Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra is official with a mammoth 200MP main camera, UFS 4.0 storage, and a hefty price

It's February 1st and that means that Samsung's Galaxy S23 series is officially launched and available to pre-order. As in previous years, the range of flagship phones includes the vanilla Galaxy S23, the middle child called the Galaxy S23+, and finally, the all-powerful Galaxy S23 Ultra (Note?) which now has built-in storage for its S Pen. All three models are powered by a special version of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor which is exclusive to Samsung's new phones.

Galaxy S23 and S23+

Following on from the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Galaxy S23, and S23+'s design has omitted the camera island and instead has individual camera rings which protrude from the rear panel slightly. The corners are rounded which makes it easier on the hand than previously. Other than size differences, it's almost impossible to tell the two models apart.

Accompanying the Snapdragon 8 Gen for Galaxy chipset is 8GB of LPDDR5x RAM and a choice of 128/256GB of UFS 3.1 storage for the vanilla S23. The Galaxy S23+ is available with 256/512GB of the faster UFS 4.0 storage, which should speed up the One UI 5.1 experience.

The Galaxy S23 and S23+ are very similar except in terms of display and battery size, packing in the same trio of rear cameras and, other than the base S23 which makes do with UFS 3.1 storage, enjoy the benefits of UFS 4.0. Both phones feature Dynamic AMOLED displays with FHD+ resolution, and refresh rates of 48-120Hz, with protection provided by Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

The trio of rear cameras includes a 50MP main camera with OIS and Dual Pixel technology, with a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and a 10MP telephoto lens capable of 3x optical zoom. A 12MP sensor with HDR10+ certification sits in the centrally located punch-hole on the display.

Connectivity has been upgraded from the Galaxy S22 with Bluetooth 5.3 and WiFi 6E support present. Sporting 3,900mAh and 4,700mAh batteries respectively, the Galaxy S23 supports 25W wired charging while the Galaxy S23+ has 45W fast charging. Both models feature 10W wireless charging and reverse charging functions. Unlike some flagship phones, the Galaxy S23 series is certified for IP68 water and dust protection.

Both the Galaxy S23 and S23+ are already available to pre-order at prices starting from $799/£849 and $999/£1,049 respectively. The phones go on general sale from February 17th on Samsung.com and the usual slew of retailers and carriers.

Galaxy S23 Ultra

The boss-level Galaxy S23 Ultra is bigger, heavier, and more capable than its siblings' thanks to the presence of up to 12GB of RAM, a higher-res display, the presence of OIS in three of its four rear cameras, a larger battery, and of course, the all-important S Pen.

Available in 8/12GB and 256/512GB/1TB memory and storage options, the Ultra sports a big 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display which features QHD+ resolution, an adaptive refresh rate of 1-120Hz, and 500ppi. As the largest phone in the range, it's only fitting that it has the largest battery with 5,000mAh which supports 45W fast charging and 10W wireless charging. While it's not as slow as the Pixel 7 Pro, Samsung really needs to up its game in terms of charging speeds. In the year 2023, the minimum that most users would expect on a flagship phone would be 65W charging.

The rear camera focus is stolen by the mammoth 200MP main sensor with OIS, but the 10MP telephoto and the secondary 10MP telephoto lens with 10x optical zoom and 100x Space Zoom also sports Optical Image Stabilisation. This means that low-light photography should be excellent on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and also that blurred photos caused by shaky hands should be a thing of the past.

As with the other models, the Galaxy S23 Ultra runs One UI 5.1 (Android 13) and supports Bluetooth 5.3, WiFi 6E, has dual speakers with Dolby Atmos, and is IP68 water and dust resistant. Dual Nano SIMS and eSIM are present, and you'll also find Samsung DeX supported.

As the bigger, better, and more capable model in the series, the Galaxy S23 Ultra commands the highest price which starts off at $1,199/£1,249 for the base model. Note that pricing in the US is virtually the same as it was for the Galaxy S22 series but that in the UK, prices have crept up by £100 or so.