Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Unboxing & First Impressions
February 17, 2023Performance: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 5G, 12GB RAM
Main Display: 6.8-inch Edge QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x (3088 x 1440)
Weight: 234g
S Pen: Yes
Storage: 256, 512, 1TB GB
Battery: 5,000 mAh
Features: 8K / 4K UHD / 1080p / 720p HD video recording
Rear Camera: 12 MP Ultra-wide, 200 Wide, 10 MP Telephoto 1, 10 MP Telephoto 2
Front Camera: 12 MP, 4K Video recording
Price: 256 GB RM5,699/512 GB RM6,199
The introduction of the S23 series has proven that Samsung has chosen to take the evolutionary approach to improving this year’s crop of flagship phones. Instead of choosing to revamp the exterior, the company chose to make subtle tweaks where necessary and focus the bulk of its efforts on far superior computing power and impressively adept camera hardware.
Related Article: Samsung Galaxy S23 Series Buyers’ Guide
If you chose to buy the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, what would you get in the box? For starters, and like its predecessor, the phone comes in slimmed down packaging. It’s a cool looking box that’s emblazed with the model’s name but it also hints at the possibility of there being fewer accessories included inside.
Once you open the top half, you’re greeted by the S23 Ultra, obscured by a thin sheet of cardboard meant to keep the phone protected during shipping. The phone we have here features a lavender color. It might not be for everyone but it’s “mesmerizing” to people who appreciate this paint scheme.
Directly underneath the phone is another box that contains the user manual, SIM ejection tool and a USB Type-C cable. Now, keep in mind that this phone supports up to 45W fast charging 2.0 capability, which offers impressive charging times. This is why it would be best to purchase a proper charging brick to experience the best that said tech has to offer.
Besides these modest accessories, there’s nothing else in the box. There’s no charging brick, earphones or silicon case inside. This is how it’s been for several generations of Galaxy S devices. In the name of reducing e-waste, Samsung has chosen to omit said accessories in the hopes that you’ll reuse the ones you have or buy the latest one that can take advantage of what the new phone offers.
Compared to its predecessor the S22 Ultra, the S23 Ultra has a much flatter screen with a reduced area for the curved section of the display. It’s a welcomed change because this leaves more usable space for drawing, marking or typing content without there being any inconsistencies.
Though this might be lost on most people, having a larger surface area will allow for more productive work to be done. Though the arc may look cool, it introduces several problems, chief among them being finding a strong enough screen protector that won’t peel off the screen after a month or two.
Speaking of protection, the S23 Ultra’s screen is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which is supposed to be far tougher than its predecessor. This means that the phone should be able to withstand light bumps and scrapes without issue.
At 234g it’s slightly heavier than its predecessor (228g) but the difference is barely noticeable. The phone feels substantial in the hand and the polished aluminum rails add to the overall flagship appeal. They are colored to match the phone’s paint scheme. Our unit has a pink tinge to it because of the Lavender hue.
Like its predecessor, the S23 Ultra feels well made, from nearly non-extent panel gaps to the well-constructed S-Pen. Everything about it exudes luxury, making the phone feel far more special than the S23+ or regular S23.
Unlike previous generation Galaxy S phones, this year’s Ultra ships with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, globally. There’s no longer an Exynos equivalent fitted to phones destined for Asian markets. This in essence levels the playing field and allows everyone to receive the same level of performance, across the board.
Though you can choose to have between 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage space, all S23 Ultras come with 12GB RAM. This is great news considering that last year’s device was shipped with either 8GB or 12GB RAM. Samsung has finally seen the light and is now offering every user the same, blisteringly fast user experience.
Though we’ve only had the phone for a couple of days, I can say with reasonable confidence that its sheer performance has blown us away. Though it’s difficult to quantify the performance improvements without the aid of a nerdy bar chart, trust me when I say that it feels snappier and more eager to please than its predecessor. That said, we’ll delve deeper into this topic during our in-depth review.
The large 6.9-inch screen offers eye-watering visuals because of its dynamic AMOLED 2x panel. It gets extremely bright (1,750 nits peak) even in broad daylight, which ensures the screen and to an extent text seem more legible, all the time. But it doesn’t seem as power hungry as the S22 Ultra despite there being nothing much between them.
Battery capacity is still 5,000mAh. But it could just be that the new phone has cleverer software that can reign in resources where necessary. We will definitely be running more battery tests in the coming days.
The display offers 120Hz variable refresh rate that changes depending on what’s happening on screen. It’s able to dip to as low as 1Hz and rise to 120Hz when needed. This not only helps conserve energy but ensures that you get the most use out of the phone’s screen.
The phone ships with One UI 5.1, which allows for better customization to match one’s personality. The availability of the Expert Raw app allows you to take advantage of the phone’s mighty 200MP camera sensor to capture RAW pictures that offers more details to edit during post-processing work.
This is a noticeable step up compared to last year’s phone. We’ll need to run more tests before we can tell you for certain how well it fares against its predecessor. The S22 Ultra happened to be our favorite phone of 2022. Its ability to fly through tasks and capture stunning pictures even in poor lighting conditions, made it simply unbeatable.
We should be wrapping up our tests in the coming days, so stay tuned and we will let you know how well the phone stacks up against last year’s devices as well as whether it deserves a place in your pocket.
