Samsung galaxy S23 and S23 ultra

[Tulani]

View attachment 2151159

keep the money for ZF5

 

[Dave245]

keep the money for ZF5

I'm not sold on foldable's, altho if Samsung could find a way of putting the S Pen inside the fold like they have with the S22 Ultra, I would consider giving it a try.

 

[Tulani]

I'm not sold on foldable's, altho if Samsung could find a way of putting the S Pen inside the fold like they have with the S22 Ultra, I would consider giving it a try.

That plus a disappearing crease and I am in.

 

[keithop]

That plus a disappearing crease and I am in.

agreed... rumours of that happening this year and if so, I'll definitely consider it for the first time

 

[5105973]

My husband has the Fold 3 and uses it a lot. He says some apps need work. But overall he loves it. iPhone is still his primary phone but he does do a lot of work on the Fold. And he likes it for content consumption.

 

[mjschabow]

My husband has the Fold 3 and uses it a lot. He says some apps need work. But overall he loves it. iPhone is still his primary phone but he does do a lot of work on the Fold. And he likes it for content consumption.

I was able to play around with a friend's Fold 4 and quite honestly, I finally get it. Using two apps at once, like Twitter and Facebook. Or google searching something while in another app. There's no multitasking experience like it. It's a bit to get used to with cameras and just general usability but it's a really good experience. My friend that has it says they'd never go back to a slab phone.

 

[ian87w]

i see that you still own the regular S21. do you intend to keep it. i still have the purple one as well

Oh yeah. I love my S21. Considering it will still get 2 more Android upgrades, I’m keeping it. It’s still smooth, and I don’t have any problems with the performance. Plus I actually like the plastic back as it makes the device lighter and I’m less worried about breaking the back. By the time I need to upgrade, hopefully we will be at 2nm.

 

[Tulani]

Oh yeah. I love my S21. Considering it will still get 2 more Android upgrades, I’m keeping it. It’s still smooth, and I don’t have any problems with the performance. Plus I actually like the plastic back as it makes the device lighter and I’m less worried about breaking the back. By the time I need to upgrade, hopefully we will be at 2nm.

Plus it has had the better battery life than the equivalent S22 and now S23.

 

[Tulani]

I was able to play around with a friend's Fold 4 and quite honestly, I finally get it. Using two apps at once, like Twitter and Facebook. Or google searching something while in another app. There's no multitasking experience like it. It's a bit to get used to with cameras and just general usability but it's a really good experience. My friend that has it says they'd never go back to a slab phone.

Even Apple Executives have been secretly reviewing it

 

[keithop]

I was able to play around with a friend's Fold 4 and quite honestly, I finally get it. Using two apps at once, like Twitter and Facebook. Or google searching something while in another app. There's no multitasking experience like it. It's a bit to get used to with cameras and just general usability but it's a really good experience. My friend that has it says they'd never go back to a slab phone.

I really like the sound of that..... I could even put up with the fold but I really would like the s-pen integrated into it.

 

[mjschabow]

I really like the sound of that..... I could even put up with the fold but I really would like the s-pen integrated into it.

On the flip side, Samsung is about to announce cool new cameras tomorrow that the Fold doesn't have, and the Pixel still beats both of them for cameras. So a lot to process there.

 

[keithop]

On the flip side, Samsung is about to announce cool new cameras tomorrow that the Fold doesn't have, and the Pixel still beats both of them for cameras. So a lot to process there.

that's why I'm going to pick up an s23ultra to try the camera... although perhaps the fold5 will catch up? I guess not but still.

The pixel didn't really beat it for me. Certainly there was a great DSLR look from a lot of the pixel photos which was the best look I'd seen from a phone camera but then some shots had a terrible AI processed mess like you could see where it had fallen down on the top half of a scene for example.

at the price point, and with the admittedly amazing ai, the pixel 7 certainly does take some beating but then so does the detail from the 100mp, soon to be 200mp, ultra camera zoom.

 

[mjschabow]

that's why I'm going to pick up an s23ultra to try the camera... although perhaps the fold5 will catch up? I guess not but still.

The pixel didn't really beat it for me. Certainly there was a great DSLR look from a lot of the pixel photos which was the best look I'd seen from a phone camera but then some shots had a terrible AI processed mess like you could see where it had fallen down on the top half of a scene for example.

at the price point, and with the admittedly amazing ai, the pixel 7 certainly does take some beating but then so does the detail from the 100mp, soon to be 200mp, ultra camera zoom.

Very true. The one area where I've really struggled having an iPhone is when my son plays soccer. I'm trying to get some good zoom shots and simply can't. The 10x Optical Zoom would really come in handy.

 

[5105973]

Very true. The one area where I've really struggled having an iPhone is when my son plays soccer. I'm trying to get some good zoom shots and simply can't. The 10x Optical Zoom would really come in handy.

Oh goodness, I have so many photos and videos of the kids chasing soccer balls or playing field hockey and they all look like little ants. Because all I had was the zoom on the iPhone 6-8 Plus. We had a video camera but lugging that around in all the chaos of these massive team trips…nah.

 

[ian87w]

Plus it has had the better battery life than the equivalent S22 and now S23.

Samsung reduce the battery size for the S22 because they switched to glass back and to keep the weight reasonable. So battery has to be smaller. This is due to people complaining about the plastic back on the S21. So you have more fragile phone with less battery life. People have weird preferences sometimes. This is also why I hope Samsung keeps making the FE as the FE still use plastic back.

