apertures result in more light hitting the sensor, resulting in higher details and lower noise.