Connect with us

Technologies

Apple and Samsung Are Racing to Create the Ultimate Camera Phone

Commentary: The Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro reiterate Apple’s and Samsung’s ambitions to appeal to pro photographers and videographers.

This story is part of Samsung Event, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Samsung’s most popular products.

A phone’s camera bridges our everyday lives with our online identities, whether you’re sharing family photos, posting clips from your vacation on TikTok or dialing into a Zoom meeting. Apple and Samsung clearly understand this, as evidenced by the iPhone 14 Pro and the new Galaxy S23 Ultra, which goes on sale Feb. 17. With both devices, Samsung and Apple are sending a strong message: The camera is what matters most in a new phone. It’s the biggest factor that separates the best phone money can buy from reasonably priced devices.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro represent the next step in each company’s multiyear campaign to court photographers and videographers, all while expanding what can be done on your phone’s relatively small screen. They’re the culmination of the latest efforts by Apple and Samsung to outpace one another in an arms race that’s been progressing for more than a decade. Apple and Samsung aren’t the only ones focused on the camera; the same goes for Google and OnePlus. But as the world’s two largest phone brands by market share, Apple and Samsung have an outsized influence over the devices we carry in our pockets.

Annual smartphone updates feel incremental, making it harder for people to justify yearly upgrades, especially when the cost for everyday goods and services remains high. The latest high-end phones from Apple and Samsung serve as statements that customers are willing to pay for the best. And for both companies, being the «best» often means having the best camera.

Samsung and Apple bet people will spend more on better devices

Cameras with a 100x digital zoom magnification and a nearly tablet-sized screen aren’t for everyone, especially given their high price. As generational upgrades become less flashy, customers are holding onto their devices longer before upgrading. But there is evidence hinting that premium phones still appeal to shoppers despite inflation, potentially showing that Apple and Samsung’s camera-first approach may be working.

According to Counterpoint Research, the iPhone’s average selling price increased 7% year over year in the third quarter of 2022, indicating Apple’s more expensive phones may be its most popular. (However, that could also be because the price of Apple’s regular iPhones has increased over the years, while the Pro’s starting price has largely remained the same).

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst for TF International Securities who’s well-versed in Apple’s supply chain, said on Twitter last fall that the pricier iPhone 14 Pro Max accounted for about 60% of Apple’s order increase for the Pro models, hinting that Apple’s priciest phone is selling well.

TM Roh, head of Samsung’s mobile experience business, said in an interview with CNET earlier this year that the Galaxy S22 lineup saw double-digit sales growth compared to the Galaxy S21 series. That indicates Samsung’s more expensive phones are indeed top sellers.

Remarks from Roh and Apple CEO Tim Cook also suggest that people are simply willing to pay for better devices.

«When times get hard, then people would be more cautious in the choices that they make,» Roh also said to CNET. «In other words, they would be looking for greater value to be gained.»

Speaking with analysts during Apple’s fiscal first-quarter earnings call earlier this month, Cook said he thinks «people are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category.»

Samsung’s and Apple’s current premium phones could also influence the devices we see in the future as both companies are expected to lean more heavily into high-end devices. Apple is discussing releasing an iPhone Ultra that would be a step up from the $1,099 iPhone 14 Pro Max, according to Bloomberg, likely expanding upon the Pro Max’s features. It may also incorporate more features into next year’s iPhone Pro that further distinguish it from the regular iPhone, the report said. One of those features, Bloomberg reported, could be a periscope lens for better optical zoom on the Pro Max, further underscoring the camera’s significance.

Samsung, meanwhile, used its previous high-end smartphone line, the Galaxy Note, to build the foundation for its current Galaxy Ultra devices. We’re already seeing the Ultra line influence Samsung’s other high-end devices, as the branding has carried over to its new premium laptop, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra.

What makes an «ultra» or «pro» phone? Mostly the camera

Make no mistake, Apple and Samsung both view the camera as the most significant smartphone upgrade that customers are willing to splurge for. Samsung made that clear at its Unpacked event on Feb. 1, during which it tried to woo filmmakers with endorsements from acclaimed directors Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Blade Runner) and Na Hong-jin (The Chaser, The Wailing).

Samsung’s camera system is the centerpiece of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and the biggest way it distinguishes the «ultra» model from its regular flagships. The company spent a large portion of its Unpacked presentation outlining the various new camera improvements: a higher-resolution 200-megapixel sensor, wider dynamic range, steadier optical image stabilization for video, faster autofocus and clearer shots in low light, among other upgrades. The regular Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus also are gaining improvements to the way photos are processed, but they lack the Ultra’s extreme 100x zoom magnification and new 200-megapixel sensor.

