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Elegance In A Class Of Its Own - Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Introducing the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, a true photography powerhouse with its impressive 200-megapixel, 50-megapixel, and 12-megapixel rear cameras. Moreover, it excels in low-light conditions with its enhanced night shooting mode, ensuring you capture incredible details even in the dark.

But the phone's excellence doesn't stop at its camera capabilities. It flaunts subtle design refinements like a sleeker, more angular shape and a less rounded screen. The display is notably upgraded with cooler and more natural colors, and the audio experience is truly well-rounded. All these enhancements make the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra the finest addition to Samsung's Galaxy lineup.

The high-tech sensation continues to impress with its much-loved S Pen stylus, a favorite among users. While there have been some slight updates, it remains a cherished feature. Similarly, the software experience maintains its consistency, running on Samsung's One UI 5.1, built on Android 13. This software is rich in helpful features, offering enhanced productivity tools for the S Pen and expanded customization options for the lockscreen.

Impressive Design Upgrades

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra maintains its elegant design, featuring a frosted matte glass back that has been upgraded to Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The camera lenses, metallic frame, and integrated S Pen are all still part of the package.

Notable design changes include larger rear cameras compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra and a flatter display. While there's still a gentle curve to the 6.8-inch screen, it now offers a slimmer curve and a flatter surface area, enhancing the comfort of using the S Pen.

Moreover, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is built for durability, being the first phone to incorporate Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus 2, providing better protection against scratches and drops for both the front and back.

In terms of aesthetics, the Galaxy S23 Ultra comes in four attractive colors: Phantom Black, Green, Cream, and Lavender. Notably, it retains a SIM card slot, which is located on the device's bottom.

Samsung proudly emphasizes the eco-friendliness of the S23 Ultra's design, as the company employs more recycled materials in its construction. This includes using recycled materials like discarded fishing nets, recycled water barrels, and recycled aluminum in various components of the phone.

Convenience And Connectivity

Similar to its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 Ultra maintains its control buttons on the right side of the phone, including a volume rocker and a wake button. The SIM card slot can be found at the bottom edge of the phone, along with the speaker and USB-C port.

In a prominent change, Samsung has discontinued the 128GB storage option for this model, although it remains available for the lower-end Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 versions. This decision reflects an understanding of the increased demand for storage space, especially when dealing with high-resolution images and videos, such as 200-megapixel photos and 4K or 8K videos.

The phone is packaged with a USB-C to USB-C charging cable. If you require an adapter for USB-A ports, it must be purchased separately. To take advantage of the fast-charging feature, you'll need a Samsung-approved USB PD (Power Delivery) power adapter with a rating of 25W or 45W.

Furthermore, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra offers wireless charging and wireless power sharing capabilities, making it convenient for topping up the battery of another device when needed.

All Day Battery Life And Performance Under Heavy Use

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is equipped with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a slightly enhanced version of their premium processor. This chipset delivers a noticeably faster performance, making the phone feel incredibly responsive. Significantly, it also runs cooler than its predecessor, which was prone to heating up during demanding tasks. Whether you're gaming or multitasking, the S23 Ultra offers a smooth experience with minimal hiccups.

Although the S23 Ultra retains the same 5,000mAh battery capacity as its predecessor, Samsung claims that battery life has been improved. The upgraded processor and display optimizations contribute to this enhanced battery efficiency. In practice, the phone does indeed provide a more comfortable day of moderate use and holds up better under heavy usage. If you're engaging in processor-intensive tasks like gaming, you may still need to recharge before the day is over. However, for most users, it offers an all-day battery with a bit more flexibility compared to the previous model.

In addition to its performance and battery improvements, the S23 Ultra excels in connectivity. It offers various features to seamlessly integrate into your digital ecosystem. This includes enhanced DeX integration for Windows PC, the Samsung SmartThings app for managing smart home devices, and Smart View for quick mirroring to a Samsung TV. These features enhance the overall user experience and connectivity of the device.

Elevated Screen Experience With User-Friendly Software

Behold the expansive 6.8-inch Super Dynamic AMOLED screen adorning the front of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, surpassing even the sizable iPhone 14 Pro Max and Pixel 7 Pro in sheer size. Not only is it massive, but its brightness matches its grandeur, boasting a peak brightness of 1,750 nits. The moment you lay eyes on it, the screen's vibrant colors and profound blacks are impossible to miss. This, coupled with its sheer dimensions, delivers an immersive viewing experience beyond what you'd typically expect from a mobile device. Even when the phone rests flat on a desk, the video quality remains outstanding, giving you the sensation of watching content head-on.

The S23 Ultra comes equipped with One UI 5, Samsung's customized version of Android 13. While it represents a relatively minor update from One UI 4, which debuted with the S22 series, it introduces new features like setup modes and routines, along with increased options for customizing the lock screen.

One advantage of Samsung's software is its support policy. You'll enjoy four years of operating system updates and five years of security updates. Although it falls slightly short of Apple's extensive support, which often extends beyond five years for OS upgrades, Samsung's policy ranks among the best within the world of Android manufacturers. This ensures a longer and more secure life for your device.

