You might have thought about upgrading from your current smartphone to a high-end smartphone model at some point in time. If that’s now the case, then it’s important that you consider the different advantages that a high-end smartphone can offer you over a budget or mid-range smartphone. Firstly, there’s obviously the fact that high-smartphone models are built to offer its users a unique lifetime experience, as they not only feature a blazing fast interface, but also boast an outstandingly fast processing power and a massive RAM, which basically makes the most recent high-end smartphones capable of handling even the most demanding tasks, and consequently also makes them very powerful tools for working while on-the-go. Moreover, today’s current high-end smartphones also integrate a wide range of quality-of-life functionalities, such as amazing camera systems that make them capable of snapping photos an incredibly high resolution. Lastly, when purchasing a high-end smartphone, you can also expect that device to have a very long-lasting battery life. So, if you’re looking for the newest and most powerful Android smartphone that’s currently available on the market, then you should definitely consider going with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a high-end 5G Smartphone that’s rated to have a IP68 Water Resistance Rating, while also featuring a 6.8” QHD+ 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Edge Display Screen, a pro-grade 200MP Quad Camera System at the back that boasts an AI-enhanced Nightography Night Mode and also a revolutionary Video Stabilization technology, plus a 12MP Front Camera, a high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset for an incredibly fast processing power including mobile gaming, either 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of Storage along with 8GB or 12GB RAM, an embedded S Pen for operating the phone’s functions more conveniently, as well as Bluetooth 5.3 ,Wi-Fi, 5G, and GPS Connectivity, and also an intelligent long-lasting 5,000 mAh Lithium-Ion battery that can offer you approximately from 21 hours up to 39 hours battery life, along with USB-C Charging, support to both Super Fast Wired Charging via 45W/25W USB PD 3.0 and Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, and even a Wireless PowerShare function for charging other Qi-enabled devices wirelessly.
When accounting for its ultra-fast processing power, its astonishing 200MP Quad Camera System and its photo and video capabilities, and also its impressively long-lasting battery life, you can be assured that this is definitely one of the best (if not the best) high-end 5G smartphones that you can currently find available on the market.
With all that said, let’s have a more detailed look at the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and check out everything that this high-end 5G smartphone has to offer you.
DESIGN & SPECS
Starting with the phone’s size, note that while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra does come at a slightly larger size than some of the most high-end smartphones, this 5G smartphone is still impressively slim, with the phone measuring exactly 6.43 inches long by 3.07 inches wide by 0.35 inches tall / thick (163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9 mm).
In addition to its somewhat large, yet still super-sleek form factor, the phone is also very lightweight, weighing just 8.21 oz. (233 g).
When it comes to its design, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra features a truly striking design, as the phone’s case has a really sleek, stylish, and super-modern look.
Note that for our review unit, T-Mobile was kind enough to provide us with the Galaxy S23 Ultra Green color model (256GB / 8GB RAM) which honestly, is simply gorgeous to look at.
Not only does the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra sports a beautiful design, but this high-end 5G smartphone also features a super-durable construction that’s also rated to be Eco-friendly, as the phone was designed with the environment in mind.
More specifically, the phone integrates an Eco-friendly aluminum frame that’s composed of a total of four (x4) layers, consisting of two high-grade Gorilla Glass Victus 2 outer layers (one at the front and one at the back) that are both built of 22% recycled glass, a central glass deco film frame layer that’s built with a minimum of 80% recycled PET film, and an inner layer built with a minimum of 20% recycled ocean-bound plastic materials (which for this last type of material, also goes for the construction of its embedded S Pen).
It’s also worth noting that the phone’s Eco-friendly construction is backed and officially verified by a UL ECOLOGO Certification (which rates it as being a product that’s certified to have a reduced environmental impact) as well as by a CARBON TRUST Certification (which rates the phone’s construction to have a low carbon footprint).
Moreover, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is also rated to have a IP68 Water Resistance Rating, which makes it capable of withstanding dust and also of being submerged underwater (fresh water, not salt water) for a maximum depth of 4.92 ft. (1.5 meters) for a maximum of 30 minutes of time.
Moving on to the smartphone’s different components. Starting with the phone’s display screen, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra comes equipped with a 6.8” QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Edge Display Screen that boasts a 1440p resolution (1440 x 3088 pixels) with a 500 ppi density and a 19.3:9 Aspect Ratio.
The phone’s 6.8” QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display also boasts an impressive brightness level that can go up to 1,750nit (peak level outdoors), a 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate, and also support to HDR10+, which makes the phone’s screen capable of displaying photos and video at a really high quality and with much more clarity.
Then, when it comes its performance, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra comes equipped with a high-end Octa-core Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset as its processor, which, to be a little more specific, is the fastest processor ever used on a Samsung smartphone.
