Sempat viral konten tentang hasil foto kamera Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra yang menampilkan gambar bulan dengan sangat detail. Ponsel pintar (smartphone) ini memiliki kamera 200 megapiksel (MP).
I don’t know who needs to take a 100x photo of the moon, but clearly the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the phone for you pic.twitter.com/IIe33Vr6rI — Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) February 7, 2023 Setidaknya ada enam jenis gawai yang memiliki kamera 200 MP.
Infinix Zero Ultra diluncurkan di Indonesia pada 6 Oktober 2022. Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus diluncurkan secara global pada Oktober tahun lalu.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review
You also get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip for Galaxy for the fastest speed on Android, stellar battery life and smart One UI 5.1 upgrades. Why you can trust Tom’s Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what’s best for you. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra wants to take smartphone photography to the next level with its massive 200MP camera and other improvements. The sensor can combine 16 pixels into one for brighter, more detailed shots, or you can shoot in full 200MP mode, which gives you a lot more freedom when it comes to cropping in and reframing your pics.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra arrived in February with a starting price of $1,199 / £1,249 / AU$1,949 for 256GB of storage. Swipe to scroll horizontally Galaxy S23 Ultra Price $1,199 / £1,249 Display 6.8-inch QHD AMOLED Refresh rate 1 – 120Hz adaptive Rear cameras 200MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto, 10MP 10x telephoto Front camera 12MP selfie Chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy RAM 8GB/12GB Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Battery 5,000 mAh Charging 45W wired/10W wireless Water/dust resistance IP68 Size 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9mm (6.4 x 3.0 x 0.35 inches) Weight 233g (8.2 ounces) Colors Phantom Black, Cotton Flower, Botanic Green and Mystic Lilac The cameras on the back are even bigger this time around compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the display is flatter. I know some would prefer a totally flat design, but I hold the S23 Ultra in my hand the curve does give it a slightly more premium feel.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is built to be tougher, too, as it’s the first phone with Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which promises to protect the front and back better from scratches and drops.
The YouTuber JerryRigEverything has conducted some durability tests, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra fares quite well when it comes to scratching and bending. The Galaxy S23 Ultra comes in four colors, including Phantom Black, Green, Cream and Lavender. It’s worth noting that the S23 Ultra still features a SIM card slot, unlike the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is located on the bottom of the device.
Samsung is touting the eco-friendliness of the S23 Ultra’s design, as the company is using more recycled materials for the phone. When watching the trailer for The Mandalorian season 3, the shiny helmets popped off the screen, and I enjoyed wide viewing angles.
Swipe to scroll horizontally Row 0 – Cell 0 Galaxy S23 Ulra iPhone 14 Pro Max HDR brightness (average) 1225 nits 1275 nits DCI-P3 color 112.2% (Natural) / 193% (Vivid) 83.2% Delta-E (lower is better) 0.3 (Natural) / 0 (Vivid) 0.26 The Galaxy S23 Ultra also includes an advanced Vision Booster feature, which is designed to let you adjust color and contrast of the image to ambient lighting conditions. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is the first flagship phone in the U.S. to pack a 200MP camera, and Samsung says this sensor can deliver poster size prints. For this photo I wanted to see how the Galaxy S23 Ultra could capture a skating rink while dealing with the sun directly off to the right.
I snapped this photo of bumper cars on the ice rink to see how well the S23 Ultra handles lots of colors. In this case I think the punchy yellow, red and blue plays to Samsung’s advantage, although I prefer the higher contrast and slightly better definition from the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
It’s the brightest image of the bunch and does the best job exposing the area right underneath the top part of the fountain, which kind of gets lost in the shadows on the iPhone and Pixel. In this photo of a fish market at night, the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s image is brighter overall, from the walkway and parking lot to the car to the right. The S23 Ultra is brighter than Pixel but Google’s phone produces more natural looking colors in the bottles. The Galaxy S23 Ultra fell a bit flat in low light with this photo of a sleeping dog.
Photographing fire or candles is tricky for most camera phones, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra renders the frames well here as well as the soot below. The Galaxy S23 Ultra snapped a brighter shot but the iPhone 14 Pro Max delivers more detail in the wicker chairs and has the edge here. I was really impressed when I turned the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera on the moon, especially since all I could get out of the iPhone 14 Pro Max was a blurry bright blob. The 100x space zoom photo shows darker and lighter spots on the surface; it’s almost like having a telescope in your pocket.
Since our review was initially published, a Galaxy S23 software update brought more refinements to the camera system, including the option to take photos faster. Since everyone is making a big deal about image stabilization these days, I started with a test running up a small incline at a park trail.
And with the 10x optical zoom feature on the S23 Ultra (something the iPhone lacks), I could get closer to Mike without losing detail. The zoom mic also kicked in, which was a bit jarring as the music got instantly louder, but it definitely works. Samsung promises that this processor can deliver even higher clock speed than the standard version of the chip, going as high as 3.36 GHz. Whether I was sliding down a mountain to ambush an opponent or blasting away enemies or punching them, the S23 Ultra never slowed down. The previous Galaxy S22 Ultra lasted only 10 hours and 18 minutes in the Tom’s Guide battery test, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max endured for an even longer 13:39. Running on top of Android 13, the new One UI 5.1 software for Galaxy S23 Ultra offers a number of handy improvements.
It’s actually pretty cool to see the Bixby feature in action, though callers might be freaked out the first time they encounter this. There’s also a new Modes option that lets you create customized settings for different aspects of your life, whether it’s sleep, exercise, driving or work. There’s also more personalization features in One UI 5.1, such as an improved stacked widget system and recommended apps and actions for different times of the day.
The 200MP camera is simply stunning, and Samsung has really upped its game when it comes to low-light performance.
