Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro rumors suggest it could fail to match the iPhone 17

A leak suggests the Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro might have a “useless” new ultra-wide camera
Most other specs may not be improved
This could mean the Galaxy S26 Pro struggles to compete with the iPhone 17

With each new Samsung Galaxy S model, there’s the expectation that specs will be improved, and while that’s sure to be the case with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro, the latest leak suggests its upgrades might be minimal.

According to reputable leaker @UniverseIce, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro will have a 1080p screen like the Samsung Galaxy S25, and “the telephoto is still the industry’s smallest 10MP sensor that has been used for ages.”

As far as upgrades go, @UniverseIce claims the phone will feature a new 50MP ultra-wide sensor (up from 12MP on the Galaxy S25), but they describe this as “useless.” So, megapixels aside, it might not be an improvement.

As far as I know, the biggest upgrade of the Galaxy S26 Pro is simply adding the word “Pro” to its name. The ultra-wide camera has been replaced with a useless 50MP sensor, the main camera uses a new model but the size remains unchanged, and the telephoto is still the industry’s… pic.twitter.com/qPIn2SBWkQ September 11, 2025

They also claim that the main camera will be changing, but the size (presumably of the sensor) won’t be.

Of course, even if this leak is correct, there could be upgrades elsewhere, but they add that “other than that, there’s really nothing new,” so aside from presumably a new chipset, there might not be much to see here.

Not very pro

If so, that makes the rumored rename from the Samsung Galaxy S26 to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro all the more questionable and confusing, since this phone sounds like it might struggle to even match the iPhone 17, let alone the iPhone 17 Pro.

As a reminder, the iPhone 17 has a 1206 x 2622 screen, which is higher resolution than the Galaxy S25’s 1080 x 2340 one, and by the sounds of this leak, it’s likely also higher resolution than the Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro’s will be.

The iPhone 17 also has a 48MP main camera and a 48MP ultra-wide. It lacks the telephoto camera found on the Galaxy S25, but by the sounds of this leak, the Galaxy S26 Pro’s telephoto snapper won’t be up to much anyway.

Plus, with its A19 chipset, the iPhone 17 is more powerful than we expect the Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro to be, and with upgrades to its refresh rate, two of its cameras, and its battery life, it also looks to be a significant improvement on its predecessor, which the Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro might not be.

There’s still hope for Samsung’s phone – especially as @UniverseIce tends to take quite a negative view of Samsung’s devices, whether deserved or not. But if it really does have ‘Pro’ in the name, then people will expect a lot, and so far it doesn’t sound like this phone will deliver enough.