This ultimately gives the phone an incredibly fast processing power, not only allowing users to quickly perform any work-related tasks conducted on work-related Apps, but also making the phone capable of running pretty much any of the most recently released and even most demanding mobile games, for which its Octa-core Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor comes integrated an Adreno 740 GPU.
For the phone’s remaining Hardware Specs, know that you can get the Galaxy S23 Ultra in four (x4) different models that with different memory specifications, including 256GB of storage capacity and 8GB RAM (LPDDR5), 256GB of internal storage and 12GB RAM (LPDDR5), 512GB storage and 12GB RAM (LPDDR5), or ultimately, the highest-end model, which packs 1TB storage and 12GB RAM (LPDDR5).
Sadly, the phone’s storage capacity is not expandable via the use of a microSD Card (meaning there’s no External Memory option), as this 5G smartphone doesn’t integrate a microSD Card Slot.
It’s also worth noting that the Galaxy S23 Ultra uses UFS (Universal Flash Storage) 4.0 as its dedicated storage system, which, in comparison to most flagship smartphones nowadays that use either 3.0 or 3.1 UFS storage, ultimately makes this high-end 5G smartphone capable of having sequential read speeds of up to 4,200 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 2,800 MB/s.
Moreover, this new storage system technology also provides the smartphone with a 46% power-efficiency improvement in sequential read speeds when compared to the previous generation (i.e. the Galaxy S22).
Lastly, for its Operative System, know that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra comes running on Samsung’s One UI 5.1 OS on top (based on Android 13 OS) as its Operative System.
CAMERAS
Moving on to the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s two Camera setups. Starting at the back-side of the phone, we have a professional-grade 200MP Quad Camera System, which combines a 200MP Wide camera lens together with a 12MP Ultra-Wide camera lens (which boasts a 120º viewing angle), a 10MP Telephoto camera lens (capable of 10X Optical Zoom), and a 10MP Telephoto camera lens (capable of 3X Optical Zoom), along with a High CRI LED Flash. Note that the phone’s whole 200MP Cam System is ultimately capable of 100X Space Zoom.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s pro-grade 200MP Quad Camera System is powered by a new, state-of-the-art ISOCELL HP2 200MP image sensor. This large 1/1.3-inch sensor boasts a total of 200 million pixels, with each of those measuring just 0.6 μm in size.
This revolutionary high-end ISOCELL HP2 200MP image sensor ultimately makes the phone’s pro-grade 200MP Quad Camera System capable of combining up to 16 pixels to form a single large pixel for much better low-light performance and also for recording 8K-resolution videos, even during nighttime.
Speaking of shooting photos and videos during nighttime, it’s also worth noting that the phone’s pro-grade 200MP Quad Camera System also boasts an an AI-enhanced Nightography Night Mode powered by an AI object-aware engine that makes it capable of accurately recognizing specific details in a picture like a photo-subject’s skin, eyebrows and hair, and other particular facial / body features.
The phone’s pro-grade 200MP Quad Camera System is ultimately capable of shooting ultra-high-definition photos at a maximum effective resolution of 16,384p (16,384 x 12,288 pixels), which can be captured at a rate of up to 7.5 per second, and is also capable of shooting 8K video (7680 x 4320 pixels resolution) at 24/30fps, 4K UHD video (3840 x 2160) at 30/60fps, 1080p FHD video (1920 x 1080) at 30/60/240fps, Super Slow-Motion 1080p video at 960fps, and 720p HD video (1280 x 720) at 30 fps.
The phone’s 200MP Quad Camera System is also powered by a revolutionary Video Stabilization (VDIS) technology that makes it capable of recording extremely stable videos, even during nighttime, whether the subjects in the video are moving, the user themselves are moving, or even if both the smartphone owner as well as the subject(s) that they are recording are moving together.
In addition, the phone’s 200MP Quad Cam System also boasts Gyro-EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization), as well as support to Auto-HDR.
Then, at the front-side of the phone, we have a 12MP Punch-Hole Front Camera that comes discretely integrated at the top-center of the phone’s 6.8” QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display.
The phone’s 12MP Front Camera can shoot 4K UHD video (3840 x 2160) at 30/60fps, and 1080p FHD video (1920 x 1080) at 30fps, and features support to Dual Video Call, Auto-HDR, and HDR10+.
INTERFACE
For the phone’s interface, just like you’d expect from any high-end 5G smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra also features a sleek and very simple interface.
Starting right at the very top-side of the phone, we have a built-in Microphone Array that’s features support to Noise Cancellation to ensure a better voice-recording quality during voice calls.
The phone also integrates a set of built-in Stereo Speakers, which boast a high-quality surround sound that’s powered by Dolby Atmos technology. The phone’s main speaker is integrated at the bottom-left corner of the phone, while its secondary speaker is discretely located at very top-side of the of the phone’s 6.7″ QHD+ Display (integrated above its 12MP Selfie Camera).
Then, on the right-side of the phone, we have its dedicated Power button (which also doubles as a Bixby button), and sitting directly above it, there’s also its Volume button switch.
