Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Google Pixel 7 Pro: Super-size your smartphone experience

• Source: Samsung

  Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

  Big in every way

  A large and powerful Samsung flagship

  Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra is bigger and faster than the Pixel 7 Pro, but it does cost quite a bit more. You get an outstanding camera, gorgeous QHD+ AMOLED display, built-in S Pen, and boosted performance from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU. If it’s within your budget, you won’t be disappointed.

  Pros

  • Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 performance
  • Potent cameras
  • Gorgeous QHD+ AMOLED display and integrated S Pen
  • Long update support

  Cons

  • More expensive than the Pixel 7 Pro
  • It’s huge

• Source: Google

  Google Pixel 7 Pro

  A more affordable flagship

  Still one of the best phones in 2023

  Google’s Pixel 7 Pro won’t cost as much as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, yet it’s still one of the best flagship Android phones you can buy. It has a gorgeous design, smooth software, and excellent cameras and supporting software. If you don’t mind not having the biggest, most powerful phone out there, it should make a great alternative to Samsung’s new hardware.

  Pros

  • More affordable than the S23 Ultra
  • High-end cameras and software features
  • Not quite as large as the S23 Ultra
  • Smooth operating with Android 13

  Cons

  • Battery life could be better
  • Performance won’t match the Galaxy S23 Ultra

Samsung’s new Galaxy S23 phones are here, with S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra models giving Android users three flagship choices. They’re shaping up to make a run at the best Android phones, which top spots are currently dominated by Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.

For this comparison, we’re focusing on the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Pixel 7 Pro, both huge phones with gorgeous displays, solid battery life, and snappy performance. They’re both high-end, attractive phones in their own right, but they offer some different features and hardware that might make you lean one way or the other. Let’s see how the two phones compare to help you make an informed decision.

Price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and its siblings were unveiled at Samsung Unpacked 2023, and they’re expected to launch within a few weeks of the announcement. The Ultra model is the most expensive of the three, with prices expected to start at $1,199 for 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. You can also shop models with 12GB of RAM and either 512GB or 1TB of storage. These are expected to start at $1,299 for 512GB and $1,399 for 1TB. As for outside the US, Samsung’s Galaxy phones have traditionally been available in dozens of countries, and that’s not expected to change.

The Pixel 7 Pro is available now and starts at around $882 for a 128GB model at Amazon. You can also find it at Best Buy, where you can pick it up for $799 with immediate activation; otherwise, it costs about $899. Bumping up to 256GB of storage raises the starting price to about $990 at Amazon or $899 at Best Buy with immediate activation. And if you go with the 512GB model, you’re looking at about $1,099 at Amazon or $999 with immediate activation at Best Buy.

If you shop straight from the Google Store, prices are set at $899, $999, and $1,099 for 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB models. The Pixel 7 Pro is available through the major US carriers; you can find it internationally in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, India, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Design

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Google Pixel 7 Pro are both oversized phones, perfect for those who love a huge display and don’t mind often using two hands when operating. The Pixel 7 Pro’s display measures 6.7 inches, while the S23 Ultra edges it out slightly with a 6.8-inch size. The S23 Ultra is somewhat taller and wider, weighing 8.25oz (233.8g) compared to the Pixel 7 Pro’s 7.4oz (212g) weight. Both phones share the same 0.35-inch thickness. Also, both phones come with IP68 ratings for water and dust resistance.

The flat back of the Pixel 7 Pro is divided by a polished aluminum camera bar. This raised bar sets the Pixel 7 Pro apart from the S23 Ultra, which continues the trend of a fairly plain back with a cluster of cameras in the top-left corner. On the front, the phone’s displays have curved edges for a more premium look. The Pixel 7 Pro looks a bit more stylish, but not everyone likes the raised bar.

Samsung’s phones are always near the top of the list when it comes to build quality, and that hasn’t changed for this generation. The Pixel 7 Pro is no slouch, but the S23 Ultra’s lines, seams, and overall solid feel build give it a more premium feel.

Samsung’s attempt to revive the spirit of the Note brand (starting again with the S22 Ultra) has led to the inclusion of an embedded S Pen. This is great news for those who love to jot down notes and make quick sketches on their phone, and it’s a feature unique to Samsung. As for ports, both phones use the standard USB-C, and neither has a headphone jack.

Display

Source: Samsung

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 6.8-inch display is just a bit taller than the Pixel 7 Pro’s 6.7-inch screen, but both have a sharp QHD+ resolution and adaptive refresh rate that can hit up to a 120Hz refresh rate. Both screens also have a small hole punched out near the top for the selfie camera, which helps keep the bezel as thin as possible.

Samsung’s AMOLED 2X panel is built to deliver outstanding color, contrast, and brightness, and you will be able to hit about 1,750 nits of brightness when enjoying HDR content. The Pixel 7 Pro also has an AMOLED display, though its peak brightness tops out at about 1,500 nits. Nevertheless, you should be able to see your phone clearly, even on sunny days.

The Pixel 7 Pro uses Gorilla Glass Victus, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra has jumped to Gorilla Glass Victus 2 with improved drop protection. This should prove more durable against severe damage, though it’s always a good idea to add a great screen protector to protect against scratches.

