Samsung appears to be gearing up to reintroduce a camera with a variable aperture in its future smartphones. This comes nearly a decade after the Samsung Galaxy S9 series debuted the dual-aperture system, allowing the rear camera to switch between two aperture settings. Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra, which is likely to go official early next year, is expected to offer this significant camera upgrade over the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Apple is also said to be working to adopt cameras with variable aperture in its iPhone 18 Pro models.
Samsung Might Return to Variable Aperture Cameras
As per a post by Weibo tipster Smart Pikachu (translated from Chinese), both Samsung and Huawei are testing 200-megapixel main rear cameras with variable apertures. Hashtags in the Weibo post suggest that the Galaxy S27 Ultra will include this feature.
A variable aperture offers improvements over the fixed apertures used in most smartphones. This feature lets the camera adjust how much light enters the lens. It allows cameras to open wider in low light conditions to ensure better brightness and narrow in bright environments to reduce overexposure. Combined with a 200-megapixel sensor, the variable aperture feature could enable detailed close-up shots on the Galaxy S27 Ultra.
Samsung was among the first major OEMs to implement this technology in the Galaxy S9 in 2018. Handsets like Xiaomi 14 Ultra and Honor Magic 6 Pro also feature cameras with variable aperture. Meanwhile, recent leaks claimed that the rear cameras of the iPhone 18 Pro lineup will feature variable aperture. So Samsung is likely to be implementing this change to stay competitive in the market.
For reference, the Galaxy S26 Ultra boast a quad rear camera unit headlined by a 200-megapixel wide-angle primary sensor with f/1.4 aperture. The rear camera unit also includes a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera.
Price of the Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at Rs. 1,39,999 in India for the base 12GB + 256GB RAM and storage variant. It sports a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and runs on a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for the Galaxy chipset and carries up to 16GB RAM and up to 1TB storage. It features a 5,000mAh battery with support for 60W wired fast charging and 25W wireless charging.
