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As a mobile phone user or enthusiast, you probably know of Hasselblad from their partnership with OnePlus. But this Swedish company has a more fantastic history that you may not have heard of. Did you know that Hasselblad cameras have been part of the space programs of the USA’s National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA)? Did you know that Chinese drone company now owns the majority share in the company?
Below are highlights of the exciting history of this iconic camera brand with Swedish roots, with details of the feats that make the brand tick.
The Historical Timeline of Hasselblad
1941 : This was the year that the company was founded and went on to become the world’s most advanced camera maker. Their cameras were so advanced that they were highly expensive and used by only the creme of the crop in photography.
1962 : The company’s first foray into the world of space travel kicked off in 1962 with NASA’s Mercury program. A modified Hasselblad camera produced high quality images that NASA astronaut, Walter Schirra, shot during his six orbits of the Earth that year [1].
1969 : Three Hasselblad cameras were part of the Apollo 11 space mission to the moon. Yes; Hasselblad, along with Zeiss (another top photography company), were part of the photography equipment used on the moon by American astronauts [2]. But it wasn’t only the Apollo 11 mission that saw its cameras in use in outer space. The Swedish company’s cameras featured in several Apollo missions.
2016 : DJI took a minority stake in the Swedish camera company as well as entered a partnership to co-develop high-end camera drones that would combine the former’s drone aerial technology with latter’s cameras. DJI, a Chinese company, is world-renown for its drones which are equipped with top of the line cameras. The investment and partnership would ensure that DJI stayed a top drone maker with outstanding cameras. The DJI MAVIC 3 and DJI Mavic 2 Pro drones are some of the products of the joint development work between the two brands. The stake also earned DJI a seat on the board of directors.
2017 : DJI took a majority stake in the company – not enough for the transaction to be an outright acquisition. But enough to be a majority shareholder.
2021 : OnePlus and Hasselblad entered into an agreement to co-develop the next generation of cameras in OnePlus’ premium flagships. [3] This put OnePlus on the list of mobile phone brands that had entered into partnership with a camera brand . Other such partnerships include: Nokia & Carl Zeiss , Huawei & Leica, Sony & Zeiss, as well as Vivo & Zeiss. The OnePlus 9 Pro was the first product of this joint partnership.
2022 : OPPO and Hasselblad announced a three-year partnership to co-develop industry-leading camera technologies for OPPO’s flagship Find X series. [4] This partnership makes sense, seeing as OPPO and OnePlus have become tightly integrated and now share research and development, among other resources. Today’s OnePlus phones are mostly re-badged OPPO models anyway.
There has not been much of an impact seen in OnePlus camera phones since the partnership with the Swedish camera brand. At least, we have yet to see them take the world by storm the way Nokia-Zeiss flagship camera phones did back in the day, or the way that Huawei’s Leica-branded flagships have done till date. Hopefully, this will change soon. With Hasselblad’s pedigree, OnePlus and OPPO should be churning out some of the best camera phones in the industry by now.
This Hasselblad data camera was a part of the Apollo 8, 9, 10, and 11 space missions.
Fun Fact : There have been six lunar missions in which humans stepped on the moon, and a total of 12 Hasselblad cameras were left on the surface of the moon, to make room for the lunar rock samples that NASA astronauts had to bring back to earth.
References
- Hasselblad In Space ( source )
- Apollo 11 Hasselblad Camera ( source )
- OnePlus And Hasselblad ( source )
- OPPO and Hasselblad ( source )
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Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
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Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the top device in Samsung’s 2023 premium flagship line of phones. It launches with One UI 5.1 based on Android 13 and is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. It is available in four memory variants – 8/128GB, 12/256GB, 12/512GB, and 12/1TB.
Welcome to our complete guide to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. On this page, we cover everything you need to know about this highly anticipated 2023 smartphone, including its specifications, price, release date, and more.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: brief information
- OS: Android 13
- Release Date: 2023
- Network Type: 2G/3G/4G/5G
- Display: 6.8-inch, 1440 x 3088 pixels resolution
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
- Selfie Camera: 40 MP
- Rear camera: 200 MP
- RAM: 12 GB
- ROM: 1 TB
- Battery: 5000 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Specs
- Launch/Release Dates
- Price: How much is Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in the US, UK, EU, others? Does Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra have aptX HD? Does Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra have aptX Adaptive? Does Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra have Google Play Store? Will Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra work in the USA?
Specs
Mobile Wireless Network and Software
- 2G mobile network bands : GSM, GPRS, EDGE 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz. CDMA 800 / 1900 & TD-SCDMA
- 3G mobile network bands : UMTS, WCDMA, HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 2100 MHz. CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
- 4G mobile network bands : LTE.
