Samsung’s Galaxy S line hasn’t seen a dramatic visual overhaul since the S21 Ultra introduced its now-familiar vertical camera island back in 2021. That could be about to change. New leaks suggest the Galaxy S27 series may bring the biggest design shift to Samsung’s flagship lineup in years — and it involves going back to the future.
According to multiple leakers, including well-known tipster Ice Universe, Samsung is exploring a horizontal, pill-shaped camera bar for the Galaxy S27 Ultra, replacing the vertical camera arrangement that’s defined every Ultra model since the S21. The design echoes the Galaxy S10 5G’s camera island from 2019 — a horizontal, flush-mounted layout Samsung abandoned just a year later in favor of the cornered, boxier look introduced with the S20 series.
Samsung Galaxy S27 series could bring the biggest design change to the Galaxy S lineup in years. 👀
The rumored design suggests Samsung may be bringing back the horizontal camera bar look, reminiscent of the iconic Galaxy S10 era.
📱 Galaxy S10 5G (2019) inspired camera island… pic.twitter.com/OwFXXoqlsK
— Saurav (@Saurav_DJ47) May 31, 2026
Renders shared online show a black or body-matching pill-shaped bar running across the top of the rear panel, housing the phone’s lenses and flash in a single, unified strip rather than the isolated camera-ring design Samsung has used since the S23 series.
The redesign isn’t purely cosmetic. Reports suggest the shift is driven by hardware needs — specifically, making room for a Qi2 magnetic charging ring, Samsung’s answer to Apple’s MagSafe ecosystem. Positioning the magnet ring properly reportedly required rethinking the camera layout, since the older vertical island didn’t leave enough usable space on the back panel.
There’s also a competitive angle. Google’s Pixel series has used a similar horizontal camera bar since the Pixel 6 in 2021, and comparisons between the two designs have already started circulating. While it would be a stretch to call Samsung’s move a copy, the resemblance is hard to miss.
The redesign reportedly ties into other camera changes for the S27 Ultra, including a possible new 200MP main sensor with variable aperture, and the potential removal of the dedicated 3x telephoto lens in favor of a longer periscope zoom paired with high-resolution cropping. None of these camera hardware details are confirmed, and some reports remain inconsistent on the exact specifics.
This design shift is expected to extend across the Galaxy S27 lineup to varying degrees, differing mainly in lens count between the base S27, S27+, and the Ultra/Pro models. It also lines up with other rumored S27 upgrades, including Privacy Display hardware expanding to every model in the series.
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