Add MobilityArena as a preferred source on Google
If you are hunting for Samsung phones with telephoto lens, we have the list for you. In addition, this article explains and shows you how to figure out which future models will have the same feature. This is because Samsung has a clear-cut strategy for determining which models get the feature.
How useful is a telephoto lens on a cell phone ? Telephoto lens offer one major benefit – the ability to zoom in ( Optical zoom ) on a scene or a subject without losing any detail. Other phones offer digital zoom, which is the phone using clever software to crop into the subject you want to focus on. Optical zoom is true zoom. As such, Samsung phones with a telephoto lens enable you to take fantastic, detailed zoom shots.
Which Samsung phones have a telephoto lens?
- 2024 Samsung phones with telephoto lens
- Older Samsung phones with telephoto lens
- The best Samsung phone with telephoto lens
Which Samsung phones have a telephoto lens? Here is a comprehensive list of Samsung smartphones equipped with a telephoto lens in the last three years. If you opt to buy any of these phones listed below, you would be getting a solid camera phone.
2024 Samsung phones with telephoto lens
- Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy S24+
- Samsung Galaxy S24
Older Samsung phones with telephoto lens
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus
- Samsung Galaxy S23
- Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S22+ 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S22 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G
- Samsung Galaxy A72
Looking at the above list, you must have noticed a pattern: they are almost all premium and budget flagship models. All the Samsung phones with a telepoto lens are flagship models in the Galaxy S and Galaxy Z series, plus a top Galaxy A series model from 2021. Why is this?
A telephoto lens is an advanced piece of work, and an expensive item, too. As such, you don’t find entry-level Android phones with one. Outside of Samsung, some premium mid-rangers from other cell phone brands have the feature, but they are the creme-de-la-creme of the mid-range. Besides that, telephoto lenses are a rare occurrence outside of premium flagships.
As you can see from the list, Samsung put a telephoto lens in the Galaxy A72 models and abandoned the idea of telephoto lens in the A-Series after that, effectively now making it an all-flagship affair. There has not been a telephoto lens in an A-Series smartphone from Samsung in years.
Even Apple puts a telephoto lens in only its top iPhone models . The iPhone SE range lack a telephoto lens. In the iPhone 14 lineup, only the Pro and Pro Max models have a telephoto lens. I am sure you get the picture now. As a matter of fact, one easy way to tell if a camera phone is top notch is to check whether a telephoto lens is on the list of features and specs. If it is, you are looking at a solid camera phone.
To answer the question, Which Samsung phones have a telephoto lens? The answer is: premium flagship Samsung models. These are models in the S-series and Z-series. You can use this simple hack to figure out which future models will have telephoto lens. Of course, Samsung may change their approach at any time and include telephoto lens in other class of phones. But you can be sure that premium flagship Samsung models will almost always have it.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 10x optical zoom telephoto lens. See ourhands-on review.
The best Samsung phone with telephoto lens
As at December 2022 to Q1 2023 when this article was originally written, the best Samsung phone with a telephoto lens was the Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G . Its amazing telephoto periscope camera allows for up to 10x optical zoom and has produced some of the most fantastic zoom photography ever on a mobile phone.
2023 Update: The Galaxy S23 Ultra is official and has pipped the S22 Ultra 5G to become the most capable Samsung phone with a telephoto lens. If you want the best Samsung camera phone, all you have to do is buy the top premium flagship model: it will surely have a telephoto lens and produce great photos and videos.
2024 update: The title now belongs to the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold5. Of course, that will change again and again each time the next generation of premium flagship Samsung devices is announced. Whatever models are the top premium flagship Samsung devices per time will wear that crown and bear that title.
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
Add MobilityArena as a preferred source on Google
Samsung Galaxy smartphones are known worldwide as one of the best smartphone manufacturers on the planet. The brand was created by the South Korean technology company, Samsung Electronics, and comprise of series of mobile computing devices.
This brand of electronics products, first introduced in 2009, includes smartphones (Galaxy A, F, M, and S series), tablets (Galaxy Tab series), foldable devices (Galaxy Z series), as well as smartwatches and laptops.
Samsung Galaxy logo
The Samsung Galaxy brand in brief:
- Manufacturer : Samsung Electronics
- Product Types : Smartphones, Tablets, Folding devices, Smartwatches, Wireless Earbuds, Laptops
- Release Date : 29 June 2009
- Operating System : Android OS, Wear OS, Chrome OS.
Samsung Smartphones
Samsung smartphones are grouped into a number of different series, to target different segments of the market. Below are the groupings.
Samsung Galaxy S series: is a chain of premium smartphones released once a year. The Galaxy S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra and the latest models in the series, and were released in February 2022.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy Z series: The Galaxy Z series is a chain of foldable mobile devices. The Galaxy Z series is divided into two, the Z Fold and the Z Flip. The most recent models from this series are the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4 which were released in August 2022.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4
Samsung Galaxy A (Alpha) series: The Galaxy A series is a chain of mid-range smartphones in the Galaxy series. The Galaxy A series has slightly lower specifications and features than its premium Galaxy Z and Galaxy S siblings. This is Samsung’s most successful product line.
