Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra Leaked Specs Reveal Major Camera Upgrades from Faster RAM
A technical comparison chart for the upcoming Galaxy S26 Ultra against the S25 Ultra is said to show that RAM bandwidth improvements are directly correlated to significant gains in camera performance. The introduction of 10.7 Gbps LPDDR5X RAM in the S26 Ultra over the 8.5 Gbps used in the S25 Ultra massively affects almost all camera functions, including basic shooting, advanced video applications, and AI processing.
Core Photography Speed and AI Improvements
With increased bandwidth comes fast data manipulation, thereby boosting every phase of shooting stills.
- Main Camera (200MP) HDR: Approximately 20-25% speed gains in compositing make the S26 Ultra lessen the S25 Ultra processing time from 1-2 seconds, minimizing shutter lag, especially on night shots.
- AI Noise Reduction & Super-Resolution: The S25 Ultra does not exploit AI models with sufficient complexity or do much with noise reduction due to limitations imposed by NPU bottlenecks and bandwidth privacy. The S26 Ultra, however, does noise reduction more cleanly, thus providing clearer night images and maximizing the clarity from super-resolution.
- Pro RAW / Expert RAW Export: Exports on the S25 Ultra were slow (taking several seconds for one file); the export, on S26 Ultra, is 30% faster due to quick writing and compression of large 200MP RAW files.
Enhanced Video, Previews, and Real-Time Processing
Video recording and live camera functions see a whopping improvement in terms of stability and accuracy.
- 8K / 4K 120fps Video Recording: The S25 Ultra may throttle or drop frames during long recordings. The S26 Ultra provides stable throughput for smooth sustained capture, as the 10.7 Gbps bandwidth is sufficient for 8K video streams.
- Multi-Camera Parallel Capture: The slight lag when switching between the main and telephoto lenses on the S25 Ultra is eliminated, providing seamless switching on the S26 Ultra.
- Real-Time Preview (Live HDR): The S26 Ultra delivers a steadier preview frame rate and higher HDR accuracy compared to the lower frame rate on the S25 Ultra, making the live preview look closer to the final image.
- Real-Time Portrait / Depth Segmentation: Occasional edge errors on moving subjects seen with the S25 Ultra are replaced by more accurate, faster real-time updates for a more natural live portrait preview on the S26 Ultra.
- AI Video Enhancement (Video HDR Pro): The S26 Ultra achieves a near-instant HDR merge, removing the noticeable merge delay of the S25 Ultra for a wider dynamic range and smoother output.
Smarter Modes and Improved Efficiency
The advantages extend to the specialized modes and thermal characteristics of the camera in general.
- Night / Astro Mode: The multi-frame stacking process on the S26 Ultra is faster and draws less power, resulting in a shorter long-exposure wait time compared to the S25 Ultra.
- Power / Thermal Behaviour: Whereas the S25 Ultra tends to heat up under long shooting conditions, the S26 Ultra is speculated to be 10-15% less hot while at stable frequencies ensuring sustained performance due to the lower voltage and signal loss of new-generation LPDDR5X RAM.
Source: @UniverseIce.
