Rumor | Samsung may be contemplating a 200 MP camera for the Galaxy S23 Ultra ^↺

Details of the Galaxy S22 series have mostly been exposed at this point. While early reports claimed the range-topping Galaxy S22 Ultra could feature a 200 MP main camera, they've been debunked since then. That doesn't mean, however, that Samsung has no plans to use such a camera on its flagship lineup.

According to tipster Ice Universe, Samsung is currently mulling the idea of using a 200 MP camera on 2023's Galaxy S23 Ultra. It's been established that the Galaxy S22 Ultra will stick to a 108 MP sensor, but the company appears to be considering a jump to 200 MP on that phone's successor.

What sensor would that be? Well, it's unknown. A good bet would be the ISOCELL HP1 that debuted a few weeks ago. The HP1 is a 1/1.22-inch sensor, with 16-in-1 binning that produces 2.56 μm pixels. That's a slight improvement on the ISOCELL HM3 on the Galaxy S21 Ultra which has a 1/1.33-inch size and uses 9-in-1 binning to output 2.4 μm. 

It does raise the question, however, of why Samsung doesn't just use the ISOCELL GN2—the sensor on the Mi 11 Ultra—instead, as it outperforms both of those sensors with its 1/1.12-inch size and 2.8 μm pixels after 4-in-1 binning. Any decision to ignore the 50 MP GN2 would be likely down to marketing reasons, especially with the Galaxy S22 and S22+ both expected to sport 50 MP sensors. Stepping down from 108 MP to 50 MP would be difficult to explain to average users, despite the lower-res sensor being better.

Either way, all of this is conjecture at the moment, and there's a chance Samsung decides against a 200 MP shooter for the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Or, who knows, a more impressive 200 MP camera could be released sometime over the next 15 months. We'll keep you updated on this.

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