Technologies

Galaxy S23 Phone Lineup: All the New Camera Features, Explained

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 line puts a lot of focus on its new cameras. Let’s explain what they do.

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

Samsung’s 2023 flagship lineup includes the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra, and their camera upgrades took up much of the conversation when the phones were unveiled at Samsung Unpacked last week. There are improvements across the line to the front-facing camera. The main camera on the $1,200 Ultra phone got an upgraded 200-megapixel sensor compared with the 108-megapixel one on last year’s Galaxy S22 Ultra.

But what do these camera improvements mean for you? While we’re still in the process of reviewing the Galaxy S23 series and testing their photography prowess, we can go over all the cameras and standout photo and video features each phone has.

Every Galaxy S23 phone gets a new front-facing camera

Whether you are eyeing the $800 Galaxy S22, $1,000 Galaxy S22 Plus or $1,200 Galaxy S22 Ultra, all three phones come with a 12-megapixel selfie camera that you can use for taking selfies, recording video of yourself and video calls.

The 12-megapixel camera seems like an improvement on paper for the S23 and S23 Plus — their predecessors each sported a 10-megapixel selfie camera. As far as the Ultra is concerned, the new front camera may at first look like a downgrade, because the S22 has a 40-megapixel selfie camera. But fewer megapixels isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Samsung focused on making the new selfie camera better at separating subjects from their background more clearly.

My colleague Lisa Eadicicco found in tests for her S23 Ultra review that photos taken on the new front-facing camera are equivalent to last year’s device. However, she observed that selfie photos from the Galaxy S23 Ultra occasionally looked unnatural, exaggerating hair color, compared with photos taken with the selfie cameras on the Pixel 7 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro. She also said that the S23 Ultra’s selfie camera takes better night portraits over last year’s S22 Ultra.

The new camera also supports Super HDR, which enhances color, contrast and brightness for video recorded at 4K 60fps.

Speaking of video, all of the rear cameras across the S23 lineup can record video at 8K 30fps, up from 8K 24fps on last year’s Galaxy S22 lineup. In terms of frame rates, 30fps is widely supported in apps like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The 8K 30fps setting isn’t really aimed at everyday use. But 8K might come in handy if you intend on playing your videos on a larger screen that is compatible with 8K or if you’re recording footage for a film as Samsung frequently suggested during its announcement. It’s also worth noting that 8K videos typically take up more space than ones recorded in 4K or HD.

Samsung also increased the field of view on the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera when recording in 8K, which is great considering the crop was very severe on previous Galaxy S phones that support 8K. The S21 and S22 series made footage recorded in 8K on the main wide-angle camera look like it was taken on a telephoto lens.

Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus’ three rear cameras

The triple rear-facing cameras on the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus are pretty much the same as their predecessors, hardware-wise, but Samsung says it’s made behind-the-scenes improvements to elements like dynamic range and glare reduction. We haven’t tested the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus yet, but these changes were certainly noticeable on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Otherwise, Samsung removed the camera bump, giving the S23 and S23 Plus’ cameras a similar look as those found on the S23 Ultra.

So, what does each camera do?

Let’s start off with the main camera, which has a wide-angle lens and is positioned in the middle of the other two cameras. This will be your daily driver. The main camera gives you the option to shoot in 50-megapixels, however, full resolution images need to be taken under ideal lighting conditions to capture the best quality. You may have 50 million pixels to work with, but unlike new mirrorless cameras or DSLRs of yesteryear, phone sensors and their pixels are incredibly small, and don’t absorb as much light. This leads to more image noise and the need to use more noise reduction processing, which can make details look soft and your photo look bad.

Instead, Samsung’s camera app defaults to 12-megapixel photos, which combines groups of individual pixels to act as a single larger pixel. The process is called pixel binning and results in less image noise and higher-quality photos under medium- and low-light conditions (think inside a dark restaurant).

Learn more: What exactly is pixel-binning?

Next, you’ve got the 12-megapixel ultra wide camera at the top of the camera array, identical to the one on its predecessor. If you want to capture more of your surroundings, pinch in on your screen to switch to this camera and its 120-degree field of view. The ultra wide is ideal for capturing landscapes and its exaggerated look makes for dramatic looking videos. It’s a fun camera to use when you shoot in slow-mo.

