In good light, the S23 Ultra has more pleasing colors, it shoots warmer colors with less contrast for a milder, less dramatic look than its predecessor. In the second shot, the S22 Ultra looks overprocessed, notice the strangely dark color of the wall, while the S23 Ultra captures a much more realistic and pleasing photo.
Selfies
Despite the drop from a 40-megapixel selfie camera to a 12-megapixel shooter, we don’t see a massive drop in quality. The image processing has actually improved in many cases.
Galaxy S23 Ultra Performance & Benchmarks
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in all markets
(Image Credit – PhoneArena) All S23 Ultra models are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, there are no longer Exynos versions
As we’ve already mentioned, all S23 models have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. To be precise, it’s actually a slightly modified version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, tuned to a higher clock speed, especially for Samsung. And this chip is an absolute beast!
Performance Benchmarks
Built on the latest and most efficient 4 nanometer technology, it is a huge improvement particularly for gamers. The GPU in this new chip actually is on par or even better than the one in iPhones, which used to lead the market for a few years.
While the chip itself supports fancy new tech like Wi-Fi 7 and 4K120 video, not all of them make it to the Galaxy, and these two ones actually do NOT. The S23 Ultra still supports only Wi-Fi 6E and 4K60 video recording, so there is that.
What is impressive is Samsung’s decision to double the storage for the base model of the S23 Ultra, while keeping the same price (at least in the U.S.). These are the models offered:
- 8GB RAM + 256GB storage
- 12GB RAM + 512GB storage
- 12GB RAM + 1TB storage
Having a 1TB option is a great thing for power users, but the impact of a 256GB base model is far greater for the everyday user, so we are really excited about that.
Galaxy S23 Ultra Android version
One UI 5.1 feels more refined than before and finally, a lot of the microjitter that the system is known for is no longer there. Kudos to Samsung for this!
When you open the system settings, you might notice that it reports as if the operating system takes up 60GB of space. You should know that this is not really the case and that number is misleading. Because of the discrepancy in the way computers count storage (1GB of storage is actually around 1.073GB in binary), there is an inherent “loss” in storage. What we refer to as 512GB storage model, for example, has around 494GB of actual space. However, instead of counting that discrepancy out, Samsung includes it in the “system” size number, inflating the system size number. So the actual Android system size is much smaller, do keep that in mind.
The best thing about the S23 series software, however, is Samsung’s commitment to long support. The S23 series will get four years of major updates and five years of security updates, more than even Google offers for its Pixel phones.
Galaxy S23 Ultra Battery
No change in battery size
The S23 Ultra has a 5,000 mAh battery, same size as last year, but battery life has improved even with this same battery.
Official Samsung numbers claim the new S23 Ultra gets up to 27 hours of video playback, which is 30% longer than the S22 Ultra, and when measuring audio playback time, Samsung estimates the S23 Ultra to last 99 hours, 22% longer than the last year’s model. For those coming from an Exynos model, it will be an even bigger improvement.
PhoneArena Battery Test Results:
Our independent tests confirm that the S23 Ultra lasts considerably longer than its predecessor.
On our lightest web browsing test where we run an automated script going over webpages and simulating scrolling behavior, the S23 Ultra scored a massive improvement over the previous model and is almost on par with the iPhone 14 Pro Max. On our second battery test which involves streaming the same video playlist on YouTube across different phones, the new Galaxy improves over its predecessor but is slightly behind the Pixel 7 Pro and most notable the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Finally, in our most intense 3D gaming test where we use a demanding modern game, the Galaxy is only bested by the iPhone. These are very encouraging results and we are happy to see Samsung bring these kinds of improvements even with the same battery size. It really shows how big of a difference the processor and software play in the equation.
Galaxy S23 Ultra Charging Speeds
The S23 Ultra surprised us with much longer battery life despite the same physical size of the battery (Image by PhoneArena)
One area left without improvement, however, is charging.
The S23 Ultra supports 45W charging with a cable, same as before. Also, just like in previous years, you don’t get a charger in the box, only a cable. These speeds are fine, but considering how other companies support double the speeds, they are a bit of a let-down. The S23 Ultra will still take more than an hour to charge fully, while those other rivals can now achieve that in less than half an hour, or even quicker.
Also, remember that for those 45-watt speeds you need to pair Samsung’s 45W charger with a special 5A USB-C cable (thicker than the average USB-C cable).
| S23 Ultra (starting from 1% charge) |
45W charging (wired) |
25W charging (wired) |
10W+ charging (wireless) |
|---|---|---|---|
| in 15 minutes | 41% | 27% | 14% |
| in 30 mins | 68% | 51% | 24% |
| in 45 mins | 89% | 71% | 35% |
| in 1 hour | 98% | 91% | 45% |
| Full charge (1-100%, in hours) |
1 hour 6 minutes | 1 hour 19 mins | 2 hours 37 mins |
The S23 Ultra also supports wireless charging at up to 10W speeds, and it will be able to reverse wireless charge other devices when you place them on its back (you could top up wireless headphones, a smartphone or another phone for example). The keen-eyed readers will know that previous Samsung phones supported faster, 15W wireless charging speeds, and it’s interesting that Samsung chose to slow down the wireless charging rate.
Galaxy S23 Ultra Audio Quality and Haptics
(Image Credit – PhoneArena) Haptics haven’t changed but the audio quality is much better now
Compared to the Pixel 7 Pro, the Galaxy S23 Ultra again wins as sound quality is just a bit more impressive, but the Pixel is not nearly as bad as last year’s S22 Ultra, so the difference is not as huge. Voices on the new S23 Ultra come out just a bit cleaner and you have a bit more bass than the Pixel. Again, the overall sound profile is richer and you do notice.
Finally, comparing sound quality to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the Galaxy S23 Ultra doesn’t have as wide a presence and when listening to Miley Cyrus’ Flowers, you can hear the more open stage sound profile of the iPhone while the Galaxy sounds a bit more compressed. The iPhone wins with a deeper bass, we are still talking within smartphone format limitations of course, but the iPhone is pushing those, while the Galaxy feels just a tiny step behind.
And for those that are still wondering whether a 3.5mm headphone jack will make a comeback in the S23 Ultra, the answer is a “no”.
As for haptics, we did not see any meaningful difference from the previous model, and that’s a bit of a shame. Apple has been the gold standard for haptics with its Taptic Engine for a few years, and other Android rivals like the OnePlus 11 deliver a similar if not better experience than Apple. Compared to them, the vibration feedback on the Galaxy feels vague and not nearly as refined.
Galaxy S23 Ultra Competitors
In the US and most Western countries, the Galaxy S23 Ultra faces competition from two big players.
Galaxy S23 Ultra Summary
(Image Credit – PhoneArena) The S23 Ultra might not have one big new feature, but it has SO many little improvements!
At the end of the day, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is a step in the right direction for Samsung. It’s not a giant leap, but it improves in all the key areas with an impressive new chip (that finally come to all customers), improved audio quality, double the storage, better design and a more capable camera. These are things everyone will appreciate.
All the rest of the minor tweaks are welcome additions, even if far less impactful: 8K video is still not something many users would actually use, the improvements in video stabilization are again nice, but not a game-changer.
Does the new S23 Ultra feel like an “S” version? While we cannot outright recommend S22 Ultra owners to upgrade, those who rock an older phone and are looking for a flagship, will love the S23 Ultra. To us, this feels like more than an “S” version. And let’s not forget that it keeps the power and versatility of a Note with the S Pen and there is really nothing quite like it on the market.
