Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S23 Ultra, has big shoes to fill.
Its predecessor not only continued the legacy of the retired Galaxy Note but also boasted impressive cameras. To meet expectations, the S23 Ultra has doubled down on those photography skills and kept the ever-popular S Pen stylus.
But the design is very much the same as the previous model. And that 200MP main camera, large screen and the custom-tuned mobile processor doesn’t come cheap.
Is the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra worth an almost AED5,000 price tag? Let’s break it down.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Design
If you’re familiar with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, you’ll have a good idea of what to expect from its successor. The S23 Ultra is a very large phone, despite its curved glass that bends into the central metal frame to minimize its width.
There’s still room enough for the S-Pen (which pulls out from the bottom of the device) as per usual. And you’re going to mostly use this phone with two hands.
While the design hasn’t changed much, Samsung did swap out many old-school materials for recycled components. The power and volume keys are made from recycled water barrels, but still feel premium.
Additionally, the S23 Ultra is one of the first phones to use Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which should help it withstand wear and tear. According to Samsung, the phone can survive a 1m drop straight onto concrete, but let’s hope you never have to put that to the test.
The S23 Ultra remains IP68 water and dust resistant, so you can take it to the beach or accidentally dunk it in water without issue. The phone still uses a fingerprint sensor placed underneath the display for biometric security, which is both quick and accurate.
You also get some new colours: Phantom Black, Green, Lavender, and Cream.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Cameras
The Galaxy S23 Ultra isn’t the first phone to feature a 200MP rear camera (that goes to the Xiaomi 12T Pro). BUt it is the first device to use Samsung’s home-grown HP2 sensor, which is capable of capturing highly detailed 200MP stills in bright conditions. The rear lens line-up remains the same as last year’s model (a 12MP ultrawide and twin 10MP telephoto).
Focusing is exceptionally quick across all four lenses, delivering matching colour, contrast, and exposure. The main sensor offers impressive clarity and detail, capturing building brickwork and facial features from a considerable distance. Samsung’s vibrant colours are on full display, with HDR processing that can be more prominent in places than some competitors, but still visually pleasing.
Low-light snaps are great too, with HDR doing a great job of exposing even bright streetlamps and neon signs while preserving shadow detail.
The front-facing selfie camera now features a 12MP sensor. The resulting images are sharp, with a similar colour and exposure treatment to the rear cameras.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Performance
The Galaxy S23 Ultra, like its predecessors, is outrageously powerful.
Under the hood lies a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor paired with 8 or 12GB of RAM. Samsung has requested Qualcomm to turn up the wick, resulting in higher clock speeds than any rival with similar silicon, which translates to epic performance
In day-to-day use, the phone is equally responsive, opening apps quickly, multitasking effortlessly, and running games at high frame rates even with detail settings cranked up. Split-screen and floating window apps using the S-Pen were flawless.
The OneUI interface, now at version 5.1, enhances the stock Android experience and is easily customizable if you prefer Google’s way of doing things.
MicroSD expansion is no longer an option (boo!), but the S23 Ultra offers 256GB and 512GB versions, with 1TB of onboard storage available for those who don’t mind paying more.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Battery
With a more energy-efficient CPU than its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 Ultra can easily last a full day on a single charge with its 5000mAh battery. Even with hours of YouTube streaming and an hour of gaming.
The only caveat being that Samsung still lags behind its rivals in charging speed. The S23 Ultra will juice up at 45W (which will give you a full charge in a few hours). That’s fine, but considering the likes of Xiaomi and Motorola now boast 125W charging, we’d love Samsung to pick up the pace.
One bonus feature though is the S23 Ultra’s reverse wireless charging tech. So your wireless buds run out of juice while you’re out and about, you need only place them on the back of your phone to give them a charge.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra just might be the best phone Samsung has right now (with the exception of its folding phones, but they are hard to straight-up compared to a non-bendy blower).
It rocks outstanding cameras, a best-in-class stylus in the S-Pen, and performance to match.
Yes, it is pricey (going all the way up to AED6,000 if you want the 1 terabyte version) but that’s the price you pay for the world’s most ‘Ultra’ phone.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Tech Specs
| Tech | Specifications |
|---|---|
| Screen | 6.8in 3088×1440 OLED, 120Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| Memory | 12GB RAM |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB/1TB |
| Cameras | 200MP, f/1.7 w/ PDAF, laser AutoFocus, Optical Image Stabilisation. 12MP, f/2.2 ultrawide. 10MP, f/2.4 telephoto, Optical Image Stabilisation, 3x optical zoom. 10MP, f/2.2 telephoto, Optical Image Stabilisation, 10x optical zoom. 12MP, f/2.2 front-facing camera. |
| Operating system | Android 13 with Samsung’s OneUI 5.1 |
| Battery | 5000mAh battery size. Features wireless charging, reverse wireless charging |
| Dimensions | 163x78x8.9mm, 234g |
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is available now from all good gadget stores starting at AED4,950. For more info, go here.