If you weren’t already convinced that Samsung is trying to entice camera enthusiasts, the company also makes it easier to access settings for shooting raw files by integrating those options directly into the native camera app. A raw file has uncompressed image data straight from the camera sensor, which allows for more leeway when editing. An Expert Raw file contains data from several images processed together and offers even more clarity and a wider dynamic range. Google and Apple have their own special raw files that are created in a similar way, bridging a traditional raw file with advancements from computational photography.

And to help fit all of those big files on your phone, the S23 Ultra’s base storage is now 256GB, up from the S22 Ultra’s 128GB. The decision to offer more storage in the entry-level model could also be seen as another effort to attract photographers and videographers, since high-resolution photos, raw files and 8K videos occupy a lot of space. The S23 Plus also starts at 256GB, but Samsung doesn’t offer a 1TB storage option for that phone the way it does with the S23 Ultra. It shows what a long way Samsung has come since launching its original Ultra phone, the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which maxed out at 512GB and started at 128GB just like the regular Galaxy S23.

Apple also loves to flaunt the iPhone’s photography prowess, and you could even argue that may have influenced some of Samsung’s thinking. That approach was on full display in September when Apple unveiled the iPhone 14 Pro, which has better optical image stabilization and low-light performance. Like Samsung, Apple also made a leap in resolution that brings the iPhone 14 Pro’s camera from 12 to 48 megapixels, although it’s really the device’s larger main sensor that’s made a big difference in the camera’s low-light performance. ProRaw, Apple’s feature for capturing raw photos that still incorporate some of the company’s image-processing algorithms, can now shoot at a 48-megapixel resolution.

As is the case with Samsung, the camera is a large part of what separates the iPhone 14 Pro and larger Pro Max from the cheaper iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. Those phones, by comparison, are missing the iPhone 14 Pro’s telephoto lens and have a smaller 12-megapixel main camera sensor. Apple’s cheaper iPhone 14 models also lack a 1TB storage option, unlike the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

The camera is the star, but there’s more to it

While the camera may be the biggest defining characteristic of Apple’s Pro line and Samsung’s Ultra line, there are other common threads between these phones. Both phones have more productivity-oriented features than the cheaper alternatives in their respective lineups. The S23 Ultra comes with a stylus you can store in the bottom of the phone, unlike the regular Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus. The iPhone 14 Pro has the Dynamic Island, a clever software interface built around the selfie camera for showing system alerts and controlling background activities without leaving the app you’re using. That feature is absent from the regular iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.

Both phones also have more to offer when it comes to the screen. For Samsung, that’s quite literal; the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 6.8-inch screen is physically larger than the displays on the Galaxy S23 (6.1 inches) and the S23 Plus (6.6 inches). Apple offers the same two display sizes across the entire iPhone 14 lineup (6.1 inches or 6.7 inches), but has found other ways to make the screens on its Pro iPhone’s stand out. Only the Pro models have an always-on display, the Dynamic Island and an adaptive refresh rate for smoother scrolling and graphics.

Despite these similarities, Apple and Samsung’s approaches also differ in significant ways — mostly when it comes to which technologies these companies bring to cheaper devices. All of Samsung’s Galaxy S23 devices have the same chip, a new customized version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Apple, on the other hand, has only put its fresh A16 Bionic chip in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, while the regular iPhone 14 models have the previous A15 Bionic chip, marking the first time Apple has kept an older processor in a new flagship phone. Apple also equips its Pro iPhones with a lidar scanner for detecting depth, which helps improve AR apps and certain photography features like autofocus and enables accessibility functions like door and people detection.

For Apple and Samsung, adding more advanced camera and display features to their premium phones isn’t just about boosting sales. Both companies are under pressure to uphold their reputations as innovators while proving there are still plenty of reasons to be excited about the smartphone’s future.

Right now, many of those reasons come down to the camera — the tool we use for everything from video chatting to documenting vacations and, perhaps in the future, fueling augmented reality apps. It will be fascinating to see how Apple, Samsung and others attempt to improve and redefine that experience over the next few years.

Related Topics:

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Aug. 21, #332

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Aug. 21, No. 332.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

To solve today’s Connections: Sports Edition, focus on the endings of some of the words. That should help you see how they connect. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta after making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.  

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: What you want to do.

Green group hint: Football abbreviations.

Blue group hint: Home to hoops.

Purple group hint: Hidden hockey team names.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Objective.

Green group: NFL teams, on scoreboards.

Blue group: NBA arenas ending with «Center.»

