Galaxy S23 / Ultra Impressions: Cruise Control!

S23 Line-up

There are three models available: S23, S23 Plus and S23 Ultra.
They all come in four colors: phantom black, green, lavender and cream.
S23 offers a 6.1-inch 1080p OLED display and a 3900mAh battery.
S23 Plus offers a 6.6-inch 1080p OLED display and a 4700mAh battery.
S23 Plus also has faster wired charging (45W peak compared to 25W on S23) and higher base storage (128GB vs 256GB).
Externally, the shape and design of all models are basically similar to last year’s S22 models.
All models offer wireless charging and IP ratings.

The new chips used in S23 models are Snapdragon 8 Gen 2; Samsung claim to have a slightly higher max clock speed, though further testing will be needed.
All models feature refreshed cameras with new sensors, image processing and AI remastering.
The main camera is a 50 megapixel lens combined with 12 megapixel ultra wide and 3X telephoto cameras.
Performance in bright lighting appeared to be good, but dynamic range, shutter lag and low light will be areas to keep an eye on.
Additionally, the S23 Ultra has a 12 megapixel selfie camera, improved OIS and 16 pixels binning feature.

All models feature flat displays, ports and speakers at the bottom.
Button locations remain the same as S22 models.
S23 Ultra features a reshaped curve at the edges for better S Pen compatibility.
The peak brightness across all models is 1750 nits.
Displays are LTPO and support variable refresh rates from 1-120hz.
A particularly noticeable flicker on camera was observed, though not noticeable to the eye.