Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Review

Design

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra measures 163.4 mm in height, 78.1 mm in width, and 8.9 mm in depth, with a weight of 234 grams. It features a non-foldable design and incorporates a scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass Victus screen. It is available in multiple color options, including Red, Green, Graphite, Phantom Black, Lavender, Cream, Sky Blue, Lime, and a BMW M Edition.

Display

The device boasts a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a resolution of 1440 x 3088 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of 500 ppi. The display supports a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and has a peak brightness of 1750 nits. It has a contrast ratio of 3,000,000:1 and provides a 1-120Hz variable refresh rate with a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. Additional features include Always-On Display, DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, and a dual-edge curved design. The display also features a hole-punch notch.

Performance

Powered by the Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm) chipset, the S23 Ultra utilizes an octa-core CPU configuration (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) and an Adreno 740 GPU. RAM options include 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5X, and internal storage is UFS Storage 4.0 in sizes of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB. The device achieved an AnTuTu score of 1,521,862 using version v10. It does not have a microSD card slot for storage expansion.

Camera

The S23 Ultra has a quad-camera setup on the rear:

• Primary (Standard) Camera: 200 MP Samsung ISOCELL HP2 sensor (1/1.3"), 0.60µm pixels, f/1.7 aperture, with 1-4 (2x2) pixel binning.
• Wide Angle Lens: 12.2 MP Sony IMX564 sensor (1/2.55"), 1.40µm pixels, f/2.2 aperture.
• Telephoto + portrait: 12 MP Sony IMX754 sensor (1/3.52"), 1.12µm pixels, f/2.4 aperture.
• Telephoto Lens: 12 MP Sony IMX754 sensor (1/3.52"), 1.12µm pixels, f/4.9 aperture.

The front-facing selfie camera is a 12 MP Samsung S5K3LU sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. Camera features include 3x and 10x optical zoom with OIS, 100x digital zoom, LED flash, optical stabilization, slow-motion video recording up to 480fps, tracking AF, flicker sensor, time-lapse, 4K/8K video recording, digital and optical zoom, autofocus, touch focus, manual focus, PDAF, LAF, continuous shooting, geotagging, panorama, HDR, face detection, RAW, and night mode. Video recording capabilities extend to 8K at 24fps and 30fps, and 4K at 30fps and 60fps, all with HDR, EIS and stereo sound.

Battery Life

The phone is equipped with a 5000 mAh Li-Polymer battery, supporting 45W fast charging and bypass charging. Wireless charging is also supported (wattage not specified). The battery is non-removable.

Software

The S23 Ultra ships with Android 13, with an upgrade path to Android 17.

Pricing

Pricing varies by region and storage configurations, with approximate pricing ranges as follows:

• 12GB/256GB: $635.50 - $1,300.99
• 12GB/512GB: $669.99 - $1,300.99
• 12GB/1TB: $692.00 - $952.71

Connectivity

Connectivity options include:

• Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (Wi-Fi 6), dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot, Wi-Fi Display, Wi-Fi MIMO
• Bluetooth: 5.3 LE with A2DP, AVRCP, DIP, HFP, HID, HSP, MAP, PAN, OPP, and PBAP/PAB.
• GPS: GPS (L1+L5), A-GPS, GLONASS (L1), BeiDou (B1), Galileo (E1+E5a), QZSS (L1 + L5)
• SIM: Dual SIM Dual Standby (Nano SIM + Nano SIM/eSIM).
• USB: USB Type-C 3.2 with OTG, mass storage, and host functionality.

The device supports a wide array of 5G, 4G LTE, 3G, and 2G bands across different regions. It also has NFC capability.

Other Features

The S23 Ultra includes an under-display fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, compass, barometer, and Hall/geomagnetic sensors. It offers Hi-Res Audio, noise cancellation microphones, and stereo speakers. It does not have a notification LED or a dedicated cooling system.

Overall Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a high-end smartphone with a top-tier display, powerful performance, versatile camera system, and a long-lasting battery. The variety of RAM and storage configurations cater to different needs. It is a capable and feature-rich device targeted at users seeking flagship performance and features, albeit at a premium price.