GoKawiilZac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority
TL;DR A leaker has claimed that Samsung is testing a 200MP main camera with a variable-aperture lens.
This would enable more granular control over depth-of-field effects and light capture.
A variable-aperture 200MP main camera could also excel at macro photography.
Samsung debuted a 200MP main camera on its smartphones back in 2023, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra maintains the same fundamental 200MP primary camera. However, it now sounds like the Galaxy S27 Ultra could get a major upgrade to its 200MP shooter.
Weibo leaker Smart Pikachu asserts that Samsung (and HUAWEI) are both testing 200MP main cameras with variable apertures. Check out the machine-translated screenshot below.
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We’ve seen phones with 12MP to 50MP variable-aperture cameras, but I’m not sure we’ve ever seen a 200MP camera with this tech. Nevertheless, this upgrade could bring a few benefits.
The vast majority of smartphone cameras have a fixed lens aperture, but a variable aperture lets you tweak the size of this opening. This approach gives you greater control over the amount of light hitting the camera sensor. That means you can open the aperture at night for maximum light capture and then close it a little during the day when there’s plenty of sunlight.
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