From, United States
The race to make smartphones thinner is heating up again. After Samsung made headlines with the ultra-slim Galaxy S25 Edge, the company is now preparing to take the next step with its upcoming Galaxy S26 series. A recent leak from Korea suggests that Samsung is working on reducing the thickness of its camera modules, one of the main obstacles to achieving a truly thin design.
With rumors pointing to Apple launching a 5.5mm iPhone 17 Air later this year, the timing seems intentional. Over the past few years, camera bumps on Galaxy smartphones have grown significantly, mostly due to the complex, layered lens setups like the 5P and 6P configurations. These stacks rely on anti-reflective films to control internal light reflections, but they also add bulk to the camera unit.
The new approach reportedly involves replacing these films with a special anti-reflective matte ink. This coating achieves similar optical effects while being much thinner, potentially shaving off a noticeable amount of thickness from the lens assembly. If implemented in the Galaxy S26 lineup, this could be Samsung’s most meaningful attempt yet to reduce the size of the rear camera bump without compromising photo quality.
There are no official numbers or device details provided in the leak, but the change in design philosophy is clear. Thinner components, smarter materials, and less reliance on layered films could become the new standard.
Reports also point to the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus shipping with Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2600 chip in select markets. This chip is said to be built using Samsung’s 2nm process node, making it the first of its kind ahead of Apple, MediaTek, and Qualcomm, who are still relying on TSMC’s 3nm N3P nodes for now.
The Exynos 2600 is developed by Samsung’s System LSI division and could offer a boost in both power and efficiency. If true, the 2nm chip would be another step forward in Samsung’s plan to lead in mobile performance and design.
With more leaks likely in the coming months, it will be interesting to see how far Samsung goes in pushing the limits of thin smartphone design. If the rumors hold, the Galaxy S26 series may strike a balance between performance and a slimmer profile that consumers have been asking for.