In some cases the S23 Ultra delivered better looking photos than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, though Apple won other rounds. For $200 less, you get a slightly smaller 6.6-inch display, but the same powerful Snapdragon chip, an equally bright screen and the same 256GB of storage.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Camera test
We put the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra through our rigorous DXOMARK Camera test suite to measure its performance in photo, video, and zoom quality from an end-user perspective. Primary: 200MP 1/1.3″ sensor, 0.6 μm pixels, f/1.7-aperture lens, PDAF, AF, OIS Tele 1: 10MP 1/3.52″ sensor, 1.12 μm pixels, f/2.4-aperture lens, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom
Tele 2: 10MP 1/3.52″ sensor, 1.12 μm pixels, f/4.9-aperture lens, PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom
%s Outdoor Photos & videos shot in bright light conditions (≥1000 lux) BEST 160 Top score %s Indoor Photos & videos shot in good lighting conditions (≥100lux) BEST 132 Top score
%s Lowlight Photos & videos shot in low lighting conditions (<100 lux) BEST 149 Top score Accurate autofocus in both photo and video Cons Low contrast in backlit scenes
It offered good performance across pretty much all test attributes, without major drawbacks in any area, making it a great smartphone imaging allrounder.
Tele zoom at very long range was a strength, thanks to Samsung’s dual-tele approach with a dedicated 10x camera. Effective stabilization and a fast and accurate autofocus meant that the Galaxy S23 Ultra also did well for video. Compared to the predecessor S22 Ultra, the Samsung engineers managed to achieve improvements in several areas, including video stabilization, slightly better zoom, noticeably better video exposure, and improved autofocus speed in bright light.
Please note that all comparisons with the S22 Ultra in this review were made with the Snapdragon version of that device. Friends & Family is a new use case score, introduced with the latest version 5 of the DXOMARK Camera test protocol. It has been designed to represent the test device’s ability to capture technically good photos and videos in the most common consumer use cases (family, friends, pets). The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is very capable of taking good quality portrait photos and videos in most lighting conditions.
The device’s autofocus was very performant, managing to capture the decisive moment both in indoor and outdoor conditions. In low-light situations, however, our engineers observed a slight delay between the moment the shutter was triggered and the actual capture. Exposure in photo was generally well managed, except when it came to challenging backlit situations, where low contrast gave faces an unnatural appearance. While the S23 Ultra managed to keep the scene’s natural color atmosphere, skin tones were sometimes rendered inaccurate. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – High level of detail, nice color rendering, and wide dynamic range (but slight halo effect around subjects) In low light, the S23 Ultra produced good exposure with a quite wide dynamic range, capturing decent detail in both the highlight and shadow regions of the frame. Many competitors tend to take a more neutral approach to white balance in low light, but what you prefer is pretty much down to personal taste. The scores rely on objective tests for which the results are calculated directly by measurement software on our laboratory setups, and on perceptual tests in which a sophisticated set of metrics allow a panel of image experts to compare aspects of image quality that require human judgment.
The following section gathers key elements of DXOMARK’s exhaustive tests and analyses. Average and maximum scores for each price segment are computed based on the DXOMARK database of devices tested. i About DXOMARK Camera Photo tests For scoring and analysis, DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 2,600 test images both in controlled lab environments and in outdoor, indoor and low-light natural scenes, using the camera’s default settings. The photo protocol is designed to take into account the main use cases and is based on typical shooting scenarios, such as portraits, family, and landscape photography. The evaluation is performed by visually inspecting images against a reference of natural scenes, and by running objective measurements on images of charts captured in the lab under different lighting conditions from 1 to 1,000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300K to 6,500K. In our tests, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra performed well for still imaging, capturing impressively high levels of detail in landscape shots.
The wide dynamic range is a slight improvement over the predecessor S22 Ultra, and ensured good highlight and shadow detail, even when capturing difficult high-contrast scenes. On the downside, in backlit portrait scenes, a lack of contrast on faces resulted in an unnatural look, and in dim light conditions, image noise could become quite intrusive. All these attributes have a significant impact on the final quality of the images captured with the tested device and can help to understand the camera’s main strengths and weaknesses. It evaluates the camera’s ability to capture detail at subject distances below 10cm and magnifications as close as possible to 1:1. The Galaxy S23 Ultra did a good job of capturing detail in macro mode. the ability to render visible details in both bright and dark areas of the image.
Repeatability is also important because it demonstrates the camera’s ability to provide the same rendering when shooting several images of the same scene. In our tests, dynamic range was slightly wider on the new model, and in these samples, you can see the S23 Ultra preserved a touch more detail in the clipped background of the image. The very slight improvement compared to S22 Ultra was also visible in our contrast entropy tests in the lab. As you can see, the S23 Ultra delivered slightly better entropy than the comparison devices across pretty much all light conditions.
The image quality attributes analyzed are skin-tone rendering, white balance, color shading, and repeatability. On the downside, skin tones were sometimes rendered unnaturally desaturated and with noticeable color quantization.
Focus accuracy is also evaluated in all the real-life images taken, from infinity to close-up objects and in low light to outdoor conditions. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra was overall a very good performer for autofocus, with fast capture in bright light and under indoor illumination, even in high-contrast conditions. This is a significant improvement over the S22 Ultra, which took longer to capture images in outdoor conditions. Autofocus irregularity and speed: 1000Lux Δ7EV Daylight Handheld This graph illustrates focus accuracy and speed and also zero shutter lag capability by showing the edge acutance versus the shooting time measured on the AFHDR setup on a series of pictures. On this scenario, the backlit panels in the scene are set up to simulate a fairly high dynamic range: the luminance ratio between the brightest point and a 18% reflective gray patch is 7, which we denote by a Exposure Value difference of 7. However, there was a noticeable drop in performance in low light, with the Samsung taking a lot longer to capture the image than the iPhone.
Autofocus irregularity and speed: 20Lux Δ7EV Tungsten Handheld This graph illustrates focus accuracy and speed and also zero shutter lag capability by showing the edge acutance versus the shooting time measured on the AFHDR setup on a series of pictures. On this scenario, the backlit panels in the scene are set up to simulate a fairly high dynamic range: the luminance ratio between the brightest point and a 18% reflective gray patch is 7, which we denote by a Exposure Value difference of 7. Both Samsung devices were noticeably slower and captured the image only after the subject had moved closer toward the camera. For natural shots, particular attention is paid to the level of details in the bright and dark areas of the image. DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation score vs lux levels for tripod and handheld conditions This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation score with the level of lux, for two holding conditions. The S23 Ultra did a good job of capturing image detail across all light conditions.
For natural images, particular attention is paid to the noise on faces, landscapes, but also on dark areas and high dynamic range conditions. Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra did a good job at controlling image noise levels and balancing it with texture.
i The artifacts evaluation looks at lens shading, chromatic aberrations, geometrical distortion, edges ringing, halos, ghosting, quantization, unexpected color hue shifts, among others type of possible unnatural effects on photos. The goal is to reproduce portrait photography comparable to one taken with a DLSR and a wide aperture.
