The major upgrade of the Samsung S23 Ultra is a new 200MP camera along with several other features. Here is everything you need to know before placing an order online or in-store via gzstuff market.

Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Design and colors

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra looks practically identical to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, but there are some notable differences. For one, the camera array on the back is a bit larger on the newer phone due to its bigger 200MP camera, but not enough to be an eye sore.

One welcome upgrade is that the display on the S23 Ultra has a less severe curve, which makes writing and drawing using the S Pen a more natural and comfy experience as you approach the edges of the phone. Even so, in our Galaxy S23 Ultra testing, we still found it difficult to tap on icons or buttons on the extreme edge of the display where there still is some curve.

While both the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy S22 Ultra sport a sturdy armor aluminum frame, the S23 Ultra features new Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the display and rear of the phone, which should better protect the new Samsung S23 Ultra from drops and scratches.

Measuring 6.4 x 3.0 x 0.35 inches and weighing 8.2 ounces, Galaxy S23 Ultra is slightly narrower and heavier than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which measures 6.43 x 3.07 x 0.35 inches and weights 8.94 ounces.

The main Galaxy S23 Ultra color options are Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender. The Galaxy S22 Ultra colors are Phantom Black, Phantom White, Burgundy and Green. You've got four additional color options (Graphite, Lime, Light Blue and Red) if you order the Galaxy S23 Ultra directly from Samsung.

Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Display

Both the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy S22 Ultra sport a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with QuadHD+ resolution and a refresh rate that goes from 1 to 120Hz. And you still get a max brightness of 1,750 nits. In our testing, the Galaxy S23 Ultra screen hit 1,225 nits, which was actually less than the 1,359 we recorded when testing the S22 Ultra last year. Regardless, both screens are bright enough to be seen in sunlight.

The S23 Ultra Samsung has an enhanced comfort feature allows users to adjust color tones and contrast levels, lessening eye strain from screen time at night. In addition, the Vision Booster feature now adjusts at three levels of lighting instead of two to fight glare in daylight.

Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Cameras

The biggest Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra differences come down to the cameras, starting with a new 200MP sensor that delivers enough detail to create poster-size prints.

The adaptive pixel sensor on the S23 Ultra can also combine 16 pixels into one larger pixel for brighter and more detailed photos, especially in lower light situations. If you engage the 200MP mode, you can also crop in on photos after the fact and reframe your shot.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra also includes a new 12MP front camera, which seems like a downgrade compared to the the Galaxy S22 Ultra's 40MP front camera. However, Samsung promises better portraits overall thanks to better AI along with a compelling Night portrait mode.

Just like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Galaxy S23 Ultra features dual 10MP telephoto cameras with 3x and 10x optical zoom, and a 30x digital zoom option. You can even go all the way up to 100x Space Zoom. 

The S23 Ultra also builds on the Nightography features of the S22 Ultra, optimizing photos in low light while reducing noise and improved details and color tones. There's still an Expert RAW app for shooting in RAW format, but now you can tinker with multiple exposures or use Astrophoto settings to capture the stars. 

Video gets a boost with the Samsung S23 Ultra, as you can now shoot 8K video at 30fps, up from 24fps. And you get double the optical image stabilizer angles for steadier footage.  

We've tested the Galaxy S23 Ultra's cameras, but against phones like the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Pixel 7 Pro — not against its predecessor. Still, the S23 Ultra's camera capabilities impressed us enough to declare that Samsung's latest is the best camera phone, so we would say the changes from the S22 Ultra add up to an improved experience.

Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Performance

The Galaxy S23 Ultra features a first for Samsung phones: the exclusive Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy. This chip promises more clock speed than the regular version along with the fastest graphics performance you can get on a phone.

In fact, Samsung says the graphics performance is 40% faster than the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the AI performance is 40% faster. A bigger vapor cooling chamber should also deliver stronger sustained performance.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is still a powerful phone with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip with your choice of 8GB or 12GB of RAM. The S23 Ultra offers the same RAM options but doubles the starting storage from 128GB to 256GB. Both phones go up to 1TB, though it's hard to find the S22 Ultra with that amount.

In our Galaxy S23 Ultra benchmarks, the new phone beat the Galaxy S22 Ultra and its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 silicon in every way. More impressively, the graphics scores even topped the latest iPhones, so the Galaxy S23 Ultra is quite the powerhouse handset.

Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Software

The Galaxy S23 Ultra runs Android 13 out of the box, and based on our Android 13 review the upgrades are nice to have, but not monumental. This release focuses on things like stability, permissions changes and Material You design personalization, along with better privacy and security. 

There's also an updated media player in Android 13 and the ability to customize Bedtime mode to help your eyes adjust before going to bed. Other highlights include spatial audio support for the best headphones. 

Samsung's new One UI 5.1 software delivers a bunch of new upgrades, though it's not clear which features are exclusive to the S23 Ultra. These include Bixby Text call for responding to incoming calls with a text; Bixby will literally answer the call for you in its voice and then you tell it what to say.

Other One UI 5.1 highlights include a Routines option for triggering a sequence of actions on your device and the ability to co-edit Samsung notes while on a Google Meet call. 

Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Battery life and charging

On paper the Galaxy S23 Ultra is similar to the Galaxy S22 Ultra with the same 5,000 mAh battery. But in reality, the newest Ultra lasts a lot longer on a charge, which we credit to the S23 Ultra's more efficient Snapdragon silicon.

We test the battery life of phones by having them surf the web continuously over cellular until they run out of power. The Galaxy S23 Ultra lasted for 12 hours and 22 minutes. That lands it on our list for the best phone battery life. The Galaxy S22 Ultra finished 2 hours behind the S23 Ultra's time, and that was with the display's dynamic refresh rate feature turned off. That's quite an improvement.

The S23 Ultra continues to offer 45W fast charging, which promises 65% charge in 30 minutes with the right adapter (not included). Sadly, our S23 Ultra only got to 57% in our testing. The wireless charging speed stays the same as well. 

Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra comparison really comes down to a few key areas. The biggest is the jump from 108MP to 200MP on the main camera, with image quality really making this a critical upgrade for the Ultra. The new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip is also a really big deal, given its terrific graphics performance and how it helps the new phone last longer.

Those who use the S Pen a lot will probably like the flatter display on the S23 Ultra as well. Is there enough here to justify an upgrade? Probably not given the high starting price, but since the S22 Ultra is still on sale in some places, it's good to know what the biggest differences are so you buy the right flagship for you. 

Galaxy S23 Ultra vs S22 Ultra: Specs compared

Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Price

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra starts at $1,199, which is the same high starting price as the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Fortunately, you get double the starting storage, which is now 256GB vs 128GB for the previous model, and the starting RAM is still 8GB.

If you want 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, you'll pay $1,379, and the 1TB model with the same amount of RAM will cost you $1,619. The Galaxy S22 Ultra with 256GB of storage cost $1,299 last year, and the 512GB model cost $1,399, though if you can still find the older model on sale, its price has likely dropped since the Galaxy S23 Ultra's arrival.