Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could have a spectacular camera

And every S22 might have a glass back

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TheSamsung Galaxy S21 Ultraalready has a superb camera – in fact it’s sitting in the number two spot on our guide to thebest camera phones, but theSamsung Galaxy S22 Ultracould have it significantly beat.

That’s based on a number of recent claims, with the biggest perhaps being that it will have a dedicated macro mode. This is according to South Korean siteITMaterial, which found code snippets referring to a ‘Detail enhancer’ feature, which appears to be for detailed close-ups.

Oddly though this would apparently use the main 108MP sensor, while most macro modes tend to use an ultra-wide lens if there’s not a dedicated macro lens.

Elsewhere, reputable leaker@UniverseIcehas claimed that night shooting has made “great progress” on theSamsungGalaxy S22 Ultra, thanks to enhancements to anti-shake, focusing, and light input.

Thanks to the enhancement of S22 Ultra’s new 108MP sensor in anti shake, focusing and light input, its night shooting has made great progress.December 21, 2021

The same source hasalso claimedthat the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s camera will use AI to improve detail, color, and brightness in photos. They’re not talking specifically about night mode here, so these improvements should be visible in any shot.

That’s not the only exciting news about the Samsung Galaxy S22 range though, as moving away from the camera, the same source has also said that all three models in the rangewill have a glass back.

We were fully expecting the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra to have a glass back anyway, but we didn’t think the standard Galaxy S22 would, given that theSamsung Galaxy S21uses plastic, and there were reports previously that the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus would switch to plastic too.

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Given that, we’d take this new claim with a pinch of salt, but hopefully it’s accurate, as while not everyone cares about glass, it is a bit disheartening to find plastic on a premium phone.

There is a definite answer about the rear cover material of Galaxy S22 series:S22, S22 +, S22 ultra are all made of glass!December 20, 2021

Analysis: the S22 Ultra’s camera upgrades could come to the S21 Ultra

While the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra sounds like it could have some significant camera upgrades, it also sounds like many of them might be software-powered, as the hardware of the cameraisn’t thought to be changing much.

Leaks suggest it will have the same basic sensor specs as the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, and talk of AI in particular certainly sounds more like a software feature than a hardware one.

So it’s possible that some or all of these rumored features could also arrive on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra as a software update.

That said, there’s no guarantee. For one thing, Samsung might want to keep them exclusive to the new phone, and for another, things like AI depend in part on the chipset, so having a new chipset in the new phone might make a difference there.

ViaPhone Arena

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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