Samsung's Galaxy S22 Ultra was released earlier this year to critical acclaim. While the next big launch in Samsung's mind is its next foldable phones, the very first details and rumors of its 2023 flagships have started to drip in. After all, it doesn't take a genius to figure Samsung is already hard at work developing the Galaxy S23 lineup. It's still a few months away, but that's not stopping rumors from going haywire. And if those rumors are anything to go by, users aiming for the Ultra might be treated with a formidable camera upgrade.

Tipster Ice universe (via PhoneArena) is "almost 100% sure" that the camera sensor in the Galaxy S23 Ultra will be a 200MP sensor. This would be a notable upgrade, at least in megapixel count, from the current Ultra lineup. 2020's S20 Ultra sported a 108MP sensor, refined over the following two generations all the way up to the latest S22 Ultra.

It's not the first time we've heard such a rumor, but we now also know it might sport an "unreleased HP2 sensor" which would presumably be better than the already released ISOCELL HP1 and HP3 200MP sensors. It's too early to say by which metrics this presumed S23 Ultra-exclusive will be improved — if it's true, we'll learn more about this over the coming months — but one of the factors might be a bigger pixel size. Bigger pixel sites means more light and the capacity for more accurate results.

Being Samsung's very first time using a 200MP sensor, there's a very real chance that the S23 Ultra, if it comes with one, will have some growing pains. The S20 Ultra was the company's very first 108MP release and it suffered from a series of problems that were patched up to an extent with the S21 Ultra, and then moreso with its successor, the S22 Ultra. Plus, we also need to acknowledge that megapixel counts alone are not indicators of camera quality. While it's entirely possible Samsung is working overtime to avoid more teething troubles, it's still a real possibility, so don't be surprised if reviews for the S23 Ultra in a few months have a healthy dose of camera criticism. You can expect leaks and rumors in the long run-up to next year when this phone eventually launches and we finally get all the details and numbers.

In the meantime, we're still waiting on Motorola to introduce its X30 Pro featuring the 200MP HP1 sensor. Some events in the news have postponed its launch.