In fact, the look of the S23 Ultra bokeh shots was overall quite similar to those of its predecessor, with natural rendering and good subject isolation from the background. However, some slight segmentation artifacts in complex scenes meant that it wasn’t quite on the same level as the best in class.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – Bokeh mode under 50 lux Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – Segmentation error Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) – Bokeh mode under 50 lux Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) – Segmentation error Apple iPhone 14 Pro – Bokeh mode under 50 lux Apple iPhone 14 Pro – Slight segmentation errors, lower blur intensity The evaluation is performed by visually inspecting the images against a reference of natural scenes, and by running objective measurements of chart mages captured in the lab under different conditions from 20 to 1000 lux and color temperatures from 2300K to 6500K. In the tele zoom department, the Samsung engineers have opted for a two-lens approach.
The S23 Ultra uses two tele modules with relatively small image sensors and 3x (69mm) and 10x (230mm) zoom factors, respectively.
In contrast, most direct competitors, such as the Google Pixel 7 Pro, Huawei Mate 50 Pro and Honor Magic4 Ultimate, use just one tele camera module with a larger image sensor and a higher pixel count. Thanks to the dedicated 10x module, performance was very good at very long range in bright light.
However, the S23 Ultra lagged behind the competition at close range, where we would have expected better results, given the primary camera uses a 200MP sensor that should provide excellent digital zooming capabilities. However, it could not quite match the overall quality of the Huawei Mate 50 Pro or the Honor Magic 4 Ultimate, which delivered better results on most tested ranges. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, however, generally had the best results at very long range in bright-light conditions. This graph shows the video detail preservation score in low light, indoor and outdoor conditions when using zoom-in. The level of detail is measured at multiple focal lengths, including those that can directly be chosen via a button in the camera UI. All image quality attributes are evaluated, with particular attention paid to such artifacts as chromatic aberrations, lens softness, and distortion.
The S23 Ultra’s ultra-wide camera comes with a 13mm equivalent focal length, offering a wide field of view. The score is derived from a number of objective measurements in the lab and perceptual analysis of real-life images.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra generally captured good detail at most zoom settings. A boost is noticeable at 230mm, where images are captured at the dedicated 10x module’s native resolution.
However, things looked less positive under indoor lighting (100lux) where the tele module’s relatively small image sensor struggled with noise. 1000 lux DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation score per focal length This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation score with respect to the full-frame equivalent focal length for different light conditions.
Large dots correspond to zoom ratio available in the user interface of the camera application. DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation score per focal length This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation score with respect to the full-frame equivalent focal length for different light conditions. Large dots correspond to zoom ratio available in the user interface of the camera application. DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation score per focal length This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation score with respect to the full-frame equivalent focal length for different light conditions.
Large dots correspond to zoom ratio available in the user interface of the camera application. DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation score per focal length This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation score with respect to the full-frame equivalent focal length for different light conditions.
Large dots correspond to zoom ratio available in the user interface of the camera application. At close tele zoom range, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra generally captured good detail, but our testers expected more from the primary camera’s 200MP sensor that should, in theory, enable excellent detail, even when applying a degree of digital zoom. In terms of image detail at close range tele, the Samsung was on par with the best in class, but displayed higher levels of noise. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – 50mm Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – Lack of detail, noise Huawei Mate 50 Pro – 50mm Huawei Mate 50 Pro – Lack of detail, well controlled noise Honor Magic 4 Ultimate – 50mm Honor Magic 4 Ultimate – Lack of detail, well controlled noise
At medium and long range (approximately 69mm to 230mm equivalent), the Galaxy S23 Ultra was capable of capturing good detail. However, there was also a big drop in detail toward the edges (click on the main thumbnails below to open up the full-size image).
This said, the fusion algorithms did not always trigger, resulting in slightly disappointing texture and detail rendering, like in these samples that were shot at an 8x tele zoom setting. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – 190mm Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – Loss of detail, noise Huawei Mate 50 Pro – 190mm Huawei Mate 50 Pro – Slight loss of detail, no noise Honor Magic 4 Ultimate – 190mm Honor Magic 4 Ultimate – Slight loss of detail, no noise The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra gets the most out of its 10x camera module when shooting in bright light.
The relatively small photosites (1.12 microns) of the tele sensor struggled to keep noise down. In this sample scene, the Huawei Mate 50 Pro, which used its much shorter 90mm tele camera, produced an image with better detail and lower noise than the S23 Ultra. At very long range, such as in the 100x sample below, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra was capable of achieving better detail than the best competitors.
However, image quality at this kind of extreme tele zoom factors is generally low on all smartphones. i About DXOMARK Camera Video tests DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 2.5 hours of video in controlled lab environments and in natural low-light, indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera’s default settings. The S23 Ultra’s video mode was tested at 4k resolution and 60 frames per second, with an auto-fps option activated by default. Autofocus tracking was very good, with a fast and accurate performance ensuring that faces were in focus.
Our testers also found white balance and color rendering to be mostly accurate in bright light and when shooting indoors. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Video scores vs Ultra-Premium Video tests analyze the same image quality attributes as for still images, such as exposure, color, texture, or noise, in addition to temporal aspects such as speed, and smoothness and stability of exposure, white balance, and autofocus transitions.
the ability to render visible details in both bright and dark areas of the image. Video clips captured on the S23 Ultra featured a wide dynamic range in bright light, recording good detail in both highlight and shadow areas of the frame.
When recording in low light, we observed shadow clipping and a loss of detail, especially on dark skin tones.
Color rendering was nice in bright outdoor conditions, especially on skin tones. In low light, our testers found skin tones to look unnatural in some scenes. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra video autofocus provided excellent performance in most conditions.
Only in very low light could focus transitions have been sometimes faster and smoother (visible at around 9s in this sample). Natural videos recordings are visually evaluated, with particular attention paid to the level of details in the bright and areas as well as in the dark.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra video footage offered good detail, with a lot of fine texture, especially when recording in daylight conditions. Natural videos are visually evaluated, with particular attention paid to the noise in the dark areas and high dynamic range conditions.
