Samsung follows Apple and turns your Galaxy S26 Ultra into a broadcast camera
Live sports might never look the same after this.
Galaxy S25 Ultra at the SLS Super Crown World Championship. | Image by Samsung
The Galaxy S26 Ultra just proved it can hang with professional broadcast cameras, and the footage is going to change how you watch live sports.
Samsung has confirmed that its new Galaxy S26 Ultra was used to film a live Street League Skateboarding (SLS) competition for the first time at the SLS DTLA Takeover this Saturday (April 4). This follows their announcement back in December of their new partnership with the SLS.
Samsung embedded the phones directly into course features like rails, ledges, and gaps to capture skater-level perspectives that traditional broadcast cameras can't get close to. That footage fed straight into the live production workflow, enabling near-instant replays from angles never seen in a skateboarding broadcast before.
Samsung highlighted that the S26 Ultra's wider f/1.4 aperture on the main camera pulls in roughly 47% more light than the S25 Ultra, something we broke down in our camera comparison. That matters here because skateboarding competitions involve fast-moving athletes, unpredictable lighting, and zero room for a second take.
Additionally, Samsung states features like Super Steady with horizontal lock stabilization and Instant Slow-Mo were used to keep footage broadcast-ready. This is exactly the kind of high-pressure scenario where those improvements actually prove themselves.
That said, Samsung isn't the only company doing this. Apple is doing the same thing with baseball.
Samsung is embedding the Galaxy S26 Ultra directly into skateboarding courses
Samsung has confirmed that its new Galaxy S26 Ultra was used to film a live Street League Skateboarding (SLS) competition for the first time at the SLS DTLA Takeover this Saturday (April 4). This follows their announcement back in December of their new partnership with the SLS.
How the Galaxy S26 Ultra's camera pulls this off
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra was also used at the SLS Super Crown World Championship. | Images by Samsung
Samsung highlighted that the S26 Ultra's wider f/1.4 aperture on the main camera pulls in roughly 47% more light than the S25 Ultra, something we broke down in our camera comparison. That matters here because skateboarding competitions involve fast-moving athletes, unpredictable lighting, and zero room for a second take.
A much bigger shift is already underway
That said, Samsung isn't the only company doing this. Apple is doing the same thing with baseball.
The iPhone 17 Pro was used as a primary camera during a live MLB broadcast on Apple TV last season, and one of those iPhones ended up in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Apple is also expanding that integration throughout the 2026 Friday Night Baseball season.
Both Samsung and Apple are proving that flagship phone cameras can work alongside traditional broadcast rigs. Samsung is scaling the Galaxy POV across the entire SLS 2026 season, and with LA 2028 approaching, this skateboarding partnership feels like a rehearsal for something much bigger.
If you own a Galaxy S26 Ultra, this is real-world validation that no benchmark can give you. The phone in your pocket is now the same one strapped to a skateboarding rail and used for live television.
How would you prefer to watch live sports in the future?
Your phone is now broadcast equipment
Both Samsung and Apple are proving that flagship phone cameras can work alongside traditional broadcast rigs. Samsung is scaling the Galaxy POV across the entire SLS 2026 season, and with LA 2028 approaching, this skateboarding partnership feels like a rehearsal for something much bigger.
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