Integrated within the phone’s Power Button, there’s also a built-in Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor, which gives user’s some extra security for the phone’s locking / unlocking functionality.
In addition, the phone also supports Face recognition as another high-tech locking method. As an alternative to those two more secure locking methods, users can also simply set up an unlocking Pattern, a PIN Code, or a text-based Password.
Finally, at the bottom-side of the phone, along with its main speaker unit, there’s also another built-in Microphone Array that also features support to Noise Cancellation, followed by the phone’s dedicated USB-C Charging port, its Dual SIM Card Tray, which integrates one slot for a Nano SIM Card and a second slot that can either be used for an eSIM Card (can be used as long as your phone-carrier supports the use of an eSIM), or alternatively, for a second Nano SIM Card.
Best of all, and as mentioned earlier, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra also comes together with an embedded S Pen (integrated at the bottom-left corner of the phone’s frame) that can be seamlessly used for operating the phone’s many functions in a more comfortable and more convenient manner.
CONNECTIVITY
For its connectivity methods, since this is a 5G Smartphone, it obviously features 5G Connectivity, as well as Bluetooth 5.3 Connectivity (with support to A2DP), and also Wi-Fi Connectivity (with support to the most common wireless standards – 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax for both 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz networks).
The phone’s Wi-Fi Connectivity also allows for Wi-Fi data transfers to be made, allowing users to easily and quickly carry over their Apps, photos, messages and more from any OS directly to the phone.
In addition, the Galaxy S23 Ultra also boasts GPS Connectivity (including GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou, while also integrating multiple sensors, including an accelerometer, a barometer, a gyroscope sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a hall sensor, a proximity sensor, and an ambient light sensor (which helps the phone’s screen to automatically adjust its brightness settings for saving battery when possible).
BATTERY & BATTERY LIFE
For its power, this high-end 5G Smartphone utilizes an intelligent long-lasting 5,000 mAh Lithium-Ion battery that can offer you approximately 21.1 hours for web browsing, around 23.2 hours for video playback, or ultimately up to 39 hours battery life when using the phone solely for voice calls, for which its battery is rated to have around 13.75 days of standby time.
When it comes to charging the smartphone’s battery via USB-C Charging, know that its Li-Ion 5,000 mAh battery supports Super Fast Wired Charging via 45W/25W USB PD 3.0 by respectively using a 45W Samsung Adapter or a 25W Samsung Adapter.
Not only that, but the phone’s Li-Ion 5,000 mAh battery also supports Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, and also boasts a Wireless PowerShare function that can be used for recharging the battery of other Qi-enabled devices wirelessly.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a high-end 5G Smartphone that’s rated to have a IP68 Water Resistance Rating, while also featuring a 6.8” QHD+ 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Edge Display Screen, a pro-grade 200MP Quad Camera System at the back that boasts an AI-enhanced Nightography Night Mode and also a revolutionary Video Stabilization technology, plus a 12MP Front Camera, a high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset for an incredibly fast processing power including mobile gaming, either 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of Storage along with 8GB or 12GB RAM, an embedded S Pen for operating the phone’s functions more conveniently, as well as Bluetooth 5.3 ,Wi-Fi, 5G, and GPS Connectivity, and also an intelligent long-lasting 5,000 mAh Lithium-Ion battery that can offer you approximately from 21 hours up to 39 hours battery life, along with USB-C Charging, support to both Super Fast Wired Charging via 45W/25W USB PD 3.0 and Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, and even a Wireless PowerShare function for charging other Qi-enabled devices wirelessly.
All in all, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra makes for a great high-end 5G smartphone, not only due to its top-of-the-line specs, but also due to its unmatched performance and long-lasting battery life, and that not only goes for using it for digital work purposes while you’re on-the-go, but also for playing the latest mobile games.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is available in four (x4) different stylish, nature-inspired matte hues: Green (Dark Moss Green), Lavender (Soft Pink), Cream (Beige), and Phantom Black (Grey’ish Black).
In addition, if you do purchase it specifically from Samsung’s online store, you also have four (x4) other exclusive color models available to choose from: Sky Blue (Light Blue), Lime (Bright Green), Red, and Graphite (Light Grey).
If you’re interested in buying it, know that the 256GB / 8GB RAM Unlocked version goes for $1,199.99, the 512GB storage / 12GB RAM Unlocked version is priced at for $1,379.99, and the highest-end 1TB / 12GB RAM Unlocked version will cost you $1,619.99.
Each purchase comes accompanied by a 1-Year Warranty and a 15-Days Replacement Policy, and also includes 6 months of OneDrive 100GB storage, 4 months of YouTube Premium, 6 months of SiriusXM Streaming, 2 months of Adobe Lightroom, and 3 months of ad-free music listening on Spotify.
You can order yours online right now, either directly from Samsung’s official US shopping page, or alternatively, from T-Mobile’s official website, if you’d prefer.
