Samsung reportedly bringing this major redesign back from the dead with Galaxy S27 [Gallery]

Galaxy S26 Edge

The camera bar design making its way to the Galaxy S27 Ultra is not a fresh concept from Samsung's drawing board. According to the leaks, this same visual language was originally in development for the Galaxy S26 Edge before Samsung reportedly canceled that device. The decision to revive it for a different flagship suggests the company's industrial design team had already invested significant effort into the look and saw an opportunity to repurpose it rather than scrap the work entirely.

This kind of design recycling is increasingly common in smartphone development, where hardware roadmaps are planned years in advance. Canceled projects often leave behind engineering assets and aesthetic choices that can be reassigned to successors. Samsung's apparent willingness to bring the Galaxy S26 Edge's planned look to the Ultra indicates that component suppliers may already have tooling and layouts ready to support the camera bar arrangement, which could help control production costs and speed up the timeline for the early-2027 launch window.

iPhone 17 series

The article draws a direct visual parallel between the leaked Galaxy S27 design and Apple's iPhone 17 series. Both feature what is often called a camera plateau, a raised area on the back of the phone that spans the full width of the device and houses the lens array. The leaked renders show two camera lenses on the left, a pill-shaped cutout that appears to contain a third lens, and a flash, all sitting within this elevated platform. The visual similarity is hard to miss.

For Samsung, adopting a design language already associated with the iPhone carries both risk and opportunity. On one hand, it signals that Samsung sees the camera plateau as the new default for premium phones in 2027 and does not want to look visually behind. On the other hand, critics may argue that Samsung is following rather than leading, a recurring critique of the company's design choices over the past several generations. The rumor that the Ultra will drop its secondary telephoto lens this year adds a cost-conscious note to an otherwise premium-looking design refresh.

The Cipher Project

Color information for the Galaxy S27 series comes from a separate source, The Cipher Project, posting on Telegram. According to that account, the lineup will be available in black, white, blue, purple, and pink colorways, with these colors spanning the entire range rather than being split between the Ultra and other models. A unified color strategy across the lineup would simplify marketing and accessories production, a practical consideration that often gets overlooked in coverage focused on specs and design.

The five-color palette is broader than Samsung has sometimes offered for its S-series flagships, particularly if the pink option makes it to the Ultra tier. Past Ultra releases have tended toward more conservative finishes aimed at enterprise and power users. Adding pink to that mix, if accurate, would suggest Samsung is trying to broaden the Ultra's appeal beyond its traditional buyer profile and compete more directly with Apple's tendency to offer playful color options even on its highest-end Pro models.