Samsung S23 Ultra vs S26 Ultra Camera: Time to Upgrade?

If you’re using an S23 Ultra, you won’t find another Samsung phone with a 10x optical zoom camera after it. The S26 Ultra instead has a 50MP 5x telephoto and gets to 10x by cropping in. But owners of an S23 Ultra who upgrade would also get a brighter main camera, a significantly better ultrawide, improved video, and several more years of updates.

We compared the two phones’ cameras using Samsung’s own spec pages, DXOMARK’s testing, and reviews from GSMArena, Tom’s Guide, Trusted Reviews and TechRadar. We haven’t tested them side by side ourselves, and couldn’t find a controlled comparison between the two at 10x, so where data is from the S24 or S25 Ultra, we’ve made that clear. Our S23 Ultra camera guide and S26 Ultra camera guide cover each phone on its own.

S23 Ultra vs S26 Ultra camera specs

Each phone’s camera system consists of a 200MP main camera, an ultrawide camera and two telephoto cameras. The S26 Ultra’s main, ultrawide and 5x cameras have brighter lenses and its ultrawide shoots photos with around four times as many pixels as the S23 Ultra’s. The S23 Ultra’s 3x camera has a slightly larger sensor than the S26 Ultra’s. Both phones zoom in to 100x.

Zoom: a 10x lens against a 5x crop

In good light the S23 Ultra’s 10x periscope camera should be the winner (just). The S23 Ultra’s 10x camera is a dedicated periscope camera with a 230mm-equivalent lens, so in good light it should continue to beat the S26 Ultra’s cropped 10x. That said, the S26 Ultra’s 5x camera is noticeably brighter, helping its 10x performance.

DXOMARK found that the S23 Ultra’s periscope camera took detailed pictures at long zoom in bright light, and while GSMArena also noticed that 10x shots taken with the S23 Ultra were a bit sharper than the S24 Ultra’s cropped 10x, they were also noisier. (The S24 Ultra’s 10x zoom is also cropped from its 50MP 5x camera.)

The S26 Ultra’s 5x camera has a brighter f/2.9 lens than the S25 Ultra’s f/3.4, and Tom’s Guide noticed that its zoom shots were sharper than the S25 Ultra’s at 10x (and just a bit sharper at 30x). We couldn’t find any comparisons with the S23 Ultra, but we’d expect the S23 Ultra’s 10x to win narrowly in good light.

In bright light the S23 Ultra’s 10x should still come out on top (albeit marginally), but as light levels drop the advantage will likely flip to the S26 Ultra. In low light the S26 Ultra’s 10x should win. The S23 Ultra’s 10x camera has a small sensor paired with a dim f/4.9 lens, and DXOMARK noticed that the camera isn’t even used below 5 lux. GSMArena found that night shots zoomed to 10x were slightly better on the S24 Ultra most of the time and much better in very low light, and the S26 Ultra’s brighter 5x camera should help it further.

From 5x to 9x the S26 Ultra should be the clear winner, since it’ll be using its dedicated 5x camera, whereas the S23 Ultra will be cropping from its 3x camera (GSMArena found that the S24 Ultra’s dedicated 5x camera produced clearly superior pictures at 5x). Beyond 10x both phones will be digitally zooming, and Trusted Reviews thought that pictures taken with the S26 Ultra were usable up to around 30x, after which they became increasingly overprocessed. The S23 Ultra vs S24 Ultra comparison lists all zoom steps. The S26 Ultra zoom guide tells you the standing distance for each lens.

Main camera, ultrawide and selfies

The 200MP f/1.4 wide camera on the S26 Ultra should perform well in low light, as that aperture will let in around 47% more light than the f/1.7 lens on the S25 Ultra (which uses the same aperture as the S23 Ultra), according to SamMobile. DXOMARK noted that both its photography and videography low-light scores improved markedly on the S26 Ultra, and TechRadar spotted noticeably less grain on its night shots.

In brighter light, we wouldn’t expect the S23 Ultra to fall too far behind. Images from both devices are nice and sharp with plenty of detail, according to Trusted Reviews. When it tested the S23 Ultra, GSMArena found that while the 200MP mode produced extremely large files with slightly less dynamic range, images captured in 50MP mode managed to retain more detail than those taken using the default 12MP setting without sacrificing dynamic range. You also get a 24MP option on the S26 Ultra, but only via Camera Assistant.

The S26 Ultra’s 50MP f/1.9 ultrawide camera represents the biggest generational leap, when compared with the S23 Ultra’s 12MP f/2.2 one. Photos taken using the S23 Ultra’s ultrawide camera were still good, according to Trusted Reviews, which also pointed out that there’s no distortion at the edges of the frame. Each camera can also get in close enough for decent macro photography, and both DXOMARK and Tom’s Guide singled out the S26 Ultra’s macro photography for having nice detail.

Both phones capture selfies using a 12MP f/2.2, autofocus-enabled camera, although the S26 Ultra’s wider 85-degree field of view (according to TechRadar) will make it easier to fit everyone in the frame when held at arm’s length.

Video, processing and software support

Both phones can record video in 8K at 30fps, but the S26 Ultra can also film at 4K at 120fps, as well as with Samsung Log and the APV codec, which should make editing easier for content creators. Log video isn’t available on the S23 Ultra (Samsung’s Log page lists the S24, S25 and S26 series but not the S23), and its top 4K frame rate is 60fps.

