A specific rumor about the Galaxy S24 Ultra is making me worry that 2023 may be the last year we see one of the best smartphone camera features.
I don’t want to believe one specific rumor about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and would be shocked if Samsung made such an odd strategic decision. But it’s possible the 10x optical zoom feature may be removed from the phone.
It could go either way at the moment, but if it does happen, it would leave the S24 Ultra with a 3x and a 5x optical zoom and entirely remove the Ultra series’s main, unique, standout camera feature. And I hate the thought of that.Moving backward
It would be a baffling decision should the rumors turn out to be accurate and almost as confusing as the fact no other manufacturer has taken on Samsung with a 10x optical zoom camera on a different phone yet. In 2024, I was hoping to see at least one other phone with such an impressive zoom, but now it is possible there may not even be one example at all.
I use many different smartphones throughout the year, and I enjoy taking a lot of photos with them. But I regularly think, “Oh, I wish I had my S23 Ultra right now to take that photo,” purely because of the 10x zoom feature. It can take photos that are simply impossible to capture with the same level of detail and quality as any other current phone.
I’ve loved the feature since it was introduced on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, and I’m not the only one. It’s also just one aspect of the S23 Ultra’s photographic prowess, which would be eroded should the feature be abandoned.
Why would Samsung consider removing it and settling with a 5x optical zoom as its lengthiest option? It may come down to cost, as perhaps it’s only a handful of people who use and enjoy the 10x zoom option, or it’s impossible to fit inside the new S24 Ultra due to other alternations.
