Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review

11 February 2023


Sort by:

  • S
  • S23U user
  • dQd
  • 20 Mar 2023

Oklahoma , 19 Mar 2023I went from note 8 to S23U. Phenomenal phone. Glad they too... moreYeah, I compiled my own list of cons & nitpicking before I preordered, & then I further scrutinized.
Apart from losing some features along the way (for which I'm glad I've kept my Note9 as a back up (& even my S6 before that is still working)), I think it'll be the 'Best all-rounder of the year', & IF the S24 Ultra is so much better (I doubt it) I'll consider a trade in.
Our Notes have served us well & our S23 Ultras even better.
Good things come to those that wait, enjoy 👍

    • O
    • Oklahoma
    • YiU
    • 19 Mar 2023

    Note9... S23U user, 17 Mar 2023Just to say 🌈Thank you GSMArena Team for the S23 Ultra rev... moreI went from note 8 to S23U. Phenomenal phone. Glad they took the guesswork out. I'll be holding on to this for the next few years. Good price too. When the note 8 came out, I paid 1075.00 with tax with it only being 200 bux more and the fact I rocked that note 8 for so long. I'm sure this is a good purchase. Samsung FTW

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • 6p{
      • 17 Mar 2023

      Anonymous, 15 Mar 2023After just a quick couple shots compared to my Nokia 808 it... moreYes right

        • N
        • Note9... S23U user
        • dQd
        • 17 Mar 2023

        Just to say
        🌈Thank you GSMArena Team for the S23 Ultra review🌈
        I've still not read it all (I was checking out its competiton), but enough to know that my preorder is a keeper👍
        I'll read it from start to finish soon.💫

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • m62
          • 16 Mar 2023

          Anonymous, 26 Feb 2023Compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the side buttons of this... moreIf you have nothing else to complain about that speaks a lot about this phones quality though

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • q8Q
            • 15 Mar 2023

            After just a quick couple shots compared to my Nokia 808 it still shows that even 200mp if tiny and crammed with a lot of digital processing falls short to the 11 year old champ in pure clean detail and mature processing. Of course thats under ideal situations.
            Why can't we just simply get our monies worth and actually get a phone with a camera that supercedes the 808....

            The market is pathetic.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • rN7
              • 13 Mar 2023

              RVX, 11 Mar 2023Recently bought the S23U and I'm quite impressed with ... moreThat's probably the way it's set to try and handle the situation rather than a defect

                • R
                • RVX
                • U{d
                • 11 Mar 2023

                Recently bought the S23U and I'm quite impressed with it.

                But there's one thing i noticed with all the other S23U and even the S22U (including mine) models that my friends and relatives are using.

                If you record a video of music being played on decent hi end speakers, just as the beat drop kicks in, the volume drastically reduces in the playback and starts fluctuating. And this becomes really irritating. This issue has plagued almost all the s22 and s23 ultra models. Don't know about normal versions. Tried the same thing with my previous device Redmi K20 Pro, and the playback was normal without any volume fluctuations.

                Has anybody else faced this issue? If not, kindly try and do let me know .

                I've sent my phone for analysis and replacement. Hope to get this issue resolved.

                P.S. have tried all the troubleshooting options- from audio settings to factory reset. Even put up this issue on Samsung Members app. Nothing solved the issue.

                  • m
                  • mapamp
                  • m54
                  • 10 Mar 2023

                  Samsung galaxy's s23 ultra is best mobile , best battery life , super fast phone , well done samsung this year

                    Mallik, 09 Mar 2023I don't agree with you on the processor. It's an ... moreWell, I can only speak from personal experience - but the battery life on my S22U is amazing... better than the S21U (and Huawei Mate 20X) I had previously. And it's never once got hot or overheated either... even when using it hours at a time or leaving it on charge.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • q8Q
                      • 09 Mar 2023

                      Mallik, 09 Mar 2023I don't agree with you on the processor. It's an ... moreIn battery and heat it was not much different than most others if the tone and same chip.