Versatility And The Comfort Of S Pen

The Galaxy Note series has been discontinued, and its role has been assumed by the top-tier S Series phone. As a result, the S Pen stylus is now discreetly housed in a slot at the bottom of the phone, contributing to the phone's larger size. The stylus is securely held in place, and it conveniently charges its tiny internal battery while docked, ensuring it's always ready for use. While the pen is slim and relatively short, it remains comfortable for note-taking and sketches, although its length may not be ideal for intricate artwork.

The S Pen proves to be a versatile tool, offering options for clipping images and text, translating text, note-taking, sketching, and even serving as a remote shutter button for the phone's camera. It is well-engineered and more versatile than a passive stylus, but how frequently you utilize it depends on your inclination for handwritten notes or drawing on your phone. One appreciated feature is that when you remove the pen while the phone is locked, you can write endless notes on the black screen, erase words with a side button press, and save the notes effortlessly in Samsung Notes.

The responsiveness and precision of the S Pen are remarkable, making the process of jotting things down on your phone swift and efficient. It's not only the lock-screen notes that are speedy; the entire experience is fast. The instant translation feature, activated by hovering the S Pen over text, provides quick results in a pop-up box, often outperforming platform-native translation systems like Twitter's. While the S Pen alone may not be the sole reason to invest in the Galaxy S23 Ultra, it undoubtedly adds significant value. Its speed and accuracy, although not always in constant use, are truly outstanding when you put it to work.

A Complete And Classy Camera Experience

The special feature of the Galaxy S23 Ultra is its commendable camera setup, headlined by Samsung's own ISOCELL HP2 200-megapixel camera. This impressive camera is complemented by a more standard 12MP wide-angle camera offering a broad 120-degree field of view. Additionally, there are two 10MP telephoto cameras, delivering 3x and 10x optical zoom capabilities. The camera setup is further enhanced with optical image stabilization (OIS), laser autofocus, and a Super Resolution Zoom feature that recommends zoom levels of 30x and 100x digital zoom.

While the 200MP camera can capture photos at its full resolution, it's important to note that these images consume significant storage space, taking up at least 40 MB each, in contrast to the typical 4MB to 7MB images captured by the default 12MP mode.

The primary highlight of the Galaxy S23 Ultra's camera isn't solely its 200MP capacity but its noteworthy zoom capabilities. The zoom functionality is truly transformative, setting this camera apart from others in the market. The quality of the 3x and 10x zoom is outstanding, and even the 30x zoom is impressively catching up. While the 100x zoom may not be perfect, it is significantly improved compared to previous versions. The telephoto cameras of the Galaxy S23 Ultra capture images that are hard to replicate on other smartphones, especially in terms of quality. The camera's zoom capabilities provide an enjoyable and unique photography experience.

The main camera captures excellent photos, characterized by vibrant and exciting tones with rich colors and abundant details. However, the camera sometimes tends to oversaturate colors, particularly reds and blues in certain situations. It excels in producing brighter photos with more detail in shadows compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, although this comes at the expense of a natural color palette. The camera also creates images with a distinct atmosphere, surpassing even the renowned Google Pixel 7 Pro in certain aspects.

For those seeking more advanced photography options, the Galaxy S23 Ultra offers the ability to download Samsung's Expert RAW app from the Galaxy App Store. This app extends the camera's potential to capture images in RAW format, suitable for editing in applications like Adobe Lightroom. While Lightroom is the default editor, it may require a subscription to access all its features.

High Resolution Video Recording

The Galaxy S23 Ultra offers the capability to shoot video at an impressive 8K resolution, capturing 24 frames per second (fps), or at a more practical 4K resolution, providing a smoother 60fps experience. Additionally, it showcases a range of specialized modes, including slow-motion, Hyperlapse, and Portrait video.

However, it's important to be mindful of storage limitations when recording at these higher resolutions. Recording just a minute of 8K video consumes approximately 620MB of storage, while 4K video, on average, uses up nearly the same amount, around 550MB. If you frequently record high-resolution videos and also capture 200MP still images, your 256GB storage space can fill up rapidly. To accommodate extensive video recording, it's advisable to consider the 512GB version or even higher storage options.

A Top Contender In The Smartphone Industry

There's a genuine joy in using a phone that prioritizes practicality over gimmicks and maintains a sensible yet stylish and familiar design instead of unnecessary changes aimed at luring buyers. The Galaxy S23 Ultra represents Samsung at its most self-assured, making it a mature and rational choice for anyone seeking peak Android performance and functionality. This combination positions it among the finest phones of the year. It's rivaled only by the iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max in terms of instilling confidence, as many other high-end Android phones often grapple with software issues, good but not exceptional performance, and designs that seem forced and can limit their appeal. While the Galaxy S23 Ultra may come with a substantial price tag, it's an investment worth every penny. In three or even four years, when it continues to perform excellently, you'll realize just how valuable it was.

Pricing And Availability

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has not been officially released in Pakistan as of now.

Once the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra becomes available in the Pakistani market, you will have the option to purchase it from various sources, including:

Authorized Samsung dealers

Well-established online retailers

Mobile network operators like Jazz, Telenor, and Zong

We highly recommend obtaining your Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra from an authorized Samsung dealer or a reputable online store. This ensures that you receive an authentic device compatible with Pakistani mobile networks and backed by a warranty.

The projected price range for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in Pakistan is expected to start from approximately Rs 290,000 and may go up to Rs 370,000.