Samsung's second big Galaxy S24 Ultra camera update could be coming very soon

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra on a beige background
(Image credit: Samsung / Future)

Samsung’s first big Galaxy S24 Ultra camera update brought improvements to shutter speed, video clarity and exposure, and now we’re hearing that a second “major” camera update could be on the horizon for the best Samsung phone.

According to serial Samsung leaker Ice Universe, “April will usher in a major camera update [for the Galaxy S24 Ultra] involving white balance and telephoto image quality.” Discussions surrounding less-than-impressive white balance have become commonplace in Samsung’s Community forum of late, and we ourselves criticized the Galaxy S24 Ultra for its occasionally lackluster telephoto image quality in our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review, so we’re happy to hear that Samsung could be preparing to address both issues.

In the same X post, Ice Universe makes mention of an even-more-imminent March update for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which will supposedly “add an underage mode and some optimizations” for the phone’s camera. The more significant improvements, however, apparently won’t be rolling out until next month.

As alluded to above, Samsung’s February update brought shutter speed, video clarity, exposure, and color expression upgrades to the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s camera, while the clarity of text viewed through the phone’s high magnification zoom lens was also improved.

Samsung’s latest flagship shot to the top of our best camera phone ranking soon after its launch in January, but it’s good to see Samsung refusing to rest on its laurels by further improving an already exceptional handset.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

The Galaxy S24 Ultra's rear camera array (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

As for how the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra might one-up the Galaxy S24 Ultra in the photography department, Samsung leaker Bennett Buhner has claimed that the former could boast a new 200MP main camera with a larger 1-inch sensor, as well as an improved 50MP ultra-wide camera, a 50MP 10x zoom telephoto camera, and a 50MP variable zoom telephoto camera. Yikes.

Naturally, we’re a long way off the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s presumed January 2025 release date, and we’re still having fun experimenting with the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s various cameras. That said, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max rumors set to hot up in the coming months – indeed, we’re already hearing that the iPhone 16 Pro Max might finally challenge Samsung in one key area – there's no doubt that Samsung is hard at work developing its next crop of market-leading lenses.

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Axel Metz
Phones Editor

Axel is TechRadar's UK-based Phones Editor, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest AI breakthroughs as part of the site's Mobile Computing vertical. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion.  Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he then earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.

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