This story was updated with new Galaxy S27 Ultra battery details. Update below.
It looks increasingly likely that Samsung is planning a major overhaul of the Galaxy S27 Ultra and the wider Galaxy S27 series, with a huge battery using new technology, alongside an entirely new Pro model. Fresh images now reveal how the company will differentiate between its expensive Pro and Ultra models and the base Galaxy S27 and S27 Plus.
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Samsung Is Redesigning The Galaxy S27 Ultra
Reliable Samsung tipster Ice Universe confirmed this week that the Galaxy S27 lineup will consist of four devices: the Galaxy S27, S27 Plus, S27 Pro and S27 Ultra.
The S27 Pro’s existence was first confirmed via the GSMA database, and Ice Universe has now independently verified it. The Pro sits between the S27+ and the Ultra but is rumoured not to come with an S Pen.
Ice Universe also published some new drawings of the difference between the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Galaxy S27 Ultra. They look virtually identical, except the edges slightly more curved on the new device and a completely redesigned camera bar, more on that shortly.
For the Galaxy S27 Plus, there’s a thinner bezel, while Ice Universe’s images also show a clear magsafe-style magnetic ring for wireless charging sitting below the new camera island on both the Galaxy S27 Pro and Galaxy S27 Ultra.
CAD renders from Android Headlines this week also gave us the clearest look yet at the new phones. The base Galaxy S27 is almost identical to the S26 in size, at 149.75 x 71.88 x 7.25mm versus the S26’s 149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2mm.
It keeps the same 6.3-inch display Samsung has used for several generations, and the vertical triple-camera layout on the back is unchanged. The bezels appear marginally slimmer but the overall design is a refinement rather than a reinvention.
The Galaxy S27 Ultra is a different story. The floating ring cameras are gone, replaced by a large rectangular camera island housing all three sensors. The S Pen slot stays on the left side, as does the speaker.
From the front the two phones will look nearly identical. From the back they will look like different generations entirely. Hopefully that is not an omen for a wildly inflated price on the top models.
What The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Tells Us About The Galaxy S27 Ultra Battery
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 debuted silicon-carbon battery technology in July, fitting a 4,800mAh cell into a thinner, lighter body than its predecessor. Galaxy Club has already reported that the S27 Pro and S27 Ultra will use the same technology, with capacities of around 5,200mAh and 5,700mAh respectively.
Both would be a significant improvement on the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 5,000mAh. But a 700mAh increase in the same-sized device strongly suggests silicon-carbon technology, which stores more energy without adding bulk.
That is a genuine win for Samsung buyers and will likely become a major marketing point against the iPhone 18, which I do not expect to use silicon-carbon in its main flagship lineup this year.
If Samsung does use a 5,700mAh battery in the Galaxy S27 Ultra, it confirms that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series was a test run for the technology. The foldables saw a more modest capacity increase over their predecessors. Samsung going further for its mainstream flagships suggests even bigger batteries are coming in future Galaxy S phones.
Update 08/29: Magsafe-style Charging May Be Heading To The Galaxy S27 Ultra
The camera island redesign is not about copying Apple or Google. A new image from tipster Lanzuk on Naver shows the Galaxy S27 Ultra’s Qi2 magnetic battery attached directly to the back of the phone, without a case, and that detail explains everything.
The battery sits below the newly redesigned horizontal camera bar and takes up nearly the entire width of the rear panel. For that to work without a case, the phone needs built-in magnets where the battery connects. And for built-in magnets to sit in the centre of the back panel, the vertical camera column that currently occupies that space has to move.
In April, Lanzuk suggested that a Galaxy S27 camera redesign was likely. The reason was not given at the time, but the new image makes it clear: Samsung is moving its cameras to a horizontal bar at the top of the Galaxy S27 to make room for a native magnetic charging ring, the same way Apple uses MagSafe on every iPhone.
Samsung couldn’t make it happen for the Galaxy S26, which has no built-in magnets. The workaround is a set of official Samsung cases with integrated magnets, alongside a Qi2 magnetic battery pack that can snap onto the Galaxy S26 if a magnetic case is fitted. The Galaxy S27 Ultra appears to be Samsung finally doing it properly, without needing a case at all.