Finally, you have the 10-megapixel telephoto camera, at the bottom of the array, with its 3x optical zoom lens. Telephoto cameras can better capture far-away objects, subjects and backgrounds. Zooming in can help remove distracting elements from your frame. It’s also the camera you’ll use for portrait mode shots.

And of course, you can use Single Shot mode to take photos from all three rear cameras simultaneously.

Galaxy S23 Ultra’s four rear cameras, include a 200-megapixel main camera

Samsung saved its biggest camera upgrades for its premium flagship Galaxy S23 Ultra. Unlike the other two S23 series phones, the Ultra features a quadruple rear camera system, annotated in the image below.

The S23 Ultra’s pièce de résistance is a new main camera that has a massive 200-megapixel sensor — nearly double the resolution offered by the Galaxy S22 Ultra. As mentioned in the previous section, you probably won’t need to shoot at the highest resolution, unless you plan on making large prints of photos. Like the S23 and S23 Plus, the Ultra’s main camera takes 12-megapixel photos by default using pixel binning. In the case of the Ultra, it just has more pixels that it can group together which results in better looking images that are brighter and have less image noise, even under low light.

The new sensor also has Super Quad Pixel, an improved autofocus system that uses 2×2 pixel groups to help the camera’s focus lock onto details like horizons or tree trunks even when it’s dim. The S23 Ultra also supports the Expert Raw app, which allows you to capture photos using Samsung’s computational algorithms and save your snap as a raw file to retains more image data and greater dynamic range. Raw files are typically larger than JPEG files but are more ideal for photo editing since they contain more image information and settings. Samsung’s Expert Raw app supports all of the S23 Ultra’s cameras, and when you install the app, its controls are added to the native camera app.

Along with the main camera, there’s also a 12-megapixel ultra wide camera, with a 120-degree field of view, and two telephoto cameras, instead of the one found on the S23 and S23 Plus. The first telephoto lens has a 3x optical zoom, while the second one has a 10x optical zoom. The second telephoto camera also has a 100x digital zoom, but the more you zoom in, the more noisy images look. If the 10x telephoto is anything like previous Galaxy Ultra phones, its digital zoom should take decent photos up to 25x to 30x magnification, which is well beyond what the Pixel 7 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro can manage.

Want to learn more about the Galaxy S23? Check out our review of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, how you can preorder the Galaxy S23 right now and why Samsung’s future premium phones may be more difficult to afford.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, March 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 14.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s the extra-long Saturday version, and a few of the clues are tricky. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Book parts: Abbr.
Answer: PGS

4A clue: Silicon Valley company that operates a fleet of robotaxis
Answer: WAYMO

6A clue: To a much greater degree
Answer: WAYMORE

8A clue: Contents of a scuba diver’s tank
Answer: AIR

9A clue: South Korean automaker
Answer: KIA

10A clue: Stop on a train route
Answer: STATION

12A clue: Actress Merman of «Anything Goes»
Answer: ETHEL

13A clue: Find another purpose for
Answer: REUSE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Employee’s hourly calculation
Answer: PAYRATE

2D clue: Workout spot
Answer: GYM

3D clue: «Great» mountains of Tennessee, familiarly
Answer: SMOKIES

4D clue: One giving you the dish?
Answer: WAITER

5D clue: Baltimore M.L.B. player
Answer: ORIOLE

6D clue: Used to be
Answer: WAS

7D clue: Suffix with Caesar or Euclid
Answer: EAN

11D clue: Night that NBC once aired «30 Rock» and «The Office»: Abbr.
Answer: THU

Technologies

AI Toys Can Pose Safety Concerns for Children, New Study Suggests Caution

When one child told the toy, «I love you,» it responded, «As a friendly reminder, please ensure interactions adhere to the guidelines provided.»

A new study from the University of Cambridge found that AI-enabled toys for young children can misinterpret emotional cues and are ineffective at supporting critical developmental play. The conclusions could be concerning for parents.

In one report examining how AI affects children in their early years, a chatbot-enabled toy struggled to recognize social cues during playtime. Researchers found that the toy did not effectively identify children’s emotions, raising alarm about how kids might interact with it.

The report recommends regulating AI toys for kids and requiring clear labeling of their capabilities and privacy policies. It also advises parents to keep these devices in shared spaces where kids can be monitored while playing.

