Is the Samsung S23 Ultra the best camera phone in the world? We are testing the new Android from Samsung

Being able to pull out the stylus and use it as a photography remote is definitely cool – and just one of the new features. Samsung Lots of S23 Ultra party tricks.

In terms of talking points, this phone will definitely help you out and most of the features revolve around its camera.

Take, for example, the phone’s “astrophotography” mode, which allows users to take high-resolution pictures of the moon at 100x magnification.

Demo of this feature called “Wow” from Elon Muskalthough another question is whether it will be used by an ordinary person.

Too many Android smartphones look boringly similar these days. The S23 Ultra (the spiritual grandson of the huge, discontinued Samsung Galaxy Note phones) definitely doesn’t work.

You have to be a fan of plus size phones to enjoy it: The 6.8-inch screen and even “big” phones like the Google Pixel 7 Pro feel nifty next to it – only the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max sits in the same heavy bracket. like the S23 Ultra.

So there’s a lot to love here, although Samsung hasn’t broken the rulebook since last year’s S22 Ultra when viewed in terms of looks.

However, there are plenty of upgrades under the hood – most notably the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, the fastest Android chipset ever, and a 200MP rear camera, a component so excellent that it puts the S23 Ultra in a class of its own. . his own.

For comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro Max (Apple’s top device) boasts a resolution of just 48 megapixels.

Build quality is solid and high quality, with a metallic finish and the latest Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which I accidentally tested by dropping the phone face down on concrete during installation (which was fine).

The 120Hz screen is absolutely brilliant, making videos look incredibly crisp: for our money, it’s at least as good as anything currently available, including the latest iPhones.

The real reason you would buy this is the powerful camera array on the back.

It’s practically the best camera phone on the market right now, especially in terms of the various features on offer.

Samsung Electronics America describes it as “the most advanced camera ever on a Galaxy device” and it’s well ahead of the competition on Android.

Aside from the main 200MP camera, there’s a 12MP ultra-wide and two 10MP telephoto lenses – it’s fantastic for zooming shots.

Google’s Pixel 7 Pro, with its machine learning capabilities, is probably (simply) superior for amateur or bad photographers, as it can save pretty mediocre photos.

But if you’re looking to push your creative limits, the S23 Ultra is in a class of its own – download the Samsung Expert RAW camera app and you’ll see a set of controls that aren’t ashamed of a DSLR.

In standard shooting mode, the 200-megapixel sensor combines 16 pixels into one 12.5-megapixel frame – this makes the end result very colorful and bright.

But you can shoot in 200MP without limit, so you can crop and zoom to your heart’s content.

Night photography just got a whole lot better thanks to AI improving the quality of the shots – overall it’s definitely the best camera phone on Android, and it offers a plethora of modes that even Apple’s mighty iPhone 14 Pro Max can’t match.

The remote shutter capability adds another benefit to the S23 Ultra – basically, if you want to try out new photography ideas on your phone, it’s very hard to match.

It can shoot video in 8K resolution (four times sharper than Ultra HD TVs), which should also make it attractive to filmmakers (or just people who want their holiday videos to look great 20 years from now).

Naturally, there is a “but”.

Unlike Google’s top-of-the-line Pixel, the price here deviates to where buses don’t go – to the country of Apple.

That’s $1,199, which is very, very expensive for an Android device (Google’s flagship Pixel 7 Pro costs $899, by comparison).

Whether you’re an avid photographer or just a die-hard stylus fan, it’s more than worth the price, but there’s no denying it’s hefty.