Galaxy S23 Ultra vs S22 Ultra vs S21 Ultra vs S20 Ultra Camera Test

We compare the camera on the new Galaxy S23 Ultra vs the older S22 Ultra, S21 Ultra and even S20 Ultra to see what are the real camera differences and whether smartphone camera innovation is really happening, or we have been conditioned to believe cameras are evolving while they are not. Have four years of camera evolution brought a massive change?
Anker 313 Charger (Ace, 45W)
Anker 312 Charger (Ace, 25W)

Want to sponsor the next PhoneArena video?
--------

Follow us!

PhoneArena may receive a small commission if you purchase through affiliate links in this video.
#AnkerAceCharger

00:00 Front Camera Video Recording
01:45 Front Camera Photos
02:32 Main Camera Comparison
03:10 Main Camera
05:12 Main Camera Video Recording
06:00 Zooming
06:53 Night Photos
07:29 Night Video Recording
08:41 Zoom in Photos
09:10 Ultra-wide Photos
09:57 Message from our sponsor
11:14 S23 Ultra Pros and Cons
12:29 Conclusion

[pmcpfr]

There are still many situations where I prefer the S22 to the S23, maybe with future updates I will change my mind

[neilmcguinness]

Yes the 23 Ultra is a brilliant photography and (especially for me) video tool, but all the phones it was competing against here have brilliant flagship cameras of their time and have been improved and perfected over their lifespan. This test to me showed that the S23U is not the finished article yet by any means, but for a new device it has magnificent potential. The 22U to me can teach it things at this point in time as it takes better photos in some scenarios, but a year of updates from now it should have it's backside handed to it on a plate by the S23U. The 24U will come out and it's camera will be outperformed by the 23U in many areas for a time before it develops to become Samsung's finest and so on. It is the circle of technolife.

[Ryzilience]

Back in the day, we all thought having an iPhone 6 in 2018 was a bad idea because it was 4 years old and was outdated but the 6 actually lasted a bit longer. Nowadays after 2019 we have phones that can last almost 8 years of use because of the camera/specs and processor evolution. The s20 series is almost 5 years old but still performs like new and even the iPhone 8 plus from 2018 still runs smooth today but does look a little dated. I have the s20fe and the camera is just crazy for it's age and before the s20fe i owned a Huawei mate 10 pro since 2018 and is still crazy today and fast but having an iPhone 6 today in 2024 is now a bad idea lol.

[xmerxmer]

In most of these cases I actually prefer S22 over the others.

[markorkarenhanes]

People say, get the S20 or the S21, because the camera is just as good and they're less expensive. Yes, but I wanted the S Pen and more storage. So I bought the 1tb S22 Ultra.

[nakedeye]

I'm really liking this nightography on the s23 ultra.

[theStoryofLuca]

Welcome to the flagship battle Era. Where phone companies rush unfinished products on the market every 6 months.
But we only get the "final" version after another 6 months of updates 😑.

[nhienhie]

101% samsung s21 ultra is the best among the rest

[freemspoints]

Samsung must of paid him to praise the S23 Ultra because he did it when it clearly didn't win in some comparisons I bought a sky blue S23 Ultra when they released and returned it and went back to my S21 Ultra after 1 week which I still use it's a better phone and I take pictures constantly and didn't miss anything going back down 2 generations. Night shots theirs less street light flares but u lose quality in your image on the 23 Ultra so just don't look at a Street light when u take pictures and have the exact same quality the 23 Ultra has.

[victorlolo]

you said s22 ultra front camera video on the edge is a bit blurry, that's because S22 ultra had a shallower depth of field than the S23 ultra

[bryantfloyd]

The S20U received its final support Android UI update to Android 13 UI 5.1. At least the S21U is still in the support.

[Mark-]

Did you use the Exynos or Snapdragon S22 Ultra?

I thought the S22 Ultra was better throughout.

[YgorCortes]

After coming from an S21 Ultra what I can say is the biggest improvement on the S23 Ultra is consistency. The S21U's HDR would only work 50% of the time, it was completely unreliable, while the S23U gets almost 100% of the shots right. Also the S21U would heat up and start lagging like crazy, which is not a problem on the S23U. Absolutely amazing phone, this was a HUGE upgrade to me!

[JubileeRM]

This actually seems like a paid advertisement for the S23 Ultra. All of them are still very good. The upgrades are minimal but they are barely noticeable to the average Joe with the exception of the OIS on the S20U. I have ALL of them so I'm speaking for myself.

[MajrTac]

Not about the camera but on the phone exterior design, I say my top 1 is the S21 then S23, S22 and last S20

[ajroberts]

Thank you for this review. I am an iPhone user (don't all boo me at once lol) but after recently upgrading to the 14 plus, I am really disappointed with the camera. 5x zoom is ridiculously disappointing. It's just frustrating, particularly as someone who enjoys taking photos (& does it a lot) that the camera for the contract price I am paying is so crap. Definitely leaning towards the S22 Ultra after watching this, so thank you for posting. 📲👍🙂

[Oblivionsurveyor]

I am sorry you can OBVIOUSLY see the S21 Ultra has a very noticeably better front camera...Wild.
I would say the Rear camera is also better where it matters on the S21U.

[GGori_]

If you guys complain about innovation.. u shud addres that to iPhone

[akschd]

Do you see any rear lens transitioning issue on S23 Ultra?

While holding S23 Ultra very still, the objects/scenery tend to shift/arrange itself when shifting between 0.6x, 1x, 3x and 10x lenses.

Any specific reason why S22 Ultra and S23 Ultra have this issue? Why did S21 Ultra being their first with this configuration never faced such issue.

Looking forward to your insight. Thanks.

[kpehe]

The S23 Ultra only takes good pictures in cooler lighting but in strong lighting pictures change colors to green, yellow or orange. It's the least among them when it comes to color balance. The only improvements I see from it are the details in the photos but only with pictures taken in cooler lighting.