Galaxy S23 _ Ultra Impressions - Cruise Control!

**MKBHD's Full Review: Samsung Galaxy S23 Series Unveiled - A Closer Look**

In this video, tech expert MKBHD dives into the newly released Samsung Galaxy S23 series, which includes the S23, S23 Plus, and S23 Ultra. He gives a detailed walkthrough of the phones' features, design, and performance based on his hands-on experience with the devices.

### **Introduction to the Galaxy S23 Series**

MKBHD starts by mentioning that Samsung has released its new lineup for early 2023, as expected. The series includes three models: the Galaxy S23, S23 Plus, and S23 Ultra. He notes that these phones are very similar to last year's models but with some incremental updates. The video will likely be one of the shortest in recent memory due to the minimal changes compared to previous iterations.

### **Design Overview**

The lineup features the same four colors across all models: Phantom Black, Green, Lavender, and Cream. The S23 and S23 Plus are nearly identical except for their size, with the smaller model having a 6.1-inch 1080p OLED display and a 3900 mAh battery, while the larger one has a 6.6-inch 1080p OLED display and a 4700 mAh battery. The bigger model also boasts slightly faster wired charging at 45W Peak compared to the smaller one's 25W, as well as higher base storage starting from 256GB.

The design remains largely unchanged, with flat displays, ports, speakers, and buttons positioned similarly to last year's models. Wireless charging and IP ratings are still present, but the biggest updates are under the hood.

### **Hardware Upgrades**

The primary improvements over the S22 series are the new chipset and camera systems. The phones now feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, which Samsung has branded as "Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy." While there's speculation about customization or binning, MKBHD doesn't expect a dramatic difference in performance compared to other devices using the same chip.

Despite these minor hardware tweaks, the phones feel fast and responsive when brand new. MKBHD is confident that the performance will hold up well in daily use but remains curious to see how they fare over time.

### **Camera Innovations**

The camera systems have been refreshed across all models. The main highlights include:

- **Galaxy S23/S23 Plus**: A 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and a 3x telephoto shooter. MKBHD tested the cameras in bright lighting conditions and found the images to be HDR-rich with improved dynamic range.

- **Galaxy S23 Ultra**: Features a 200MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, a 3x telephoto, and a 10x space zoom. The Ultra model also introduces new camera features like improved optical image stabilization (OIS), better low-light performance with 16-pixel binning, and enhanced AI processing.

While the results in ideal lighting were impressive, MKBHD noticed some shutter lag, which is not uncommon in Samsung phones but still worth noting.

### **Design Changes on the S23 Ultra**

The S23 Ultra sees two notable design changes:

1. **Camera Bumps**: The camera modules are slightly larger with more pronounced rings around them.

2. **Flatter Edges**: The sides of the phone have been made flatter, giving it a boxier feel that MKBHD actually likes.

Samsung claims these design tweaks were made to optimize for the S Pen and improve aesthetics, though the battery size remains unchanged at 5,000 mAh.

### **Display and Charging**

The displays across all models feature LTPO technology with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz. The peak brightness has been increased to 1,750 nits, which MKBHD describes as excellent. He also notes that while he didn't experience significant flickering during testing, it's something to keep an eye on.

Charging options have improved with the inclusion of Super Fast Charging 2.0 on the S23 Ultra, supporting up to 45W Peak charging. However, Samsung continues its trend of not including chargers in the box, making a third-party charger like the Anchor Ace highly recommended for users.

### **Pricing and Conclusion**

The Galaxy S23 starts at $799, the S23 Plus at $999, and the S23 Ultra at $1,999. MKBHD concludes that while the S23 series doesn't bring revolutionary changes, it builds on last year's solid foundation with incremental improvements in hardware, cameras, and design. The biggest differentiator remains the camera system, especially for the Ultra model.

He encourages viewers to subscribe for the full review, where he will dive deeper into testing these phones in real-world scenarios. For those looking for a powerful charger that folds and charges safely, MKBHD recommends the Anchor Ace 313 or 312 chargers, which are more efficient than Samsung's official options.