The research behind the study had a limited number of participants, but was done in multiple parts: an online survey of 39 participants with kids in their earlier years, a focus group with nine participants who work with young children and an in-person workshop with 19 leaders and representatives from charities that work with early-years kids. That was followed by monitored playtime with 14 children and 11 parents or guardians with Gabbo, a chatbot-enabled toy from Curio Interactive.

Some findings indicated that the AI toy supported learning, particularly in language and communication skills. But the toy also misunderstood kids and sometimes responded inappropriately to emotional requests.

For instance, when one child told the toy, «I love you,» it responded, «As a friendly reminder, please ensure interactions adhere to the guidelines provided. Let me know how you would like to proceed,» according to the research.

Jenny Gibson, a professor of neurodiversity and developmental psychology at the Faculty of Education at Cambridge, who worked on the study, said that while parents may be excited about the educational benefits of new technology aimed at children, there are plenty of concerns.

Gibson posed overarching questions about the reason behind the tech.

«What would motivate [tech investors] to do the right thing by children … to put children ahead of profits? she said»

Gibson told CNET that while researchers are exploring the potential benefits of AI-based toys, risks remain.

«I would advise parents to take that seriously at this stage,» she said.

What’s next for AI toys

As more playthings are enabled with internet connectivity and AI features, these devices could become a major safety risk for children, especially if they replace real human connections or if interactions are not closely monitored.

Meanwhile, younger people are increasingly adopting chatbots such as ChatGPT, despite red flags. Multiple lawsuits against AI companies allege that AI companions or assistants can impact young people’s psychological safety, including some chatbots that have encouraged self-harm or negative self-image.

AI companies such as OpenAI and Google have responded by adding guardrails and restrictions for AI chatbots.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Gibson said she was surprised by the enthusiasm some parents showed for AI toys. She was also alarmed by the lack of research on AI’s effects on young children, noting that companies making such products should work directly with children, parents, and child development experts.

«What’s missing in the process is that expertise of what is good for children in these kinds of interactions,» she said.

Curio Interactive, the company behind the Gabbo toy, was aware of the research as it was happening but was not directly involved, Gibson said. The toy was chosen because it’s directly marketed to young kids, and the company had an understandable privacy policy. Gibson said the company seemed supportive of the project.

A representative for Curio did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Two Lost ‘Doctor Who’ Episodes Found Intact in Waterlogged Collection

The 1960s episodes featuring the first Doctor William Hartnell will air in the UK in April.

Whovians, rejoice. The BBC is about to unlock a piece of Doctor Who history that even the TARDIS might have forgotten. Two lost episodes of Doctor Who, the iconic sci-fi series, will broadcast in April, the showrunner for the current season confirmed.

The two 1965 episodes, The Nightmare Begins and Devil’s Planet, were donated to the charitable trust Film Is Fabulous by the estate of an anonymous collector.

«The collector did recognize what he had, but how he acquired them has been lost to time,» Professor Justin Smith Leicester of De Montfort University, who led the recovery effort, told the broadcaster.

The researchers said that while most of the donor’s private collection was destroyed by water damage, the Doctor Who episodes were intact.

Doctor Who showrunner, Russell T Davies, celebrated the news on Instagram and said the episodes would air in the UK in April, though no US air date has been announced yet.

«Lost for 61 years! Best of all, these will be made available for FREE on the BBC iPlayer in April,» Davies wrote.

He expressed gratitude to Film Is Fabulous for finding the lost episodes and encouraged people to donate to the registered charity. «Maybe they’ll find more! As the Doctor says… ‘Daleks!'»

The episodes feature the first incarnation of the Doctor, played by William Hartnell, and a typical Dalek plot to take over Earth and the galaxy.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the BBC had a policy of destroying film or reusing videotapes, leading to dozens of episodes of Doctor Who and other popular UK shows like Dad’s Army and Top of the Pops going missing.

Old Doctor Who episodes do surface occasionally, and in 2016, the newly discovered soundtrack for one storyline was turned into an animated series called The Power of the Daleks.

Meanwhile, Disney ended its working relationship with the BBC last year, and star Ncuti Gatwa left the show. However, the UK broadcaster says that Doctor Who will continue, and Russell T Davies is working on a new Christmas special.