Newsletter
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra launched quite recently, and we used it for a while now. We’ve already compared it to both its predecessor, and the best Apple has to offer at the moment. It’s time to pit it against Google’s flagship. In this article, we’ll compare the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Google Pixel 7 Pro. This should make for an interesting comparison, especially in the camera department.
The two devices look entirely different, while they also have different builds of Android, despite the fact they’re both based on Android 13. There’s a lot to talk about here. We’ll first list their specifications, and will then move to a number of other categories, including design, display, performance, battery, cameras, and audio. So, let’s get going.
Specs
| Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra | Google Pixel 7 Pro | |
| Screen size | 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display (curved, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, LTPO, down to 1Hz, 1,750 nits peak brightness) | 6.7-inch QHD+ curved OLED LTPO display (120Hz refresh rate) |
| Screen resolution | 3080 x 1440 | 3120 x 1440 |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy | Google Tensor G2 |
| RAM | 8GB/12GB (LPDDR5X) | 12GB (LPDDR5) |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB/1TB, non-expandable (UFS 4.0) | 128GB/256GB/512GB, non-expandable (UFS 3.1) |
| Rear cameras | 200MP (f/1.7 aperture, 24mm lens, 0.6um pixel size, multi-directional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS) 12MP (ultrawide, Dual Pixel AF, 120-degree FoV, f/2.2 aperture, 1.4um pixel size) 10MP (telephoto, Dual Pixel AF, OIS, f/2.4 aperture, 1.12um pixel size, 70mm lens, optical zoom 3x) 10MP (telephoto, Dual Pixel AF, OIS, f/4.9 aperture, 1.22um pixel size, 230mm lens, 10x optical zoom, 100x Space Zoom) |
50MP (Samsung ISOCELL GN1 sensor, 1.2um pixel size, f/1.85 aperture, 82-degree FoV) 12MP (ultrawide, 1.25um pixel size, f/2.2 aperture, 125.8-degree FoV, lens correction) 48MP (telephoto, 0.7um pixel size, f/3.5 aperture, 20.6-degree FoV, 5x optical zoom, Super Res Zoom up to 30x) |
| Front cameras | 12MP (f/2.2 aperture, 26mm lens, Dual Pixel PDAF) | 10.8MP (1.22um pixel size, f/2.2 aperture, 92.8-degree FoV, Fixed Focus) |
| Battery | 5,000mAh, non-removable, 45W wired charging, 15W Qi wireless charging, 4.5W Wireless PowerShare Charger not included |
5,000mAh, non-removable, 23W wired charging, 23W wireless charging, reverse wireless charger Charger not included |
| Dimensions | 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9mm | 162.9 x 76.6 x 8.9mm |
| Weight | 234 grams | 212 grams |
| Connectivity | 5G, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C | 5G, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C |
| Security | In-display fingerprint scanner (ultrasonic) | Face Unlock In-display fingerprint scanner (optical) |
| OS | Android 13 One UI 5.1 |
Android 13 |
| Price | $1,199.99/$1,299/$1,399/N/A (1TB) | $899/$999/$1,099 |
| Buy | Samsung |
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Design
As soon as you lay your eyes on these two phones, you’ll notice how different they are, design-wise. The Galaxy S23 Ultra has sharp corners, and looks kind of boxy because of it. The Pixel 7 Pro has curved corners, which makes for an entirely different shape. Both phones have a centered display camera hole, and thin bezels. They both also have curved displays. The curve is not extreme on either phone, though.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a flat top and bottom sides, while its left and right sides are curved, but flatter than they were on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The Pixel 7 Pro has a more regular design, where its back and front sides curve into a thin frame on the side. Neither side of the phone is flat. Their rear camera setups also look entirely different. Each of the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s four cameras protrude separately from the back. The Pixel 7 Pro has a large camera visor on the back, on the other hand. It goes from one side to the other, and it’s covered by metal.
Speaking of which, both of these smartphones are made out of aluminum and glass. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is slightly taller and slightly wider, while they’re equally thick. Samsung’s flagship is, however, over 20 grams heavier. The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s back is protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus 2, while the Pixel 7 Pro uses Gorilla Glass Victus. IP68 certification is a part of both builds, so essentially both phones are water and dust resistant. It’s also worth noting that the Galaxy S23 Ultra has an S Pen silo in the top-left corner.
These are both large devices. They’re both very slippery, but do feel entirely different in the hand. That is not surprising considering that their shapes are different. Neither is easy to use with one hand, but both feel immensely premium in the hand, and also quite wide.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Display
Samsung’s flagship comes with a 6.8-inch QHD+ (3088 x 1440) Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. This display has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and supports HDR10+ content. It gets very bright, up to 1,750 nits of peak brightness. The display is curved, and protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus 2. We’re looking at a ppi of 501 here, and the screen-to-body ratio is almost at 90%.
The Pixel 7 Pro, on the other hand, includes a 6.7-inch QHD+ (3120 x 1440) LTPO AMOLED display. This panel is also curved, and it also offers an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It supports HDR10+ content, and gets up to 1,500 nits of peak brightness. The Gorilla Glass Victus protects this panel, and we’re looking at a ppi of 512 here. The Pixel 7 Pro has a slightly lower screen-to-body ratio than the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but it’s also almost at 90%.