Purple group: Ends with an NHL team.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is objective. The four answers are aim, goal, mark and target.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL teams, on scoreboards. The four answers are CHI, MIA, MIN and NO. (Chicago, Miami, Minnesota and New Orleans.)

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is NBA arenas ending with «Center.» The four answers are Barclays, Chase, Delta and Kia.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with an NHL team. The four answers are geoducks, spoilers, superstars and Vikings. (Ducks, Oilers, Stars and Kings.)

Continue Reading

Technologies

Made by Google 2025: Everything Announced — Pixel 10, Pixel Watch 4, Pixel 10 Pro Fold

At a star-studded event hosted by late-night host Jimmy Fallon, Google announced new phones, watches, earbuds and Android features.

Even though the Pixel 10 leaks and rumors felt as if they arrived in a steady firehose before today’s Made by Google event — compelling the company to release a teaser video pre-announcing the new phone’s existence a month ago — Google still delivered details it somehow managed to keep private until it was ready to share.

And that delivery was refreshingly fun for a tech event. The Tonight Show host Jimmy Kimmel led the proceedings in a very late-night talk show format, bringing on several special guests from media, sports and yes, Google’s own experts to show off the products and features they’ve been working on for today’s announcements.

Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL are real

Surprise, Google announced new phones! OK, this was the least surprising part of the event, but it still feels good to finally know what exists and when it’s coming. Preorders for the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL begin today and will be in stores and shipping starting August 28.

  • I’m Stoked That Google Made the Pixel 10 a $799 Value-Packed Feature Monster

  • I Tested Google’s Pixel 10 Pro XL in Paris, and I’m Impressed

  • Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL First Look: Familiar Design, New AI Tricks

  • Google Launches the Full Pixel 10 Line, Including the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL

Pixel 10 Pro Fold opens the next chapter of foldables

Folding phones so far have shared an Achilles Hinge: small particulates like sand can get inside the case and really mess things up. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is one of the first to have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning you can take it to the beach.

  • Pixel 10 Pro Fold Is Tougher, Smarter and Totally Dust Resistant

  • Forget the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Foldables Should Look Like the Microsoft Surface Duo

  • Google’ Pixel 10 Pro Fold Is Here

Pixel Watch 4 talks to Gemini and is your new health coach

The Pixel Watch 4 includes new fitness options like real-time guidance while exercising. And if you forgot to start a workout, the watch (with AI help) can detect the activity in the background and remind you of it later, giving you credit for the effort you made. It’s also the only smartwatch that can detect a loss of pulse and call emergency services automatically.

  • Well Played, Google: The Pixel Watch 4 May Give Apple Watch Loyalists a Wandering Eye

  • Pixel Watch 4 First Look: Google Just Raised the Bar

  • The Pixel Watch 4 Is Here. Can It Finally Beat Apple?

Pixel Buds 2a are more affordable earbuds

Joining the Pixel Buds 2 Pro in the market are Pixel Buds 2a, an affordable ($130) pair of wireless earbuds that feature active noise cancellation, a smaller and lighter for all, and a twist-to-adjust stabilizer feature for setting a comfortable fit.

  • Google’s New Pixel Buds 2A Look a Lot Like the Pro 2, but Cost Way Less

  • Meet the Pixel Buds 2A: Google’s Budget Answer for ANC Buds

Pixel Buds Pro 2 owners will see new features

Coming in a software update next month, Pixel Buds Pro 2 owners will be able to answer calls or send them to voicemail with a nod or shake of the head. You’ll be able to talk to Gemini live in noisy locations, and benefit from adaptive audio that applies noise cancellation while letting important sounds come through. At the other end, a new feature will protect your hearing from very loud sounds.

Magic Cue is a Gemini assistant that pulls data from your correspondence

In the rollout of all the various AI technologies in the industry, the current stretch goal is «agentic» interactions with software: Having an AI that knows all sorts of details about you and can act to get the important stuff in front of you when needed. (And do it in a privacy-first way, one would hope.)

Magic Cue is Google’s implementation. It’s a new Gemini-based feature that can look through your earlier messages, emails and photos to pull details about things like restaurant reservations and flight times. Magic Cue runs on the Pixel device itself, so sensitive data stays private and not shared to the cloud.

A lot of Gemini AI intelligence is still coming soon

At the start of the event, Kimmell sat down in typical talk-show format with Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of platforms and devices, to chat about Gemini and the marvels of AI. Aside from Magic Cue, which will be shipping on the Pixel 10 phones, a lot of the features we’ve been hearing about are still on the horizon.

«For instance, Gemini could do something like plan a team celebration dinner for 12 people tonight,» he said. «It might go find a restaurant that’ll accommodate that group…. Look for a karoake place nearby and maybe even order custom T-shirts for the celebration.»

