Mats Hellqvist
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is finally official, and perhaps the least obvious upgrade in Samsung flagship phone history. But don’t let that fool you. While it looks almost identical to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, a few things have changed under the hood. The most obvious difference is still the color. There are three new colors – green, lavender and cream, as well as the well-known phantom black.
Inside the Galaxy S23 Ultra is a Samsung-customized version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. As usual, the same processor powers the entire Galaxy S23 series. This time, however, there is only one version of the Samsung smartphones and no variants with Exynos CPUs for specific markets. The Samsung version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has a Cortex-X3 core that runs at up to 3.36GHz versus the usual 3.2GHz maximum. The Adreno 740 GPU reportedly also clocks faster at 719 instead of 680 MHz.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: New main camera and new selfie camera
The other big improvement is the main camera, which features a 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP2 sensor from Samsung. The HP2 can combine 16 individual pixels into a 2.4 µm super pixel for a final resolution of 12 megapixels. 4-in-1 binning is also possible, resulting in 50 megapixel images with more detail. The Galaxy S23 series also heralds the launch of a new camera app. Samsung’s Expert RAW app is integrated into the new camera app as one of several modes, offering RAW image capture with the benefits of multi-frame processing. As a result, you get more detail, HDR and better noise reduction. And all this with a resolution of up to 50 megapixels.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra also brings a new Astro Hyperlapse video mode. The new main camera also has improved video stabilization compared to the old 108 megapixel main camera thanks to Adaptive VDIS. Adaptive VDIS analyzes and subdivides movements and recognizes light conditions. In addition, the optical image stabilization has been revised and offers a twice larger OIS angle in the new model. This compensates for movements of around 3 degrees compared to the 1.5 degrees of the predecessor.
There’s also a new front camera that’s shared across the Galaxy S23 series – a 12-megapixel selfiecam with f/2.2 aperture and autofocus. The other three cameras on the back of the Galaxy S23 Ultra are largely identical to the Galaxy S22 Ultra. There’s a 12-megapixel ultrawide with f/2.2 aperture and autofocus, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto with f/2.4, and a 10-megapixel 10x periscope with f/4.9.
Display and battery largely unchanged
Not too much has changed regarding the display either, but the previous panel was already one of the best on the market. The 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display still has a resolution of 1,440 x 3,088 pixels and still achieves a maximum brightness of 1,750 nits. The update rate can be continuously adjusted between 1 and 120 Hz. What’s changed is the addition of a smarter Vision Booster, which can adjust the display’s hue and contrast for three different lighting conditions. The other useful upgrade is the new Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the front and back.
The battery, on the other hand, still has a capacity of 5,000 mAh and charges with the same charging speed of 45 watts. According to Samsung, the Ultra achieves a battery level of 65% in 30 minutes. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is now available in four colors – Phantom Black, Green, Cream and Lavender. There are four configurations starting at 256GB this year – 8/256GB, 12/256GB, 12/512GB and 12GB/1TB.
The smallest Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra starts at €1,400 in Europe, $1,200 in the US and ₹115,000 in India.
