Samsung announces Galaxy S23 Ultra with beefy 200-megapixel primary camera

At Samsung’s recent Unpacked event in San Francisco, California, the company announced its flagship Galaxy S23 series and its headliner, the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The high-end smartphone features a 200-megapixel primary camera as its highlight feature. I tested the new camera out, and you can learn more about it in my S23 Ultra hands-on.

The S23 Ultra’s aforementioned 200-megapixel primary camera offers impressive low-light performance. In my testing, the lens actually does take better pictures than the 108-megapixel sensor featured in its predecessor. Further, the S23 Ultra can now snap astrophotography pictures and full-resolution 200-megapixel images that are perfect for being blown up. Alongside the 200-megapixel shooter, the handset offers the same other camera sensors as the S22, which means it features a 12-megapixel ultrawide shooter, 10-megapixel telephoto with 3x zoom and another lens with 10x zoom.

It’s important to note that the S23 Ultra’s front-facing camera features a minor downgrade and now offers a 12-megapixel sensor compared to the 40-megapixel shooter in the S22.

Specs

Galaxy S23 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Display

6.8-inch Curved Dynamic AMOLED, 1,440 x 3,200 pixels, 20:9 aspect ratio, 120Hz display (variable 1-120Hz) HDR10+, 240Hz Touch Sampling in Games

6.8-inch Curved Dynamic AMOLED, 1,440 x 3,200 pixels, 20:9 aspect ratio, 120Hz display (variable 1-120Hz), HDR10+, 240Hz Touch Sampling in Games

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

RAM

8GB of RAM, 12GB of RAM

8GB of RAM, 12GB of RAM

Storage

256GB, 512GB, 1TB

128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

Dimensions

163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9mm

163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9mm

Weight

234g

229g

Rear Facing Camera

200-megapixel, 12-megapixel (f/2.2, 120-degree), 10-megapixel (f/4.9, 10x zoom), 10-megapixel (f/2.4, 3x zoom)

108-megapixel (f/1.8), 12-megapixel (f/2.2, 120-degree), 10-megapixel (f/4.9, 10x zoom), 10-megapixel (f/2.4, 3x zoom)

Front Facing Camera

12-megapixel

40-megapixel (f/2.2)

OS

Android 13, One UI 5.1

Android 12, One UI 4.1

Battery

5,000mAh

5,000mAh

Network Connectivity

5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E

5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E

Sensors

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometor, gyro, proximity, compass

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometor, gyro, proximity, compass

SIM Type

Nano SIM, eSIM

Nano SIM, eSIM

Launch Date

February 17, 2023

February 25, 2022

Misc

Colours: ‘Phantom Black,’ ‘Green,' 'Lavendar,' 'Creme'

Colours: 'Phantom Black,’ ‘Phantom White,’ ‘Green,’ ‘Burgundy,’ and Samsung exclusive colours ‘Gray,’ ‘Light Blue,’ and ‘Red.’ & S Pen with 2.8 m/s latency

Besides its cameras, the S23 Ultra features up to 12GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage (the 128GB option is gone), a 5,000mAh battery and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. The handset also has Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back to better protect against falls, and, of course, the device has an S Pen.

The S23 Ultra comes in ‘Phantom Black,’ ‘Green,’ ‘Cream,’ and ‘Lavender,’ while the smartphone is available in ‘Lime,’ ‘Graphite,’ ‘Red’ and ‘Sky Blue’ colourways exclusively on Samsung’s website. While all of the colour variants look pretty cool, the Lavender and Green models stand out to me as the best-looking. The s23 Ultra starts at $1,649.99 for the 256GB model, the 512GB variant costs $1,889.99, and the Samsung exclusive 1TB costs $2,209. The handset is available for pre-order now and release on February 17th.

For more on Samsung’s Galaxy S23 line, check out our hands-on with the new smartphones and all of our Unpacked 2023 content here.

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