While the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra has just been introduced, a new claim about Samsung’s next generation foldable phone, Galaxy Z Fold 9 Ultra, indicates that there may be a significant change in the company’s approach to the camera. According to information shared on the South Korea-based technology community meeco.kr, the Galaxy Z Fold 9 Ultra may use largely the same hardware as the Galaxy S27 Ultra in terms of the rear camera system. If the claim comes true, Samsung will include camera hardware at the same level as the Ultra model of its flagship Galaxy S series in its foldable Ultra model for the first time. However, it should be noted that the information in question has not yet been officially confirmed and may change until the launch of the product.
According to the user who shares the nickname “Vampire King” on the Meeco.kr platform and has previously come to the fore with various Samsung leaks, the new generation 200 megapixel ISOCELL HP6 sensor will be used in the main camera of the Galaxy Z Fold 9 Ultra. On the telephoto side, it is claimed that there will be a Sony IMX854-based periscope camera with 50 megapixel resolution and 5x optical zoom. If this combination is implemented, a remarkable upgrade will be made in Samsung’s foldable phone series in terms of both zoom quality and telephoto resolution.
Similar camera hardware with the Galaxy S27 Ultra came to the fore
The current Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra model has a 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP2 main camera, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto camera and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor. According to the leak, Galaxy Z Fold 9 Ultra will switch to the newer ISOCELL HP6 sensor instead of HP2. In addition, the 10 megapixel 3x telephoto camera is expected to be replaced by a 5x periscope telephoto camera with 50 megapixel resolution. Thus, it is stated that both higher resolution and longer optical zoom can be offered.
This information largely overlaps with the claims previously made about the Galaxy S27 Ultra. In previously shared reports, it was suggested that Samsung would switch to the ISOCELL HP6 sensor in the Galaxy S27 Ultra model, while giving up the independent 3x telephoto camera and focusing on the 5x periscope camera. It is also claimed that the periscope camera in question can offer up to 10 times hybrid zoom thanks to in-sensor crop technology.
If this scenario occurs, the long-standing camera hardware difference between the Galaxy Z Fold series and the Galaxy S Ultra series may largely disappear. Since Samsung has prioritized criteria such as design and thinness in its foldable models, it has been making some hardware sacrifices on the camera side. New claims indicate that the company may change this approach in upper segment foldable models.
On the other hand, the leak also includes some evaluations about the standard Galaxy Z Fold 9 model. According to the post, the current Galaxy Z Fold 8 uses a GNG sensor with a resolution of 50 megapixels and a pixel size of 1.0 micrometers. This sensor can naturally provide lossless zoom up to approximately 2x. According to the source, if Samsung had preferred the 200-megapixel HP2 sensor in this model, a better quality zoom of up to approximately 3x could be achieved by switching to the HP6 sensor in the next generation with the in-sensor cropping method.
In addition, it is considered that the current camera choice of the standard Fold model creates a more distinct positioning within the product family. For this reason, it is estimated that the Galaxy Z Fold 9 will lag behind the Ultra model in terms of camera flexibility and zoom capabilities. Thus, it is thought that Samsung can continue to separate the camera features more clearly in its foldable series.
Samsung has not yet made any official statement about the Galaxy Z Fold 9 series or Galaxy S27 Ultra. In addition, considering that there is a longer time until the introduction of both models, there is a possibility that changes will be made to the technical specifications during the development process. While the Meeco.kr source has some credibility in the leak community in South Korea, this camera hardware has not been confirmed to date by supply chain sources or anyone else close to Samsung. For this reason, information about sensor preferences, megapixel values and camera array should be considered as claims for now. Despite this, the emerging information stands out as one of the first strong signs that Samsung may aim to bring the camera performance on its foldable phones to the same level as its flagship Galaxy S Ultra series.
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