All functionality, features, specifications, GUI and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.
Artist Review: Samsung S23 Ultra with S Pen
My review is from the perspective of an artist and will cover the drawing aspect of the Samsung S23 Ultra with the included S Pen. Connectivity: 5G, USB-C, wifi 6E, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, UWB and GNSS
The only extra feature I wish was included is Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) for the front facing camera which will benefit video recording.
The front facing camera Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS) works fine but OIS is always going to be better.
Real world average brightness, according to other reviews I’ve read, is around 1100 to 1200 nits and that’s high enough for the colours and contrast to look good even under direct sunlight. Auto white balance does a good job even under fluorescent light. The bokeh or background blur quality with protrait mode video recording looks quite natural compared to large mirrorless camera lens. OIS and EIS are quite effective at reducing handshake motion during video recording.
Screens from TV, phones, small LCD displays, watches, laptops That’s the reason why you see flickering lights and displays in Youtube videos occasionally. I record videos with my phone occasionally and the lack of PAL video recording is the main reason why I don’t and can’t buy Samsung phones. Samsung could sell more phones if they could just include PAL video recording.
And no you cannot enable 25FPS or 50FPS video recording with third party camera apps because this cannot be fixed by softare, unfortunately. On the bottom, you can also see the USB-C with USB 3.2 gen 1 speed and video output, and the dual nano sim tray.
You can expect smooth lag-free performance, gaming and multi-tasking with that processor and 8GB RAM. Initial activation force is low so it’s easy to draw really thin lines even with a thick brush selected.
There is slight wobble or jitter with slowly drawn diagonal lines but it’s not a big issue and doesn’t affect my drawings. Same applies to drawing the city street sketch above with Infinite Painter.
The pen has a side button, support for pressure and tilt sensitivity. The pen tip is rubberised and has some texture but it’s still too smooth and slippery on the glass.
It’s also easier to see the big picture while drawing details because of the larger display. This phone runs on Android 13 with Samsung One UI 5.1 on top and there are many useful features. I find the Edge Panel by the side to be quite useful as you can create shortcuts for apps, tasks, Live messages, contacts, and more. When the phone is connected to an external monitor, Samsung DeX lets you work with a desktop, moveable windows and taskbar.
If you don’t need desktop OS specific apps, you can literally use your phone as your main computer. Samsung Cloud is limited to 15GB and only backups phone settings, messages, call logs, contacts, apps (not including the files within). Samsung Dex with USB-C to HDMI adapter connected to monitor: 4 hours
The main differences are the ecosystem and the lack of PAL video recording with Samsung.
One huge downside to iPhone is you can’t just connect a USB cable to transfer files. Samsung DeX is pretty useful if you want your phone to double up as a computer but with limited OS features.
The file management with Android is very similar to desktop OS and hence is familiar and easy to work with. And Android phones have way more customisation options, e.g launchers can be installed, custom themes for UI, icons, shortcuts. Movies and songs you buy from iTunes cannot be accessed from Android tablets and phones.
In USA, many are unable to switch from iPhones to other brands because the main messaging app is iMessage which is not also not available on Android phones.
Locking yourself into the Apple ecosystem isn’t like that bad, it’s just that when it’s time to upgrade your phone, you can only buy an iPhone. The S23 Ultra can definitely be used as a portable digital sketchpad since the drawing performance is quite good.
In terms of value for money, the S23 Ultra provides way more value with its lower pricing compared to the Z Fold 4. And for an Android flagship phone, the pricing is really attractive and extremely competitive. If you find this review helpful and have the intention to buy this phone, consider using the affiliate links below to support my blog and the work I do.
Apps – The Official Samsung Galaxy Site
All functionality, features, specifications, GUI and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.
Best drawing apps for iOS and Android in 2023
Both Android and iOS offer great drawing apps to choose from, as we’ll find out soon enough. Similar to Infinite Painter, Sketchbook has plenty of brushes to choose from, plus layers to work with.
However, Adobe requires that you make an account with it, unlike the rest of these apps, which is why this one is last on the Android list, and hard to recommend over them. You can also unlock its “prime” version for more features via a monthly or yearly subscription, or just choose to remove the ads with a single payment.
Despite this, it still offers over 1000 brushes to pick from, its own fonts, backgrounds, textures and other recourses, and can even work with cloud storage. However, the iPad and iPhone have the following exclusive apps that are definitely worth mentioning and checking out, if you’re on an Apple device… In my experience, Procreate for the iPad is by far the greatest mobile drawing app you can get for a tablet. What Procreate offers is plenty of brushes to work with, a powerful brush-making tool, multi-layer support, and superb optimization for your Apple device.
In fact, plenty of legitimate professionals use this app with their iPad and Apple Pencil – it’s that good.
Best drawing apps for Android 2023
Regardless of your device and input mediums, here are the best drawing apps for Android that you can find on the Google Play Store today. Why you can trust Android Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. So get started learning how to draw, then as your skills progress, add more to your repertoire with this app at your side. There’s even support to recognize the amount of pressure applied by your stylus, provided that you have one that includes that feature.
Tayasui Sketches Most drawing apps for experts can be intimidating to look at owing to their many options and features. Tayasui Sketches boasts a light, simple, and fresh UI that makes it a delight to use.
Sketchbook is an easy pick for our favorite drawing app, as you won’t have to worry about in-app purchases to unlock features. Huion Sketch – Animation & Paint & Create is a wonderful digital studio with many tools, brushes, and other features.
What makes it stand out is its support for Huion digital pens and tablets, allowing you to pick up your project right where you left off across devices.
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