Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 200MP camera might be its most unnecessary upgrade

Smartphone manufacturers are doing all they can right now to ensure that customers remain interested in buying their next product. The focus on foldables is clearly one way manufacturers are going about it, with Samsung at the top of the foldable game right now and likely to remain there until Apple enters the fray.

Smartphone manufacturers have also been blurring the lines when it comes to the user experience you get on flagship and mid-range mobile devices. Many flagship features have crossed over to Samsung's mid-range lineups, like 120Hz displays, stereo speakers, and similar levels of software update support.

One of the most notable blurring of the lines, however, has happened in the field of smartphone cameras. Except for zoom cameras, the mainstream mid-range smartphones from Samsung don't really miss out on much. And at this point in time, most consumers would be happy with the quality of the regular camera on both a flagship Galaxy phone and a mid-range one.

It's certainly something we here at SamMobile think. We get to use the latest and greatest smartphones from Samsung every six months and also the company's mid-range phones, and while our job is to look for the little details and differences between mid-range and flagship phones, we don't think those really matter all that much to the end consumer anymore. Or to most of us here at SamMobile.

Does your current smartphone's main camera need an upgrade?

An excellent example is how my friend and boss Danny, SamMobile's co-founder, sent me a picture of his newborn son earlier today and was unable to remember which phone he used for capturing the photo (he has a few around the house, including the Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy S22 Ultra, and the Galaxy A53). And over the last couple of weeks, I've been using the Galaxy A53 and frankly, I don't really mind the output of its main rear camera.

That includes photos taken at night or indoors, even with Night mode off. Again, with the exception of a dedicated zoom lens (which I hope Samsung will make a feature we see more of on mid-range devices), I have had no issues with the quality of the photos I've been getting from the A53's main camera. Yes, the quality isn't actually as good as what I could achieve with a Galaxy S22 Ultra, but overall, it gets the job done, especially for sharing pics on social media.

And as we get ever closer to the launch of the Galaxy S23 series, and specifically the S23 Ultra, I'm beginning to realize how the latter's supposed jump to a 200-megapixel camera from a 108-megapixel one is something that doesn't really excite me. It just seems like Samsung is making the switch in order to have something shiny and new to lure customers into buying a Galaxy S23 Ultra, but I have a feeling the 200MP cam will not really shine through for most customers.

To be fair, the same will probably be the case with some of the other features that are being introduced with the Galaxy S23 lineup. Flagship Android smartphones just aren't as exciting as they used to be, and the fact that most folks are happy with the results of the main camera of any Samsung Galaxy phone, mid-range or flagship, could work against the Galaxy S23 Ultra's favor.

That would especially be true for Galaxy S20 Ultra, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, or Galaxy S21 Ultra owners who are looking to upgrade to the Galaxy S23 Ultra for the huge bump in camera resolution but will ultimately realize the upgrade isn't worth it. The rumored boost in battery capacity and performance might be the bigger attractions for many, and I for one am firmly in that camp.