Software and performance

The Pixel 7 Pro and the Galaxy S22 Ultra were closely matched in terms of performance, with Google’s custom Tensor G2 processor and the Galaxy’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip handling pretty much anything you threw their way. While the Pixel 7 Pro still uses the same Tensor G2 CPU, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has been upgraded to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Its cores have been redistributed to offer more on the performance side, and all cores have a boosted clock speed. Performance across the board for single- and multi-core tasks has been improved. If you’re a gamer, you can expect about 25% improved performance and much better efficiency from the Snapdragon’s new Adreno GPU compared to the Gen 1 chip.

This should give a noticeable performance edge to the Galaxy S23 Ultra, though the Pixel 7 Pro is still a very fast phone that should keep up with basics, multitasking, and gaming. Google only offers 12GB for its Pixel 7 Pro, but it can be combined with 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage space. On the other hand, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has an 8GB memory model with 256GB of storage or 12GB memory models with 512GB or 1TB of storage.

Source: Samsung

The Pixel 7 Pro includes a Google-customized version of Android 13, complete with handy features like call screening by Google Assistant, excellent voice-to-text capabilities, photo unblur, and more. Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra will ship with Android 13 as well, with its own One UI 5.1 layer running on top. This allows for a ton of customization to make your phone as familiar as possible.

As for patches, the Pixel 7 Pro is set up to receive security updates for five years, wrapping up in 2027, and three Android updates ending in 2025. If Samsung does its usual scheduling of updates, you should expect five years of security updates and four Android version updates for the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Battery life

Source: Samsung

In our Google Pixel 7 Pro review, Phones Editor Will Sattelberg came to the conclusion that the 5,000mAh battery was “just good enough to get through a day,” though users who enjoy more daily screen time would likely want to carry around an extra battery pack or charger. While we haven’t yet been able to give the 5,000mAh battery in the new S23 Ultra a hands-on test, we did test the predecessor’s battery in our Galaxy S22 Ultra review. The S22 Ultra’s 5,000mAh battery was able to go for more than 24 hours with about six hours of screen time, and that included everything from standard messaging and browsing to light gaming and video streaming. If this carries forward to the S23 Ultra, it should deliver better battery life than the Pixel 7 Pro.

The Pixel 7 Pro’s charging capabilities also fall behind those of the S23 Ultra. Google’s phone can handle up to 23W of wired power or via the Pixel Stand, while Qi chargers top out at 12W. Samsung boosted the maximum wired charging rate up to 45W in the S22 Ultra, and that has carried forward to the S23 Ultra. This does require a better phone charger with PPS capabilities, but you should see faster charge speeds with the right hardware.

Camera

Debating about phone cameras often comes down to personal preference, and both of these phones have some perks and drawbacks when it comes to shooting pictures. We haven’t yet had a chance to test the Galaxy S23 Ultra cameras, but the specs look quite impressive on paper. The main array on the back of the phone includes a wide-angle 200MP camera with Laser Auto Focus and f/1.7 aperture, an ultra-wide 12MP camera with f/2.2 aperture, and dual 10MP telephoto lenses with f2.4 or f/4.9 aperture. You also get a 3x or 10x optical zoom and a 100x space zoom.

The Pixel 7 Pro has a 50MP primary camera with f/1.85 aperture, a 12MP ultra-wide camera with f/2.2 aperture, and a 48MP telephoto camera with f/3.5 aperture and 5x zoom. It also hits 30x with its Super Res Zoom. The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s selfie camera hits 12MP with an f/2.2 aperture and autofocus, while the Pixel 7 Pro’s selfie camera hits 10.8MP with an f/2.2 aperture and fixed focus. Our Pixel 7 Pro review has an in-depth breakdown of the phone’s cameras, highlighting features like Night Sight, Super Res Zoom, Google’s Photo Unblur, and 4K video quality.

Which phone is right for you?

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra and Google’s Pixel 7 Pro have a lot in common. They are both outstanding 5G phones, they’re both quite large, and they both have gorgeous QHD+ AMOLED displays. You’ll ultimately be happy with either flagship phone, but there are certainly some differences that might sway you one way or the other.

Google’s phone has superb cameras and supporting software, and the Android experience is overall very smooth. However, it’s not as powerful as the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, it doesn’t have as much optional storage capacity, and the battery life might not last as long (though still reliably through a day). The big upshot is that the Pixel 7 Pro costs less than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. If you’re shopping for a high-end phone but don’t want to crack the $1,000 mark, the Pixel 7 Pro delivers a lot for the asking price.

On the other hand, the Galaxy S23 Ultra goes all-out with all features. The screen is slightly larger and can get brighter, the processor is more powerful, and battery life should edge out the Pixel. In addition, the cameras have been boosted this time around, and the phone is expected to launch with Android 13 and Samsung’s One UI 5.1. The inclusion of an embedded S Pen is also a huge selling point, and fans of the Note series will undoubtedly be tempted by the feature. You are, however, going to pay dearly for this phone, and for many people, the extra hundreds of dollars won’t be worth the upgrade.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Want a phone that basically goes all-out with every feature? The Galaxy S23 Ultra costs a lot, but it has an edge in screen size, performance, and versatility thanks to the built-in S Pen.

Source: Google

Google Pixel 7 Pro

Google’s Pixel 7 Pro costs significantly less than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and still delivers one of the best overall Android experiences. The screen, cameras, and performance should be a great fit if you don’t want to pay big money for Samsung.