In video mode, the ability to control noise is one of the biggest strengths of the Samsung. Again, things changed slightly under low light conditions, where luminance noise become noticeable on moving subjects and in the shadow areas.
Video stabilization worked reliably in our tests, counteracting even walking and running motion nicely. Natural videos are visually evaluated by paying particular attention to artifacts such as aliasing, quantization, blocking, and hue shift, among others.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Review
With its 6.8-inch screen, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the largest phones currently on the market – some might even consider it to be a “phablet” thanks to how big it is. It is also designed to be strong and scratchproof thanks to an aluminium frame, plus the addition of Corning GorillaGlass Victus for the screen.
There is just a very small round cut out for the front-facing camera, which is good news for those who aren’t fans of the “notch” type designs we see elsewhere (such as with the iPhone 13 Pro series).
There is also a Laser AF module which looks a little like a fifth lens but is actually used to enhance the auto-focus performance in close range and low-light environments.
The power on/off button can also be used to activate the camera app by giving it two pushes in quick succession. There’s also a volume rocker, which can be used to fire the shutter release if you don’t want to use the on-screen controls.
The primary purpose of the S Pen is to write notes, but, it can also be used in conjunction with the camera to remotely release the shutter. Sadly there’s no option to expand the phone’s inbuilt storage via a Micro SD card. It’s also considering that if you opt for the cheapest Samsung S23 Ultra – the 256GB option, you also lose out on RAM, with it only offering 8GB. Every time you close and relaunch the app, it will go back to the default mode – but you can change it in the settings to retain whatever you were previously shooting in if you prefer. If light levels are detected to be low, Night mode will be automatically activated, but you can choose to switch it off if you prefer. There’s the ability to switch the flash on/off, the option to switch on a timer (2,5,10 seconds), the option to change the aspect ratio and the ability to capture a Motion photo (whereby a short video clip is recorded alongside the main image).
If you do want to take advantage of this super-high resolution you can find the 200 megapixel shooting option under the aspect ratio tab. You won’t see this if you choose to shoot in the 200 megapixel mode, as it seems to be swapping to the ultra wide lens to achieve this. This used to be known as Live Photo, but provides essentially the same functionality – it allows you to create shallow depth of field effects. There are lots of other shooting modes found in the “More” tab of the native camera app menu.
There’s quite a few options here, including Night mode (which you might want to use to ensure you’re definitely shooting with the Night functionality, rather than relying on it automatically activating), Food, Panorama and some video options such as Slow Motion, Hyperlapse and Pro Video. With this, you can make changes to various settings including ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation, type of focus, white balance, metering and so on. Photographs straight from the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra using the standard Photo mode are great, with an excellent level of detail and vibrant yet realistic colours. With four different lenses to choose from, as we’d expect, you’ll get the most favourable results when using the standard lens / main sensor.
That said, the ultra-wide-angle lens puts in a very good performance and comes into its own when recording landscape scenes and the like.
The space zooms of 30x and 100x are really not recommended unless you’re particularly desperate to get closer to a subject – particularly from the 100x setting, we see the results are very smoothed and aren’t likely to be useful for many scenarios.
Samsung’s Portrait mode puts in a good performance, especially so when the subjects have a simple or basic outline. You might find that with fine details such as hair or fur, the delineation between the subject and the background is a little bit messy, but it’s only really obvious if you zoom in and examine such drop-offs.
Night mode works very well, producing particularly good long exposure images, especially again when shooting with the main lens. 4K is detailed and smooth, but if you want the smoothest results you’ll need to record in Full HD and switch on Super Steady. This is a selection of sample images from the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra camera, which were all taken using the JPEG setting. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We’ve provided some Samsung RAW (DNG) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative). When it comes to the Samsung S23 Ultra, we have an extremely capable and well-performing smartphone camera that performs excellently in a wide range of different shooting situations. It offers a good degree of flexibility thanks to the quad-camera setup, with all of the lenses producing pleasing images – but particularly the main camera. Video is also nicely rendered, making it perhaps an ideal choice for content creators and vloggers too.
For example, the 100x zoom is a great feature to gain attention, but the reality is that the images aren’t really worth keeping.
Of course there’s always a but, and in this case, it’s the price – the Samsung S23 Ultra is one of the most expensive smartphones on the market, perhaps putting it out of reach for most people.
Read our in-depth iPhone 13 Pro review now, complete with full-size sample photos and videos… Read our in-depth Google Pixel 7 Pro review to find out just what it offers photographers and videographers, complete with full-size sample photos and videos.
Find out if this is the best smartphone for photographers and videographers by reading our in-depth OnePlus 9 Pro review, complete with full-size sample photos and videos. Featuring a quad-camera setup with 108 megapixels and a 10x optical zoom, 8K video recording, a 5000mAH battery and 5G connectivity, is this the ultimate smartphone for keen photographers? Find out now by reading our expert Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review, complete with full-size sample photos and videos…
Read our in-depth Sony Xperia 1 IV review, complete with full-size sample photos and videos, to find out if this new device can justify its £1299 / $1599 price-tag… While it might feel like deja vu for anyone coming from an S22 Ultra, the S23’s more efficient processor and subtle refinements to the whole experience shine through, making it not only a camera phone champion, but a fantastic smartphone in general. theguardian.com » The Galaxy S23 Ultra is Samsung’s latest and greatest power-house smartphone with a more impressive chip, battery and camera than its predecessors. But with minimal upgrades over last year’s model accompanied by an increase in price, does the S23 Ultra still represent the ultimate Android phone? *IP68 rating is based on lab test conditions for submersion in up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.
Intelligent features Scene Optimizer Shot suggestions Scan QR Codes Camera modes Single Take Photo Video Pro Panorama Food Night Portrait Portrait Video Pro Video Super Slow-mo Slow motion Hyperlapse Director’s View *The format and amount of Single Take results may differ based on original capture. *Scene Optimizer supports 30 modes: Face, Baby, Person, Dog, Cat, Food, People, Beaches, Sky, Mountain, Sunset, Sunrise, City, Snow, Waterfall, Watersides, Scenery, Stage, Vehicles, Drinks, Flowers, Trees, Greenery, Animal, Shoes, Backlit, Indoor, Text, Clothes, Night view. *Blink and blur detection works best when there are three or fewer people in the frame, 1.5 meters or closer to the camera. Useful Features Camera settings bar Flash Timer Super Steady Ratio Video Size Motion Photo Effects (Filter/My Filter/Face Retouch) Camera settings menu Format and advanced options (HEIF/Raw copies/UW shape correction) Selfie color tone Advanced recording options (HEVC/HDR10+/Zoom-in MIC) Video Stabilization (VDIS) Auto HDR Tracking auto-focus Grid lines Auto FPS AR features AR Doodle
Actual battery life may vary depending on network environment, usage patterns and other factors. *For Super Fast Charging function, we recommend using the original Samsung Power Adapter and data cable, sold separately. Up to 2.4Gbps Download / Up to 2.4Gbps Upload Bluetooth Bluetooth® v 5.3, USB type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou) Ultra Wide Band *Requires optimal connection.
