Samsung Reportedly Cancels Variable Aperture for Galaxy S27 Ultra

Looks like Samsung’s flirtation with variable aperture might be over before it even started this time around. A new report claims Samsung has scrapped plans to bring variable-aperture tech to the Galaxy S27 Ultra, walking back what earlier leaks had painted as one of the phone’s headline camera upgrades.

Quick rewind: back in May, a report said Samsung was actively testing a 200MP main camera paired with variable aperture for the S27 Ultra. There was also chatter back in February that Samsung had gone to component makers Samsung Electro-Mechanics and MCNEX to develop variable-aperture systems for future Galaxy phones. So this wasn’t some random rumor, it had real testing behind it.

But apparently testing it and shipping it turned out to be two different things. The latest report says Samsung killed the feature for three reasons: it costs more, it makes the camera module thicker, and honestly, the real-world photo quality gains just weren’t worth the tradeoff. That’s a pretty blunt explanation if accurate, and it tracks with how these things usually go, cool tech that looks great on paper doesn’t always survive contact with actual product engineering.

Samsung’s not new to variable aperture, for what it’s worth. It ran a dual-aperture setup on the Galaxy S9 and S10 years ago, switching between f/1.5 and f/2.4 depending on the shot. So this isn’t unfamiliar territory, Samsung’s just apparently decided it’s not worth revisiting right now.

What’s replacing it, if anything, is still murky. Current leaks point to updated 200MP and 50MP sensors instead, and there’s also talk that the S27 Ultra could drop from four rear cameras down to three, something reportedly floated earlier. None of that is locked in either.

The bigger wrinkle here is Apple. Reports say the iPhone 18 Pro is heading toward variable aperture around the same timeframe, which means if Samsung really has backed off, Apple could end up being the one flagship maker actually shipping the tech this generation while Samsung sticks with a conventional setup. Neither company has confirmed anything yet, so this whole story could still flip again before either phone launches.