The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has been officially released, and it is the smallest upgrade in the history of Samsung’s flagship phone. It even has the same design as last year’s Galaxy S22 Ultra.

The S23 Ultra has undergone two changes. It gets a customised Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and a massive 200MP camera with a brand-new image sensor.

Design and Display

The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s screen is unchanged from the previous model, which was already excellent. The 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display has a 1440p resolution and a brightness of 1,750 nits, with an adaptive refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz. It also introduces Gorilla Glass Victus 2 with recycled glass for front and back protection.

Internals and Storage

The custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 includes a Cortex-X3 core with a maximum speed of 3.36GHz, up from 3.2GHz on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The Adreno 740 GPU is now clocked at 719MHz, up from 680MHz previously.

Unlike last year, the S23 Ultra starts with 256 GB and expands to 1 TB UFS 4.0. RAM capacities range from 8 to 12 GB.

Cameras

The main camera, which has a 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor and an adaptive feature, is a significant improvement in the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It can merge 16 pixels into one to create a 12MP image with 2.4 million individual pixels, or it can merge its pixels 4-to-1 to create a 50MP image with more details.

Because of the increased pixel count, the end result is better than 12MP photos.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra also includes the Astro Hyperlapse video mode. The main camera has improved video stabilization thanks to Adaptive VDIS, which analyses movements and lighting conditions, and the new sensor’s wider 2x OIS angle, which compensates for around 3° more than the S22 Ultra’s 1.5°.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra has the same front camera as the Galaxy S23 series, which is a lower resolution 12MP f/2.2 camera with autofocus.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra’s other three rear cameras remain largely unchanged: a 10MP 10x f/4.9 periscope camera, a 10MP 3x f/2.4 telephoto camera, and a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera with autofocus.

Pricing and Battery

The battery capacity of the Galaxy S22 Ultra remains unchanged at 5,000mAh, with a maximum charging speed of 45W. According to Samsung, the S23 Ultra can charge to 65% in half an hour.

Despite minor “upgrades,” the phone will cost $1,200 and will be available in Phantom Black, Green, Cream, and Lavender colours.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Specifications

• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• CPU: Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
• GPU: Adreno 740
• OS: Android 13, One UI 5.1
• Supported Networks: 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, 5G
• Display:
  • 6.8″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X with 1440 x 3088 pixels resolution, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1750 nits peak
• Memory:
  • RAM: 8 GB, 12 GB
  • Internal: 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
  • Card slot: No
• Camera:
  • Rear (Quad): 200 MP, f/1.7, 24mm (wide), 1/1.3″, 0.6µm, multi-directional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS
    10 MP, f/4.9, 230mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.52″, 1.12µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom
    10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.52″, 1.12µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom
    12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Super Steady video
  • Front: 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), Dual Pixel PDAF
• Colors: Phantom Black, Green, Cream, Lavender
• Fingerprint sensor: Under-display
• Battery: 5,000 mAh, 45W fast charging, 10W wireless charging, 4.5W reverse wireless
• Price: $1200