Galaxy S23 Ultra vs S22 Ultra: 4 big differences

The wait was very long and interrupted by various leaks. It ended on Wednesday, February 1, and Samsung took the wraps off three new smartphones: the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The last, top-notch, literally blew up the screen. Still, there’s a pen like the S22 Ultra, which is very impressive. Its screen also has a definition that allows it to display content in QHD+ format.

But that’s just one of the many details that set the S23 Ultra apart from its predecessor. Let’s go back to the 4 main differences between these two smartphones to see more clearly.

Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy S22 Ultra: redesigned

The first detail that matters, Samsung decided to equip the S23 with a flat screen. Why? The South Korean tech giant says that users found the S22 Ultra a bit too curved.

On the design side, the S23 Ultra (like the S23 and S23+) is available in four colors: black, cream, green and lavender. Note that it comes in two exclusive colors: Lime and Graphite. Special colors for this model are also offered: sky blue and red. This was already the case for his predecessor.

The display shows a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The icing on the cake for the S23 Ultra is that it can go from 1 to 120 Hz unlike other models.

All new mobile phones launched by Samsung are IP68 certified, which provides a certain level of protection in case of contact with water. This was again the case with the S22 Ultra.

Finally, let’s note that Samsung wants to demonstrate its ecological fiber by offering more components made from recycled materials than before (12 components against 6 last year): glass, aluminum. Likewise, the packaging is 100% recyclable, including the protective film. We are also promised more durable materials than in previous years.

New chip for S23 Ultra

This is the other big change that Samsung has made this year. For the first time since the Galaxy S6, Samsung is offering a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen2 chip. The latter is very well optimized to improve the performance of the device, especially in terms of autonomy and performance.

As we will see later, it is also called improving the quality of photography. Last year, Samsung offered its own chips for its models distributed in Europe. It will be necessary to test the S23 Ultra in more detail to verify the manufacturer’s claims on the ground.

200 Mpxl camera for S23 Ultra

As for the photo, in general, Samsung does not revolutionize its smartphone compared to its previous models. So, the Galaxy S23 and S23+ are exactly the same as their predecessors with a 12 Mpxl selfie (f / 2.2 with DualPixel AF).

Despite this, The Galaxy S23 Ultra changes the game with a 200 Mpxl main sensor (f / 1.7) and a new 12 Mpxl selfie (f / 2.2). As for the S22 Ultra, it offers a wide-angle (f/1.8 – 85°) lens with a 108 Mpxl sensor (1/1.33” – 0.8 µm photosites and an ultra-wide angle (f/2.2) lens. – 120°) 12 Mpxl sensor (1/2.55” – 1.4 µm photosites).

The S23 Ultra is (significantly) more expensive than the S22 Ultra

That’s the bad news this year. The Galaxy S23 Ultra cost significantly more than the Galaxy S22 Ultra when it was released. It starts at €1,419 (256GB) and sells for €1,599 in the 512GB version and €1,839 in the 1TB version. Compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the 128GB S23 Ultra costs €60 more (with only 8GB of RAM), while the 512GB and 1TB versions cost €140 and €180 more than the previous generation, respectively.

Galaxy S23 Ultra vs S22 Ultra: what doesn’t change

As we can see, the differences are subtle but not significant between the S23 Ultra and the S22 Ultra. At certain points, the two smartphones are even identical, and this is especially true of the very similar design (except for the slightly flat screen of the S23). The same goes for the RAM, which is 8GB on some models and goes up to 12GB, as on the S22 Ultra.

It will be understood that the S23 Ultra is not necessarily revolutionary compared to its predecessor, although it contains some nice new features that will have to be tested over time.