I got this phone recently during the offer which gives you double the storage (512GB instead of 256GB) and a Samsung Chromebook for free - but this review is based on the phone itself, and wow what a phone it is!
If you've not used an ultra phone before, you will notice the weight difference! This phone is not the lightest in the slightest - but when you realise what's inside you'll know why! The battery life is incredibly good so far! Even without power saving mode, I'm getting at least 1.5 days worth of charge easily when at home using wifi. When out using the 5G it dips slightly, but if you turn on power saving mode you will have plenty for the day. This alone is a worthy consideration for the phone.
The display is gorgeous, with UHD quality and the biggest display I (not counting folding phones) currently, you'd be hard pressed to find a better one (I'd say the iPhone 15 maybe comes close). Finger print reader is in the screen still, slight delay unlocking but not too noticable.
The audio is good, and with Dolby Atmos on it's even better! Never turn it off, the Atmos makes a difference! The phone runs incredibly smoothly with the Snapdragon chip, and the screen is highly responsive.
The S Pen is included underneath the phone - I personally do not use it often, but it's a nice thing to have if I need to make a quick note - easier than unlocking and trying to see where I saved the Note app! But as the screen is smaller than a tablet or iPad, it's not my go to for note taking.
Now the biggest aspect, the camera! Going up to 200MP, the camera is no joke. This does take up massive storage (50MB a pic) but you then have 50MP and 12MP options too - the 50MP is a nice compromise between the two. You also have the feature of removing unwanted objects from pictures, similar to the Google Pixel phone - so you don't even need to consider that one anymore!
Overall, I love this phone! I did not think I would want to upgrade from my S20+, but I am very glad I did as this phone completely changes the game on what I thought mobiles could do. Looking forward to what the S27 Ultra has in store now!
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Reviews with images
Upgraded from P30 Pro. First impressions are awesome!
After reading tonnes of reviews, I decided to go for it. Got a deal with headphones and a cover. Three packages arrived at different times but everything is good.Now, the phone: I am a long term of user of P30 Pro. I'm not a fan of Huawei's UI but P30 pro is still awesome after nearly 4 years and is more than capable of taking stunning pictures, very good battery and still handles all kinds of software. The point I'm trying to make is that it is hard to beat.However, I think S23 Ultra made it. The camera is definitely next level, and if you know what you're doing with photography, is a serious contender for the foreseeable future. I'm also impressed by the quality of sound on the videos too. Some friends sent me private messages on the back of my latest social media posts to ask if I have a new phone and comment on quality of content. This was adding to a "Wow" effect.120hz display is definitely awesome, even not at highest resolution.Battery is very good but real measure for this can be done after a year. Slightly annoying that it doesn't really charge nearly as quick as the old Huawei. However, this could be a good thing for battery life, who knows.It is the first phone I have with an S-pen and I think in some situations it is great! Certainly works like nothing ever so accurate. And is great tool to remote control your camera shutter - great!The overall feel of the phone is very nice, even though 225 gramms is a substantial amount of weight.Now the "not so great" sides:Firstly, it is a shame that a flagship of a phone costs so much money these days. However, this is across all manufacturers so I guess it is partially inflation and shortage of microchips - we need to get used to this. On the bright side, I can say it looks like there is no compromise on quality of materials used on the S23 Ultra - you get what you pay for - best technology available today.Secondly, the phone is pretty big. Not unmanageable big, just an "XL" phone. I'm a bit annoyed that the cutting edge technology has to be of this size. Quality of the screen and overall experience make you feel you can live with this though. One advice - when getting a protector bumber, might be a good idea to take a ring at the back of the case too - for better grip.Thirdly, same as all manufacturers, Samsung is trying really hard to pre-install their ecosystem of apps that may not be suitable for everyone. This is a problem with all manufacturers, to be fair. I just spent half a day cutting down apps and permissions.In conclusion, having used various manufacturers through the last 10 years, including Sony, Samsung, Huawei and Apple, every one of these manufacturers has some features that are awesome and others that aren't so great. You cannot buy "a best phone ever", just depends on what you like.I like the S23 Ultra and think it's worth the money and the upgrade. Time will show but my first impression is that this phone can breeze through the next 5 years with no issues.Hope you find this useful!
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2023
Colour: LavenderSize Name: 512GBStyle Name: S23 UltraPattern Name: Smartphone onlyVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 February 2023
Now, the phone: I am a long term of user of P30 Pro. I'm not a fan of Huawei's UI but P30 pro is still awesome after nearly 4 years and is more than capable of taking stunning pictures, very good battery and still handles all kinds of software. The point I'm trying to make is that it is hard to beat.
However, I think S23 Ultra made it. The camera is definitely next level, and if you know what you're doing with photography, is a serious contender for the foreseeable future. I'm also impressed by the quality of sound on the videos too. Some friends sent me private messages on the back of my latest social media posts to ask if I have a new phone and comment on quality of content. This was adding to a "Wow" effect.
120hz display is definitely awesome, even not at highest resolution.
Battery is very good but real measure for this can be done after a year. Slightly annoying that it doesn't really charge nearly as quick as the old Huawei. However, this could be a good thing for battery life, who knows.
