Brilliant news for fans of the best Android phones from Samsung comes courtesy of a "100% confirmation" of advanced new tech debuting in the incoming Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra flagship.
And, for fans of the South Korean maker's phone camera systems, it truly is great news, with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra reported to feature a new 200MP main camera with 0.6μm, 1/1.3", F1.7 ISOCELL sensor.
The confirmation of these next-gen camera system specs comes courtesy of Samsung's own leakster-in-chief, Ice universe, who states on Twitter that "100% confirmed, S23 Ultra main camera: < 200MP,0.6μm,1/1.3",F1.7 >".
For those not in the know, Ice universe has a bullet proof reputation stretching back over half a decade now of accurately calling future Samsung mobile phone technology months before it is officially announced. So the fact that Ice says he is 100% confident in this tech coming to the Galaxy S23 Ultra adds incredible weight to its authenticity.
It now seems certain that Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will deliver this next-gen main camera.
The T3 take: A genuine reason to go Ultra
This isn't the first time we'd heard that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is going to come with a 200MP main camera sensor, with T3 reporting on it first back in July this year, but it the first time we'd heard the exact specs on offer.
And those specs do matter, as MP numbers on their own are far from the full picture when it comes round to how good a camera system is. What's unique here is that these specs differ from both the pre-existing ISOCELL HP1 and ISOCELL HP3 200MP camera modules on the market today.
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Samsung here instead have created a new module that, at least on paper, seems to sit between the HP1 and HP2 and offer an evolved experience, and this is going to debut on the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
From my perspective here as someone who has used basically every Samsung Galaxy flagship of note over the past 5 years, this main camera will likely go on to be the primary reason why any Android phone enthusiast would buy an S23 Ultra in 2023.
I've written before that Samsung appears to be shifting its premium phone business toward foldable phones and away from traditional one-screen devices, with the S-series phones becoming more iterative, the one-time technical leader Note series folded into it, and new innovations shifting towards foldables. However, the one area where single-screen phones are still leading the technological charge is in camera systems.
As powerful and awesome as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 are, their camera systems pale in comparison to that on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and it is now clear that trend is going to continue into 2023 with the S23 Ultra. If you want the best camera on a Samsung phone in 2023 then you're going to need to buy a S23 Ultra, it is that simple.
Whether or not the ground-breaking new camera will be enough to swing Android phone users to make the plunge remains unknown, as right now details are lacking in terms of what other upgrades the flagship will deliver over this year's device, but Samsung at least seems still dedicated to keep its single-screen flagship a technical leader in certain aspects and there's no doubting that a 200MP camera makes the Galaxy S23 Ultra sound even more appealing.
For me, personally, the idea of having one of the best foldable phones equipped with a 200MP camera main camera is the stuff that dreams are made of. I'm guessing, though, we may still be a fair few years of that happening.
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Rob has been writing about computing, gaming, mobile, home entertainment technology, toys (specifically Lego and board games), smart home and more for over 15 years. As the editor of PC Gamer, and former Deputy Editor for T3.com, you can find Rob's work in magazines, bookazines and online, as well as on podcasts and videos, too. Outside of his work Rob is passionate about motorbikes, skiing/snowboarding and team sports, with football and cricket his two favourites.
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