{"id":342296,"date":"2026-03-12T11:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T11:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/342296\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T11:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T11:37:14","slug":"galaxy-s26-ultra-teardown-reveals-samsungs-clever-new-zoom-camera-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/342296\/","title":{"rendered":"Galaxy S26 Ultra teardown reveals Samsung’s clever new zoom camera design"},"content":{"rendered":"

TL;DR<\/p>\n

JerryRigEverything\u2019s Zack Nelson has posted a teardown of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, revealing several internal hardware changes.
\nThe video shows the phone\u2019s new ALOP telephoto camera design up close.
\nWe also get a look at Samsung\u2019s improved vapor chamber for better cooling, a fully sealed S Pen slot, and an easy-to-remove battery.<\/p>\n

The Samsung Galaxy S26 series<\/a> went on open sale only yesterday<\/a>, so it was only a matter of time before JerryRigEverything\u2019s Zack Nelson took it apart to see what\u2019s inside. In his latest teardown, Nelson opens up Samsung\u2019s newest flagship and gives us a detailed look at the hardware, highlighting several interesting changes the company has made under the hood.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n

\"google\"google<\/a><\/p>\n

Unlike his usual durability tests, this video focuses on opening up the Galaxy S26 Ultra and examining its internal hardware.<\/p>\n

New camera design<\/p>\n

\"Galaxy<\/p>\n

Zac Kew-Denniss \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

One of the biggest changes Nelson highlights is the redesigned telephoto camera inside the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.<\/p>\n

In the teardown, we see that both the S26 Ultra and the previous Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra use a 50MP 5x telephoto camera with optical stabilization. However, the S26 Ultra\u2019s camera lets in significantly more light.<\/p>\n

Samsung improved the aperture from f\/3.4 to f\/2.9, which, Nelson says, lets in roughly 37% more light. At the same time, the camera module itself is 22% shorter, something you can see in the video, allowing Samsung to fit the improved optics into a slimmer space.<\/p>\n

The change is made possible by a new design Samsung calls ALOP (All Lenses On Prism). In previous periscope designs, the prism sat in front of the lens stack, partially blocking incoming light. In the S26 Ultra, the lenses are positioned directly on the prism instead, and Nelson\u2019s video gives us a good look at the new design.<\/p>\n

This rearrangement allows more light to reach the sensor, and Nelson notes that this should directly benefit Samsung\u2019s new Nightography features on the S26 Ultra.<\/p>\n

New thermals, S Pen slot, and what happened to the anti-glare coating<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

Adamya Sharma \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

The teardown also shows that Samsung has increased the S26 Ultra\u2019s vapor chamber cooling system by about 15%, and while it now occupies a noticeable portion of the phone\u2019s interior, it should ideally improve the phone\u2019s thermal performance.<\/p>\n

The Galaxy S26 Ultra also seems to be quite repair-friendly. The back panel comes off easily with heat, and the battery is also pretty straightforward to remove.<\/p>\n

Are you buying a Galaxy S26 series phone?<\/p>\n

372 votes<\/p>\n

Yes, the Galaxy S26 Ultra.<\/p>\n

49%<\/p>\n

Yes, the Galaxy S26 Plus.<\/p>\n

8%<\/p>\n

Yes, the Galaxy S26.<\/p>\n

12%<\/p>\n

No, I’m not buying any of them.<\/p>\n

31%<\/p>\n

Another small but interesting detail is inside the speaker modules. Nelson points out that Samsung includes tiny internal balls inside the speaker housing designed to reduce the tinny sound often produced by small smartphone speakers.<\/p>\n

It was super satisfying to see the S Pen housing from the inside.<\/p>\n

Lastly, it was super satisfying to see the S Pen housing from the inside. Samsung has securely isolated the S Pen\u2019s parking spot from the rest of the phone\u2019s internals. Nelson notes that this should prevent liquid from entering the phone\u2019s main body through that opening.<\/p>\n

The teardown also shows that last year\u2019s S Pen is slightly thinner, meaning the stylus from the S25 Ultra does not properly fit the new S26 Ultra slot.<\/p>\n

The Galaxy S26 Ultra features Samsung\u2019s new Privacy Display<\/a>, and while Nelson didn\u2019t go into detail, he speculates that the anti-glare coating on the Galaxy S25 Ultra may have interfered with the S26 Ultra\u2019s new privacy screen, which could explain why Samsung downgraded it this year.<\/p>\n

While that explanation hasn\u2019t been officially confirmed by Samsung, it\u2019s one possible reason for the change.<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/a>\"SamsungSamsung Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/a><\/p>\n

Privacy display \u2022 Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy \u2022 Power AI features \u2022 <\/p>\n

Powerful flagship with top-tier cameras, AI, and privacy features.<\/p>\n

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is Samsung’s slimmest and lightest Ultra yet, pairing a 6.9-inch display with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy and a redesigned cooling system. It doubles down on imaging with a brighter 200MP main camera, upgraded zoom, advanced 8K video features, and Ultra-exclusive privacy and Galaxy AI tools.<\/p>\n

Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TL;DR JerryRigEverything\u2019s Zack Nelson has posted a teardown of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, revealing several internal hardware…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[61,60,202,573,3141,80],"class_list":["post-342296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mobile","tag-samsung","tag-samsung-galaxy-s26","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}