Are you looking for the latest and greatest smartphone on the market? The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra could be the phone you're looking for! In this in-depth review video, we'll be taking a close look at all the features and specifications of this powerful device.
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00:00 On the surface, the Galaxy S23 Ultra doesn't seem that different than its predecessor.
00:03 You have a similar design, the same size display, and the same S Pen.
00:07 But the headline feature that it might be worth upgrading for is that 200MP camera.
00:12 I'm going to be breaking it all down in this video to help you decide if the S23 Ultra
00:16 is worth the money, or if it doesn't quite live up to the hype.
00:20 Long gone are the days when having the highest megapixel count meant that you had the best
00:24 camera phone.
00:25 But that hasn't ever really stopped Samsung from cramming as many pixels as it could into
00:29 its handsets.
00:31 And this year, it has taken it to another level, pinning all of its marketing on that
00:35 200MP camera, and stating that if you own this phone, you'll become the de facto photographer
00:40 for your friendship group with everyone bugging you too.
00:44 So is it overkill, or is it a game changer?
00:47 Let's go find out.
00:48 I'm not going to draw this out.
00:49 After doing a lot of testing, I'm leaning towards game changer.
00:52 The 200MP camera can deliver poster-sized prints, but most users aren't actually going
00:57 to be shooting billboard ads on their smartphone.
01:00 You will see the benefit from the Adaptive Pixel Sensor, which can combine 16 pixels
01:05 into one larger pixel for brighter and more detailed photos, especially in lower light
01:10 situations.
01:11 Shooting in 200MP mode also gives you the option to crop in on the image after you shoot,
01:16 so you can get a completely different looking shot without sacrificing too much detail.
01:20 So right now we're in 200MP mode, and again you have to be a little bit patient because
01:24 it takes a bit to process the image.
01:27 And then let's see how much we can crop.
01:33 I was also floored when I took this photo of a bright park sign surrounded by colorful
01:37 paper lanterns.
01:38 Look how much I can crop in on the sign and the lanterns themselves.
01:42 The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 12MP front camera, which is technically a downgrade versus the
01:47 S22 Ultra's 40MP selfie shooter.
01:50 However, Samsung promises better portraits overall thanks to better AI along with a compelling
01:55 night mode.
01:56 In this selfie example, the S22 Ultra produces a brighter image of my face, but I appreciate
02:01 the greater level of detail in the S23 selfie.
02:05 You still get dual 10MP telephoto lenses with 3x and 10x optical zoom and a very strong
02:10 30x digital zoom option.
02:13 The 100x space zoom is also still available, which while shaky, can produce pretty awesome
02:18 results.
02:19 Up until now, I've really thought of the space zoom as more of a gimmick, but I was
02:22 really impressed when I turned the Galaxy S23 Ultra's camera on the moon.
02:26 The 100x space zoom photo shows darker and lighter spots on the moon's surface.
02:30 It's almost like having a telescope in your pocket.
02:33 The Galaxy S23 Ultra fared well against the iPhone and Pixel 7 Pro in this shot of the
02:38 Bryant Park fountain.
02:39 And in low light, I like how the S23 Ultra produces the warmest shot of the bunch.
02:44 On the video front, the Galaxy S23 Ultra offers improved stabilization, and video recording
02:49 now goes up to 8K at 30fps, with a wider angle for recording.
02:54 I'm going to switch to UHD 30 because the big difference between the two is that when
03:00 you're in UHD 60, you can't zoom in.
03:02 And that really limits your flexibility in terms of shooting video.
03:07 So even in that mode, even when in playback mode, the detail is pretty staggering actually.
03:14 And it makes the display look great.
03:16 The Galaxy S23 Ultra's footage didn't look as smooth or colorful in super steady mode.
03:21 But I really liked the results when I recorded my colleague Mike ice skating in Bryant Park.
03:26 And it's nice having a 10x telephoto zoom option while you're shooting.
03:30 So is it all just gimmicks and marketing, or is this 200 megapixel camera phone worth
03:34 the hype?
03:35 I would say the S23 Ultra is arguably the best camera phone ever made.
03:40 The Galaxy S23 Ultra packs an exclusive version of Qualcomm's new chip called the Snapdragon
03:44 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy.
03:47 Samsung promises that this processor can deliver an even higher clock speed than the standard
03:50 version of the chip, and also promises the world's fastest graphics in a phone.
03:55 But I mean the graphics are pretty great.
03:58 The frame rate is not dropping.
04:00 And this is a pretty fast-paced game.
04:03 We've run several Galaxy S23 Ultra benchmarks, and the results are quite strong.
04:07 On Geekbench, which measures CPU performance both single-core and multi-core, the Galaxy
04:11 S23 Ultra handily beat the S22 Ultra on both tests, and the regular iPhone 14 on multi-core,
04:18 but not single-core.
04:19 The iPhone 14 Pro's A16 Bionic is still the fastest.
04:23 We used 3DMark Wildlife to test the graphics performance of mobile devices, and this is
04:27 where the S23 Ultra shined with its frames per second count.
04:31 Stats and numbers aside, the truth is, for normal users and day-to-day use, this phone
04:35 is incredibly responsive.