AP Snapdragon® 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy 4㎚ 64-bit Octa-Core Processor * 3.36㎓ (Maximum Clock Speed) + 2.8㎓ + 2.0㎓ *Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.
*Actual storage space may vary by country, model, file size and format. *Use of eSIM on Galaxy device may be enabled by software update or disabled in some countries where it is purchased. PCM: Up to 32 bits, DSD: DSD64/128 Audio playback format MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, APE, DSF, DFF Bluetooth Dual Audio: connect two Bluetooth devices to the Galaxy S23, S23+ or S23 Ultra to play audio through the two devices simultaneously. Samsung Seamless Codec: Enhanced Bluetooth connection under ambient radio frequency interference.
Pro Video mode provides useful manual options such as volume control, recording direction and MIC device selection.
Knox Vault: hardware-based security processor that offers stronger protection for user’s data.
Biometric lock type: Fingerprint, Face recognition Wallet Samsung Wallet Credit & debit cards: supports MST and/or NFC Digital car key Home key for doorlock Digital ID Samsung Pass: Identity management Digital assets Boarding pass Ticket: Movie, Sports, Concerts Membership cards Gift cards Transit cards Reward point service Coupons *Available features may vary depending on country, carrier and service providers. Availability of Bixby features and content providers may vary depending on country or language.
Availability of Bixby Vision features and content providers may vary depending on country. For the full list of languages please visit http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/apps/bixby/vision/ Customization Edge Panels Apps Smart select Tools People Tasks Weather Reminder Clipboard *Edge Panels only available on Galaxy S23 Ultra. *Available functions may vary depending on the device, country, region, carrier, or the version of One UI and may be subject to additional charge.
With solutions for vision, hearing, dexterity and interaction, people with disabilities may also use some of our new and exciting features.
TalkBack High contrast theme/fonts/keyboard Color Inversion/filter/correction Voice Access Magnification, Magnifier Accessibility shortcuts Flash notification Bixby Vision for accessibility Audio description Sound Notifications Bluetooth® hearing aid support Adapt sound Mute all sounds Amplify ambient sound Universal switch Assistant menu Interaction control Touch settings (Tap duration, Ignore repeated touches, Touch and hold delay) Speak keyboard input aloud Display mode Mouse and physical keyboard (Auto action after pointer stops, Sticky keys, Slow keys, Bounce keys) Voice Label Hearing aid compatibility Left/right sound balance Mono audio Live Transcribe/Caption on Android In the Box Galaxy S23 Ultra Device Quick Start Guide *Actual components may not be available depending on the model you purchase or the country or region you live in.
Samsung reserves the right to make changes to this web page and the contents herein, including without limitation, functionality, features, specifications, GUI, images, videos, benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, capabilities and any other product information, without notice.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review: practically peerless
Until someone invents radically improved battery technology or holographic displays, that’s just going to be the case for the Ultra for the foreseeable future. And a couple of small tweaks — the phone’s slightly reshaped side rails and screen — have a big impact on the device’s likability. There are some familiar sore spots with Samsung software, like its insistence on including its own app store in addition to Google’s. And although the camera system can produce stunningly good images, it occasionally makes weird choices and comes up with a photo that’s just downright bad.
But if you can stomach the price and the occasional weird photo, then I think you’ll find the S23 Ultra’s maximalism highly rewarding. It’s a slightly different version of the company’s top-shelf processor that’s a tiny bit faster than the garden-variety 8 Gen 2. The new chipset also runs much cooler than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 — after downloading Genshin Impact install files for 10 minutes with the loading animation playing (and the phone resting on a heat-insulating couch cushion), it was only slightly warm to the touch. My typical day includes about four hours of screen-on time, and the S23 Ultra usually got me to the evening with somewhere around 30 percent left. If you plan on doing a lot of processor-heavy stuff like gaming or, I don’t know, measuring every room in your house in VR, then you’ll probably still need to recharge before the day is done.
The S23 Ultra is armed with no shortage of connectivity features, including the much-improved DeX for Windows PC integration, Samsung’s SmartThings app for smart home, and a feature called Smart View to quickly mirror your device to a Samsung TV. From the SmartThings app on the phone, I have control of all the basic functions of the TV, like volume, channel, and source. There are no major updates to the S Pen or its features this time around, though the slightly flatter screen edges are designed to provide more surface area for writing.
With the S22 Ultra’s curvier edges, you’re more likely to accidentally run the stylus off the side of the screen as you’re writing. At the risk of giving Samsung’s very slight redesign too much credit, I think this is partially because this phone is more comfortable to hold than the last one. I’m also on a mission to reorganize my life, and I found it genuinely useful to replicate some of my running IRL to-do lists with digital ones pinned to my home screen. But it feels like a happy medium between the convenience of an app-based to-do list and the tactile experience of jotting down a note.
It’s a pretty light update to the One UI 4 that the S22 series launched with, and it includes new emphasis on setting up modes and routines, as well as more lockscreen customization options. It remains a maximalist experience, with two pages of quick settings in the notification shade by default and Samsung’s own app store, virtual assistant, and web browser alongside Google versions of these things.
That’s a little short of Apple, which tends to offer OS upgrades for upwards of five years and the stray security update for much longer, but it’s definitely one of the best policies you’ll find among Android makers. I took a picture of the top of the Space Needle from street level standing over half a mile away, and I can make out details like the elevators and people on the observation deck.
It can get into trouble turning the saturation or HDR up to 11 once in a while, and unless you’re taking a photo of the actual moon, you should just stay away from the digital 100x “Space Zoom” setting because it looks like pixelated garbage. Tap a couple of menu options, press the shutter, and bam — 200 million pixels at your disposal.
