Tech tipster Ice Universe (opens in new tab) has claimed that the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra will come with a 30 frames per second recording mode for its 8K video capture. That equates to a 25% boost over the 8K@24 fps the Galaxy S22 range provides. Comparatively, rival flagship phones tend to top out at 4K and 60 fps. But with 4K TVs only recently becoming more of a standard household feature, and 8K sets still hugely expensive and impractical, one might be inclined to say “so what?” Well that would be a fair reaction, as to a certain extent being able to record 8K footage on a smartphone is arguably a specs boast more than anything practical. And while the likes of the iPhone 14 Pro Max sticks with 4K video capture, we’ve found that it and its predecessors tend to offer far superior video recording — in terms of colors, clarity and quality — than pretty much every one of the best Android phones.
Samsung Galaxy S23 could lead an 8K video charge
Dig a little deeper and there’s more than meets the eye to this rumor. First off, the iPhone 14 Pro was expected to have an 8K video mode, which would indicate Apple may have some interest in that area. But that never happened. Comparatively, Samsung has had 8K video recording for several generations of Galaxy S-series phones. That means in the resolution stakes it’s had the edge over Apple phones and arguably offers a more future-proof recording option for a time when 8K TVs become widespread. Offering a higher resolution video is also handy for some content creators who want as detailed footage as possible and can then downsample to 4K or even 1080p, but have more room to play with things during the edit; higher resolution video basically means more data on tap. One might argue that such creators would use a dedicated camera. But sometimes the best camera you have is the one you have on you at the time, and more often than not that’s a smartphone. Now if the Galaxy S23 range gets a 30 fps 8K video recording option, it further boosts the flexibility of recording at that resolution. Some YouTubers like MKBHD tout 30 fps as the best frame rate for video; it seemingly offers a smoother experience than 24 fps recording but avoids the potentially ‘soap opera’ effect of recording at 60 fps. So bolstering 8K video recording could make the Galaxy S23 range the phones of choice for serious content creators. Though, I’d like to see Samsung improve some of its video processing so the end results compete with Apple’s video chops. And this could also be quite a niche feature for the Galaxy S23 range, aimed at power users. But then again, I suspect it’s power users who would be attracted to the Galaxy S23 Ultra, especially as it’s touted to get a 200-megapixel camera, which should deliver sharper and more detailed photos. For the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus, 8k@30 fps video recording could be overkill. But it’s always nice to have the option.
Other Galaxy S23 Upgrades
As for other Galaxy S23 upgrades, the rumors have the smaller Galaxy S23 phones tipped to get a design that’s reminiscent of the Galaxy S22 Ultra. While on the specs side, the major upgrade will be a new chip in the form of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is set to get the new chip, and the aforementioned 200MP camera. But don’t expect any radical design changes or huge hardware upgrades on the rest of the cameras; an even brighter display does seem promising though. We are expecting to see the Galaxy S23 revealed early February, with the phones being released soon after. What will be interesting is to see what Samsung can bring to the table on the software side in order to keep its S-series phones near the top of our best phones list.
