Experienced Samsung leaker Ice Universe (opens in new tab) posted and translated a screenshot of a Weibo post that seemingly exposes some important changes to the pixel structure of the HP2, the 200MP main camera sensor rumored to be used on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. After looking up the impenetrable acronyms Ice Universe uses, we were able to figure out what changes could be afoot for the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s night photography. A less aggressive ‘full well capacity’ (FWC) means that the individual pixels in the camera sensor will be have a reduced chance of blowing out when pointing the camera at bright light sources. Meanwhile, ‘optimized root mean square’ (RMS) of noise distribution, ‘random telegraph noise’ (RTN) and ‘fixed-pattern noise’ (FPN) means fewer visual artefacts, particularly noticeable when taking long-exposure shots, such as in low-light environments. As a result, IU and the Weibo leaker conclude that the HP2 camera would offer the Galaxy S23 Ultra an improved dynamic range, and be much better at night photography. This is exciting to hear because the Galaxy S22 Ultra already provided a big improvement to Samsung’s night mode photos. That said, using a whole new sensor may mean Samsung experiences some teething problems compared to one it’s spent three years refining, so the quality jump may not be as large as we hope; this is just our speculation however.
Galaxy S23 Ultra gets revised renders
One other morsel of Galaxy S23 Ultra news from Ice Universe (opens in new tab) and OnLeaks (opens in new tab) reveals some small changes to how we expect the Galaxy S23 Ultra to look. After some discussion since OnLeaks’ original Galaxy S23 Ultra renders, where IU questioned the bezel thickness around the display, OnLeaks has now released an updated render to better reflect the information he received. The differences are incredibly slight, but as the new renders below show and as IU claimed, the bezels at the top and the bottom of the Galaxy S23 UItra’s display are not identically thick, with the bottom bezel being noticeably wider. It does make the phone look a bit less uniform, but it’s not a change that’s likely to interfere with a user’s experience and enjoyment of the phone. We should get the Galaxy S23 series from Samsung early in 2023, possibly as soon as mid-January. Aside from the S23 Ultra’s camera upgrade, the big changes to look out for are the new chipset (either Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or Exynos 2300 chipsets depending on who you listen to) and the new design for the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus that would make them match better with the look of the Ultra model.
title: “Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Just Tipped For A Night Photography Boost” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-26” author: “Clarence Walker”
Experienced Samsung leaker Ice Universe (opens in new tab) posted and translated a screenshot of a Weibo post that seemingly exposes some important changes to the pixel structure of the HP2, the 200MP main camera sensor rumored to be used on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. After looking up the impenetrable acronyms Ice Universe uses, we were able to figure out what changes could be afoot for the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s night photography. A less aggressive ‘full well capacity’ (FWC) means that the individual pixels in the camera sensor will be have a reduced chance of blowing out when pointing the camera at bright light sources. Meanwhile, ‘optimized root mean square’ (RMS) of noise distribution, ‘random telegraph noise’ (RTN) and ‘fixed-pattern noise’ (FPN) means fewer visual artefacts, particularly noticeable when taking long-exposure shots, such as in low-light environments. As a result, IU and the Weibo leaker conclude that the HP2 camera would offer the Galaxy S23 Ultra an improved dynamic range, and be much better at night photography. This is exciting to hear because the Galaxy S22 Ultra already provided a big improvement to Samsung’s night mode photos. That said, using a whole new sensor may mean Samsung experiences some teething problems compared to one it’s spent three years refining, so the quality jump may not be as large as we hope; this is just our speculation however.
Galaxy S23 Ultra gets revised renders
One other morsel of Galaxy S23 Ultra news from Ice Universe (opens in new tab) and OnLeaks (opens in new tab) reveals some small changes to how we expect the Galaxy S23 Ultra to look. After some discussion since OnLeaks’ original Galaxy S23 Ultra renders, where IU questioned the bezel thickness around the display, OnLeaks has now released an updated render to better reflect the information he received. The differences are incredibly slight, but as the new renders below show and as IU claimed, the bezels at the top and the bottom of the Galaxy S23 UItra’s display are not identically thick, with the bottom bezel being noticeably wider. It does make the phone look a bit less uniform, but it’s not a change that’s likely to interfere with a user’s experience and enjoyment of the phone. We should get the Galaxy S23 series from Samsung early in 2023, possibly as soon as mid-January. Aside from the S23 Ultra’s camera upgrade, the big changes to look out for are the new chipset (either Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or Exynos 2300 chipsets depending on who you listen to) and the new design for the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus that would make them match better with the look of the Ultra model.