Another new feature on the S26 Ultra is Horizontal Lock, which maintains a level horizon in Super Steady mode even if you rotate the phone while filming. TechRadar was impressed by how well it worked. According to SammyGuru, it’s yet to make its way to the S24 series with One UI 9, so we wouldn’t hold our breath for it to turn up on the S23 Ultra. That said, its video stabilisation is still excellent, and was rated by DXOMARK as one of the best it had seen as of early 2023.

One area where the S26 Ultra’s advantage may be less obvious is image processing. The phones have different silicon (the S26 Ultra has the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, and the S23 Ultra has the 2023-dated Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy), and Samsung has told TechRadar that noise reduction has been improved by taking into account the noise produced by each camera. That may be one reason why night photos on the S26 Ultra tend to be cleaner.

When it launched in February 2023, Samsung said the S23 series would get four OS upgrades and five years’ worth of security updates, meaning we can expect it to remain eligible for Samsung’s security updates until early 2028. And indeed, it’s still being included in the latest round of monthly patches. The fourth and final major OS upgrade for the S23 series is One UI 9 based on Android 17, and according to SammyGuru’s tracker it rolled out in South Korea on October 14, 2026, in Europe on October 19, to US carrier-locked phones on October 20 and US unlocked phones on October 26 (with Verizon still unconfirmed as of November 2). The S26 Ultra, by comparison, is set to get seven years of updates.

Who wins in each situation

Where each phone falls short

• Neither phone delivers truly impressive detail when zoomed in beyond about 30x, as everything starts to get smoothed out. When TechRadar's reviewer put the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra through its paces, they didn't push it to 30x or 100x as they knew how processed these images would be.
• The Galaxy S23 Ultra's zoom cameras start to get a little grainy in poor lighting conditions, and according to DXOMARK any images taken at 10x zoom in lighting conditions dimmer than about 5 lux are actually being taken with a different camera.
• There's no Log mode, 4K video at 120fps, APV codec or Horizontal Lock on the S23 Ultra.
• The ageing 12MP ultrawide camera starts to look a little out of place next to the S26 Ultra's much higher-res 50MP one, and Galaxy S23 Ultra users won't receive another major software update after One UI 9.
• Because it's using a crop for 10x zoom, the Galaxy S26 Ultra captures marginally less fine detail than the dedicated 10x camera on the Galaxy S23 Ultra (in good lighting conditions).
• Close-up shots can be tricky with the Galaxy S26 Ultra's zoom cameras as they need a decent amount of space between you and your subject. GSMArena found it could get within around 22cm of something using 3x zoom and 52cm using 5x zoom, with Samsung recommending you stay at least 80cm away from your subject when using 5x zoom.
• There's a smaller sensor on the Galaxy S26 Ultra's 3x zoom camera compared to the one found on the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
• The S26 Ultra now costs $100 more in the US (as of October 1, 2026).

Shooting tips for each phone

• When shooting at 10x or higher zoom levels on either phone, brace yourself as best you can (rest your elbows on a wall or get yourself a tiny tripod) as any shake will be amplified. Our 100x zoom guide covers long-range technique.
• Use the S23 Ultra’s 10x zoom when there’s plenty of light, but at lower light levels (evenings, nights), consider using 3x or even 1x and cropping instead.
• Shoot in 50MP mode with the S23 Ultra when you know you’ll crop into images and there’s good light available. When shooting at night or indoors, opt for the default 12MP images instead.
• At night on either phone, shoot with the main camera (which uses a much larger 1/1.3-inch sensor compared to any of the phone’s telephoto sensors) and crop if necessary.
• Use the S26 Ultra’s 5x zoom for concerts, sports and even portraits (when shooting from about 2 metres away). Get at least 80cm away from your subject for close-ups with the 5x.
• Shoot using the S26 Ultra’s 24MP mode (available in Camera Assistant) to squeeze out extra detail when there’s plenty of light.
• Shoot in Expert RAW mode when you want more manual control over your photos and RAW (DNG) files for post-processing.

Should you upgrade?

Upgrade if you shoot a lot at night or indoors, use the ultrawide camera to photograph landscapes or the insides of buildings, take your phone's video camera seriously, find yourself zooming in to about 5x magnification or want a phone you can keep for years (the S26 Ultra should get software updates into the 2030s).

Stick with your Galaxy S23 Ultra if you like to photograph things that are far away in good lighting (think sporting events from the stands, birds, aeroplanes, etc) and feel your Galaxy S23 Ultra still performs well enough for your needs (it should still receive monthly security updates). Keep in mind that the Galaxy S23 Ultra's 10x telephoto camera is unmatched by any Galaxy phone that's come out since (there's no true 10x magnification camera on any Galaxy released since).

Finally, consider the cost. Since October 1, 2026, the Galaxy S26 Ultra has cost $1,399.99 in the US for the 256GB storage option. In late October 2026, Engadget saw the Galaxy S23 Ultra fetching an average of $404 on Swappa and a top SellCell offer of $291 (though it did see one Samsung trade-in offer screen showing $500 in trade-in credit).

If the price is the problem, a discounted S25 Ultra has the same 3x and 5x zoom layout and focuses closer than the S26 Ultra, as our S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra comparison explains. The Galaxy Ultra ranking contains all six generations in one place.

Frequently asked questions