The rumored Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra camera upgrade will be a key part of Samsung's sales pitch for the new Galaxy S24 series. And we're going to break down all the rumors and leaks you need to know about.

With the iPhone 15 Pro Max already offering an upgraded camera and the Google Pixel 8 Pro stepping up its camera game, Samsung needs to advance its camera technology or be left behind. At the moment, the Galaxy S23 Ultra tops our best camera phone guide, but Samsung will not be able to maintain its position unless it pushes things forward.

Fortunately, the Galaxy S24 Ultra's camera seems to have undergone changes, including perhaps a much larger main sensor. However, rumors of a zoom that appears to be a downgrade are also controversial. Below is everything we have heard so far about the Galaxy S24 Ultra's camera.

The primary rear camera on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is assumed to be the 200MP main camera again. This was an upgrade introduced by the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and given Samsung's normal upgrade pattern, it seems unlikely that there will be any significant changes to this for another year or two.

Nevertheless, there are claims that the exact 200MP sensor for Samsung users could be changed. According to one major rumor, the size of this sensor could be 1 inch. A sensor of this size would capture more light and output brighter, more colorful photos compared to the sensors in typical-sized smartphones, giving the Galaxy S24 Ultra an edge before photo processing takes place.

So far, the 12MP ultra-wide camera on the Galaxy S23 Ultra is rumored to be unchanged, so it is assumed that this camera will be retained when the Galaxy S24 Ultra is introduced.

This is quite unfortunate, as this camera has already received little attention for years. However, there is always the possibility that further rumors will emerge in the run-up to launch, and that further software upgrades will improve performance without any physical changes to the camera.

All the action of the Galaxy S24 Ultra's camera update could be here: after several years of the familiar 10MP camera duo with 3x zoom and 10x zoom, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, although perhaps not in the way you would hope, is a situation seems set to change that.

The 3x 10MP zoom appears to remain. However, the 10x zoom camera may be replaced by a lower-powered 5x telephoto lens and a higher 50MP sensor resolution. The increased resolution should improve the camera's pictures overall, but will affect one of Samsung's most unique camera features. Many phones offer 5x zoom, but few offer 10x zoom.

We also came across an unlikely rumor that Samsung will offer a continuous zoom camera. This would be similar to a proper camera telephoto lens, with infinitely variable magnification between the two extremes. However, finding this in smartphones is exceptionally rare, and only Sony tends to adopt it, so I am quite skeptical of claims that Samsung will suddenly adopt this.

After replacing the old 40MP Ultra selfie camera with a new 12MP model last year, Samsung appears to be keeping the 12MP selfie camera on the Galaxy S23 series the same throughout the S24 series, including the Ultra.

This may be a mistake on Samsung's part, as we did not particularly appreciate the performance of this new camera in our review and iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Galaxy S23 Ultra showdown. Hopefully Samsung has made some changes to the way the camera works and processes images to improve this.

Based on the rumors so far, we should not expect a major overhaul of the Galaxy S24 Ultra's camera. However, that is not to say that we should not keep an eye out for upgrades or changes to some of the phone's photography kit.

We are particularly interested in what Samsung is said to do with the S24 Ultra's telephoto camera. However, if the camera resolution is increased, Samsung will still have an advantage over rivals like the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Add in the other alleged changes to the 200MP camera, and Samsung will have done enough to challenge Apple and Google for the top spot in our Best for the Best Camera Phone Guide... we'll just have to wait until 2024, when we'll have to wait until the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Google Pixel 8 Pro to find out if Samsung's new camera is the best in the market.