The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra might be a year away yet, but that hasn't stopped the rumour mill from turning already.

It is tipped to come with a periscope camera with a continuous zoom, which could dramatically improved zoomed images in comparison to the fixed lens periscope camera in the S21 Ultra.

Trusted leaker Ice Universe revealed on Weibo that Samsung's electromechanics and semiconductor arms have joined forces on a new continuous zoom solution that could be adopted by next year's flagship.

It uses a periscope lens unit that can move the lenses freely between 3X and 10X zoom, greatly increasing the optical zoom capabilities and reducing the need for additional digital wizardry.

As SamMobile states, the Sony Xperia 1 III already uses similar technology, but only runs between 3X and 4.4X zoom.

When added to a former rumour that the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will adopt Samsung's 200-megapixel sensor, we could be looking at the best smartphone camera on the market yet.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra tipped to have

Continuous zoom lens units could creep into other smartphones too, of course. Ofilm is one company to have demonstrated its equivalent last year. However, few are likely to sport the same large sensor too - at least in the short term.