The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is finally official, and it may be the least obvious update in the history of Samsung flagship phones. That is to say, it looks almost identical to the Galaxy S22 Ultra but it’s actually not.
The most obvious difference is the color: the Galaxy S23 Ultra comes in three new colors: green, lavender and cream join the phantom black of yesteryear.
So what’s new? Inside the Galaxy S23 Ultra ticks a Galaxy-customized Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform. Samsung has chosen Qualcomm’s latest SoC for its entire Galaxy S23 range, and you won’t get an Exynos-powered S23 in any market this time around.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a Cortex-X3 core, running up to 3.36GHz, compared to the usual 3.2GHz maximum on the SD 8 Gen 2. The Adreno 740 GPU reportedly has clocked at 719 MHz instead of 680 MHz.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in Ghost Black, Cream, Green and Lavender
The other big improvement is the main camera. It’s Samsung’s 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor, and it’s adaptive. It can combine 16 pixels into one for a final resolution of 12MP with individual pixel sizes of 2.4µm. Or it can combine its 4-to-1 pixels and give you a 50MP shot with more detail to work with.
Starting with the Galaxy S23 series, Samsung is moving its Expert RAW app as a mode within the native camera app and giving you the ability to shoot RAW images with the benefits of multi-frame processing: higher levels of detail, HDR and better noise reduction – up to 50 MP.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra also offers a new Astro Hyperlapse video mode. The new main camera has improved video stabilization over the old 108MP main camera thanks to Adaptive VDIS, which analyzes and breaks down motion and recognizes lighting conditions, and the new sensor’s 2x wider OIS angle, which compensates about 3°, compared to 1.5° for the S22 Ultra.
The new 200 MP camera, Astrophoto function
There’s a new front-facing camera, shared with the Galaxy S23 series: a 12MP f/2.2 unit with autofocus. The other three cameras on the back of the Galaxy S23 Ultra are largely the same as on the Galaxy S22 Ultra: there’s a 10MP 10x f/4.9 periscope camera, a shorter 10MP 3x f/2.4 telephoto camera, and a 12 MP f/2.2 telephoto unit ultrawide camera with autofocus.
The screen is another thing largely intact from the previous Ultra, but it was already a masterpiece. The panel is a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x with 1440x3088px resolution and 1,750 nits of brightness. The display can adaptively refresh from 1Hz to 120Hz.
What has changed is the addition of a smarter Vision Booster that can adjust the color tone and contrast of the display in three different lighting conditions. The other significant update has to do with protection – the Galaxy S23 Ultra previews the new Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the front and back.
The other key specification that carries over from the Galaxy S22 Ultra is the battery. It has the same 5,000mAh capacity with the same 45W maximum charging speed. Samsung claims the S23 Ultra will reach 65% charge after 30 minutes on the charger.
You can buy the Galaxy S23 Ultra starting today in four colors – Phantom Black, Green, Cream and Lavender – and up to four configurations starting at 256GB this year – 8/256GB, 12/256GB, 12/512GB and the top of the line 12/1TB.
The basic Galaxy S23 Ultra starts at €1,400 in Europe, $1,200 in the US and ₹115,000 in India.
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