SMARTPHONE TEST
Samsung’s newest flagship has a 200MP sensor, but does that mean it’s still the best smartphone for photographers? asks Amy Davies
Samsung’s flagships have been the cameraphones to beat for quite a while, but with the devices getting better with every iteration, it’s perhaps fair to say that each new version is only a slight improvement on the last.
As such, the S23 Ultra, which follows on from last year’s S22 Ultra, doesn’t evolve the device too much, though once again it contains an array of excellent features which should be very appealing to the enthusiast photographer.
The big news is a jump in pixel for the main camera, with the S23 Ultra being the firm’s first to boast a 200MP sensor – aboost from last year’s 108MP device. As we’d expect, images are not output at 200MP by default, although you can shoot in superhigh-resolution mode if you really want to. Thanks to pixel binning, the standard 12MP resolution is what you’ll see and expect for almost all of your shots.
In front of the 200MP sensor is a stabilised 23mm equivalent f/1.7 lens, while there are three more cameras also available to choose from. There’s an ultrawide 12MP, 13mm equivalent f/2.2 combination, and two telephoto lenses, both with 10MP sensors behind them. One offers a 3x, 72mm f/2.4 lens, while the other is a 230mm 10x zoom with an f/4.9 aperture. There’s also ‘space zoom’ – aform of digital zoom which means you can reach 30x or 100x if you need it.
With four lenses available, this puts the S23 Ultra ahead of most other flagship smartphones, with devices such as the Apple iPhone 14 Pro and the Google Pixel 7 Pro only boasting three lenses.
As usual, a range of storage options is available to choose from, starting at 256GB and rising up to 1TB, with an appropriate bump in price each time. There are two RAM options, with a cheaper 8GB version available to go with the 256GB storage capacity, or you can plump for 12GB with any storage option. It’s worth spending more if you think you’ll need the extra storage, as the memory can’t be expanded. It’s worth opting for the larger RAM if you can too, particularly if you intend to do things like shoot 8K or 4K video, or use it for non-photographic purposes such as gaming.
Design-wise, the S23 Ultra is very sim
