The S23 Ultra’s new camera: A safer, cheaper, faster, safer, more secure mobile device for Galaxy-Security trade-in
The S23 Ultra offers one of the most powerful mobile camera systems money can buy. It comes with both a 3x and 10x telephoto lens, an ultrawide, and of course, that shiny new 200-megapixel main camera. It can take pictures from the 10x to 30x zoom range, which I can’t believe I took with a phone. It is possible to take a picture of the top of the Space Needle from the street level, and I am able to make out details such as the elevators and people on the observation deck. That is ridiculous.
If you buy through Verizon, you can get up to $800 off the S23 Ultra with an eligible trade-in on a 5G Unlimited plan — on top of a free Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Tab S7 FE. Preordering from Verizon will give you a free upgrade to your storage, and anyone who switch from another carrier will get a free $200 eCard.
This year’s model of S22 Ultra and S23 Ultra has a flatter side rail compared to last year’s model, which had a curve at the edges. It doesn’t sound like much, but I think it makes a big difference. It feels much more secure in my fingers every time I pick it up off a table than the curvier S22 Ultra did. I was bracing myself for it to slip out of my grasp when I picked it up, like it did with its predecessor. The S23 Ultra feels more secure as I pick it up but also in my hand as I’m using it, too, which is especially important when you’re writing on it with the S Pen.
What Samsung Announced at the Big Media Event: Iteratively Rethinking Cameras, Portrait Modes, Raw Cameras — and a Comparative Study
The rest of the experience is also very good. Portrait mode photos look amazing, the expert raw camera app fromSamsung gives you an insane amount of control over how your photos look and it’s wide enough to capture a full landscape without missing out.
The pomp around smartphone launches is often deflated by one word: iterative. Too often, a shiny, just-released phone fails to add anything exciting to the list of features we saw in the previous models. If there is a crazy new trick, it’s gimmicky; if there isn’t, well, there’s probably no need to upgrade, right?
The company has a number of hardware announcements, including the S23 series. At its big media event in San Francisco, it unveiled five new laptops with a new name, the “Galaxy Book3”, badgesled with the new device’s name. Here’s everything Samsung announced at the show.
To make the screen tougher to scratch or crack, Samsung is employing Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2, a material that is purportedly more durable than Corning’s previous formulas and contains more post-consumer recycled material. And while Apple has long used stainless steel for its iPhone Pro models, a choice which improves those phones’ durability and scratch resistance, Samsung’s phones are weirdly all still made from aluminum. The S23 line does have more recycled components than last year, however; the company says it has doubled the number of recycled parts on the S23 Ultra to 12, from the speaker module to the volume keys.
What Do I Need a 200MP Camera For? The Case of the Gear S23 Ultrawide, the 3X Optical Telephoto Camera, and the Selfie Cam
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These phones are powered by the same chip as in the US, but with 8 gigahertz of ram. The “for Galaxy” moniker indicates that the chips have a slightly higher clock speed than the base Snapdragon chips, so they’re a bit faster, and there are additional optimizations to make them more efficient. The cooling chamber for the phones is 2 times larger and should keep them cooler when used for extended gaming sessions. Camera-wise, all three models share the same 12-megapixel ultrawide, a similar 3X optical telephoto camera, and a new 12-megapixel selfie cam.
You may be asking yourself, “what do I need a 200MP camera for?” It seems like pure overkill and a marketing tactic on the surface, and to some extent, it is. The sensor uses a technology called pixel binning which makes the sensor larger and produces smaller images by grouping a ton of megapixels together. The smaller images, 12MP by default, have more detail and light than larger ones because they have a greater resolution from the sensor. It’s the same technique other phones like the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 use with their larger-than-average cameras.
The extramegapixels are helpful at night. Because they’re binned, the pixels are far larger than on other phones, which results in more light intake. This photo of a neon sign is sharper and more lifelike on the S23 Ultra than it looks on the iPhone 14 Pro. In a similar vein, these shots of some of the skyscrapers in New York City paint a nearly accurate picture of what I saw beyond the viewfinder, save for a few overblown light glares.
You can also capture insanely-large 200MP photos. The camera app has a button that lets you turn it on and it is fun to play with. You won’t want to use it often since it will eat away at your storage and you want to print the photo after it’s taken, but if you want to capture something with a large amount of detail or plan to print it, this is the mode to be in.
The buck does not stop at the main camera. Samsung packs in three additional lenses: a 12MP 120-degree ultra-wide, a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 10MP periscoping telephoto lens with 10x optical zoom. These cameras are basically identical to the S22 Ultra, save for one major improvement: optical image stabilization, which is so good that you’d think your phone was on a gimbal when taking zoom shots.
