Samsung’s 2023 flagship series is officially here, and it’s better than ever. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is, of course, the crown jewel in the lineup, showcasing the best smartphone hardware Samsung has to offer. For the most part, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is an iterative upgrade over its predecessor, retaining many elements of last year’s Galaxy S22 Ultra, including design, display, and battery. However, there are some notable improvements. The biggest highlight is the new 200MP primary camera, which uses Samsung’s updated pixel binning tech to further improve still photography. The phone also packs Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, and there’s no Exynos option this time around.
Samsung has once again raised the bar for Android flagships with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and the phone looks well set to become one of the best smartphones of the year. But how much better is it than its predecessor, the Galaxy S22 Ultra? Is it worth upgrading to the latest model?
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Galaxy S22 Ultra: Pricing and availability
The Galaxy S23 Ultra starts at $1,200 for the base model with 256GB of storage. It’ll be available from Samsung’s official website, Samsung Experience Stores, and all major carriers and retailers starting Feb. 17. The device comes in four primary colors: Phantom Black, Cream, Green, and Lavender. You can also get the phone in Lime, Graphite, Sky Blue, and Red exclusively from Samsung’s website.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra also launched at $1,200, but you can find it for much less these days. Color options include Phantom Black, White, Burgundy, and Green. Buying from Samsung.com will give you access to a few exclusive colorways as well, such as Graphite, Sky Blue, Bora Purple, and Red.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Galaxy S22 Ultra: Specifications
Specifications | Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra | Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra |
Build |
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Dimensions & Weight |
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Display |
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SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
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RAM & Storage |
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Battery & Charging |
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Security | Ultra in-display fingerprint scanner | Ultra in-display fingerprint scanner |
Rear Camera(s) |
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Front Camera(s) | 12MP f/2.2 autofocus | 40MP f/2.2 fixed-focus |
Port(s) | USB-C | USB-C |
Audio | Stereo speakers | Stereo speakers |
Connectivity |
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Software | One UI 4.1 based on Android 13 | One UI 4.1 based on Android 12 |
Other Features |
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Design and display: Playing it safe
Last year’s Galaxy S22 Ultra represented a major design shift from previous Ultra models, essentially blending the design elements of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Galaxy S21 Ultra. The result was a phone that looked elegant and classy, featuring sharp, squared-off angles and a beautiful curved display. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S23 Ultra plays it safe, keeping the same design as the S22 Ultra.
It’s almost impossible to tell the S23 Ultra and S22 Ultra apart, especially since the dimensions are nearly identical. The Galaxy S23 Ultra and S22 Ultra are separated by just a couple of millimeters, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra is slightly heavier than its predecessor, weighing 8.25 vs 8.08 ounces.
Regarding durability, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has the edge over the S22 Ultra since it now features top-of-the-line Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection. Compared to the Gorilla Glass Victus found on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the latest glass offers improved drop protection, especially on rough surfaces like concrete and asphalt. That means the Galaxy S23 Ultra should be able to withstand hard drops better than its predecessor. Both phones are IP68 certified for water and dust resistance and come equipped with an Armor aluminum frame for improved durability. But even then, we highly recommend covering your expensive smartphone with a protective case, regardless of if you have the S23 Ultra or the S22 Ultra.
The display department is a similar story. The new Galaxy S23 Ultra uses the same 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display as the S22 Ultra. However, Samsung notes that the panel is less curved than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, resulting in a larger and flatter surface area. In addition, the Vision Booster feature now adjusts to three lighting levels instead of two to enhance sunlight legibility. First introduced on the Galaxy S22 Ultra last year, this feature dynamically adjusts color tones and contrast for better readability in direct sunlight. Considering how impressive the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s display was, even small refinements to the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s display should earn it the coveted title of best smartphone display. The display offers 3088 x 1440 (QHD+) resolution, 1,750 nits peak brightness, and an adaptive refresh rate that can go as high as 120Hz for smooth visuals and drop to 1Hz to save power.
Cameras: One of the best cameras on the market gets an upgrade
If you thought the 108MP camera on the Galaxy S22 Ultra was a bit too much, wait till you hear the megapixel count of the Galaxy S23’s primary shooter. Samsung’s latest flagship takes it to the next level with a 200MP main camera that features the new ISOCELL HP2 sensor, which the company announced just a few weeks ago. It has an f/1.7 aperture and 0.6um pixels. The sensor takes 50MP binned photos by combining 4 pixels into one large pixel and also supports 16-to-1 binning for 2.24um pixels at 12.5MP for super dark scenes. Common sense dictates that a higher megapixel count doesn’t guarantee superior image quality. We’ll have to spend some time with both devices to see how the new 200MP sensor compares to the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s 108MP shooter and whether it makes a difference across different lighting situations.
If you thought the 108MP camera on the Galaxy S22 Ultra was a bit too much, wait till you hear the megapixel count of the Galaxy S23’s primary shooter.
