Samsung fans anticipating a major camera upgrade in 2027 may want to temper their expectations. There was much speculation that the Galaxy S27 Ultra would move beyond the familiar 1/1.3-inch 200-megapixel sensor Samsung has been using since the S23 Ultra. The most exciting rumor pointed to Sony’s new 1/1.12-inch 200MP sensor, the LYT-901, which was recently unveiled and touted as the next big thing in Android photography.
Major Upgrade Expectations Low
However, according to well-known leaker Ice Universe, Samsung doesn’t plan to use this sensor. While this might seem obvious considering Samsung manufactures its own sensors, the prediction that the S27 Ultra’s sensor size will remain unchanged seems quite reasonable.
In fact, Samsung has been steadily reducing the size of its 200MP sensors generation after generation since its first 200MP sensor. In other words, it’s unlikely we’ll see a 200MP ISOCELL sensor anywhere near 1″ anytime soon. This trend is summarized in the table below:
| ISOCELL Model | Sensor Size |
| ISOCELL HP1 | 1/1.22″ |
| ISOCELL HP2 | 1/1.3″ |
| ISOCELL HP3 | 1/1.4″ |
| ISOCELL HPX / HP9 | 1/1.4″ |
For those wondering why this matters: A smaller sensor with smaller pixels produces less accurate signals, which generally results in relatively poor image quality. This is consistent with the results we’ve seen in camera benchmarks between Chinese competitors like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the vivo X300 Pro.
Samsung’s flagship phone in 2027 could also rely on a slightly “updated” version of the 1/1.3-inch ISOCELL sensor we’ve seen for several years now.
The company has relied heavily on software processing to extract improvements from camera hardware that has remained largely unchanged over the past few generations. Meanwhile, competitors are moving forward with larger sensors, and many phones like the Oppo Find X9 Pro and vivo X300 Pro have finely tuned software for these sensors.
For now, the latest leak suggests that even if the industry continues to move forward, the next few Ultra phones won’t be the generational camera leap many were hoping for.
