Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Long-Term Review: Can It Hold Up Against The Upcoming Foldable Devices? 

It’s the time of the year when everyone in the tech industry is gearing up for the second Galaxy Unpacked event of 2023. This time it is in Samsung’s home country of South Korea, which is a big deal. It’s the event with the shiny new foldable - Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold - devices. 

Let’s rewind for a minute. It was back in February when Samsung’s first Galaxy Unpacked event of the year brought the Galaxy S23 Ultra to the market. I’ve been using that device daily since its launch and I’m here to tell you that, despite the arrival of some shiny new foldable smartphones, the Galaxy S23 Ultra isn’t going away. Furthermore, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has one ace up its sleeve that no competitor does. Not Apple, not Xiaomi, not Motorola, no one! 

In short, I will tell you why it still makes sense to buy the Galaxy S23 Ultra, if you don’t need the bigger screen real estate. 

A Trip To London 

Yes, it took me a trip to London and five days at The Oval cricket ground to truly unlock the Galaxy S23’s potential. I travelled to London in early June to witness the World Test Championship final between India and Australia at The Oval in London. I travelled, on all five days, to the stadium. There were a couple of different smartphones in my bag but none of them stood out like the Galaxy S23 Ultra. 

Standing up from my seat near the pavilion, I took several shots of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Ravindra Jadeja, the umpires, the crowd and others. While the regular photos (non-zoomed-in) were comparable to other smartphones’ photos, it was when I zoomed in that I knew Samsung was the king of the hill. 

I took several 3x, 10x, 20x and even 30x shots of the players' batting, bowling and fielding. There’s this one particular photo of Virat Kohli, zoomed in, that is just incredible to see over and over again. I’ve shown that photo to so many people since and they’ve been blown away by just how clear and crisp it is, despite me being so far away when taking the photo.

I ended up, over the five days of the Test, taking 300 and more photos. Without the Galaxy S23 Ultra, I’d be squinting to see who the players were in various photos. 

2x Portrait Shots 

In one of the most recent updates, Samsung introduced a 2x (previously only 1x and 3x) portrait mode and this has changed the game. As many on Twitter have pointed out, 2x is the “sweet spot” for portrait photography and I thoroughly agree. 

One doesn’t have to move many steps backwards, nor does one have to find the perfect angle. With 2x zoom, the subject mostly fits into the frame without one having to move. It works on both human subjects and objects. 

Bigger Screen Real Estate Or Better Cameras? 

It’s easy to pit the Galaxy S23 Ultra against the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a device that has an outer screen for use when folded, and bigger real screen real estate (aka a tablet) when unfolded. Its screen is its USP and it sacrifices with the cameras. 

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a flip phone. It folds to seamlessly fit in any pocket and is lightweight. Again, its USP is its weight, and it also sacrifices its cameras. 

This isn’t to say that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 won’t have good cameras or aren’t good smartphones. In fact, I’ve taken some excellent photos with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and I’ve really enjoyed the form factors of both those smartphones. Nonetheless, these upcoming foldable and flip smartphones aren’t going to have the capacity to compete with the Galaxy S23 Ultra and its insane camera qualities, mainly how it can zoom in so far without any loss in quality. 

The Galaxy S23 Ultra Has Held Up Well 

Yes, it’s been many months since the launch of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but I can safely say that I’ve had zero issues since Day 1 and that the device has held up better than I expected. The battery life has consistently given me about seven hours of on-screen time and has lasted over a day before having to charge it. 

The Galaxy S23 Ultra hasn’t gotten too hot to handle, nor has it lagged. Samsung has brought in consistent updates to keep the phone as fresh as it was on Day 1. In fact, it’s gotten better in several departments since the launch. Yes, I don’t use the S-Pen as much as I should, but beyond that, it is a fantastic phone. 

The Galaxy S23 Ultra and the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 all have their own specific target audiences. Nonetheless, these three phones showcase the pinnacle of Samsung’s research and development and each is a winner in their own right. 

It’s just that the Galaxy S23 Ultra has an edge in the camera (read zoom) department (except for the Xiaomi 13 Pro and it’s insanely good black and white portrait shots) and that’s where I’ve been sold for the past couple of months. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is a fantastic device with a feature no other competitor can compete with.  

The Galaxy S23 Ultra may not be the perfect phone, but it’s pretty high on the list of best smartphones.