What you need to know
- Samsung is tipped to equip the Galaxy S23 Ultra with a 200MP camera sensor.
- The sensor is reportedly entering production, although it's not set in stone whether or not to use it in the S23 series.
- Motorola is rumored to be the first to feature Samsung's 200MP sensor in an upcoming smartphone.
Samsung's high-end flagships have featured the same 108MP camera sensors for a few generations now, but that could finally change next year. A new rumor suggests that the Galaxy S23 Ultra could be equipped with a 200MP camera sensor.
The report comes from ETNews, which says that development of the new camera sensor has already been completed and that both Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electro-Mechanics will handle that production. However, it hasn't been set in stone just yet whether the company wants to include the 200MP sensor in the Galaxy S23 Ultra. That said, if the company does, it'll be the first major camera upgrade in Samsung's "Ultra" series phones since the Galaxy S20 Ultra.
Samsung already debuted the 200MP ISOCELL HP1 camera sensor in 2021, but it has yet to appear in any of the best Android phones. Motorola is rumored to be the first to feature the HP1 sensor in the upcoming "Frontier" smartphone, with Xiaomi following afterward. Previous rumors have stated that Samsung would wait to make the jump in 2023, and it's starting to sound more likely.
200MP camera will be adopted by Moto first, then by Xiaomi in the second half of next year, and by 2023, Samsung will adopt 200MP.November 24, 2021
Of course, we should take this with a grain of salt for now, partly because plans apparently haven't been finalized and also because Samsung was previously rumored to include a 200MP camera with the Galaxy S22 Ultra. That obviously did not happen. Still, this new sensor appears to be an upgraded version of the one Motorola reportedly plans to use, likely giving Samsung an edge over other OEMs. Not only that, but Apple is reportedly preparing to upgrade its camera resolution for the first time in years, which may put pressure on Samsung to step its game up.