It is the first phone I have with an S-pen and I think in some situations it is great! Certainly works like nothing ever so accurate. And is great tool to remote control your camera shutter - great!
The overall feel of the phone is very nice, even though 225 gramms is a substantial amount of weight.
Now the "not so great" sides:
Firstly, it is a shame that a flagship of a phone costs so much money these days. However, this is across all manufacturers so I guess it is partially inflation and shortage of microchips - we need to get used to this. On the bright side, I can say it looks like there is no compromise on quality of materials used on the S23 Ultra - you get what you pay for - best technology available today.
Secondly, the phone is pretty big. Not unmanageable big, just an "XL" phone. I'm a bit annoyed that the cutting edge technology has to be of this size. Quality of the screen and overall experience make you feel you can live with this though. One advice - when getting a protector bumber, might be a good idea to take a ring at the back of the case too - for better grip.
Thirdly, same as all manufacturers, Samsung is trying really hard to pre-install their ecosystem of apps that may not be suitable for everyone. This is a problem with all manufacturers, to be fair. I just spent half a day cutting down apps and permissions.
In conclusion, having used various manufacturers through the last 10 years, including Sony, Samsung, Huawei and Apple, every one of these manufacturers has some features that are awesome and others that aren't so great. You cannot buy "a best phone ever", just depends on what you like.
I like the S23 Ultra and think it's worth the money and the upgrade. Time will show but my first impression is that this phone can breeze through the next 5 years with no issues.
Hope you find this useful!
Colour: CreamSize Name: 512GBStyle Name: S23 UltraPattern Name: Smartphone onlyVerified Purchase
Upgraded from P30 Pro. First impressions are awesome!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 February 2023
After reading tonnes of reviews, I decided to go for it. Got a deal with headphones and a cover. Three packages arrived at different times but everything is good.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 February 2023
Now, the phone: I am a long term of user of P30 Pro. I'm not a fan of Huawei's UI but P30 pro is still awesome after nearly 4 years and is more than capable of taking stunning pictures, very good battery and still handles all kinds of software. The point I'm trying to make is that it is hard to beat.
However, I think S23 Ultra made it. The camera is definitely next level, and if you know what you're doing with photography, is a serious contender for the foreseeable future. I'm also impressed by the quality of sound on the videos too. Some friends sent me private messages on the back of my latest social media posts to ask if I have a new phone and comment on quality of content. This was adding to a "Wow" effect.
120hz display is definitely awesome, even not at highest resolution.
Battery is very good but real measure for this can be done after a year. Slightly annoying that it doesn't really charge nearly as quick as the old Huawei. However, this could be a good thing for battery life, who knows.
It is the first phone I have with an S-pen and I think in some situations it is great! Certainly works like nothing ever so accurate. And is great tool to remote control your camera shutter - great!
The overall feel of the phone is very nice, even though 225 gramms is a substantial amount of weight.
Now the "not so great" sides:
Firstly, it is a shame that a flagship of a phone costs so much money these days. However, this is across all manufacturers so I guess it is partially inflation and shortage of microchips - we need to get used to this. On the bright side, I can say it looks like there is no compromise on quality of materials used on the S23 Ultra - you get what you pay for - best technology available today.
Secondly, the phone is pretty big. Not unmanageable big, just an "XL" phone. I'm a bit annoyed that the cutting edge technology has to be of this size. Quality of the screen and overall experience make you feel you can live with this though. One advice - when getting a protector bumber, might be a good idea to take a ring at the back of the case too - for better grip.
Thirdly, same as all manufacturers, Samsung is trying really hard to pre-install their ecosystem of apps that may not be suitable for everyone. This is a problem with all manufacturers, to be fair. I just spent half a day cutting down apps and permissions.
In conclusion, having used various manufacturers through the last 10 years, including Sony, Samsung, Huawei and Apple, every one of these manufacturers has some features that are awesome and others that aren't so great. You cannot buy "a best phone ever", just depends on what you like.
I like the S23 Ultra and think it's worth the money and the upgrade. Time will show but my first impression is that this phone can breeze through the next 5 years with no issues.
Hope you find this useful!
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 February 2023
Colour: BlackSize Name: 512GBStyle Name: S23 UltraPattern Name: Smartphone onlyVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 June 2024
Top reviews from other countries
Nikita Wadhwa
Device working flawless.
Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on 28 January 2024Colour: LavenderSize Name: 256GBStyle Name: S23 UltraPattern Name: Smartphone onlyVerified Purchase
Andre Siqueira
Amazing battery, amazing camera and video recording
Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on 31 May 2023Colour: BlackSize Name: 512GBStyle Name: S23 UltraPattern Name: Smartphone onlyVerified Purchase
very good 👍
Mashallah super 👍
Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on 7 April 2024Colour: CreamSize Name: 512GBStyle Name: S23 UltraPattern Name: Smartphone onlyVerified Purchase
موسى جابر الفيفي
فيفاء
Reviewed in Saudi Arabia on 3 May 2024Colour: BlackSize Name: 256GBStyle Name: S23 UltraPattern Name: Smartphone onlyVerified Purchase
Mauro Grbac
Good
Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on 20 December 2023Colour: GreenSize Name: 512GBStyle Name: S23 UltraPattern Name: Smartphone onlyVerified Purchase
