Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra first impressions: Bets big on Cameras and performance

Wait for Samsung’s first flagship lineup of 2023 is almost over now. The tech giant showcased three new S series phones in full glory – the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23 Plus, and Galaxy S23 at its first Unpacked event of 2023. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra gets several upgrades over the existing S22 Ultra.

Just before the Unpacked 2023 event, we played with the Galaxy 23 lineup for a few minutes in a controlled environment. While our Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review is a few days away, here are our first impression about the Galaxy S23 Ultra based on limited hands-on experience:

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Specs and Price in India

Device	Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
OS	Android 13 with OneUI 5.1
Display	6.8-inch OLED
Resolution	1440×3088
Max refresh rate	Up to 120Hz
Dimensions	78.1 x 163.4 x 8.9 mm
Weight	234g
Battery capacity	5,000mAh
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU optimized for Samsung
RAM	8GB, 12GB
Storage	256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Rear cameras	200MP (f/1.7) wide, 12MP (f/2.2) ultrawide, 10MP (f2.4 / f4.9) telephoto
Front cameras	12MP (f/2.2)
Front video	4K at 60fps
Rear video	8K at 30fps, 4K at 60fps
Ports	USB-C
S Pen	Yes
Biometrics	Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, facial recognition
Water and dust protection	IP68
UWB	Yes
Wireless charging	Yes
Wireless	5G mmWave / sub-6GHz, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E (6Ghz), Bluetooth 5.2
Starting price	Yet to be announced

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Design

So the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra first look we first shared back in September 2022 was accurate. Samsung hasn’t tried to do anything crazy or out of the box aesthetically. The S23 Ultra stays closer to its predecessor while a few tweaks have been done around the edges for better ergonomics. The Galaxy S23 Ultra shares the same rectangular share shape as its predecessor, but now, instead of curved edges, it settles for flatter edges for better grip.

It is more or less the same size as the last generation Ultra with hardly any changes in the height and width of the phone. The Galaxy S23 Ultra measures 163.4×78.1×8.9mm, so it’s just .1mm bigger and .72m wider than its predecessor, while the waistline size remains the same.

The use of recycled material is where Samsung has walked an extra mile with the Galaxy S23 lineup. They claim to have used 80 percent of recycled PET, 20 percent recycled ocean-bound plastic, and 22 percent recycled glass in every Galaxy S23 series phone. Even the colors of these phones are made out of organic materials. You get three S23 Ultra in four colors –Phantom Black, Lavender, Cream, and Green. While all of them look beautiful, I personally lean towards the Green colors as my pick.

The phone has a familiar, polished Armour Aluminium frame in the middle sandwiched by two Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 – one each in front and back. Even this Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 is made out of recycled glass. On top of that, it gets an IP68 rating that gives assurance against dust and water resistance. As expected, the S23 Ultra’s feels is solid without disgracing from its ultra-premium fit and finish.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – Display

The Samsung S series has always delivered the finest displays, which remains a constant with the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The 6.8-inch QHD+ panel on the Galaxy S23 Ultra front delivers staggering 1750nits of peak brightness and details. It’s a Dynamic AMOLED 2X LTPO display offering a 1Hz-120Hz variable refresh and 240 Hz touch sampling (in gaming mode).

The display’s center has a punch hole taken out to fit in a selfie camera. While showcasing, Samsung talked about the Vision Boster and some other enhancements in displays about, which we will talk in detail in our S23 Ultra full review.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – Performance expectations

When sharing insights about the S23 Ultra, the Samsung team looked really upbeat about the performance aspects of the phone. Last year, Samsung ditched Exynos for a Snapdragon chipset, and this year they have tied up Qualcomm for a custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for the Galaxy S23 series.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip that you will find in the S23 series will have a much optimized GPU for a better gaming experience and an optimized NPU for a better photography experience.

Samsung is pushing to elevate mobile gaming to the next level by offering hardware-level Ray Tracing support in the Galaxy S23 Ultra. While there is no mobile with Ray-Tracing support today, hopefully, we will soon have some games with ray-tracing available on android.

What about the heating? Samsung has upgraded from Graphite to Vapor Cooling Chamber to keep things cool and prevent throttling or temperature rise. Does it work? Well, we only get to know when we do a stress test on the Galaxy S23 Ultra for review.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Camera expectations

If you compare the Galaxy S23 Ultra camera specs with the previous S series flagship you will instantly notice a big jump in megapixel count in the primary rear camera.

The phone has four cameras on the back— starring a 200MP Isocell HP2 primary sensor that sits behind an optically stabilized f/1.7 lens with Super Quad Pixel, a 12MP sensor behind an ultrawide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture, 120-degree field-of-view, and dual pixel autofocus, a 10MP sensor behind an optically stabilized f/2.4 aperture 3x telephoto lens with dual pixel autofocus, and another 10MP periscope-style 10x zoom camera with f/4.9 aperture and dual pixel autofocus.

The 200MP sensor has new adaptive pixel technology where each individual pixel locks focus. Samsung claims several improvements in photography and videography capabilities with improved AI Stereo depth map, Dual Pixel focus, and wider optical image stabilization angle. While all that sounds good, I will reserve my observations on camera until we test it out in our space.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra First impressions

After our preliminary examination, we are pretty convinced that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a phone that can move the Galaxy S Ultra legacy in the right direction.

The Class-leading chipset, innovative cameras, an excellent design made from recycled materials, and reliable and secure software – That’s the stuff flagships should offer, and the S23 Ultra seems to tick most boxes in that regard. All said and done, we are eagerly waiting to spend more time with the Galaxy S23 Ultra.