This year, the Galaxy S23 Ultra brings a major upgrade to the camera system with a brand new 200MP main camera. So does Samsung 's product really bring better photography than Google's iPhone 14 Pro Max and Pixel 7 Pro?
Pixel 7 Pro, Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max (from left).
Camera specs:
| Configuration | Galaxy S23 Ultra | iPhone 14 Pro Max | Pixel 7 Pro |
| Main camera | 200MP, 23mm focal length, f/1.7 . aperture | 48MP, 24mm focal length, f/1.8 . aperture | 108MP, 25mm focal length, f/1.9 . aperture |
| Super wide angle camera | 12MP, 13mm focal length, f/2.2 . aperture | 12MP, 13mm focal length, f/2.2 . aperture | 12MP, 13mm focal length, f/2.2 . aperture |
| Telephoto camera | 10MP, 3x zoom, f/2.4 . aperture | 12MP, 3x zoom, f/2.8 . aperture | 10MP, 5x zoom, f/3.5 . aperture |
| 2 . telephoto camera | 10MP, 10x zoom, f/4.9 . aperture | ||
| Front camera | 12MP | 12MP | 10.8MP |
Let's go into a detailed image comparison of the three high-end phone models.
Main camera
During the day, all three phones take good photos, but each has its own charm. Galaxy S23 Ultra delivers images with warmer and more saturated colors than the other two "competitors" and the least realistic. iPhone 14 Pro max prioritizes exposure more and has a cooler, green color. The Pixel 7 Pro has a darker exposure with very pale colors and a very large dynamic range, so it brings out the most colors.
Besides, Samsung phones also enhance sharpness, although not as good as iPhone,.
Dim light
All three phones recognize when it's dark and will automatically expose longer to capture more light. They usually take about 3-4 seconds for night photography and there is no significant difference in speed.
Users can use the dedicated Night Mode on all three phones, producing virtually identical results. Only in extreme darkness does Night Mode have a longer exposure time and slightly brighter images.
In this shooting situation, both the Galaxy and the iPhone are affected by the nearby light and produce a warmer image, with the Pixel capturing the white balance more accurately. However, over-sharpening on the iPhone makes the photo a bit more artificial and noisy. The Galaxy captures the clearest detail, the Pixel phone has the least detail but has the advantage of better white balance.
Super wide angle camera
Samsung's signature colors have been amplified when users take pictures with the ultra-wide-angle camera. The iPhone strikes the balance, and the Pixel once again takes significantly darker photos.
Portrait mode
In this situation, the Galaxy S23 Ultra only improves on the already impressive Portrait Mode. Samsung's flagship has amazing subject separation, pleasant soft detail, and most portraits look better than the iPhone. Pixels have a big problem with detail.
Selfies
In terms of parameters, the Galaxy S23 Ultra uses a 12MP selfie camera, inferior to the 40MP camera of the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
In this series of comparisons, the photos taken by the iPhone 14 Pro Max have better exposure and more accurate white balance. The Pixel 7 Pro takes the widest group selfies, but it's not as flattering as the other two flagships.
Conclude
Obviously, in the situation of shooting with better lighting conditions, all 3 high-end smartphones deliver good photos. However, each camera line tends to be different.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra's camera tends to lack realism, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has cooler tones, and the Pixel 7 Pro phone has overexposure and worse night photography than 2 "competitors".