As long as the lighting is good, you’ll find a ridiculous amount of detail when you zoom into those photos. In bright light, the sensor uses something called a re-mosaic algorithm to mimic a traditional color filter pattern and use pixels individually and capture more detail.
Even when you’re in the default shooting mode, which downsizes images to 12 megapixels, you should see the benefits of all that extra detail capture. If I’m hard-pressed, I think I see a little more detail in the S23 Ultra’s images compared to the iPhone 14 Pro’s, which uses a pixel-binning sensor with a lower 48-megapixel resolution. The iPhone goes for a little harder contrast, while Samsung embraces more saturated colors and brighter shadows, occasionally straying into HDR-gone-wrong territory.
The S23 Ultra (left) tries to bring some blue to the sky while the iPhone 14 Pro (right) lets the highlights blow out.
In between these two focal lengths and beyond 10x, the phone uses AI-powered Space Zoom to fill in the gaps (read as: to make an educated guess about what’s there). Low-light photos are generally fine, though I saw a couple of weird things happen in particularly challenging situations.
In back-to-back portrait photos of my toddler taken at a Mexican restaurant, he looks distinctly orange in one and incredibly pale in the very next shot. Maybe the colored walls and light sources threw the camera for a loop, but whatever the reason, it took the photo seriously off the rails.
It’s hands down the winner when it comes to subject isolation and manages to hang on to incredibly fine details like individual hairs. Indoors, I saw a tendency to flatten dynamic range in a way that turns bright whites slightly gray.
But it’s more than good enough to grab clips of a very active toddler, and I didn’t hear any complaints about video quality from his grandparents. But it lacks all of the optical zoom power of the Ultra, the stylus, and — surprisingly — comes with one less year of Android OS upgrades.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review
While it might feel like deja vu for anyone coming from an S22 Ultra, the S23’s more efficient processor and subtle refinements to the whole experience shine through, making it not only a camera phone champion, but a fantastic smartphone in general. Why you can trust Digital Camera World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.
They also sport very similar designs, can share cases, and pack virtually identical interfaces and features. The big screen, that confidently robust profile, and a cascade of cameras around the back all marry in a clean package.
The S23 Ultra’s frame is polished and shiny, the back is frosted, and the screen is mostly flat, tapering in at the sides. The S23 Plus, by contrast, is 7.6mm thin, and with its large 6.8-inch screen, you’ll really notice the Ultra in a palm or pocket, especially if you put a case on it.
As fans of Apple’s MagSafe, we tested our unit with the Mous cases pictured below, which adds heft, but plenty of protection. When it isn’t tucked away in the case, our S23 Ultra review unit showed off its matte, white, glass back.
We also like the fact that the back panel fends off fingerprints well, so always looks fresh if you don’t opt for a case, and the pop-out S Pen is as bubble-wrap-poppingly satisfying to click in and out as ever. With IP68 water and dust resistance, there’s nothing missing from Samsung’s top-end smartphone when it comes to durability or design highlights. That said, it doesn’t ship with a case, screen protector, or power plug, so unlike many competitors, value adds in the box are dialed back, in favor of more eco-friendly, compact packaging. With its Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology, expect bright, beaming colors, and the displays’ smooth 120Hz refresh rate keeps things competitive.
HDR10+ credentials and a maximum peak brightness of 1750 nits make sure videos pack tonal range, and outdoor viewing is excellent, and with a resolution of 1440 x 3088 pixels, it’s one of the sharpest screens around. Anyone looking to upgrade from a Note 20 Ultra who uses the S Pen, the new, flatter screen with a less pronounced curve helps when writing nearer to the edge of the panel, and the 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity matched with Samsung’s smart notetaking software ensure scribing is as natural as ever. The new selfie camera’s also been tuned to better handle different skin tones, and despite its lower resolution – 12MP versus 40MP on the S22 Ultra, its shots are more nuanced and enjoy superior dynamic range. As a result, it’s very difficult to review the S23 Ultra’s camera without caveating, its automatic photos only scratch the surface of what’s possible with the phone.
The phone’s zoom and ultra-wide cameras are less powerful in challenging scenes, but still give you plenty of scope to get right up close to subjects that are far away, and squeeze more into frame. Photographers looking to pick up the S23 Ultra should also enjoy the fact Samsung has partnered with Adobe, so Expert RAW now sends DNG files directly to Lightroom, where they can be edited using the S Pen, perfect for masking photos with the brush tool.
You can shoot in pro mode to control various settings, and connect a Bluetooth microphone for external audio too. If you want to engage the 10x zoom-in video, you should try and steady it – we used a Mous case with Moment MagSafe tripod accessories to great effect. Hook it up to a big screen either wired or wirelessly (using Miracast casting), and you can fire up DeX, a desktop UI.
Even at maxed-out graphics settings, Genshin Impact, a demanding open-world RPG plays back brilliantly, and the phone didn’t get as hot as the S22 Ultra did before it which is a big win. The addition of an S Pen also adds loads of utility for anyone who likes to write, but it’s also handy for web browsing and annotating screengrabs. The fact the phone’s screen looks so good, its pen adds such handy functionality, and the battery lasts a comfortable day with plenty of wiggle room means as a package, there’s very little to grumble about.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review: the best Android phone yet
Don’t get caught up in the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s admittedly high price tag; instead, think about the value it represents. I (Andy Boxall) revisited the Galaxy S23 Ultra at the end of November 2023 and updated our review accordingly, plus added a new section right below covering how it operates today.
The prompt update to Android 14 and One UI 6 definitely helps, as does the fact the S Pen and the brilliant, fun 10x optical zoom continue to be unique in the market.
Over the past months, we’ve shown how the camera can take incredible photos in the right hands and how much difference there is between it and a $450 phone like the Samsung Galaxy A54.
Returning to it only emphasized that it has lost none of its camera magic, not even when compared to the latest Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max. The camera isn’t perfect, but it’s so versatile and capable in most environments you’ll quickly forgive it should it get something wrong.
If you’re coming from a phone that isn’t nearly 9mm thick, 78mm wide, and 233 grams in weight, you’re really going to notice how much of a handful the S23 Ultra is. You will get used to the S23 Ultra’s size and weight, but if you’ve got small hands, the width and thickness make singlehanded use very difficult, which is far harder to overcome.