The rest of the camera assembly seems unchanged from the Galaxy S22 Ultra. You still get a powerful 10MP periscope lens with 10x optical zoom and up to 100x Space Zoom, a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultra-wide shooter as the Galaxy S22 Ultra. We were impressed with last year’s model’s zooming capabilities and expect even better results from the Galaxy S23 Ultra thanks to its new and improved ISP. The video performance has also been improved. For one, the Galaxy S23 Ultra now uses double optical image stabilizer (OIS) angles in all directions, allowing users to capture smoother video footage even in low-light conditions. Additionally, it can now shoot 8K video at 30 FPS, up from 24 FPS on the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Finally, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a new 12MP f/2.2 selfie camera that Samsung says delivers noticeably better photos and video performance than the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s 40MP shooter. The upgraded selfie camera offers fast autofocus and Super HDR capabilities.
Performance: No more Exynos!
This is where we start to see the phones diverge. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, which is specially optimized for the Galaxy S23 series to deliver faster performance. The newest chipset offers up to 35% faster CPU performance and 25% faster GPU rendering over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. Another big change is that, unlike previous Samsung flagships, the Galaxy S23 Ultra isn’t split between Snapdragon and Exynos variants; all regions get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. Whether the company will reintroduce the Exynos chipset on future Galaxy flagships remains to be seen. But at least this year, we’re spared from the dichotomy of one-phone-two-chipsets. This is especially welcome, as performance and efficiency disparities between Exynos and Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S models have been a long-standing issue, with the Exynos models almost always a step behind their Snapdragon counterparts.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra has also doubled down on the storage of the base model, which now starts at 256GB instead of 128GB. For those who want more storage, 512GB and 1TB variants are also available. However, there’s no change in RAM capacity, with the base model packing 8GB of RAM and higher-end variants maxing out at 12GB. Storage choices for the Galaxy S22 Ultra include 128GB, 512GB, and 1TB. As for RAM, you get 8GB on the base and 12GB on higher-end models.
On top of offering a higher amount of storage on the base model, the Galaxy S23 Ultra holds another advantage over its predecessor. It uses the most cutting-edge UFS 4.0 storage chip, which offers significantly faster read/write speeds compared to the UFS 3.1 chip found in the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Battery life, charging, and software: Very few changes
While the Galaxy S23 Ultra improves the camera and performance, there are no changes or upgrades to the battery capacity and charging speed. Like its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 Ultra packs a 5,000mAh battery and offers a 45W fast wired charging speed. However, a more efficient chipset and other power optimizations mean the Galaxy S23 Ultra should be able to deliver longer battery life than the Galaxy S22 Ultra. That said, we can’t help but feel let down by the charging speed of the new model, which we think is a bit on the conservative side, especially in the face of competitors such as the OnePlus 11 reaching the 100W mark.
Wireless charging speeds remain the same, with both phones offering 15W Qi fast charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. You won’t get a charger with the Galaxy S23 Ultra or S22 Ultra, so make sure you have a compatible fast charger handy. If you’re looking to buy one, our best USB PD fast chargers round-up has many good options.
On the software front, the Galaxy S23 Ultra ships with the OneUI 5.1 skin based on Android 13. This is the most recent iteration of Samsung’s custom skin, and it’s currently exclusive to the Galaxy S23 lineup. OneUI 5.1 specific features include the ability to access Expert RAW right from the camera app, new collaboration tools in the Samsung Notes app, improved multitasking in Samsung Dex, and more, but they’re mostly small upgrades.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra, on the other hand, runs One UI 4.1 out of the box based on Android 12, but it’s upgradable to One UI 5 with Android 13. Both phones are guaranteed to receive four years of major OS updates and five years of security updates, although obviously the S22 Ultra will run out first.
The rest of the hardware is more or less similar between the Galaxy S23 Ultra and S22 Ultra. Both phones have a built-in S-Pen, dual stereo speakers, an ultrasonic fingerprint reader, ultra-wideband (UWB) connectivity, Samsung Car Key support (in select markets), and Wi-Fi 6E.
Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Galaxy S22 Ultra: Should you upgrade?
We wish there was a definite answer to this question. If you’re holding a Galaxy S22 Ultra in hand, you probably don’t need to upgrade to the new model, as there aren’t enough upgrades to warrant a jump. It’s a different story if you like to live on the cutting edge of smartphone tech and have money to spend.
On purely technical merit, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best Samsung flagship you can buy right now, but we don’t feel it’s a huge improvement over its predecessor. Sure, the new 200MP sensor is exciting, but we doubt it will make a world of difference in real-life performance, especially considering the 108MP camera of the Galaxy S22 Ultra was already quite good. So, if you recently purchased a Galaxy S22 Ultra, rest assured you’re not missing out on much.
If you have an older Galaxy flagship, such as Galaxy 20 Ultra or Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, the upgrade might be worth it as there are many upgrades and improvements to look forward to. You get a bigger, more advanced display, a powerful camera system, faster performance, a built-in S Pen stylus, and a long software commitment.
