The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra absolutely smashed it this year, with T3 concluding on review that it "was the phone that the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra should of been."
One of the main factors that led to our verdict, which saw the Galaxy S21 Ultra receive a maximum score of 5 stars, was the handset's "feature packed camera system", which offered an incredible camera suite that packed excellent core functionality as well as advanced features like 100x periscope zoom.
The result of this is that right now the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is one of the phones with a truly elite-tier camera system on the market today, and arguably it could be considered as the absolute best.
And now, despite leaks pointing toward a strong Apple iPhone 13 camera offering this year, it looks like Samsung isn't resting on its laurels, with a brand new leak from the Samsung smartphone leakster-in-chief, Ice Universe, indicating that the Galaxy S22 Ultra is going to come with a hyper advanced "continuous zoom" periscope camera.
According to Ice Universe, who now has years of accurate leaking of future Samsung smartphone tech under his belt, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will come with an improved periscope camera with continuous zoom. This is going to be different to the periscope zoom lens on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra as it will be able to move dynamically (see above gif), rather than being fixed in place.
The result of this change is that instead of having to relay on a separate intermediary zoom lens or image cropping, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's periscope lens will be able to move freely from 3x to 10x zoom levels, thereby offering far superior optical sharpness and detailing at higher magnification levels.
This continuous zoom tech is used right now on DSLR cameras but, in the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, it would set a new benchmark for smartphone cameras.
This news is even more exciting when you factor in that the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is also rumored to be introducing an under-panel camera. This will mean there will be no notch, pinhole or pop-up mechanism on the handset, and that its selfie camera will be hidden underneath the phone's display. This will mean a true all-screen display.
And, well, if that is true then the iPhone 13 range, even including the range-topping iPhone 13 Pro Max, will have truly god-tier competition in the market mere months after it is released that will outgun its camera systems considerably. That is definitely something for Apple to be concerned about – as if Samsung is offering world-leading camera functionality with advanced features like continuous zoom and an under-panel selfie camera, how many heads will get turned?
Right now the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is slated for an early 2022 release, with an unveiling in January or February nailed on. Here's hoping, then, that these camera reports prove accurate, as if they are then the S22 Ultra already is making a huge stride towards the best phones throne.
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