It’s still that familiar all-business look, with curved sides to the chassis and the screen, tiny bezels, and five circular camera modules on the back.
The S23 Ultra has an IP68 water-resistance rating, Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and Samsung’s latest Armor Aluminum chassis material. The weight means putting it in a case will protect it in the event of a fall onto something hard, but there’s a degree of reassurance that comes from Samsung’s commitment to durability that’s missing from many of its competitors. This also applies to Samsung’s use of recycled materials, and its lengthy software update commitment, which, when combined with the durability and performance of the phone, adds up to it being a device you’ll be happy to keep for years.
The standard Phantom Black, Lavender, Cream, and Green models are widely available, but if you order directly from Samsung you can choose one of four exclusive colors. Green is an on-trend color for smartphones, with everything from the iPhone 13 Pro to the OnePlus 11 tackling the tricky shade. The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s telephoto cameras take photos that are impossible to replicate on any other smartphone, at least with the same quality. Most of the time, the colors are amped up by just the right amount, but it can slip into oversaturation when faced with reds and blues in some situations.
It takes considerably brighter photos than the iPhone 14 Pro and exposes more detail in the shadows too, but this comes at the expense of a natural color palette. It also tied with the much newer Apple iPhone 15 Pro’s camera in this test, showing it hasn’t lost any of its ability since launch. Pay through the app, and Lightroom Premium costs $5 per month, and it comes with an extended two-month free trial. The Lightroom for Samsung app adds a great deal to the overall camera experience, and retains that all-important hands-on approach to editing images that’s disappearing due to the use of AI.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s versatility makes it really desirable, and I feel confident I will be able to take any photo I want with it — and that’s something other phones can’t quite provide. I continue to adore the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera for stills; it’s so incredibly versatile that I rarely feel it can’t capture the shot I want. To find out, I took the phone with me on a short trip away and made a point to shoot as much video as possible, instead of mostly taking still photos as usual. I play games, use apps, make calls, use Bluetooth and Samsung DeX, take 200-megapixel photos, and shoot some 8K video.
Playing Asphalt 9: Legends for 30 minutes doesn’t cause any noticeable temperature increase apart from a tiny bit around the top edge, but nothing that you’d call hot, or even that warm. Recording a 15-minute Hyperlapse video caused the phone to heat up more around the camera module –not so it was burning, but definitely hot to the touch. Apps start and refresh in seconds, and even Google Maps grabs a signal and loads the local area faster than other phones I’ve used. This time, Samsung hasn’t made an Exynos version of the Galaxy S23 Ultra for global markets.
Buy the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and be safe in the knowledge you’ll have to work pretty hard to reach its limits. Peak brightness is 1,750 nits, and even walking around Manhattan on a (surprisingly) sunny February morning, Section Editor Joe Maring could still see the screen perfectly. I love the wide viewing angle too, so even when the phone is flat on a desk, video still looks excellent and just like you’re watching it straight-on. When playing games, though, your palm does tend to cover the lower speaker unless you hold the phone “upside down” when the buttons get in the way and are less natural to press. For example, did you know you can change the lock screen clock, notification layout, and add filters to the wallpaper? Samsung’s DeX system is a good example, as the phone can be connected to a monitor or PC to provide a big-screen PC-like experience. It’s another crucial aspect of the device’s longevity, and a reason to buy and keep using your phone for years to come. I’d put it up against Android on the Pixel 7 in terms of speed, and although it’s not quite as simple to use as Google’s version, it’s more intuitive and fun than OxygenOS 13 on the OnePlus 11.
It’s securely held in place, and the tiny internal battery powering the Bluetooth is charged while it’s docked, ensuring it’s always ready to go. There’s no question it’s well-engineered and is more versatile than a passive stylus, but whether you use it regularly or not depends on your eagerness to take handwritten notes or sketch on your phone.
Once it is fully charged, it’s capable of lasting for more than two days with moderate use, and a lot of its ability comes from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s increased efficiency. On a day with over an hour of playing Marvel Snap and browsing Twitter, then watching YouTube videos for 45 minutes, plus regular use of Google Chrome, Reddit, Duolingo, and more, the S23 Ultra ended a nearly 16-hour day with 5 hours and 20 minutes of screen-on time and 24% battery still remaining.
The price puts it in competition with the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and Samsung’s own Galaxy Z Fold 5. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is so powerful and has such a versatile camera, mega battery life, impressive durability, and long-term software support that it will likely outlast many other devices, purely because of its outright ability.
There’s a real pleasure in using a phone that puts ability ahead of gimmicks and keeps a sensible, yet stylish and recognizable design over needlessly changing it up to try and attract buyers. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is Samsung at its most confident, and it’s the sensible, mature buying decision for anyone wanting the pinnacle of Android performance and ability. It’s the current big thing, and because it’s not advancing the fundamentals over what we’re used to seeing already, it’ll stay relevant and usable for more people over many years.
You’re going to pay a lot of money for the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but it’s worth every penny, and in three or even four years’ time, when it’s still a great phone, you’ll look back and see what good value it actually was.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Review
The company takes the kitchen-sink approach with the S23 Ultra; it has pretty much every feature a flagship phone shopper could want, including high-quality hardware, an outstanding display, blistering performance, and top-notch cameras. Its oversized footprint and price give us some pause, but many buyers are likely to look past these compromises for such a capable phone. If you don’t need the stylus or the extra cameras, the slightly smaller and more affordable Galaxy S23+ (starting at $999.99) might better serve you.
The S23 Ultra features an Armor Aluminum frame that partially integrates recycled materials. Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 adds front and back protection against drops and scratches. Samsung offers the phone in four main colors: Cream, Green, Lavender, and Phantom Black.
If those don’t appeal, Samsung’s website offers exclusive colors such as Graphite, Lime, Red, and Sky Blue. From left to right, it houses the S Pen slot, a downward-firing speaker, a USB-C port, and a SIM card tray.
If you prefer facial recognition methods, a simple photo-based face ID tool sits above the screen.
In all, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra might be too large for some buyers, but we can’t fault the otherwise top-notch hardware. Though Samsung made only minimal improvements to the display compared with last year, it delivers an excellent experience just the same. Samsung opts for a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O screen with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, which helps balance power and performance.