Samsung Galaxy A23 5G
Samsung Galaxy M (Millennial) series: The Galaxy M series is a chain of mid-range low-end smartphones. It is the successor of both the Galaxy J and Galaxy On series. The latest models from the series are the Galaxy M52 5G, Galaxy M40, Galaxy M31, and the Galaxy M11.
Samsung Galaxy M32 5G
Samsung Galaxy F (Fun) series: The Galaxy F series is one of the latest series in the Galaxy line that focuses on low-end phones that was first released in 2020. Some of the most recent releases in the series are the Galaxy F62, and the Galaxy F12.
Samsung Galaxy F42 5G
Samsung Galaxy XCover series: The Galaxy XCover series is another line of low-end specifications focused on rugged phones. These are phones designed to endure impact, shock, water and dust.
Samsung Galaxy XCover FieldPro
Scrapped/Discontinued Smartphones
Some series have been scrapped and the production of these devices stopped. They include the Galaxy Note, Galaxy J, and Galaxy Grand, among countless other models.
The Galaxy Note series was a chain of premium devices primarily oriented toward pen computing. The Galaxy S Ultra replaced the Galaxy Note series.
The Galaxy Core/Grand series is a chain of mid-range devices released between 2013 and 2015. The Galaxy J series replaced the Galaxy Grand series.
The Galaxy J series itself was replaced by the Galaxy A series in 2019. It focused on entry-level smartphones.
The Galaxy Mega series was last released in 2014 with the Galaxy Mega. The line was replaced by the Galaxy M series.
The Galaxy On series is a line of online-exclusive phones. The series was replaced by the Galaxy M series.
The Galaxy Mini series was last released in 2012 with the Galaxy Mini 2.
The Galaxy Trend series was last released in 2013 with the Galaxy Trend Plus.
The Galaxy Ace series was last released in 2014 with the Galaxy Ace 4.
The Galaxy R Series was last released in 2012 with the Galaxy R Style.
The Galaxy Young series was last released in 2014 with the Galaxy Young 2.
The Galaxy Pocket series was last released in 2014 with the Galaxy Pocket 2.
The Galaxy C series was a line of upper mid-range devices for specific markets. The latest smartphone released under this series was the Galaxy C8.
The Galaxy E series was replaced by the Galaxy F Series.
SamsungTablets
Samsung Galaxy Tab series is a chain of Android-powered tablets divided into the Galaxy Tab S and Galaxy Tab A series. The Galaxy Tab S is the premium line of the Galaxy Tab series that focuses mainly on pen computing and overall efficiency and productivity. The latest models of the Galaxy Tab S were released in February 2022, they include the Galaxy Tab S8, S8+, and S8 Ultra. The Galaxy Tab A is the other half of the Galaxy Tab series that focuses on mid-range down to low-end tablets with lower specifications and features than the Galaxy Tab S series.
SamsungSmartwatches
The first Samsung smartwatch to sport the “Galaxy” label was the Galaxy Gear. It was released in 2013. Samsung smartwatches after the Galaxy Gear did not have the “Galaxy” label and used the “Samsung Gear” label. The Samsung Gear series was eventually replaced by the Samsung Galaxy Watch series.
May 2014 marked the change of the operating system of the Galaxy Gear from Android to Tizen. The Galaxy Watch, like other newer Samsung Galaxy devices post-2019, runs Samsung’s One UI.
SamsungWireless Earbuds
The Galaxy Buds were released on the 8th of March, 2019 as the replacement for the Samsung Gear IconX. The most recent model is the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro released on the 26th of August, 2022.
SamsungLaptops
In 2020, Samsung joined the list of laptop manufacturers, with the arrival of the Galaxy Chromebook (a two-in-one laptop running on ChromeOS) to the Galaxy brand. The laptops run Chrome OS. The latest version of Galaxy Chromebook is the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2, released in 2021.
SamsungSmart tags
The Galaxy Smart Tag , as the name implies, is a tag you can attach to anything, in particular, to help you keep tabs on them. It can be used to find objects and items that it is attached to. It can also perform a few other functions. It is powered by Bluetooth.
Other Galaxy devices
A couple of other devices that have the “Galaxy” branding include:
Cameras
- Samsung Galaxy Camera
- Samsung Galaxy Camera 2
- Samsung Galaxy NX
Media player
- Samsung Galaxy Player
Projectors
- Samsung Galaxy Beam i8520
- Samsung Galaxy Beam i8530
Operating Systems used in Samsung Galaxy devices
Samsung smartphones use One UI, a modified version of the Android operating system. Android OS is developed by Google. The predecessors of One UI were called Samsung Experience and TouchWiz both of which were also Android-based.
The Galaxy Chromebook laptop runs ChromeOS, while the Galaxy Watch series run Wear OS, another Android-based operating system. The Galaxy TabPro S was a line of tablets that ran Windows operating system.
- Don’t miss our mobile phone reviews .
- Join our WhatsApp Group , to be notified of the most important articles and deals,
- Follow us on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , and YouTube .
Author:Flamez
Flamez loves basketball, art, gadgets and cars.
