Samsung is preparing to break from a flagship structure it has maintained since the Galaxy S20 launched in 2020, according to a report published May 20 by South Korean trade publication ETNews. The company is developing a Galaxy S27 Pro — a fourth mainline Galaxy S model — with a 6.47-inch OLED display, positioning it between the standard Galaxy S27 and the Galaxy S27 Plus in size. The source quoted by ETNews is explicit: "Next year's Galaxy S27 is being prepared with four models, and the new model is scheduled to feature a new 6.47-inch display size that Samsung Electronics has never attempted before."

The current Galaxy S26 measures 6.3 inches; the Galaxy S26 Plus comes in at 6.7 inches; the Galaxy S26 Ultra tops out at 6.89 inches. A 6.47-inch Pro model would occupy a previously empty slot in Samsung's lineup and, according to multiple sources corroborating the ETNews report, would share most of its hardware with the more expensive Ultra rather than the standard tier.

Ultra Specs, Smaller Body, No Stylus

Leaked specifications reported by SamMobile, Gizchina, and SammyGuru describe the Galaxy S27 Pro's spec sheet as nearly identical to the S27 Ultra's: a next-generation Snapdragon chipset built on a 2nm process, Samsung's Privacy Display technology — currently exclusive to the Ultra — a 200-megapixel primary camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom. The one confirmed absence is the S Pen. Samsung's decision to omit the stylus is structurally practical: the S Pen requires internal housing that a 6.47-inch chassis cannot easily accommodate, and keeping it Ultra-exclusive preserves the largest model's clearest selling point.

A pricing estimate of around $1,100 has been floated by leaker Yeux1122, a figure that would position the Pro between the Plus and the Ultra — though that number carries heavy caveats and has not been independently confirmed.

Why Galaxy S25 Edge Failed and What Samsung Learned

The Galaxy S27 Pro's design logic is a direct response to what went wrong with the Galaxy S25 Edge. Samsung had bet heavily on ultra-thinness as a differentiator when it launched the 5.8mm Edge in May 2025. The phone sold below expectations — badly enough that Samsung cut production within its first month on shelves, according to a report from South Korean industry outlet The Elec. Samsung had originally planned for the Edge to replace the Galaxy S26 Plus entirely; instead, the Plus returned to the S26 lineup and the Edge experiment was shelved.

The lesson the Galaxy S25 Edge delivered was specific: premium Android buyers are not willing to trade battery life and camera hardware for thinness alone. The Galaxy S27 Pro applies the same insight from a different direction — rather than shrinking the chassis at the cost of internals, it shrinks the chassis while keeping the internals intact.

Samsung Mirrors Apple's Four-Tier Playbook

Apple established a four-tier iPhone structure with the iPhone 17 series in September 2025: a 6.3-inch standard model, a 6.5-inch Air, a 6.3-inch Pro, and a 6.9-inch Pro Max. The architecture gives Apple four distinct price points and form factors that collectively capture a wider range of buyer preferences without cannibalizing the top-tier model. Samsung's rumored four-model Galaxy S27 structure — standard, Plus, Pro, Ultra — mirrors this approach closely, with the Pro occupying a position analogous to Apple's iPhone 17 Pro: similar hardware to the flagship Max, in a more manageable size.

Critics have noted that the Galaxy S26 series, launched in February 2026, offered incremental upgrades — a slightly larger 6.3-inch screen on the standard model and an unchanged camera system on the Plus for another consecutive year. A fourth Galaxy S tier gives Samsung a structural answer to buyer fatigue that hardware specs alone have not provided.

Galaxy S27 Pro Price and Launch Timeline

Samsung has not officially confirmed the Galaxy S27 Pro's existence. Based on prior Galaxy S launch cadences, the S27 series is expected to debut at a Samsung Unpacked event in January 2027. Pricing for the Pro model is estimated above the Galaxy S27 Plus while staying below the Galaxy S27 Ultra.

The Galaxy S27 Ultra itself is shaping up to be a significant upgrade: leaked specs point to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 on a 2nm process, a new 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP6 sensor with LOFIC technology for improved dynamic range, a silicon-carbon battery at 5,500mAh — up from the S26 Ultra's 5,000mAh — and UFS 5.0 storage on Pro and Ultra variants. If the Pro model inherits that camera stack in a more compact body, it would represent the most meaningful addition Samsung has made to its flagship lineup in years.