The Samsung Galaxy S23 range has launched, with the normal Galaxy S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra being announced at Samsung’s latest Unpacked event on February 1st. While the new devices look similar to last year’s, there are some crucial differences and updates. The S23 Ultra is again the top of the line, with a different design to the other two devices in the range. Here is everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – the upgraded camera setup, improved internal specs and rapid charging.
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Like its predecessors, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is offered in four unique colours, and four additional, special colours that are exclusive to Samsung. The colours you’ll be able to find in stores are Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender. If you order your device from Samsung.com the additional colours you’ll find include Lime, Graphite, Sky Blue and Red.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a lot in common with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, at least, on the outside. It features a nearly identical design, and the only, most obvious difference is in colour. The S23 Ultra features a flat top and bottom, while the sides are slightly curved to better accommodate hands. This makes the experience more comfortable, with less sharp edges, and ensures that the device doesn’t slip out of your hands.
The camera setup on the back features the same layout and singular camera lens design, with the three main sensors placed next to each other and the additional sensors on the right side. It’s worth mentioning that the large camera bump is still there, and we’ll continue recommending the use of cases to protect the device, and the camera sensors from scratches, scuffs, and dents.
The volume rocker and power button are still on the right side, while the left contains no buttons. It’s a typical Samsung device, and we’re glad to see the same layout carry over to the Galaxy S23 series. As usual, the Galaxy S23 Ultra retains the embedded S Pen slot on the bottom of the device, which also houses the S Pen stylus.
When it comes to specifications and performance, Samsung claims that it has improved everything, thanks to the new chip. The Galaxy S23 Ultra will be able to last up to 20 percent longer than its predecessor, and will provide up to 40 percent faster graphics performance. AI performance is improved by more than 40 percent, making photography, videography, and low-latency gaming up to 40 percent faster.
Samsung also states that it’s improved the cooling technology, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra is now equipped with a larger vapour cooling chamber, improving the graphics performance and the gaming experience across all three S23 series’ devices.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra features the best-in-class display from Samsung. It’s equipped with a massive, 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with a punch-hole cutout in the top center. It has a 3088 x 1440 resolution and a 19.3:9 aspect ratio. As expected, it has a 120Hz Adaptive refresh rate, 500 pixels per inch (PPI), and a 1,750nit peak brightness when outdoors. The adaptive refresh rate allows the screen to go down to as low as 1Hz to preserve battery, and up to 120Hz when scrolling, or playing games. Like in the past, the screen will default to 60Hz when watching movies and watching videos.
The screen also sports the usual under-display fingerprint sensor. It supports the S Pen, which is still exclusive to the Galaxy S23 Ultra (and as an optional accessory to the Galaxy Z Fold 4 foldable).
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, coupled with 8/12GB of memory, and 256/512GB or 1TB of storage. The new chip improves the device’s performance and comes with new modems that support sub-6Ghz and mmWave 5G technologies, Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 6E.
For the first time in history, the Galaxy S23 series are powered solely by Qualcomm’s chipsets, including most international markets such as Europe, the United Kingdom, South Korea, India, China, and most importantly, South Africa.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra received a massive camera upgrade, and it now packs a 200MP primary sensor with f/.7 aperture, OIS, and laser autofocus. The flagship also packs a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide, a 10MP optical periscope camera with 3-10X optical zoom, and another telephoto camera with OIS and 3x zoom capabilities.
All rear cameras support Super HDR at 60fps, night mode features, Super High-Resolution photo, and even 8K video recording. There are OIS, Adaptive Pixel, VDIS, Auto Framing, and Direct’s View features enabled, similar to what we say on previous generation Galaxy S series smartphones. Samsung also says that night and low-light photography should be greatly improved, and we’ll be sure to put it to the test in our upcoming reviews.
The battery has remained the same capacity as the new Galaxy S23 Ultra and still houses a large 5,000 mAh battery. The device supports 45W fast wired charging, as well as Power Delivery 3.0, and 15W wireless charging using the Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 technology. There’s also 4.5W reverse wireless charging support that can charge other smartphones and wireless earbuds.
