The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra may not be the phone for selfie lovers and TikTok fans

We are just over a week away from the Galaxy Unpacked event. Among other things, the event is set to host the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S23 range, and the flow of leaks surrounding them has been relentless.

In particular, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has been the subject of a host of rumours. We've heard just about everything – from massive camera upgrades to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor which will power it.

Now, leaked information on the camera setup suggests that the front-facing sensor could be getting a downgrade from the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. The leak comes from notorious Samsung insider, Ice Universe. Ice's record with Samsung information is pretty much as good as it gets – consider it a safe bet.

In the Tweet, Ice said, "Front camera (40MP GH1→12MP 3LU)" suggesting that the front sensor will be downgraded from a 40MP unit to a 12MP one. On the face of it, that's quite a drop – even the Motorola G73 released earlier today has a higher resolution than that!

It's not as straightforward as it seems though. That 40MP sensor used pixel binning to create 10MP images. That's great for low light shots, but it does mean that the newer sensor produces higher resolution images. 

Ice summed this up in a Weibo post talking about video on the front-facing camera, saying, "The portrait video can achieve 4K 30fps, and the separation between the portrait and the background is better."

It seems, then, that what looks like a downgrade on the face of it could actually be an upgrade in most situations. We'll know more about what's to come on February 1st when the new range is unveiled.