                        • M
                        • Mallik
                        • uJD
                        • 09 Mar 2023

                        Zeeker , 09 Mar 2023My husband and I received a "special " offer from... moreI don't agree with you on the processor. It's an huge improvement over the S22 Ultra on thermal and battery life!!!! The S22 Ultra has overheating issue when doing heavy task or charging, poor battery back-up and not good battery life for average use. Lots of consumer complained on the heat and battery life on the S22 Ultra that most of the S22 Ultra users switched to 8+ Gen 1/ Gen 2 phones or iPhone 14 Pro Max. You may not notice the difference if you are not using your phone heavily, but in the long term the S23 Ultra would have much better battery life and lesser degradation than the S22 Ultra.

                          • Z
                          • Zeeker
                          • 4DJ
                          • 09 Mar 2023

                          My husband and I received a "special " offer from our current provider. I had just upgraded to the S22 ultra, and his was the old S 10.
                          Of course there was a drastic difference between his old S10 to the S23 ultra, however between my S22 ultra to the S23 ultra, not so much. Unless your a huge fan of photography as well as making videos, which improvements they claim to have made, there are only slight differences, barely noticeable to the naked eye. The " improvement " to the processor was laughable. Benchmarking at an average 5 to 10 points higher is definitely not worth the price increase. I can't test the new second generation gorilla glass, because I can not afford to purchase enough replacement phones..
                          So unless your very much into the photo/video aspects, this S23 Ultra, this phone at its current price would not be a wise investment. Unless you have the S20 modle, I would wait until some real improvements are made, and not waste your hard earned money on this model.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • q8Q
                            • 06 Mar 2023

                            Imagine what they could have done just by increasing the sensor size a little more and not increasing the resolution any.
                            Even possibly reducing the resolution to something between 40-64mp.
                            Some results and things possible with the 200mp are nice. But it would probably be overall better that way.
                            Hopefully soon they work on sensors like that.

                              • B
                              • Beach Life
                              • qxK
                              • 05 Mar 2023

                              I didn't see much of a difference between my S21 Ultra and the S23 Ultra as far as taking pics, Night Mode also wasn't any different either. The S23 Ultra is HEAVIER than my S21 Ultra and the Note shape makes it VERY UNCOMFORTABLE to hold, lower left corner where the SPen is DIGS into my left hand when I hold it to scroll etc. It's also wider than the S22Ultra which makes using 2 hands awkward and cumbersom when you have small kid hands for a women like I do. S23 Ultra also FAILED the drop test and smashed from videos I saw, I actually do regret sending it back and may decide to get it again in May when it's warmer and can take more pics than now in the Cold Winter

                                Anonymous, 22 Feb 2023Most companies that bought a camera manufacturers name are ... moreI believe more discoveries would help them out soon in their partnership. Even glorious Huawei couldn't get it until P 30 series with Leica!!

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • nem
                                  • 02 Mar 2023

                                  Anonymous, 26 Feb 2023Compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the side buttons of this... moreAnd that comparison was made how? If it was made with a demo unit, it is pointless. And I think most people will take slightly worse buttons you barely notice for the better, more comfortable design, the S-Pen and the way more versatile camera

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • nem
                                    • 02 Mar 2023

                                    Anonymous, 02 Mar 2023Just buying any old adapter does not solve that. Even witho... moreBuy a decent dongle and it easily beats a phones headphone output. Hell, even my affordable Meizu HiFi Master beats my Zenfone 8 headphone jack by a mile, it's not even close. I'm all for headphone jacks, but with the options we have nowadays, it's not that tragic anymore, powerful mobile DACs are tiny now and pretty cheap.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • q8Q
                                      • 02 Mar 2023

                                      Anonymous, 02 Mar 2023Wowzers......... No 3.5 jack built in is because you purcha... moreJust buying any old adapter does not solve that. Even without an audiophile ear i could immediately hear the difference between that and the built in port. And that's for the standard on soc dac. Not even counting phones with higher quality dacs and amps.

                                        • A
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • iVi
                                        • 02 Mar 2023

                                        SShock, 20 Feb 2023384Hz audio means nothing on a phone without a headphone ja... moreWowzers......... No 3.5 jack built in is because you purchase a usb-c to 3.5 adapter....... Quite like the iPhone, except lightning..... So as for physical plugs.... Problem solved...... However your compression statement is about 35%-55% true so I can get on board.

                                          6 of 24