Overall, this is one of the best camera experiences you can have on a smartphone. The Pixel 7 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro come second to this phone in a lot of different ways, from sensor resolution and zoom capabilities to image quality and versatility. It’s a little absurd just how good it is, which makes this $1,199 phone worthy of its “Ultra” name.
It is striking to see the cameras on the back of the phone. Samsung uses a frosted glass finish for the backplate and shiny aluminum rails for the sides, which looks plenty premium. Speaking of the sides, they’re a lot flatter than they used to be, which gives the device a very similar feel to previous Galaxy Note devices.
The curves on the right and left sides were reduced so that the content wouldn’t spill over. It helps the S Pen since it has more room to draw. It is also a lot better to look at because you won’t have to deal with light reflecting off the curves in the glass.
Geekbench Spectroscopy of the S23 Ultra vs OnePlus 11: Battery Lifetime, Software, and UI
In the chart below, we can see the difference in Geekbench scores between the OnePlus 11 and S23 Ultra. Of course, Apple’s A16 Bionic inside the iPhone 14 Pro is still the most powerful chip, but the 8 Gen 2 For Galaxy doesn’t fall far behind.
All that is to say you can get through a day of moderate use with the S23 Ultra a little more comfortably, and it stands up a bit better to heavier use. If you plan on doing a lot of processor-heavy stuff like gaming or, I don’t know, measuring every room in your house in VR, then you’ll probably still need to recharge before the day is done. For most of us, this is an all-day battery, with a little more wiggle room than last year’s.
I fired up Asphalt 9 like I usually do and it ran great. I didn’t experience any dropped frames or slowdowns, and the phone stayed nice and cool the entire time.
Speaking of software, One UI 5.1 — based on Android 13 — is what you’ll get out of the box with the S23 Ultra. By far, this is the best version of Samsung’s skin I’ve come across. It’s nearly identical to One UI 5.0 in terms of functionality and looks (besides a few customization options for your lock screen and some changes in system apps), but it’s a lot more responsive and efficient this time around.
I used the Z fold 4 for a long time so I have a feeling of how it would work. I really liked the software, but it was a tad slower than Apple’s or Microsoft’s software. The S23 Ultra feels like it is fluid and fast, as oneUI 5.1 flips that on its head. Is it a new processor? Is it the faster storage? Just good old-fashioned software optimization? I’m going with the latter, because everything from launching apps to scrolling Twitter feels more responsive than any Samsung phone I’ve reviewed in the past.
The embedded S Pen stylus is what keeps the galaxy note alive. The S Pen doesn’t have a lot of changes this time, though the slightly flatter screen edges help provide more surface area for writing. You are more likely to accidentally run the stylus off of the side of the screen if it is on the S22 Ultra.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra: a brick in your pocket. How much should I spend on a new phone? A comparison of the cost of high-performance wireless charging devices
I will use the phone all day long to deal with my everyday tasks, and I will end my day at 11 pm with over 50% of my tank left. I only ever lose 5% to 6% when leaving the phone off its charging port at night.
It takes about 30 minutes to charge a 45W fast wired charging device, but it is worth it because it will allow you to charge from zero to 50 percent in a few minutes. 15W and 4.5W reverse wireless charging allow you to replenish your earbuds on the go. Samsung definitely included everything you’ll need when it comes to juicing up.
It’s also pretty heavy. The phone is six grams lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro Max and 22 grams heavier than the Pixel 7 Pro. This phone is the quintessential definition of a brick in your pocket.
Samsung bundles all of its own apps with the S23 Ultra, which doesn’t pose a problem until you realize how many there are. I counted 58 on my unit, and that doesn’t include other pre-installed apps like Microsoft 365 and Netflix. It eats up a fair amount of storage space, collectively reducing your phone’s overall capacity by about 20-30 gigabytes. It will feel like a waste of space for those who do not use stock apps and prefer alternatives like the ones on the internet.
Samsung is also still displaying advertisements in its own apps, which looks and feels as crummy as you’d think it does. The amount of ads shown has decreased, but they are still around. Samsung Pay and Galaxy Store like to advertise promotions from third parties, while the Samsung Members app regularly reminds me to preorder a Galaxy S23 Ultra… while I’m holding one.
$1,200 is a lot to buy a new phone. If you can’t live without the features of the camera and S Pen, the regularGalaxy S23 is a great option and can be had for about half the price. Similarly, the flagship model of thePixel 7 Pro is often on sale for as much as $599 and $699 which is an amazing deal.
