As MWC 2023 is coming to an end, it’s time to look back at what the expo’s highlights have revealed to us.
One of the most significant announcements made during the last couple of days in Barcelona included among them the Honor Magic5 Pro and Xiaomi 13 Pro, two phones that have 50MP sensors on the three rear cameras. While neither of these phones will be coming to America. U.S. (as far as we’re aware) they’ll be a standout for any smartphone buyer who is comparing specs to two of the most popular phones currently which are those of the iPhone 14 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
To be honest with Apple and Samsung their new phones, their feature cameras are impressive. It’s iPhone 14 Pro’s 48MP main camera was a long-awaited upgrade that gives users more freedom in digital zoom, as well as stunning 48MP ProRAW images. Its main camera of 200MP has proved equally adaptable; it can switch between 50MP, 12MP, and 200MP modes of capture according to the preferences of the user and can also take RAW images to enhance editing options.
The issue is with the cameras used that are on the phones. The iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra are still using fairly basic 12MP ultrawide cameras as well as 10MP and 12MP 3x telephoto cameras, respectively. The Galaxy also comes with a 10MP 10-x zoom camera that is on its back which is an optical magnification that neither Honor nor Xiaomi can compete with (they have a maximum of 3.5x or 3.2x optical, respectively) However, it is the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s zoom is still being fed by an inferior, smaller sensor with a tiny aperture, which limits the scenarios where zoomed-in images will appear the best.
This is also the case on smartphones that fold. For instance, the Honor Magic Vs doesn’t get 50MP cameras all over the board However, it has the main camera with 54MP and the ultrawide cameras. This is better than Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 4’s main camera’s 50MP by a couple of megapixels, and its ultrawide 12MP camera by quite a bit.
We see this repeatedly with flagship phones made by companies that aren’t the world’s No. 1. and 2 players. 2 players. Samsung and Apple’s technology tends to undergo major upgrades every few years, while smaller firms (smaller in a global sense in any case) are taking advantage of the most recent technology much earlier.
It is important to emphasize that megapixels aren’t the sole element that affects the quality of a camera’s images. The size of the sensor and aperture size, shutter speed, and many other processes in software can affect the final image that a smartphone produces. However, these are areas where the non-Galaxy and iPhone phones can also be advantageous in this regard.
For example, Xiaomi’s 13 Pro’s primary camera is equipped with a 1″ main sensor, while it has the Honor Magic5 Pro a 1/1.2-inch sensor (about 83 percent in size). In comparison, Apple’s 14-Pro’s primary camera is a 1/1.28-inch sensor, and Samsung S23 Ultra’s a 1/1.3-inch sensor.
There’s already been a significant change in our top camera phones this year, with Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra knocking the iPhone 14 Pro down to second place due to Samsung’s latest 200-megapixel camera. It’s clear that new cameras can impact the quality of images, which means that, after further testing, it’s possible for it’s possible that the Honor Magic5 Pro or Xiaomi 13 Pro could be placed among the top smartphones for photography. If they do, Samsung and iPhone users are right to question why the largest phone manufacturers worldwide have become so smug about their cameras.