And when will that be possible? Kimmell asked. «A lot sooner than people think,» Osterloh replied. «This kind of thing is coming this year.»

The Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL can zoom to 100x with AI help

Pro Res Zoom on the Pixel 10 Pro phones pushes zooming far beyond what would seem to be possible with typical small cameras. Usually when you zoom beyond the optical limits of the cameras, details get fuzzy as the software upscales the image. With Pro Res Zoom, when you go beyond 30x zoom, it uses generative AI to build a sharper version. CNET’s Andrew Lanxon got both impressive and head-scratching results while making photos in Paris using the Pixel 10 Pro XL.

Camera Coach uses AI to encourage better photos

Smartphone cameras have employed AI for several years, such as identifying subjects in order to blur the background for Portrait modes or quickly snapping several shots at multiple exposures and blending them together to create well-balanced lighting throughout. Now Google is using AI to help you take better photos.

Camera Coach is a new feature in the Pixel Camera app that looks at the scene in front of the lens and generates multiple suggestions for how to improve the photo before it’s captured. To show this off, podcaster Alex Cooper brought Fallon out to be her model and sat him down on a couch. When she activated the feature, Camera Coach suggested that she move the camera closer to the subject, position his head in the upper portion of the frame, lower the camera to eye level and turn on Portrait mode.

«To all the girls that are watching, I personally know how hard it is to train your boyfriend or your husband to get that perfect shot,» said Cooper. «And now Camera Coach can just train all the boys for us.»

Pixel 10 supports Qi2 magnetic charging

The Qi2 spec includes not just faster charging but also an array of magnets on the back for connecting to accessories. Sound familiar? The presenters mentioned Apple’s MagSafe system, then paused with the realization that they probably shouldn’t have name-checked it during the Google event. On the Pixel 10 phones, it’s called Pixelsnap and should work with accessories made for Apple’s ecosystem too.

Pixel 10 will be available in Mexico

In an impressive segment demonstrating Gemini live translation during a phone call, musician Karen Polinesia, who speaks Spanish, announced that for the first time, the Pixel 10 will be available for sale in Mexico.

This article is being updated; stay tuned for more.

Continue Reading

Technologies

Upgrading to Pixel 10? Here’s How to Prepare Your Old Pixel for Trade-In

Don’t send off your phone with a ton of personal information still on it.

Google just announced the Pixel 10 family, and several preorder offers are available right now. If you’re looking for an even better deal on these new phones, you might want to consider trading in your old Pixel for maximum savings. 

The Pixel 10 family consists of the base Pixel 10 model, two Pro models and the latest Pro Fold. All of these phones feature the latest Tensor G5 Processor, Qi2 wireless charging and, of course, new AI tricks. We went hands-on with the new phones, and they made a good impression. 

If you’re ready to leap into a new Pixel, you’ll want to make sure you’ve prepared your old phone properly before you send it off. 

If you don’t check all the right boxes for trading in your phone, its trade-in value could be reduced. You also want to avoid sending your phone out with a ton of personal information still left on it. 

Below, we’ll go over the steps to ensure a seamless trade-in experience when your new Pixel 10 arrives. 

For more, we’ve wrangled all of the best Pixel 10 cases you can buy right now. 

Turn off the activation lock on your Pixel phone

Before you trade in your phone, you’ll just need a factory reset to qualify for the maximum trade-in value. Some retailers want you to remove the activation lock from your phone first, which requires removing the device from your Google account before resetting it. (AT&T took off over $400 of the value because I didn’t do this to my Pixel 7 Pro when I upgraded to the 8 Pro a few years back.)

You can remove your Google account from your phone directly or via your online account. 

From your Pixel settings

You can remove the activation lock right from your Pixel phone. H:

  1. On your phone, navigate to Settings.
  2. Tap Passwords & accounts.
  3. Tap your Google account.
  4. Tap Remove account.

Repeat this process for any additional accounts you need to remove. 

From the web

Alternatively, you can head to your online Google account web page and handle the removal from there. 

  1. From a web browser, navigate to your Google account.
  2. Select Security on the left sidebar.
  3. Locate the Your devices box, and select Manage all devices.
  4. Select the device you’re trading in.
  5. Select Sign out.

Factory reset your Pixel

With the activation lock removed, you’re now free to factory reset your device as you normally would. 

  1. On your Pixel, navigate to Settings.
  2. Tap System.
  3. Tap Reset options.
  4. Tap Erase all data (factory reset).

That’s it. Now you’re ready to send in your trade-in without any hiccups that could drop the value you get for your phone. 

For more, check out a closer look at the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s camera performance.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © Verum World Media