For months now we’ve been hearing that the main – and perhaps only – camera upgrade on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra would be a new 200MP primary sensor, but a leak now suggests that we might see improvements to two of the other rear lenses, as well.
Seemingly official leather cases for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra are being sold on the German eBay site – as spotted by leaker SnoopyTech – and at first glance they look like they could fit a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
But @UniverseIce – another leaker – has posted an image of one of these side by side with the equivalent case for the Galaxy S22 Ultra, and there are some clear differences.
S22 Ultra vs S23 Ultra pic.twitter.com/HuLmBAhNr7January 9, 2023
As well as the power and volume buttons being slightly lower on the new cases, the three largest camera lens cut-outs are bigger than on the case for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Assuming the cameras are arranged in the same way on the S23 Ultra, that means the main lens, the ultra-wide and the periscope lens could all be bigger this year.
In the case of the main camera, that’s no surprise, since reports suggest it’s moving from a 108MP sensor to a new 200MP one, but for the additional sensors, we’d once again see a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a 10MP periscope, with 10x optical zoom.
Of course, we still might see those things. These case images might be inaccurate, and even if they’re right, there’s a high chance Samsung has just upped the size of the other lenses to make them more uniform, without actually improving the cameras behind. But it gives us hope that there might be some unknown upgrades.
Analysis: with or without additional upgrades, the S23 Ultra will be the camera phone to beat in 2023
While we’d love to see Samsung make meaningful improvements to the ultra-wide and telephoto cameras on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, even without those things, this is likely to be the best camera phone on the planet when it launches.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra currently tops our list of the best camera phones, so unless Samsung really drops the ball with this rumored 200MP sensor, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is likely to take its place at the top of the list.
Samsung’s zoom photography is already way ahead of the competition too, so the company probably doesn’t have much incentive to improve the telephoto cameras right now, and with four lenses to play with, the S22 Ultra is already a more versatile camera phone than most flagships.
So while these case images give us some hope that we’ll see additional upgrades to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s cameras, there’s a high chance we won’t, and that won’t stop this being the ultimate camera phone.
Still, if there are minimal upgrades then that gives the likes of the iPhone 15 and other anticipated phones the chance to catch up.