That’s all good news. The bad news is that it remains a very expensive device at $1,200, which is a bit more than a $1,099 iPhone 14 Pro Max and a big leap from the Pixel 7 Pro’s $899 starting price. There are some sore spots with the software and one of them is its insistence on including its own app store. And although the camera system can produce stunningly good images, it occasionally makes weird choices and comes up with a photo that’s just downright bad.
It is still a very large and heavy phone. There is a 6.8-inch display with a top 120HZ refresh rate. It’s lovely to use and basically the same as last year’s. My one complaint is with the embedded fingerprint sensor, which is inconsistent and a beat slower than the one I just used on the OnePlus 11 5G. Faceunlock is pretty fast. With both biometric security methods enabled, I found that one or the other worked quickly enough.
It is possible to find all of the above on the high-end phone, except for the built-in storage of at least 512GB and the fast 45W wired charging.
The new chip runs cooler that the old one after 10 minutes of loading animation and the phone resting on the heat-insulating couch cushion, it was only slightly warm to the touch. The S22 Ultra was not comfortable to hold after that. Gameplay is incredibly smooth, with a barely perceptible hiccup here and there as it loads more area data.
The latter worked flawlessly on my 2016-era Samsung TV. And despite it being an older model, the TV connects to the S23 Ultra via SmartThings, too. The control of the TV’s basic functions, such as volume and channel, can be reached from the SmartThings app on the phone. At long last, I thought I’d conquered my need to get off the couch and find the remote. My TV is old and lacks support for a key feature. Looks like I’ll still need that remote after all.
The Case for a Digital Zoom in the S23 Ultra Camera Battery Screen Pencil: Where I Wanna Get My Inspiration? How Is My Space Needle
I found at least one instance in the S23 Ultra where the slight curve threw me for a loop. I used to use the left aligned column of boxes as a point of reference for my writing but when I wanted to write in letters to mark days of the week, I couldn’t use the stylus due to the curve on the screen. In a few years, I hope for a completely flat display.
I found it very useful to have a digital version of my to-do lists pinned to my home screen so as to replicate what I did in real life. Has it made me more organized? The jury’s still out on that one. But it feels like a happy medium between the convenience of an app-based to-do list and the tactile experience of jotting down a note.
But the more interesting way that it works is by combining those pixels into groups and treating them as bigger individual pixels (a process called pixel binning) to improve image quality in less-than-great lighting conditions. In bright light, the sensor uses something called a re-mosaic algorithm to mimic a traditional color filter pattern and use pixels individually and capture more detail. When you shoot in the default mode, which reduces the image size to 12 Megapixels, you will see the benefits of extra detail capture.
It works well and comes up with great images, I use it on IG and it works very well. Would my 30x Space Needle photo look great as an 8×10” print hanging on my wall? Probably not. It is well past the good enough threshold for social media. Digital zoom has been around for a long time.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/23598871/samsung-galaxy-s23-ultra-review-camera-battery-screen-s-pen
Low-Light Portraits of a Very Active Toddler at a Mexican Restaurant: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra-Review Camera Battery Screen Pencils
I saw a few weird things happen in challenging situations, but low-light photos are generally fine. The first picture of my toddler at the Mexican restaurant is orange, and the second picture is pale, but they are both taken in the same place. It may have taken the photo off the rails, but it might be the colored walls and light sources which threw the camera for a loop.
A couple of my low-light portraits have a bit of an unnatural HDR look about them, with over-brightened shadows. Forcing night mode on in dim conditions also conjures up a bad HDR look — best to let the phone decide when it’s truly dark enough for night mode.
Otherwise, Samsung’s portrait mode remains one of the best in the game. It’s hands down the winner when it comes to subject isolation and manages to hang on to incredibly fine details like individual hairs. Background blur, especially on the 1x setting, still looks a little too uniform, producing that classic cardboard cutout look. It is not as noticeable in 3x zoom portraits.
Video quality is good, too; recording is available at up to 8K/30p, though I stuck to 4K for the most part. The clips show nice color and detail. The way in which the range is flattened is reminiscent of when bright whites were gray. Bright colors look a little oversaturated, too. I didn’t hear any complaints from his grandparents about the video quality, it is good enough to grab clips of a very active toddler.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/23598871/samsung-galaxy-s23-ultra-review-camera-battery-screen-s-pen
Counting the times you have to hit “Agree” to use SAMSUNG’s Software Agreements on $1,200 Smartphones
It is not the most easy-to-reach device. All of those cameras, the deep menus, and, most of all, the steep price tag will put off a lot of people. It takes a little fiddling to de- SAMSUNG’s software. You probably shouldn’t have to spend the time doing that on a $1,200 phone.
Every smart device now requires you to agree to a number of terms and conditions before you can use it. It’s not possible for us to review every one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.