Both of these panels are truly excellent. The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s does get a bit brighter, but not by that much. Both phones can be comfortably used in direct sunlight. The colors are vivid on both phones, and the blacks are deep. The viewing angles are excellent, and the touch response is good. We basically have no complaints on either display. They have been tuned differently, but they’re both truly outstanding. You can’t go wrong here.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Performance
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (for Galaxy) fuels the Galaxy S23 Ultra. That is Qualcomm’s best SoC at the moment. Though the variant for the Galaxy S23 Ultra also comes with some perks, like a higher clock speed. The phone also includes up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage. The Pixel 7 Pro, on the flip side, is fueled by Google’s very own Tensor G2 SoC. The phone comes with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 flash storage.
Now, on paper, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the more powerful device. Not only does it have faster RAM and storage, but it also has a more powerful SoC. Don’t get me wrong, the Tensor G2 is a really good chip, but it cannot compete with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in terms of sheer power. Google did optimize it really well, and it’s technically a flagship processor. It works great in collaboration with Google’s software on the Pixel 7 Pro.
In fact, both of these phones perform admirably in day-to-day tasks. They’re both immensely fast, regardless if you’re browsing, consuming multimedia, multitasking, or processing images. Where you will notice the difference is in gaming. The Galaxy S23 Ultra does have an edge with more demanding games. It won’t even blink. The Pixel 7 Pro may stutter with the most demanding games out there. That chip simply isn’t made for gaming, but it performs admirably in every other way, basically. Overall, both phones offer excellent performance.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Battery
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra includes a 5,000mAh battery, the same as the Pixel 7 Pro. Both of these phones offer really good battery life, but one of them stands out. The Galaxy S23 Ultra went above and beyond in terms of battery life, at least since we started using it. At the time of writing this article, our review wasn’t out yet, but in the days that we’ve handled the phone, it offered outstanding battery life. Regardless of what you’re doing, you’ll be able to get through a whole day with this handset. We went above the 8-hour screen-on-time mark, and the phone still had plenty of juice to keep going, that’s not where the road ends.
The Pixel 7 Pro usually provided us with around 7 hours of screen-on-time, 8 hours on rare occasions. The difference in battery life between the two phones, in our experience, is quite considerable. The Galaxy S23 Ultra turned out to be one of the best battery life smartphones this year, at least as far as mainstream flagship smartphones are concerned. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 definitely has something to do with it, as the OnePlus 11 also provided outstanding results. So, if you want a phone with better battery life, that’s the Galaxy S23 Ultra, at least in our testing.
Both phones support wired, wireless, and reverse wireless charging. The Galaxy S23 Ultra supports 45W wired, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. The Pixel 7 Pro offers support for 23W wired, 23W wireless, and 5W reverse wireless charging. Do note that neither phone comes with a charger, though.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Cameras
The Galaxy S23 Ultra delivered a much-improved camera experience compared to its predecessor. How it compares to the Pixel 7 Pro? Well… these are some of the best camera smartphones in the market, no doubt about it. The Galaxy S23 Ultra combines its main 200MP camera with a 12MP ultrawide camera, and two 10MP cameras. It has one 10MP telephoto, and one 10MP periscope telephoto unit. The Pixel 7 Pro has a 50MP main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 48-megapixel telephoto unit.
Now that we got hardware out of the way, let’s talk performance. These two phones do provide different results, but they’re both excellent. When it comes to the main camera, both phones offer very detailed shots, though the Pixel 7 Pro is a bit more contrasty. The Galaxy S23 Ultra does provide very pleasing images, though, and if you don’t prefer that aggressive contrasty look that Pixels usually provide, you’ll definitely appreciate the Galaxy S23 Ultra daylight shots.
The first thing you’ll notice when it comes to low light shots is that the Galaxy S23 Ultra provides warmer tones in them, even when they’re not supposed to be there. The pictures do look very nice, though, and it all depends on what you’re looking for. Both phones manage to pull out a ton of detail in low light, but the end result is entirely different. The Pixel 7 Pro has that outstanding Night Sight processing, and the pictures do end up looking great. The results will also vary depending on the scene you’re in. We still kind of prefer the Pixel 7 Pro’s low light, shots, at least as far as the main camera is concerned.
Ultrawide cameras on both phones are excellent, to say the least. They perform admirably both during the day and night. We even preferred the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s performance in most cases, when it comes to the ultrawide camera, during the day. The Pixel 7 Pro was our preference in nighttime shots… as far as ultrawide shots are concerned.
The video recording is an entirely different cup of tea. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is a lot better than its predecessor. In fact, we definitely prefer its video recording over the Pixel 7 Pro. The footage is smoother, more natural, and it offers better performance in low light. In most cases, we also preferred the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s selfie camera. The Pixel 7 Pro did perform better in heavy HDR situations, though.
One thing worth noting is that the Pixel 7 Pro still seems to be a better choice for shooting moving objects, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra is not far behind at this point, unlike its predecessor. The Galaxy S23 Ultra does a better job when it comes to higher zoom levels, 10x and beyond especially. As you can see, each phone has its strengths, they trade blows depending on the scenario. One thing is for sure, they’re both excellent camera smartphones.
Audio
Samsung also improved the audio output of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Its speakers are now even louder than the ones on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, and more importantly, a bit clearer, and slightly bassier. The Pixel 7 Pro has a good set of speakers, but it cannot match up to the Galaxy S23 Ultra in that regard.
Neither of these two devices has a 3.5mm headphone jack. You’ll have to rely on their Type-C ports for wired audio. If you prefer wireless audio, however, the Galaxy S23 Ultra supports Bluetooth 5.3, while the Pixel 7 Pro supports Bluetooth 5.2.