The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's main camera conscionable had caller details leaked acknowledgment to Twitter tipster Ice Universe (opens successful caller tab). And it's sounding similar the adjacent Samsung flagship telephone volition person an tremendous main sensor to spell up against the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

In the archetypal tweet connected this topic, IU adds further value to the rumor that the S23 Ultra volition usage a 200MP main camera. He adds that he's "almost 100% sure" that the sensor volition beryllium "an unreleased HP2", referring to the ISOCELL HP bid of 200MP sensors that Samsung Semiconductor makes. Samsung has already produced HP1 and HP3 sensors successful this line, but as IU says successful effect to different user (opens successful caller tab), the HP2 volition beryllium the champion of the bunch.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra, similar the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S20 Ultra earlier it, uses a 108MP camera, already 1 of the highest solution sensors you tin find connected a smartphone. Going up to 200MP would let for adjacent much item successful shots, oregon enhanced brightness by utilizing pixel-binning to harvester pixels' airy information together, arsenic the 108MP S22 Ultra's camera does by default.

By comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are tipped to see a caller 48MP main sensor on with 8K video support. Clearly, that solution is good beneath the 200MP Samsung whitethorn connection for the S23 Ultra, but megapixels aren't everything. 

And this is wherever things get interesting. IU's 2nd tweet astir this camera hints that the S23 Ultra's 200MP sensor volition usage 0.6μm (micrometer) pixels. Looking astatine an earlier tweet from IU, this puts the HP2's pixel size betwixt that of the HP1 (0.64μm) and HP3 (0.54μm). These are lone precise flimsy size differences, but sitting betwixt the 2 extremes volition hopefully let the HP2 to equilibrium full sensor size with the magnitude of airy it's capable to capture.

We person seen what camera sensors of this solution tin bash thanks to the Motorola X30 Pro/Edge 30 Pro, which uses the HP1 sensor for its 200MP main camera. It'll beryllium absorbing to spot however Samsung manages to physique connected this with the updated HP3 sensor, its ain almighty camera processing and effectual pro-grade camera apps similar Expert RAW.

We conscionable anticipation that if Samsung is upgrading the Galaxy S23 Ultra's main camera, we don't spot the teething problems that the Galaxy S20 Ultra experienced. Samsung's intelligibly learned from that acquisition with much caller 108MP camera phones, but caller hardware could origin different problems that would jeopardize the Galaxy S22 Ultra's precocious presumption connected our best camera phones guide.

Where Samsung truly needs to measurement up against the iPhone 14 Pro is computational photography and representation processing. In our Galaxy S22 Ultra vs iPhone 13 Pro Max face-off, we recovered that Samsung's camera did not execute arsenic well. The iPhone delivered crisper and brighter images, particularly indoors, and portraits besides looked amended done Apple's camera. 

We're astir apt going to person to hold until January for Samsung to motorboat the Galaxy S23 series, including the Ultra model. Take a look astatine our rumor hub linked supra if you privation to cognize what's been rumored truthful far, including, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset worldwide and improved selfie cameras for the basal and Plus models.

Richard is simply a Tom's Guide unit writer based successful London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, gaming, audio and immoderate other radical request proposal on. Following connected from his MA successful Magazine Journalism astatine the University of Sheffield, he's besides written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not astatine work, he's apt reasoning astir however to brew the cleanable cupful of specialty coffee.