Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra first impressions: Exciting and enthralling

Samsung just took wraps off the Galaxy S23 series - its first flagship for 2023. Like previous years, it includes three models – Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The eldest sibling is obviously the most attractive device in the lineup. But make no mistake, the other two phones are exciting in their own ways. I got to spend a couple of hours with the trio, and here are my initial impressions.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra might look the same out of the box due to its minimal design changes. But those minimalistic changes add to the in-hand feel that was missing from the Galaxy S22 Ultra. For once, I don’t like the flat edges trend on flagship smartphones that was kickstarted by the iPhone 12 a couple of years back. It makes big phones like the S22 Ultra hard to hold.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra features more curved edges than the predecessor, which makes it easy to hold and use with a single hand. In my brief time with the device, I noticed that it was much simpler to interact with UI elements on the screen with one hand without performing finger acrobatics. And that, for me is a big win.

I use the iPhone 14 Pro Max as my daily driver, and the phone is practically unusable for long durations because of its squared-off edges. I’m pretty confident that it won’t be the case with Samsung’s Ultra phone. It is much easier on the palms, and you are likely to get a good gaming experience as a result.

Apart from the design the other two departments Samsung is focusing on with the Galaxy S23 Ultra are the camera and gaming experience.

Starting with the optics, the Galaxy S23 Ultra sports a new 200MP sensor that offers features like adaptive pixel, multi-exposure, astro hyperlapse, astrophoto, 8K videos at 30 FPS and more. In my brief time with the phone, I was only able to checkout the speed of autofocus and shutter lag in the 200MP camera mode.

To my surprise, the shutter lag is minimal when clicking photos in the highest resolution on offer. It focuses on objects quickly but the software takes a good few seconds to process the image in the gallery. However, you are still able to click multiple shots while the images you clicked get processed.

The 200MP camera sports a 3-degree OIS, which should translate to a better photography experience for those like me, with shaky hands. On the other hand, the 12MP front camera is now also capable of shooting RAW images.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is powered by a custom Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, which helps in gaming performance. While I didn’t get the time to play mobile games on the device, Samsung promises features like ray tracing, AI-powered adaptive performance and adaptive vision booster.

The adaptive performance based on AI helps the phone to allocate appropriate resources as per the gaming requirements. It will be interesting to see how the phone handles gaming in longer durations. I have high hopes from it because the smartphone features a 2.7 times bigger vapour cooling chamber that should help keep the temperatures in check.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra features a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O QHD+ display that supports a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, 500ppi density and a 1,750nit peak brightness. It looks sharp. As mentioned above, under the hood lies a custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset that is said to offer better performance than the rivals with the same chipset but without the custom magic.

For optics, the Galaxy S23 Ultra sports a quad-camera setup. It is led by a 200MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture. The primary camera is accompanied by a 12MP ultra-wide-angle sensor, and two 10MP telephoto cameras for 3x and 10x optical zoom capabilities. You get the usual 100x digital zoom option as well. On the front lies a 12MP sensor.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra packs a 5,000mAh battery that supports Super Fast Charging 2.0 and Fast Wireless Charging 2.0. It will be interesting to see how fast the 5,000mAh cell charges. Plus, you get the option to charge your earbuds or smartwatch by placing them on your phone through wireless power share.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is shaping up to be an exciting proposition for the flagship Android market. I’ll go more in-depth with the phone in my detailed review.