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Design and display

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra looks very similar to its predecessor, the S22 Ultra, with a sleek and premium design. It has a metal frame and a glass back, both protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which is more durable and scratch-resistant than before. It also has IP68 water and dust resistance, and an integrated S Pen stylus that can be stored inside the phone.

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The phone has a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, which is one of the best screens on the market. It has a QHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ support. It also has an adaptive brightness feature that can adjust the screen’s brightness and color temperature according to the ambient light. The display is sharp, vibrant, and smooth, making it ideal for watching videos, playing games, and browsing the web.

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The only downside of the display is that it has curved edges, which can cause accidental touches or reflections. Some people may also find the phone too big or heavy to hold comfortably, as it measures 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm and weighs 229 grams.

 

Camera

The main highlight of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is its impressive camera system, which consists of four lenses on the back and one on the front. The main camera is a whopping 200MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilization (OIS), and laser autofocus. It can capture stunning photos with incredible detail, clarity, and dynamic range. It can also use pixel binning to combine 16 pixels into one for better low-light performance.

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The main camera can also shoot in full 200MP mode, which allows you to zoom in and crop your photos without losing quality. However, this mode takes up more storage space and requires good lighting conditions to work well.

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The other cameras on the back are a 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens with an f/2.2 aperture and a 120-degree field of view, a 10MP telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture and 3x optical zoom, and another 10MP telephoto lens with an f/4.9 aperture and 10x optical zoom. These cameras offer great versatility and flexibility for different shooting scenarios, such as landscapes, portraits, or wildlife.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra also has a powerful zoom capability, thanks to its dual telephoto lenses and digital zoom. It can go up to 30x hybrid zoom and 100x digital zoom, which are called Space Zoom by Samsung. The zoom quality is impressive up to 10x or even 20x, but beyond that it becomes blurry and noisy.

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The front camera is a 12MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and autofocus. It can take sharp and natural selfies with good skin tones and bokeh effects. It also supports face unlock and video calls.

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The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra can record videos up to 8K at 30fps or 4K at 60fps with the main camera, or up to 4K at 30fps with the other cameras. The video quality is excellent, with smooth stabilization, accurate colors, and clear audio. The phone also has some advanced video features, such as Director’s View, which lets you see all four cameras at once and switch between them while recording; Single Take, which captures multiple photos and videos with one tap; and Pro Video mode, which gives you more control over the settings.

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Performance

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor, which is a custom-made chip that Samsung co-developed with Qualcomm. It is based on a 4nm process and has an octa-core CPU (1x3GHz +3x2.5GHz +4x1.8GHz), an Adreno GPU (with AMD RDNA technology), and a Hexagon DSP (with Tensor Accelerator). It also has 12GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of UFS3.1 storage.

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The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor is one of the fastest chips on Android phones right now, beating the iPhone’s A16 Bionic chip on some benchmarks12. It can handle any task or game you throw at it with ease, without any lag or stuttering. It also supports sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G networks, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and GPS.

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The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra runs on Android 12 with Samsung’s One UI 5.1 on top. One UI 5.1 is a refined and user-friendly interface that offers a lot of customization options, features, and modes. Some of the notable features include Samsung DeX, which lets you connect the phone to a monitor or TV and use it as a desktop; Bixby, which is Samsung’s voice assistant; and Knox, which is Samsung’s security platform.

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The phone also has some new features that are exclusive to the S23 series, such as Object Eraser, which lets you remove unwanted objects from your photos; Private Share, which lets you share files with expiration dates and revoke access; and SmartThings Find, which lets you locate your lost devices.

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Battery

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery, which is the same as the S22 Ultra. However, the battery life has improved significantly, thanks to the more efficient processor and display. The phone can last for more than a day on a single charge with moderate to heavy use. It also supports 45W wired charging, 15W wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.

The only drawback of the battery is that the charging speed is not as fast as some of the competitors, such as the OnePlus Open or the Oppo Find X4 Pro. It takes about an hour and a half to fully charge the phone with the 45W charger, which is not included in the box. You only get a 25W charger in the box, which takes about two hours to fully charge the phone.

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S Pen

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is compatible with the S Pen stylus, which is a handy tool for taking notes, drawing, or editing documents. The phone has a dedicated slot for storing the S Pen inside the body, which also charges it wirelessly. The S Pen has a pressure-sensitive tip and a button that can perform various actions.

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The S Pen can work with various apps and features on the phone, such as Samsung Notes, Screen Write, Live Message, AR Doodle, and Air Command. It can also be used as a remote control for taking photos or videos, playing music, or scrolling through slides.

The S Pen has some new features that are exclusive to the S23 series, such as Quick Memo, which lets you write notes on any screen without unlocking the phone; Smart Select, which lets you select text or images from any screen and copy or share them; and Translate, which lets you translate text from any screen by hovering over it.

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The S Pen is a useful accessory for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, especially for those who like to write or draw on their phones. However, it is not included in the box and costs an extra $49.

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Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is an amazing phone that offers everything you could ask for in a flagship device. It has a stunning display, a powerful processor, an impressive camera system, a long-lasting battery, and an integrated S Pen. It also has a sleek and premium design, a user-friendly interface, and a lot of features and modes.

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The only downsides of the phone are its high price tag ($1,199 for 12GB/256GB or $1,299 for 16GB/512GB), its large and heavy size, its curved screen edges that can cause accidental touches or reflections, and its lack of upgrade in charging speed.

If you are looking for the best of the best in Android phones right now and don’t mind spending a lot of money on it, then the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is definitely worth considering. It is one of the most complete and versatile phones on the market right now.

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