- 5G mobile network bands : NSA/SA/Sub6/mmWave
- SIM Type : Nano-SIM, Dual SIM
- Software / OS : One UI 5 based on Android 13
Design, Form Factor, Appearance
- Dimensions : 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9 mm
- Weight : 233g
- Display : 6.8 inches, 1440 x 3088 pixels, 120 Hz refresh rate, 20:9 aspect ratio, Dynamic AMOLED 2X. Gorilla Glass Victus
- Colours : Phantom Black, Cotton Flower, Botanic Green and Misty Lilac.
- Physical Build : Aluminium frame. IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5metres for 30 minutes)
Internal Hardware Specs
- CPU/ Processor : 64-bit, 3.3 GHz Octa-core
- Chipset : Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
- GPU/ Graphics Processing Unit : Adreno 740
- RAM : 8 GB / 12 GB
- Extended/Virtual RAM :
- Internal Storage : 128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB
- External Storage : No
Photography, Video Recording
- Main Camera : 200MP ISOCELL HP2 main sensor, autofocus, LED flash, 8k video, 4k video, 1080p@30fps video recording
- Front Camera : 40 MP, fixed focus, Face Recognition, 4k video, 1080p@30fps video capture
Audio, Video Playback
- Music Support : PCM, AAC / AAC + / eAAC + / MP3 / AMR – NB / WB / APE
- Audio : No 3.5 mm audio jack
- Loudspeaker : Stereo speaker
- Video Support : H.264/MP4/MPEG4 player
- FM Radio : .
Phone Sensors
- Digital Compass : Yes.
- Accelerometer : Yes.
- Proximity Sensor : Yes.
- Ambient Light Sensor : Yes.
- Barometer : Yes.
- Pedometer : No.
- Heart Rate Monitor : No.
- Gyroscope (G-Sensor) : Yes.
- Fingerprint Scanner : Yes; under-display.
- Face Unlock : Yes.
- Iris Scanner : No.
- Motion Sensing / Gesture Control : No.
- Voice Control : No.
- Intelligent Digital Assistant : Yes; Google Assistant, Bixby
- Infra-red Blaster : No.
Connectivity Options
- Bluetooth Version : 5.3
- Bluetooth Profiles : A2DP
- WiFi : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, hotspot
- GPS : Yes, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo
- USB : microUSB v3.2 Type-C. USB-OTG.
- NFC : Yes.
Miscellaneous Specs
- Battery Type and Capacity : Non-Removable Lithium-Polymer 5000 mAh
- Battery Charging : 45W fast charging
- Wireless Charging : 15W fast wireless charging.
- Reverse Charging : 4.5W.
- Model Version/Number : SM-S918B, SM-S918B/DS, SM-S918U, SM-S918U1, SM-S918W, SM-S918N, SM-S9180, SM-S918E, SM-S918E/DS
Launch/Release Dates
- Announced : February 1, 2023
- Release Date : February 2023
Price: How much is Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in the US, UK, EU, others?
- United States of America (USA) : $1,199 (8/256GB). $1,380 (8/512GB).
- Canada : C$1,650 (12/513GB). C$2,210 (12GB/1TB).
- United Kingdom (UK) : £1,250 (8/256GB). £1,400 (12/512GB).
- Germany : €1,400 (8/256GB). €1,580 (12/512GB). €1,820 (12GB/1TB).
- Switzerland : CHF
- Australia : AU$1,950 (8/256GB). A$2,250 (12/512GB). A$2,650 (12GB/1TB).
The above prices may change with time from country to country, as market forces and economic policies influence product price movements.
Does Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra have aptX HD?
Unfortunately, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra does not support the aptX HD audio codec. What it has is classic aptX.
Does Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra have aptX Adaptive?
Unfortunately, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra does not support the aptX Adaptive audio codec . What it supports is classic aptX.
Does Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra have Google Play Store?
It supports Google Services and software applications, including Play Store and Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and others.
Will Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra work in the USA?
This is a GSM phone and is supported on US GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile and other networks riding on their networks. It does not support CDMA networks. Do make enquiries from your carrier to know what bands/frequencies are supported on their service.
MobilityArena Buyer’s Guide Verdict
This is the most capable and the biggest Samsung Galaxy smartphone of the year 2023. The cameras are excellent, performance is top notch, and there is S Pen (stylus) support. Charging is slower than what you will find from most competitors, though. There are interesting omissions too. It has no heart rate monitor . Lastly, Samsung has left out support for the following advanced codecs: Bluetooth Low Energy Audio (LE Audio), aptX Adaptive , aptx HD, and aptX Lossless Bluetooth.
Our Buyer’s Guide Verdict is a recommendation based on the specifications of the device and a general guide to help you understand how much value a device offers for its price. It is not an endorsement of the device. Ask questions and use your judgement when buying any device; MobilityArena takes no responsibility for your buying decisions .
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Phone Review Rating
Not available.
