Samsung‘s planned upgrades for the zoom camera system of its flagship smartphones may not materialize next year. The Galaxy S24 Ultra will reportedly get pretty much the same two zoom lenses as the current Ultra, bar some “minor improvements”. Neither will be a 5x zoom camera, nor a variable lens with 3x to 10x continuous optical zoom.
Hopes of a zoom camera upgrade on the Galaxy S24 Ultra are fading away
Samsung has used 3x and 10x zoom cameras on its Ultra flagships since the Galaxy S21 Ultra in 2021. There have been rumors lately that the 2024 model will bring major changes to the zoom camera system. Firstly, we heard that the company is planning to equip the phone with a variable lens. It was said to offer continuous optical zoom at all magnification levels between 3x and 10x.
Such a solution would essentially eliminate the need for two separate cameras, and also improve the image quality across the board. You’ll get optical zoom at every magnification level up to 10x. LG announced a 4x to 9x variable zoom lens in late December last year, just ahead of CES 2023 in January. So hopes of Samsung equipping the Galaxy S24 Ultra with a similar solution were high.
But, those hopes suffered a blow earlier this week when a rumor surfaced that the Galaxy S24 Ultra will feature a 5x zoom lens. Since the company certainly won’t downgrade maximum optical zoom from 10x to 5x, a dedicated 5x solution means there will be no variable lens. Nonetheless, it would be an upgrade from a 3x solution. The device will offer optical zoom at a slightly higher magnification level.
Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be happening either. According to well-known Twitter tipster @Tech_Reve, the Galaxy S24 Ultra will not feature a 5x zoom lens, nor a variable solution. Instead, the company will continue to equip its flagships with 3x and 10x zoom cameras. The former lens will reportedly carry over unchanged from the Galaxy S23 series. The latter, meanwhile, may get minor improvements and is the only camera upgrade on the phone.
If true, this would be a bit disappointing. Hopefully, Samsung will make up for it with other meaningful upgrades on the Galaxy S24 series. The Galaxy S23 series did decently well in the market this year thanks to the company equipping the phones with a Snapdragon processor globally. The 2024 models need something big to be a worthy successor. Time will tell what the Korean giant has up its sleeves.
2023-06-03 15:11:43