The screen can dynamically alter its refresh rate from 1Hz up to 120Hz depending on the activity to conserve battery or enable smooth scrolling. I held the S23 Ultra and the 14 Pro Max next to one another outside under direct sunlight and the iPhone does look slightly brighter, but not enough so to give it a serious competitive edge.
You can also take advantage of adaptive brightness, blue light settings, color profiles, text and icon sizing, Samsung’s Edge panels (app shortcuts), the navigation bar (for gestures), touch sensitivity, and screen savers. The selfie camera interrupts the screen at the top, but the bezels between the display and the metal frame are so thin that they are practically nonexistent.
Display competition is tight at the top of the market, but the S23 Ultra impresses and performs well against its chief rivals. A utility button on one side enables a range of actions, such as advancing PowerPoint slides or triggering the camera shutter (this is really helpful). It’s an incredibly fluid experience, and the small tip has a solid feel when you write on the glass. Specifically, more text fields in Google apps such as Gmail, Chrome, and Maps support S Pen input.
In practice, many of the text fields you might want to write in are small and require an extra tap to enable the feature.
However, if you’re deep in stylus mode and don’t want to put the S Pen down to enter text in certain fields, this could be helpful. Perhaps more interestingly, Samsung worked with Qualcomm to tweak the CPU and GPU output of the chip and give it a competitive edge. It’s worth noting that the S23 and S23+ top out at 8GB of RAM, so it’s possible their benchmark scores are slightly slower even though they have the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy SoC.
We tested the S23 Ultra against a wide array of apps, including some hard-hitting games like Genshin Impact. Running the game at the highest settings resulted in excellent gameplay without any lag or frame drops. Given the huge storage options and flexible screen settings, the phone is an excellent companion for mobile gaming. The modem works hand-in-hand with the 8 Gen 2 SoC to manage 5G, Wi-Fi, and other connections to ensure the best possible performance. When we tested in areas with weak T-Mobile coverage, download and upload speeds dropped to maximums of 19Mbps and 8Mbps, respectively. Whether the signal was strong or weak, however, we were always able to connect calls on the first attempt and didn’t experience any drops during testing.
In terms of real-world performance, the phone downloaded apps and games larger than 1GB in less than a minute in most instances. It supports advanced audio codecs including AAC and AptX; music sounded outstanding through the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones. I was able to hear callers even in moderately loud environments such as subway platforms, and those with whom I spoke had no trouble understanding me.
If you’re interested in playing music directly through the phone rather than wireless headphones, the downward-firing speaker and earpiece work together to create stereo sound. The phone won’t replace a Bluetooth speaker, but it does just fine for listening in an average room by yourself. In our battery life test, which entails playing a YouTube video on loop over Wi-Fi with the phone’s brightness set to the max, the S23 Ultra lasted 13 hours and 11 minutes.
In more anecdotal terms, the S23 Ultra easily plowed through a full day of intense use with plenty of charge left in the tank. Samsung generally reserves its best camera technology for the Galaxy S series, and the S23 Ultra takes things to a new level. The main lens has an aperture of f/1.7 and benefits from both optical image stabilization (OIS) and laser autofocus.
Samsung says it enlarged the area in which the sensor can travel during phone movement to account for a greater range of stabilization. The new sensor, together with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, powers several shooting modes such as Adaptive Pixel, Auto Framing, Director’s View, High-Resolution Photo, Multi-Exposure, Nightography, Selfie Night Portrait, and Super HDR. If you really want to get fancy, you can use the Pro mode to take full control of aspects like shutter speed, exposure, and ISO, as well as Expert Raw to shoot photos with more detail for advanced editing in post. The expanded OIS features of the phone are helpful, though not quite as good as the iPhone 14’s Action Mode when it comes to stabilization. You might prefer the simpler functionality of Google’s or Motorola’s versions of Android, but you cannot deny the vast array of features available from the S23 Ultra and One UI 5.
A range of features allows Samsung’s phones and laptops to talk to one another for things such as copying and pasting text, syncing web browser history and passwords, seamlessly connecting via mobile hotspot, and sending text messages from your laptop. The phone has an outstanding display, some of the fastest performance we’ve seen, a long-lasting battery, powerful software with S Pen stylus integration, and a top-notch set of cameras. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 4.5 Editors’ Choice See It $1,164.99 at Amazon MSRP $1,199.99 Pros Large, bright display Big, heavy build The Bottom Line The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is large and pricey, but an exceptional mix of features, performance, and quality makes it the best high-end Android phone you can buy.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review: ultra camera, ultra power, ultra price
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is Samsung’s latest and greatest power-house smartphone with a more impressive chip, battery and camera than its predecessors. The S23 Ultra is the spitting image of its predecessor, an extremely solid and premium-feeling device and looks really good in cream, as pictured.
The cameras simply emerge from the back glass without the traditional smartphone lump, reminding me of portholes on a ship.
One of the S23 Ultra’s unrivalled features is the fan-favourite S Pen stylus, which was added to the S series last year and receives only minor changes. The phone fully charges in just under 60 minutes, hitting 70% in half an hour using a 45W or greater USB-C fast charger (not included). The new chip is therefore a bigger deal to consumers in Europe, not only boosting general and gaming performance by up to 35% but running much more efficiently, staying cooler under heavy workloads and extending battery life considerably.
The S23 Ultra lasts more than 52 hours between charges, making it one of the longest-lasting smartphones I’ve tested alongside Apple’s iPhone 14 Plus. Heavy gaming sessions reduced the battery life, but the phone survived even the heaviest days of general usage with about 30% left in the tank. Samsung does not provide an expected lifespan for the battery but it should last in excess of 500 full-charge cycles with at least 80% of its original capacity.
The phone can also shoot at 50MP or the full 200MP, the latter producing huge image files with an amazing amount of detail in bright light. Low-light mode is slightly better overall and produces generally well exposed images, though is needed less as the camera gathers more light to start with. The camera app is packed with advanced and fun features, including a full RAW shooting experience for those looking to do their own editing and the most capable video on Android.
But that has kept it the most capable camera on any smartphone available, and is about the only one I would consider to be able to replace the utility of a dSLR or equivalent with its full range of optical zoom. Its very high price makes it poor value next to the Google Pixel 7 Pro, which cannot match the Samsung on every element but comes close enough for £400-£500 less.
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