04:37 When playing Apex Legends, the graphics were stunning and the controls were responsive.
04:42 The S23 Ultra never slowed down.
04:45 When it comes to design, there isn't too much to say.
04:47 You'd be forgiven for mistaking the S23 Ultra for last year's S22 Ultra at a glance.
04:52 The camera modules are slightly bigger this time around, and the display is a little bit
04:56 flatter.
04:57 That flatter display makes using the included S Pen more comfortable, which is nice, but
05:01 I know some of you would have preferred a totally flat design.
05:05 Maybe next year?
05:06 Holding the S23 Ultra in my hand, the curve does give it a slightly more premium feel.
05:11 The only issue is that it can sometimes be difficult to target items with the finger
05:14 on the extreme edges of the display.
05:17 The Galaxy S23 Ultra is built to be tougher too, as it's the first phone with Corning's
05:21 Gorilla Glass Victus II, which promises to protect the front and back better from scratches
05:26 and drops.
05:28 The Galaxy S23 Ultra comes in four colors, including Phantom Black, Green, Cream, and
05:32 Lavender.
05:33 In my experience, the S23 Ultra is pretty great at resisting nasty fingerprint smudges,
05:37 and you'll also be glad to hear that the Ultra features a SIM card tray.
05:41 It's a little nuts that we now live in a world where that is a serious selling point of a
05:44 phone, but it's really nice to have.
05:48 Put simply, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has one of the best displays on any phone.
05:52 Samsung always delivers in the screen department, and so it should.
05:56 It's bright, bursting with color, and performed very well in our lab testing.
06:00 I've been very impressed with the overall image quality from the S23 Ultra's panel.
06:04 When watching the trailer for The Mandalorian Season 3, the shiny helmets popped off the
06:08 screen and I enjoyed wide viewing angles.
06:11 Even in direct sunlight, I could see the display fairly well.
06:15 Although it's not new, it's nice that the Galaxy S23 Ultra continues to feature a 120Hz
06:21 refresh rate which goes all the way down to 1Hz, and it really makes for super smooth
06:24 scrolling.
06:25 If you're paying this much for a phone, then you want to be sure it can last all day, and
06:29 you'll be glad to hear the S23 Ultra has improved greatly over the S22 Ultra in this
06:34 department.
06:35 On paper, they share the same 5,000mAh battery, but it looks like Samsung has made this phone
06:40 more efficient through its custom Snapdragon HN2 chip.
06:44 On the Tom's Guide battery test, which involves continuous web surfing at 150 nits of screen
06:48 brightness over 5G, the S23 Ultra lasted a very strong 12 hours and 22 minutes in adaptive
06:54 mode.
06:55 That's good enough to make our best phone battery life list.
06:58 And in 60Hz mode, it lasted a superb 13 hours and 9 minutes.
07:04 While these improvements are impressive, unfortunately Samsung is sticking with the same 45W fast
07:08 charger for the S23 Ultra.
07:10 On our charging test, the S23 Ultra went from 0 to 57% in 30 minutes.
07:16 The OnePlus 11?
07:17 Got to 97% in the same amount of time.
07:20 Running on top of Android 13, the new OneUI 5.1 software offers a number of handy improvements.
07:27 For example, with Bixby Text Call, Samsung's assistant can answer incoming calls for you,
07:32 and then you can pass on messages via speech-to-text or by voice typing.
07:36 It's actually pretty cool to see Bixby Text Call in action, though callers might be freaked
07:40 out the first time they encounter this.
07:42 There's also a new modes option that lets you create customized settings for different
07:46 aspects of your life, whether it's sleep, exercise, driving, or work.
07:50 There's also more personalization features in OneUI 5.1, such as an improved stacked
07:55 widget system and recommended apps and different actions for different times of the day.
08:00 They're all nice quality of life improvements that might not be reasons to rush out and
08:03 buy the S23 Ultra immediately, but they will make your day-to-day experience with the device
08:08 easier.
08:11 The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best Android phone you can buy, period.
08:17 And it makes a very strong case for being the best phone overall.
08:21 It's a seriously fast phone, thanks to that new Snapdragon 8Gen2 chip, and this is the
08:26 best phone for gaming I've ever tested.
08:28 Plus, the over 13 hours of battery life is a serious improvement over the S22 Ultra based
08:33 on our testing.
08:35 The headline-worthy 200-megapixel camera is simply stunning, and Samsung has really upped
08:39 its game when it comes to low-light performance.
08:42 In some cases, the S23 Ultra delivered better-looking photos than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
08:47 If you'd like to see a proper deep dive between these two cameras, then let me know
08:51 in the comments and we'll make a video where we crown a definitive winner.
08:55 Now it's easy to recommend the S23 Ultra as the best phone you can buy if you can afford
09:00 it.
09:01 If the Ultra is a little too expensive for you and you want to see our initial thoughts
09:04 on the S23 and S23 Plus, then you can check out our hands-ons with these devices right
09:10 now on the Tom's Guide YouTube channel.
09:12 I've been Mark Spoonhour, and I'll see you in the next video.
09:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]