One UI 8.5 firmware leak is a gift that keeps on giving. The software upgrade is planned for the Galaxy S26 series. Its changelog was tipped a few days ago, and now a deeper look at its source code has spilled more secrets. The leakers have found a few images teasing the design of Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra.
The new S26 models apparently have codes M1, M2, and M3, arranged by their ranks, of course. These aren’t exactly the realistic renders we have been seeing in leaks; just the 2D shapes and silhouettes. But they are crucial for two reasons.
Because they are found in the One UI 8.5 firmware file, and they perfectly match the previously leaked renders, the designs you are seeing here are pretty much set in stone now. If the rumor mill was right about the S26 series’ new look, it could also be right about the reduced thickness.
The renders show a vertical camera island and a triple-lens stack inside. Those are M1 and M2 models, with just three cameras. There’s a third model in the images with the same vertical camera strip and two additional sensors on the outer boundaries. That’s M3 or Galaxy S26 Ultra.
The reason for this sudden shift in design has something to do with the thickness of each handset. IceUniverse had shared a render on social media earlier. It showed a large camera plateau, almost half the thickness of the Samsung flagship new model.
The Ultra’s thickness may have been trimmed to just 7.9mm (down from 8.2mm on the Galaxy S25 Ultra). Yet the camera bump hasn’t been tweaked at all. In fact, it’s worse on the newer model. It sticks out by an additional 4.5mm on the S26 Ultra, which adds up to 12.4mm depth at its thickest point. This is good news for some, bad news for others.
Sure, the phone will wobble on flat surfaces. Then again, the thicker camera bump is a sign of a better lens setup. So that’s something you can look forward to. This will happen to all Galaxy S26 models, by the way. They will be thinner at the frame, but the depth will be worse with the camera island combined. These changes are almost guaranteed after today’s leak.
