The Xiaomi 16 Ultra will likely be the only camera flagship with a 1-inch sensor and 200-MP telephoto lens in 2026, as a leaker predicted a few weeks ago, and he may be right. After Vivo abandoned the extra-large sensor for its main camera with the X200 series in 2025, Oppo fans are also facing the same move next year. Whether this will be a downgrade to the Oppo Find X8 Ultra is not as clear as it seems at first glance. The Hasselblad flagship of 2026 could be the first smartphone to hit the market with a dual 200-MP solution, as previously speculated.
Recent test devices seem to confirm these plans as Digital Chat Station recently pointed out on Weibo. The Snapdragon 8 Elite 2-powered Find X9 Ultra is said to utilize a particularly large 200-MP sensor as its main camera, he states, likely referring to Sony’s first 1/1.1-inch 200-MP sensor. Compared to the previous maximum 1/1.3-inch Samsung counterparts, such as the ISOCELL HP2 in the Galaxy S25 Ultra, this would be a potent replacement for the current LYT-900 sensor.
There are also likely to be major changes to the telephoto lens. Instead of the previously unique dual periscope telephoto lens, a 200-MP sensor will likely be installed, like in the Vivo X200 Ultra and the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. And there could be another change to the Hasselblad camera in 2026, namely a new “multi-zone” spectral sensor for improved color fidelity in photos. In another post, the leaker hinted that other Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Vivo, Honor or Huawei may also utilize this technology in their next camera flagships.
Digital Chat Station Weibo (1, 2)
As a young tech enthusiast with a history involving assembling and overclocking projects, I ended up working as a projectionist with good old 35-mm films before I entered the computer world at a professional level. I assisted customers at an Austrian IT service provider called Iphos IT Solutions for seven years, working as a Windows client and server administrator as well as a project manager. As a freelancer who travels a lot, I have been able to write for Notebookcheck from all corners of the world since 2016. My articles cover brand-new mobile technologies in smartphones, laptops, and gadgets of all kinds.
Growing up in regional Australia, I first became acquainted with computers in my early teens after a broken leg from a football (soccer) match temporarily condemned me to a predominately indoor lifestyle. Soon afterwards I was building my own systems. Now I live in Germany, having moved here in 2014, where I study philosophy and anthropology. I am particularly fascinated by how computer technology has fundamentally and dramatically reshaped human culture, and how it continues to do so.