GoKawiilStephen Radochia / Android Authority
TL;DR A new report claims Samsung has ditched plans to include a variable aperture primary camera on the upcoming Galaxy S27 series.
This follows recent rumors suggesting the Galaxy S27 Ultra will miss out on the 3x camera and offer only three rear cameras instead.
Samsung’s decision to forego variable aperture for its upcoming flagship will likely hand Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models an advantage, which are rumored to include the camera system.
As Samsung’s new foldables start reaching shelves, the focus firmly shifts to the company’s next big release: the Galaxy S27 series. Among the notable upgrades rumored for the flagship lineup, the inclusion of a variable aperture camera system has led to some optimism among shutterbugs. A fresh report now brings some bad news on that front.
According to sources cited by ET News, the variable aperture camera system won’t make the cut on the Galaxy S27 series early next year. Samsung seemingly reached this decision after weighing the benefits and drawbacks of implementing the new camera hardware.
Samsung was reportedly developing a variable aperture system with camera partners such as Samsung Electro-Mechanics and MCnex. However, the company ultimately decided against it after determining that the benefits were not significant enough to warrant its inclusion, the report states.
For the uninitiated, a variable aperture physically widens or narrows the lens opening to control light intake and depth of field. By contrast, current Galaxy flagships use a fixed aperture system that relies on software-based solutions to control exposure.
Samsung was among the first to adopt a variable aperture system in its main camera way back in 2018 with the Galaxy S9, and we haven’t seen it on the company’s phones since the Galaxy Note 10. However, multiple variations of the tech have since featured on phones from brands like Xiaomi and HUAWEI.
More crucially, rumors suggest that Apple will implement a variable aperture system on the main cameras of the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models. If true, this would give the upcoming iPhones a significant camera advantage over the Galaxy S27 series.
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