Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, two days in: The start of something familiar
Following months of leaks and rumors, theGalaxy S23 seriesmade its grand debut earlier this week. While my colleagues at Android Police managed to get someearly hands-on timewithall three of Samsung’s latest phones, I flew to San Francisco to watch the event unfold live and in-person. After, I headed over to explore the company’s Galaxy Experience pop-up, where I was handed my very own Galaxy S23 Ultra. Though you’ll have to wait a little longer for our full review, here’s everything I’ve noticed during my first 48 hours.
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra might look unchanged from last year’s phone, but our early impressions suggest there’s more here than meets the eye. With a boxier design that feels more comfortable to hold, a new 200MP camera, and some impressive early results for battery life, this could be the first must-have device of 2023.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Hardware and setup impressions
After exploring some of the demonstrations placed throughout Samsung’s store — including a surprisingly captivating SmartThings showcase of that fancy wireless charging-capable hub from CES and a closer look at the repairability of this year’s phones — I felt like I couldn’t wait to unbox my unit any longer. With the device in hand, I headed out to find a cafe where I could take some time to set it up.
Althoughgreen remains my favorite of the four main S23 colors, the white model is really growing on me. Early leaks pegged it as “beige,” but cream — its official colorway name — is way more accurate. It’s a much warmer tone, blending well with the golden frame wrapped around the device. And considering the glossy phones I’m coming from, the frosted matte finish is truly appreciated here. While some staffers here — namely my fellow podcast host and former AP EIC Daniel Bader — might find the phone slippery without a case, I mostly disagree.
Aside from that 200MP camera on the back, Samsung biggest selling point here is a slightly refined design. The Galaxy S23 Ultra sports less-rounded edges that makes the phone feel even boxier than previous generations. I like it quite a bit, but fail to understand why the screen is still curved. This is a large phone, and slightly rounding the very edge of the phone doesn’t change that; in fact, its bezels aren’t much thinner than the ones containing the iPhone 14 Pro’s flat display. While it’s not ashard to hold without a case as the Pixel 7 Pro, the color distortion running along both sides of the phone is, frankly, driving me crazy.
Switch between devices often enough and Android’s setup menu becomes second nature. The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s process includes something unexpected though: a new method relying on Fast Pair to link your new and old devices. It’s launching first on the S23, but my previous Android device was already ready to sync by scanning a QR code. Although a wireless transfer would’ve been the easiest method, neither of my phones were connected to Wi-Fi at this cafe. Still, downloading apps, media, and more by connecting the two phones via Samsung’s bundled USB-C cable took less than a minute of my time.
But this is Android, which means I had a dozen or so must-have apps to log into. It’s not enough just to reach the home screen — everything from my personal password manager to Slack to Spotify needs to be up and running if I’m going to start using this device as my daily driver. By the time it’s ready to go, I’ve already been at the cafe for nearly an hour. Without a nearby wall charger, I’ve been powering up my S23 Ultra on a battery bank, getting the device from 60% out of the box up to 75%. It’s not a full charge, but it’ll have to do.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: One UI headaches
With my earbuds paired and a playlist selected, I packed up my bag and headed out to explore San Francisco. Unfortunately, a late-afternoon Samsung meeting prevented me from heading too far out from the Union Square-adjacent area. Before I could even start walking to nearby destinations, though, the experience of using One UI started to get in my way. Photos would have to wait — my S23 Ultra needed a few more tweaks.
Although I don’t mind Samsung’s software, every time I swap to one of its devices, the first few days are spent disabling features like Edge panels and changing the app drawer’s settings so that it’s properly sorted in alphabetical order. The S23 is no exception. It also doesn’t take more than a few incoming messages to remind me how much I dislike the default notification sound — truly, it’s like nails on a chalkboard. And, of course, Samsung has once again shipped a 1440p display running at 1080p out of the box. If you’re going to offer me a high-res screen, Samsung, I want to make the most of it.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Camera impressions
Over the next two hours, I captured a handful of snaps. The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s main selling point is that 200MP sensor on the back, so it’s what I prioritized testing over Wednesday afternoon. Taking most of my photos three times in row with adjusted settings was a little tiresome, especially because Samsung’s camera resets to binned 12MP shots by default every time you close the app. Thankfully, this can be addressed in settings if you find yourself hooked on full resolution captures, as I’m sure some of our readers will find themselves.
All four images taken at 12MP.
These are still early results, and I’m bound to form a more concrete opinion as I continue to shoot with this phone. But in these samples, I’m mildly impressed by the improved detail between the 12MP images and the 200MP shots. They aren’t perfect — and frankly, the improved lighting from the smaller image is closer to reality — but if you’re looking to blow up your images to massive wall-sized prints, it seems like an exciting mode for anyone upgrading to the phone.
12MP cropped vs. 200MP cropped.
I’m not convinced it’s worth an upgrade for Galaxy S22 Ultra owners, but if you’restill rocking a Note 10 or Note 20, this could be the year it’s worth dropping some cash. Just make sure to buy enough storage; the 200MP images I’ve captured so far range between 30 and 45 megabytes.
After my meeting with Samsung — during which I jotted my first handful of notes with the S Pen — I walked a few blocks to meet up with Dean and Brad from MobileSyrup for dinner at Mensho Tokyo. Absolutely fantastic ramen, and we were lucky to get there early enough for a table. By the time we left, there was a line down the block. It also gave me an opportunity to test out the new selfie cam, though even at its widest setting, it left me wishing it could capture a little more of the scene.
From there, my time in San Francisco was all but over. I grabbed my bag, rested up in the hotel lobby, and charged up the phone again while in the back of an Uber. After some terminal confusion that resulted in me having to walk through the parking garages to get to my gate, I spent the last thirty minutes before takeoff rapidly downloading playlists and podcasts to the phone, having completely forgotten that any downloaded media was saved on my previous device.
I’ll save you my complaints about catching a redeye from California back to New York — it’s the first time I’ve done it in over four years, and it remains as exhausting as I remember. After a layover in JFK, I arrived home back in Buffalo. Finally, with nearly a full day’s worth of experience under my belt, I plugged the phone into a nearby charger and crashed a little before 1PM, putting a bow on my first 24 hours with the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Personalization and battery impressions
Thankfully for both my mind and body, my second day with the phone was a little quieter, calmer, and much more relaxed, giving me the chance to actuallypersonalizemy experience. Sure, I’d already changed the notification sound, but nearly everything else about my home screen remained untouched. No more digging into the app drawer to find my five most-used services. I’m also a fan of Samsung’s new battery widgets for One UI 5.1, even if they’re pretty reminiscent of Apple’s own versions.
The last few of these 48 hours revealed one final insight into Samsung’s latest phablet, although you’ll need to wait for the review for my full experience. After my post-flight nap on Thursday, I purposefully left the phone off the charger overnight, and as I write this, I’m at 6% remaining. I’m just shy of a full 24 hours on a single charge, and with nearly eight hours of screen-on time. That’s abig upgrade over what the S22 Ultra delivered last year, and I’m hoping those times — especially power draw while in standby — only get better over the next few days.
Ultimately, the Galaxy S23 seems like an impressive refinement of last year’s Note replacement. There’s plenty left to test of course, including low-light photography, video recording, and much more. Whilecurrent S22 owners might feel boredby this year’s lineup, if you’ve been holding off on upgrading an aging smartphone, my experience with the Galaxy S23 Ultra is off to a seriously promising start.
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