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This article captures the essence of MKBHD's video review, providing a comprehensive breakdown of the Galaxy S23 series' features, design, and performance.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey what's up MKBHD here so we do have some new Samsung phones for early in the year as we usually expect them this time it's s23 s23 plus and s23 Ultra spoiler alert I've played with them for like 2 hours they are very similar to last year's phones which is great those were Rock Solid but that also means that I can probably make this like the shortest MKBHD video of the past year so I'm going to try let's get through it okay so the lineup is s23 s23 plus and s23 Ultra but there are the same four colors across the entire lineup so Phantom black green lavender and cream all pretty tame looking I think and as expected the s23 and s23 plus are basically identical other than their size which means you can either get the smaller one with the 6.1in 1080p OED and a 3900 mAh battery or the bigger one with the 6.6 in 1080P OLED and a 4700 mAh battery also the bigger one apparently has slightly faster wired charging 45 Watts Peak versus 25 and a higher base storage there's 128 on the small one but 256 gigs starting on the plus that's it so aside from that you're looking at the same general shape and design as last year flat display you know the ports and the speakers at the bottom the button locations look basically the same still got wireless charging still got IP ratings really the only thing that's updated here from the s22 is are the chip and the cameras so the new Chips are the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and if you pay attention to the presentation Samsung's doing this thing where they're calling it like Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy as if it's sort of a customized chip but when I asked Samsung about this it seems like basically they're doing a slightly higher Max clock speed maybe it's just binning for all we know so I don't expect it to be a dramatic difference versus other phones that just have Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 but you know that's something we'll test we'll see in the full review but I mean you know the phones feel fast and Samsung phones always feel this fast when they're brand new so I'm not super worried but the other new thing that I mentioned is the cameras so these new camera systems are refreshed across the board new sensors New Image processing new AI remastering of photos so it's a 50 megap main camera paired with a 12 megapix Ultra wide and a 3X telephoto playing with it briefly you know the images I took I thought actually looked really good it's obviously a super brightly lit setup room so I will say they also look very HDR and dare I say a bit Pixy in this situation but that tracks with Samsung's claims of a much better improved dynamic range I'm just very curious to get these out into the real world and see how it Stacks up so definitely get subscribed to see the review when that comes out and I can actually test them uh one thing I saw that I didn't like though was the presence of a bit of shutter lag this isn't exactly new with some Samsung phones but sometimes you take a photo of something fast moving and you think you got it but then it turns out the image was captured slightly later than when your finger hit the shutter so something to keep an eye on just because if I notice it in this perfect lighting it's probably going to strike again but there is also a new selfie Camera 12 megapixels just a lot of new Imaging stuff here so that's that's mainly what's new with this incremental s23 update so s23 starts at $7.99 and s23 plus starts at $9.99 if you're really trying to pay $200 more for the bigger phone but there's also the $1.99 s23 Ultra again a pretty similar design to last year but as you may have noticed there's really two notice changes for those of us who have touched and held last year's phone one the camera bumps are all just a little bit bigger with these new pronounced rings around them I'll talk about the new cameras in a second but then two when you're holding it in the hand they've changed the shape of the sides to be much more flat so the whole phone is just much more boxy and I like it I really like it Samsung says this was a reshaped curve at the edges to better optimize for the S Pen that is still here I assumed this would mean either they're making room for a slightly bigger battery or maybe they can compress the dimensions and make a slightly smaller phone but the battery size is still the huge 5,000 Mah hours from last year and the phone is still huge so I mean it feels like it's mostly for Aesthetics and feel in the hand and just have something different from last year but I do I I actually really like it I also did notice interestingly some of these phones I was recording with were flickering more than usual but just on camera like I'm not aware of any big differences in the Adaptive refresh rates these are still ltpo displays that go from 1 to 120 htz and I played with a few settings when I noticed it flickering but I couldn't really figure it out not that it's a big deal it didn't flicker to my eyes and these are greatl looking screens with a new Peak brightness of 1,750 nits across the board which is excellent but that's just something different that I noticed to keep my eye on really though the cameras are the biggest thing in the ultra refresh as well again new sensors across the board headlined by a 200 megapixel main camera there's also the 12 megapixel ultrawide and a pair of telephoto cameras the 3x and the 10x there's going to be a bunch of new camera stuff to test in here from the improved Optical image stabilization across the board to the better low light performance maybe with 16 pixels binning into one and kicking out a 12 megapixel photo to the Galaxy camera feature integration in certain apps like Instagram and also the 200 megapixel mode I want to see how good the actual 200 megapixel files really are not that I print out photos and set them on canvas or anything but you could if you wanted to but I think it's clear the bottom line is the camera system is one of the biggest differentiators between the ultra and the rest of the lineup aside from that it's going to be a pretty familiar phone to the one that I gave the best big smartphone award last year it's still a 6.8 in edgo Edge 1440p OLED display there's still the you know Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy you can get up to a terabyte of storage still the IP rating we already know there will be no Chargers in any of the boxes so this video sponsor Anchor's Ace charger is definitely the move here this 313 charger is way smaller than Samsung's official one thanks to gallium nitride AKA Gan technology plus it folds up but it'll still guarantee the 45 watts of peak charging power that the ultra supports with super fast charging 2.0 so it fully charges in about an hour and it does it safely with things like current regulation over temperature protection and more or there's their 312 charger which is a good pair to match with a 25 watt Peak charging of the s23 and still smaller and more efficient than Samsung's so if you're