Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Galaxy S23

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Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Galaxy S23

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy) that was released on February 1, 2023, against the Samsung Galaxy S23, which is powered by the same chip. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
  • The rear camera has a 10x optical zoom
  • Has a 0.7 inch larger screen size
  • Comes with 1100 mAh larger battery capacity: 5000 vs 3900 mAh
  • Shows 19% longer battery life (41:06 vs 34:29 hours)
  • 11% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1517K versus 1362K)
  • 18% higher pixel density (500 vs 425 PPI)
  • Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 25W)
  • 9% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1990 and 1822 points
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S23
  • Better grip in hands – the body is 7.2 mm narrower
  • Weighs 65 grams less

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy S23 crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type Dynamic AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.8 inches 6.1 inches
Resolution 1440 x 3088 pixels 1080 x 2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.3:9 19.5:9
PPI 500 ppi 425 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes Yes
Max rated brightness 850 nits 800 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 1750 nits 1750 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Screen protection Gorilla Glass Victus 2 Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5% 88.1%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 96.9% 98.9%
PWM 240 Hz 240 Hz
Response time 2 ms 1 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
1282 nits
1209 nits

Design and build

Height 163.4 mm (6.43 inches) 146.3 mm (5.76 inches)
Width 78.1 mm (3.07 inches) 70.9 mm (2.79 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 7.6 mm (0.3 inches)
Weight 233 g (8.22 oz) 168 g (5.93 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP68
Advanced cooling Vapor chamber Vapor chamber
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors White, Black, Gray, Blue, Green, Red, Purple White, Black, Gray, Green, Purple, Yellow
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, in-display
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S23 in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy
Max clock 3360 MHz 3360 MHz
CPU cores 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3)
Architecture - 3 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A510
- 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A710
- 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A715
- 1 core at 3.2 GHz: Cortex-X3
- 3 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A510
- 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A710
- 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A715
- 1 core at 3.2 GHz: Cortex-X3
L3 cache 8 MB 8 MB
Lithography process 4 nanometers 4 nanometers
Graphics Adreno 740 Adreno 740
GPU shading units 2560 2560
GPU clock 719 MHz 719 MHz
FLOPS ~3481.6 GFLOPS ~3481.6 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
1517214
1362358
CPU 377304 366724
GPU 596398 551228
Memory 271911 192220
UX 261336 247673
Total score 1517214 1362358
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature 34.8 °C 34.3 °C
Stability 64% 60%
Graphics test 72 FPS 72 FPS
Graphics score 12154 12033
PCMark 3.0
Web score 15596 13647
Video editing 7791 7797
Photo editing 33958 34238
Data manipulation 12948 12529
Writing score 19802 19579

Memory

RAM
RAM size 8, 12 GB 8 GB
Memory type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage size 256, 512, 1024 GB 128, 256, 512 GB
Storage type UFS 4.0 UFS 4.0
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system Android 13 Android 13
ROM One UI 5.1 One UI 5.1
OS size 39.9 GB 29.7 GB

Battery

Capacity 5000 mAh 3900 mAh
Max charge power 45 W 25 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes (15 W) Yes (10 W)
Reverse charging Yes, (wireless) Yes, (wireless)
Fast charging Yes (68% in 30 min) Yes (57% in 30 min)
Full charging time 0:59 hr 1:16 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 14:50 hr 12:15 hr
Watching video 19:27 hr 15:00 hr
Gaming 06:21 hr 05:56 hr
Standby 123 hr 111 hr
General battery life
41:06 hr
34:29 hr

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 200 megapixels 50 megapixels
Image resolution 16320 x 12240 8160 x 6120
Zoom Optical, 10x Optical, 3x
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 30FPS
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 960 FPS (1080p) 960 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens 120° 120°
Lenses 4 (200 MP + 10 MP + 10 MP + 12 MP) 3 (50 MP + 10 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 200 MP
- Aperture: f/1.7
- Focal length: 23 mm
- Pixel size: 0.64 micron
- Sensor: 1/1.3", Samsung ISOCELL HP2 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS)
- Laser autofocus
- Optical stabilization
- 50 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 23 mm
- Pixel size: 1 micron
- Sensor: 1/1.57", Samsung S5KGN3 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens - 10 MP
- Aperture: f/4.9
- Focal length: 230 mm
- Pixel size: 1.12 micron
- Sensor: 1/3.52", Sony IMX754 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
- 10 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
- Focal length: 70 mm
- Pixel size: 1 micron
- Sensor: 1/3.94", Samsung S5K3K1 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Focal length: 13 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX564 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Focal length: 13 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX564 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Samples Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra from DxOMark Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S23 from DxOMark
Selfie camera
Megapixels 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4000 x 3000 4000 x 3000
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Pixel size 1.12 microns 1.12 microns
Sensor type ISOCELL CMOS ISOCELL CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.24" 1/3.24"
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

DxOMark camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5.3
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC * Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM * 2 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support * Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat * 20 20
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced February 2023 February 2023
Release date February 2023 February 2023
SAR (head) 0.96 W/kg 0.96 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.4 W/kg 1.3 W/kg
Sensors - Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Bundled charger Not included Not included
Further details
Notes on Galaxy S23:
    - The 128GB version uses slower UFS 3.1 memory, while the 256GB and 512GB models have UFS 4.0.
* Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

These smartphones have a lot in common, but we would recommend the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra . It has a better camera, performance, and battery life.

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