The Galaxy S26 Ultra series will see a few major firsts when it lands next month. We’re looking at a significantly smarter Bixby powered by new AI tech, a rumored bump in base-level storage (which might come with a price increase), and now an updated camera design, according to a brand new—and unexpected—image leak that landed this morning.
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Galaxy S26 Ultra Design: The Pill-Shaped Camera Island
Long-time leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks) posted images of the Galaxy S26 series this morning, appearing in what look like official marketing renders for case maker UAG.
What’s clear is that Samsung won’t dramatically overhaul the design of the S26 Ultra compared to its predecessor—a move that isn’t exactly a shock in the fairly uniform smartphone world.
There is one obvious difference in the S26 Ultra camera design: the new flagship features a pill-shaped camera island that stacks three of the four Ultra sensors. This is an update on the floating rings style found on the Galaxy S25. If this looks familiar, Samsung used the same camera design in the Galaxy Z Fold 7 last summer.
Elsewhere, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will maintain its quad-camera array, while the base Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus sport three lenses. The UAG cases also confirm a dedicated S-Pen slot and a magnetic ring for Qi2-compatible wireless charging.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Display Upgrade
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the last Galaxy S flagship to use the floating island camera sensor design, according to new Galaxy S26 Ultra leaks. Photographer: Yuki Iawmura/Bloomberg
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One other detail in Blass’ leaked images piqued my interest. It looks like UAG will produce a screen protector for the S26 Ultra. That isn’t unusual for a casemaker, but several reports have pointed to Samsung developing a display that removes the need for a screen protector in a few ways.
Reliable Samsung tipster Ice Universe posted on X recently that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will feature a new generation of Gorilla Glass that “eliminates tempered glass protectors.” The current generation of Galaxy display, called “Gorilla Armor,” was launched with the S24, with Armor 2 being used on the S25.
Gorilla Armor dampens reflections by 75% according to Samsung and features improved scratch resistance. In testing, YouTuber JerryRigEverything found that while the Galaxy S23 scratched at a level 6, the S24 and S25 models held out until a level 7.
Samsung has already announced its privacy screen that will limit the angles the S26 Ultra display can be seen to stop “shoulder surfing,” alongside tweaking which apps trigger the privacy feature. Then there’s the new Color Filter on Encapsulation (CoE) tech that means a brighter display without battery drain.
Ice Universe made the argument that Samsung has built the S26 Ultra screen to remove the need for ultra-clear films, tempered glass protectors, and anti-reflective films. One of the drawbacks of screen protectors has always been that they inadvertently degrade the viewing experience of the hardware they are meant to protect.
For example, the adhesive and plastic layers of third-party protectors can fill in the microscopic surface of modern anti-reflective glass, effectively cancelling out the built-in glare reduction. Some screen protectors can also dampen whatever color benefits CoE tech produces.
Casemakers make display protectors for expensive smartphones because it’s the obvious way for buyers to protect their devices. But it will be interesting to see if they’re actually needed and if the Galaxy S26 Ultra display sturdiness upgrades live up to expectations.