looking for a powerful charger for s23 s23 Plus or s23 Ultra this anchor Ace charger is the move and I'm going to link it belowhey what's up MKBHD here so we do have some new Samsung phones for early in the year as we usually expect them this time it's s23 s23 plus and s23 Ultra spoiler alert I've played with them for like 2 hours they are very similar to last year's phones which is great those were Rock Solid but that also means that I can probably make this like the shortest MKBHD video of the past year so I'm going to try let's get through it okay so the lineup is s23 s23 plus and s23 Ultra but there are the same four colors across the entire lineup so Phantom black green lavender and cream all pretty tame looking I think and as expected the s23 and s23 plus are basically identical other than their size which means you can either get the smaller one with the 6.1in 1080p OED and a 3900 mAh battery or the bigger one with the 6.6 in 1080P OLED and a 4700 mAh battery also the bigger one apparently has slightly faster wired charging 45 Watts Peak versus 25 and a higher base storage there's 128 on the small one but 256 gigs starting on the plus that's it so aside from that you're looking at the same general shape and design as last year flat display you know the ports and the speakers at the bottom the button locations look basically the same still got wireless charging still got IP ratings really the only thing that's updated here from the s22 is are the chip and the cameras so the new Chips are the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and if you pay attention to the presentation Samsung's doing this thing where they're calling it like Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy as if it's sort of a customized chip but when I asked Samsung about this it seems like basically they're doing a slightly higher Max clock speed maybe it's just binning for all we know so I don't expect it to be a dramatic difference versus other phones that just have Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 but you know that's something we'll test we'll see in the full review but I mean you know the phones feel fast and Samsung phones always feel this fast when they're brand new so I'm not super worried but the other new thing that I mentioned is the cameras so these new camera systems are refreshed across the board new sensors New Image processing new AI remastering of photos so it's a 50 megap main camera paired with a 12 megapix Ultra wide and a 3X telephoto playing with it briefly you know the images I took I thought actually looked really good it's obviously a super brightly lit setup room so I will say they also look very HDR and dare I say a bit Pixy in this situation but that tracks with Samsung's claims of a much better improved dynamic range I'm just very curious to get these out into the real world and see how it Stacks up so definitely get subscribed to see the review when that comes out and I can actually test them uh one thing I saw that I didn't like though was the presence of a bit of shutter lag this isn't exactly new with some Samsung phones but sometimes you take a photo of something fast moving and you think you got it but then it turns out the image was captured slightly later than when your finger hit the shutter so something to keep an eye on just because if I notice it in this perfect lighting it's probably going to strike again but there is also a new selfie Camera 12 megapixels just a lot of new Imaging stuff here so that's that's mainly what's new with this incremental s23 update so s23 starts at $7.99 and s23 plus starts at $9.99 if you're really trying to pay $200 more for the bigger phone but there's also the $1.99 s23 Ultra again a pretty similar design to last year but as you may have noticed there's really two notice changes for those of us who have touched and held last year's phone one the camera bumps are all just a little bit bigger with these new pronounced rings around them I'll talk about the new cameras in a second but then two when you're holding it in the hand they've changed the shape of the sides to be much more flat so the whole phone is just much more boxy and I like it I really like it Samsung says this was a reshaped curve at the edges to better optimize for the S Pen that is still here I assumed this would mean either they're making room for a slightly bigger battery or maybe they can compress the dimensions and make a slightly smaller phone but the battery size is still the huge 5,000 Mah hours from last year and the phone is still huge so I mean it feels like it's mostly for Aesthetics and feel in the hand and just have something different from last year but I do I I actually really like it I also did notice interestingly some of these phones I was recording with were flickering more than usual but just on camera like I'm not aware of any big differences in the Adaptive refresh rates these are still ltpo displays that go from 1 to 120 htz and I played with a few settings when I noticed it flickering but I couldn't really figure it out not that it's a big deal it didn't flicker to my eyes and these are greatl looking screens with a new Peak brightness of 1,750 nits across the board which is excellent but that's just something different that I noticed to keep my eye on really though the cameras are the biggest thing in the ultra refresh as well again new sensors across the board headlined by a 200 megapixel main camera there's also the 12 megapixel ultrawide and a pair of telephoto cameras the 3x and the 10x there's going to be a bunch of new camera stuff to test in here from the improved Optical image stabilization across the board to the better low light performance maybe with 16 pixels binning into one and kicking out a 12 megapixel photo to the Galaxy camera feature integration in certain apps like Instagram and also the 200 megapixel mode I want to see how good the actual 200 megapixel files really are not that I print out photos and set them on canvas or anything but you could if you wanted to but I think it's clear the bottom line is the camera system is one of the biggest differentiators between the ultra and the rest of the lineup aside from that it's going to be a pretty familiar phone to the one that I gave the best big smartphone award last year it's still a 6.8 in edgo Edge 1440p OLED display there's still the you know Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy you can get up to a terabyte of storage still the IP rating we already know there will be no Chargers in any of the boxes so this video sponsor Anchor's Ace charger is definitely the move here this 313 charger is way smaller than Samsung's official one thanks to gallium nitride AKA Gan technology plus it folds up but it'll still guarantee the 45 watts of peak charging power that the ultra supports with super fast charging 2.0 so it fully charges in about an hour and it does it safely with things like current regulation over temperature protection and more or there's their 312 charger which is a good pair to match with a 25 watt Peak charging of the s23 and still smaller and more efficient than Samsung's so if you're looking for a powerful charger for s23 s23 Plus or s23 Ultra this anchor Ace charger is the move and I'm going to link it below\n"