According to a report, Samsung has decided not to include a variable aperture camera in any Galaxy S27 model; the Galaxy S27, Galaxy S27+, Galaxy S27 Pro and Galaxy S27 Ultra will not feature a variable-aperture lens.
The company tested variable-aperture camera modules from MCNEX and Samsung Electro-Mechanics but ultimately rejected them after evaluating cost, thickness and image quality trade-offs.
Why Galaxy S27 will skip variable aperture
Internal testing reportedly showed only minor image quality improvements from variable-aperture designs, while the modules would increase manufacturing costs and lead to a thicker camera assembly. Those factors led Samsung to conclude the benefits did not justify adoption for the S27 lineup. The decision has been described as a disappointment for fans expecting a major hardware upgrade.
Expected Galaxy S27 camera specifications
The Galaxy S27 Pro and Galaxy S27 Ultra are said to include a 200MP primary camera, a 50MP ultrawide with autofocus and a 16MP front-facing camera. The Galaxy S27 Pro is reported to use a 12MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, while the Galaxy S27 Ultra is reported to use a 50MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom.
Samsung first introduced a dual-aperture camera on the Galaxy S9 in 2018, retained it on the Galaxy S10 in 2019 and removed it with the Galaxy S20 in 2020 in favor of software-based processing. Meanwhile, Apple is expected to introduce a variable aperture camera on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max later this year.
