Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, S23+, and S23 hands-on review

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra design and features

When you look at Samsung's S23 series, the Ultra is immediately distinctive. It stands taller and wider than its counterparts. But its design is more sophisticated than the two other models. For starters, both its front and rear glass panels slope down towards the thin aluminum frame.

The light curve on both sides of the thin sculpted frame gives the Galaxy S23 Ultra a high-precision quality that the Galaxy S23 and S23+ with their flat frame and flat glass panels lack.

The design isn't new, however. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is unmistakably similar to its predecessor. You likely wouldn't be able to distinguish a Phantom Black Galaxy S23 Ultra from a Phantom Black Galaxy S22 Ultra. Even the Cream model looks similar to last year's White one, under specific light. Luckily, there are Green and Lavender to help your new potential phone stand out.

The rear panel is matte instead of glossy, just like on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which means the glass is more resistant to smudges and easier to wipe clean.

Of course, keeping the same design may not be the worst thing. It's undeniably premium and refined, even a year on, and some fans of the Galaxy S22 Ultra's look and feel will rejoice that its successor is mostly the same on the outside.

The design is more than just about aesthetics - the squarer, almost notebook feel of the Galaxy S23 Ultra comes directly from its predecessor, which itself took it from the last Galaxy Note - it's a body designed to feel comfortable writing on.

A familiar design

The S Pen is seemingly the same as last year's. It fits neatly inside the Galaxy S23 Ultra and as before, only its clicker is color-matched to the body.

Samsung didn't tout any meaningful improvements to the S Pen experience so we're expecting the same excellent 2.8ms latency for the pen and 4096 levels of pressure on the screen's digitizer. It remains the best stylus experience on a phone and it's also the most convenient thanks to its physical and software implementation.

The same thing goes for the display. The panel is seemingly the same as last year's model, which is still widely regarded as the best in the industry. It really is a state-of-the-art panel, even in 2023. On paper, we're getting the same 6.8-inch 1440x3088px Dynamic AMOLED 2x, capable of variable refresh rate up to 120Hz (with an LTPO 2.0 controller), and a peak brightness of 1750 nits.

Samsung made improvements to Vision Booster - it's now able to adjust the color tone and contrast of the display at three different lighting conditions, meaning the panel will be optimal for just about every scenario.

Just like the S22 Ultra, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is set to FHD+ and Vivid color mode by default but can be maxed out at its WQHD+ setting at little to no cost to battery life.

Samsung says that it has reduced the curvature of the display, resulting in a larger flat surface area on the Galaxy S23 Ultra's display, compared to its predecessor. Seasoned S22 Ultra owners might notice a difference though it isn't immediately apparent even when viewed side by side.

Display curve

In fact, all of the Galaxy S23 Ultra's controls look identical to the Galaxy S22 Ultra's, down to the placement and feel.

Again, this is no bad thing - the Galaxy S22 Ultra has excellent ergonomics for its size, and fans of its design and layout will appreciate its successor's familiarity. It's not a bad motivator for potential upgraders who enjoy continuity.

Controls

Samsung has extended its environmentally-conscious approach to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Like its predecessor, it ships in a 100% recycled box and is fitted with parts made from recycled materials.

Samsung says that the Galaxy S23 Ultra has 12 internal and external components that use recycled material from plastics sourced from discarded fishing nets, water bottles, and PET bottles. That's twice as many components, compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra uses recycled aluminum, and recycled glass in its side and volume keys, the S Pen inner cover, and the SIM tray, among others. Samsung says its Galaxy S23 series will prevent more than 15 tons of plastic from entering the world's oceans.

Here's a look at some of the official cases for the Galaxy S23 Ultra. There's a Smart View cover case with built-in NFC (the one on the left below), as well as both leather and silicone cases in different colors. Samsung has partnered with Adidas for some special edition cases.

Samsung cases

Handling

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra handles about as well as a big phone can. It's hefty at 233 grams but its thin sides make it comfortable in the hand, while its flat top and bottom give the S23 Ultra a secure feel when you're holding it - this goes both for portrait orientation and if you're watching a video in landscape.

We have no illusions of reaching the far corner of the display with a thumb but Samsung has put a one-handed mode in place to help with that. You can also easily pull down the notification shade by swiping in the center of the screen.

Meanwhile, reaching the power button and volume keys poses no issues whatsoever - Samsung has had a few years to perfect the hand-usability of this form factor and it usually gets it right. The ultrasonic fingerprint scanner is also perfectly positioned in the center of the lower half of the display and is easy to get used to for newcomers.

The matt rear panel feels premium to the touch but it does make the Galaxy S23 Ultra slippery. It's a sacrifice most people will accept in favor of a better-looking glass panel, devoid of fingerprints.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra manages to squeeze as much screen into as little bezel as possible while remaining usable all at the same time. It's a very well-balanced big phone with a thought-out software experience to cater to that big screen and its usability.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy

This year, Samsung is shipping its Galaxy S23 series exclusively with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, forgoing its own Exynos chipset for the first time since it introduced it in 2011 with the Galaxy S II. However, Samsung isn't using the plain everyday phone's SD 8 Gen 2 but a special, higher-clocked version it calls Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy.

The custom chip pushes the clock speed of the fastest Cortex-X3 core to 3.36GHz - up from 3.2GHz on other Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones.

The chip should leverage its inherent efficiency to make the most out of the 5,000mAh battery, while also offering a big boost to gaming performance over the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 also opens up a host of camera improvements compared to last year's Galaxy S22 Ultra, but it all starts with the new camera sensor.