The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was in some ways a big upgrade on the S21 Ultra, offering a new design and an S Pen slot, among other changes, but by the sounds of things the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra could be more just a tiny tweak on the current model.
That’s according to reputable leaker @UniverseIce (opens in new tab), who on Twitter claimed that based on what they’ve heard so far, the S23 Ultra will be the “smallest appearance change in Samsung’s history.”
More specifically, they claim that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will have dimensions of 163.4 × 78.1 × 8.9mm. For comparison, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is 163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9mm. So if this is right then the two phones will have the same thickness and be almost identical in their length and width.
The size of the Galaxy S23 Ultra is almost unchanged from that of the S22 Ultra, with only an increase of 0.1~0.2mm, 5000mAh, 8.9mm thickness, and still a 6.8-inch 3088×1440 screen.As long as the Snapdragon 8Gen2 + One UI 5.1 is excellent, the appearance can remain the same.August 21, 2022
@UniverseIce also claims that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will have a 6.8-inch 1440 x 3088 screen and a 5,000mAh battery – just like the S22 Ultra. The only changes they mention are a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and updated software – though the current model will presumably get the latter eventually too.
Of course, even if they’re right not everything is detailed here. So some specs and features could be very different – with the camera in particular sounding promising based on other leaks, but it sounds like the actual design might be very, very similar to that of the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Analysis: all about the camera
The saving grace of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra could be its camera – which in some ways was a disappointment on the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
The current model has superb cameras, but they’re almost identical to the ones on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, making that one of the few areas that didn’t get any real upgrade.
This time around though it sounds like the camera could be among the few areas that does get substantially upgraded, as rumors suggest the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will have a 200MP snapper.
That would be up from the 108MP main camera on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, so quite an upgrade in terms of megapixels. Of course, megapixels aren’t everything, but presumably Samsung is intending for this sensor to be better than the current one.
So if you’re after one of the best camera phones then the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra could be worth waiting for, but whether it will be one of the best smartphones overall is sounding a little less certain.
