Samsung has unveiled its 2023 flagship smartphone lineup, but how does the smaller Galaxy S23 compare to the powerhouse Galaxy S23 Ultra?
It’s that time of year again when Samsung unveils its latest lineup of flagship smartphones. As expected, this year’s Galaxy S23 models follow closely in the footsteps of their respective S22 predecessors.
Interestingly, the changes across the board this year are considerably more iterative — a good sign that Samsung’s S-series lineup has reached a certain maturity. For the most part, Samsung’s top-of-the-line smartphones aren’t bringing any groundbreaking new features or major camera changes this year. Instead, the focus is on smaller quality-of-life improvements that result in the S23 models refining Samsung’s approach to its high-end smartphones rather than redefining it.
As with past years, there’s something for everyone among the S23 models, from the pocketable Galaxy S23 to the super powerful Galaxy S23 Ultra. While it’s tempting to jump right to Samsung’s premium S23 Ultra, you might be surprised by what the more affordable S23 has to offer.
The difference in size is the most obvious characteristic setting the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Ultra apart. With a 6.1-inch edge-to-edge screen, the S23 is definitely more svelte than the phablet-like S23 Ultra, which has a 6.8-inch display and a design that clearly shows its roots in the Galaxy Note era.
However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because the S23 has a smaller display that its quality is inferior to the screen of the S23 Ultra. Bigger isn’t always better, and in this case, both phones feature the same Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen. The S23 Ultra gets more pixels since it’s larger, although it’s worth noting it does have a higher pixel density — 500 pixels per inch (ppi) versus the Galaxy S23’s 425. This means things may look a bit crisper on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but one can also make the argument that this is more important on the larger screen.
The Galaxy S23 and S23 Ultra are also on the same level when it comes to durability. Both feature an IP68 water-resistance rating with Samsung’s latest Armor Aluminum chassis and Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the front and back — an improvement that Corning promises will offer better drop protection should your phone happen to land on a rough surface like concrete.
This year, Samsung has made an interesting design choice on the other side of the Galaxy S23. The camera bump that graced the back of the Galaxy S22 and prior models has vanished; instead, you get three slightly protruding lenses that match the cleaner and more minimalist style of the Galaxy Ultra.
The redesign may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s definitely a welcome change for those who prefer the more uniform look of the Galaxy Ultra. In the end, since both size and design are subjective choices, we’re calling this one a tie.
Winner: Tie
The Galaxy S23 lineup is powered by a new processor — Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. However, this year Samsung has added an extra twist; rather than going with an off-the-shelf version of Qualcomm’s latest system on a chip (SoC), Samsung has partnered with the chipmaker to create a bespoke version that it’s calling the “Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy.”
This gives the Galaxy S23 models an impressive performance boost over their rivals’ similarly equipped flagships. We were unable to find anything the S23 Ultra couldn’t handle in our Galaxy S23 Ultra review, and there’s no reason to believe the standard S23 will be any slower since it uses the same chip.
