The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Review) turned out to be a solid success formula when it was announced last year. This smartphone also marks the end of Samsung’s Galaxy Note series when successfully integrating the S Pen experience, the final piece of the puzzle.
Newly released Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is no different. It offers a familiar design that looks very similar to its predecessor, but with many improvements, upgrades, and new features over the previous model. It also has enough unique features to set it apart from the regular Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ models. Let’s take a closer look at what makes this the most exciting smartphone in Samsung’s S series lineup this year.
One glance at the Galaxy S23 Ultra and it’s hard to tell the difference between it and the older model. On closer inspection, there are slight differences. Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra now has flat edges around the metal frame, instead of curved. The matte-finished front and back glass are made from Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2, but retain the curved edges.
According to Samsung, the flatter edges along with a reduction in the curvature of the edges not only make the phone easier to hold, but also provide a larger, usable flat area (when held vertically). The rear panel looks and feels similar to the previous model, but with a slightly refreshed camera design. You get the same floating camera layout, but with chrome rings around each lens. Phones are like Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ model, which offers an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. It will be available in Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender finishes.
The back of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is made from Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2
The design of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra also focuses on sustainability this year, with more recycled materials used such as recycled glass for the front screen and back cover, recycled aluminum for the SIM tray, side keys and volume keys as well as recycled plastic for the speaker module. (top and bottom) and the inner cover of the S Pen.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra features a 6.8-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED display that offers 120Hz dynamic refresh rate and up to 240Hz touch sampling rate, when Game Mode is enabled. Unlike the previous model, the screen on the new model doesn’t bend or flex too hard on the left and right sides. The slightly curved edge is present mainly to enable One UI edge functionality, along with a more seamless swiping experience.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra with Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+
Samsung went with its own custom version SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the Galaxy S23 series and called it “the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform for Galaxy”. According to Samsung, the customizations enable better performance, which improves software performance and AI-based imaging. The Galaxy S23 Ultra will have up to 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of internal storage.
The main camera setup on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra now includes one newly introduced 200 megapixel sensor called ISOCELL HP2. This combines 16 pixels into one larger pixel which is said to produce brighter photos in low light. Samsung claims that this adaptive pixel sensor along with the advantages of a custom SoC can help deliver brighter images in low light. The sensor is also said to feature better optical stabilization (OIS), which should help capture sharper and smoother night videos.
Samsung says there’s also enhanced noise reduction technology to help reduce noise in videos shot in low light, and a new ‘Astro Hyperlapse’ mode to capture star trails. The other rear cameras are a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle, a 10-megapixel telephoto (with 3X optical zoom) and a second 10-megapixel telephoto camera (with 10X optical zoom). There’s a 12-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies, which can now take RAW photos and record HDR10+ video. The Galaxy S23 Ultra can also record videos up to 8K at 30fps using the main rear camera but with a wider angle than before.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has four rear cameras
Samsung plays safe with battery capacity and charging speed with this year’s ‘Ultra’, which uses a 5,000mAh battery and 45W wired charging. In terms of software, there’s Samsung’s One UI 5.1 interface based on Android 13 and comes with all the note customizations found on the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
This year, more than ever, Samsung seems to have packed enough hardware in Galaxy S23 Ultra to distance yourself from it Galaxy S23+and even last year Galaxy S22 Ultra. With only a handful of high-end flagships announced so far in India carrying the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, Samsung has secured a solid lead with its early launch. Will its custom SoC really translate to better gaming performance, iQoo 11 5G (Review), or if its new camera system can actually deliver better low-light performance than the previous model and other heavyweights like Google Pixel 7 Pro (Review), are things that we need to wait and see. We’ll have it all for you in our full Galaxy S23 Ultra review, right here on Gadgets 360.
