Samsung seems ready to ditch the individual floating camera lenses they’ve used on the latest Ultra flagships. A fresh wave of protective accessory leaks suggests that the upcoming Galaxy S27 Ultra will have a unified rear camera island, but the latest case designs raise a bizarre technical question about where key sensors – including the AF laser – will actually sit.
According to tech tipster Ice Universe on X, four increasingly precise case iterations give us our clearest look yet at the phone’s back panel. While early protective covers only have wide, generic cutouts, the latest accessories show exact locations for the internal lens array.
How to fix progressive case leakage early CAD errors
Early factory CAD renderings for Galaxy S27 Ultra cases leave a lot to interpretation. They show two vertically stacked primary lenses next to an elongated section without specifying what sat inside. The first case leak exposed just the rough border, while the second defined the primary camera cutouts. The third case outlined the larger camera island but left the inner layout of the right vertical oval a complete mystery.
The fourth case model finally answers these structural questions. It confirms that the top of the vertical oval holds the phone’s third telephoto camera, while a noticeably smaller circular opening sits right below it for the LED flash. This precision refines previous fan concepts that guessed how the secondary camera housing would fit together.
The missing laser autofocus puzzle
Accounting for the telephoto lens and LED flash presents an unexpected hardware puzzle: there is no visible slot for the laser autofocus sensor. Previous leaks suggested that the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra would pack the third camera, LED flash, and laser AF hardware in this specific oval section.
This missing cutout doesn’t mean Samsung has ditched autofocus hardware from its next flagship, however. The company could easily position the laser AF sensor behind translucent glass, integrate it directly into an existing camera housing or hide it under another part of the rear panel. As the accessory shapes are refined at launch, upcoming cases should clarify whether Samsung is redesigning its autofocus array or simply hiding the hardware under the rear glass.