 

[Technerd108]

Samsung reduce the battery size for the S22 because they switched to glass back and to keep the weight reasonable. So battery has to be smaller. This is due to people complaining about the plastic back on the S21. So you have more fragile phone with less battery life. People have weird preferences sometimes. This is also why I hope Samsung keeps making the FE as the FE still use plastic back.

I completely agree. On one hand glass is better for the environment and that is always good considering how many phones are produced each year. That in itself is worth the fragility and weight BUT glasstic was a pretty good alternative. Not as scratch resistant but much tougher and lighter.

I don't know how ceramic holds up in terms of fragility or weight but I think it would be better on both accounts and should be more scratch resistant as well and still much better for the environment than plastic.

In terms of battery life I don't think that Samsung used a smaller battery to reduce weight but based on metrics given by Qualcomm about the efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 gen 1. It was supposed to be more efficient than the processor it replaced which turned out not to be true.

I don't think there will be a return of glasstic backs at least not for the mainstream s series. Who knows if an FE will be produced again. I loved the s20FE I had. With the economy going south and possibly getting worse it would make sense for Samsung to release another FE although you know they don't want to. They would rather sell you an Ultra.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Not just 1080p AMOLED but high resolution Amoled!

The Galaxy books are really nice. The only thing that has kept me from buying one is the thinness of the screen. It is so thin and flexible that I feel it is going to break. The other thing is the speakers are on the bottom of the device.

Otherwise they are really beautiful, clean looking laptops. The cooling solution is not the best either and because they are so thin don't always get the most power out of the CPU.

If the pricing was a bit better and they re-enforced the screen build I would buy one in a heartbeat. The additional Samsung apps are similar to the phone. Some are useful and some are redundant but the integration between your Galaxy phone and tablet and the Galaxy book are very nice.

I almost bought last year's Galaxy book but the 1080p screen on a 15.6" screen was a deal breaker considering the cost. Plus the delicate screen and bottom firing speakers. They are very nice laptops and I think depending on pricing these should sell very well. The AMOLED screens Samsung used are really beautiful!

Never had any problems with the 3 Samsung books screens in my family

You can search here on MR and find equally a number of cracked screens on MB/MBA

Being ridged is no guarantee and most touch screen laptops already have Gorilla Glass or similar protection not unlike our phones

 

[ian87w]

I completely agree. On one hand glass is better for the environment and that is always good considering how many phones are produced each year. That in itself is worth the fragility and weight BUT glasstic was a pretty good alternative. Not as scratch resistant but much tougher and lighter.

I don't know how ceramic holds up in terms of fragility or weight but I think it would be better on both accounts and should be more scratch resistant as well and still much better for the environment than plastic.

In terms of battery life I don't think that Samsung used a smaller battery to reduce weight but based on metrics given by Qualcomm about the efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 gen 1. It was supposed to be more efficient than the processor it replaced which turned out not to be true.

I don't think there will be a return of glasstic backs at least not for the mainstream s series. Who knows if an FE will be produced again. I loved the s20FE I had. With the economy going south and possibly getting worse it would make sense for Samsung to release another FE although you know they don't want to. They would rather sell you an Ultra.

Yeah, I think by them eliminating the A74 and FE, they will force people who want anything more than the A54 to get the S23, a force upselling.

 

[The Game 161]

If they haven't improved the battery life, I will just stick to what I have now.

The battery is the one thing I will say it's a lock to be improved.

Camera? I think we will see very small differences but I will pick one up for testing and compare with my 14 pro max and pixel 7 pro

 

[Dave245]

The battery is the one thing I will say it's a lock to be improved.

Camera? I think we will see very small differences but I will pick one up for testing and compare with my 14 pro max and pixel 7 pro

You think they are going to improve the battery? Are we taking hours difference do you think? It's literally the number 1 thing I want Samsung too improve.

Camera I'm happy for them to just improve it slightly, I already love the one on my S22 Ultra. Do you think they will improve the quality of the zoom?

It may be worth it for us in the UK just because of the Snap Dragon chip and no more exynos. But as I said, it will all depend on battery life for me.

 

[ian87w]

The battery is the one thing I will say it's a lock to be improved.

Camera? I think we will see very small differences but I will pick one up for testing and compare with my 14 pro max and pixel 7 pro

If Samsung used TMSC fabbed SD8gen2, it’s going to have efficiency rivaling Apple’s A15. It’s a huge leap over the bad Samsung fabbed 8gen1. But if they wanted to fab the chip themselves, that would be a huge red flag.

 

[The Game 161]

You think they are going to improve the battery? Are we taking hours difference do you think? It's literally the number 1 thing I want Samsung too improve.

Camera I'm happy for them to just improve it slightly, I already love the one on my S22 Ultra. Do you think they will improve the quality of the zoom?

It may be worth it for us in the UK just because of the Snap Dragon chip and no more exynos. But as I said, it will all depend on battery life for me.

I see no reason why we can’t see a 1-2 hour difference with how efficient the chip will be.

I think zoom will certainly be more refined and sharper at 20x and 30x. sharpness I imagine will be good when cropping in thanks to the 200mp

 

[Dave245]

I see no reason why we can’t see a 1-2 hour difference with how efficient the chip will be.

I think zoom will certainly be more refined and sharper at 20x and 30x. sharpness I imagine will be good when cropping in thanks to the 200mp

So not iPhone 13 Pro Max or 14 Pro Max level then. I'm glad that Samsung have kept the same design though, I love the design of my S22 Ultra. In my opinion it's a better design than my 14 Pro Max.

It will be interesting to see what having a SD version is like, instead of the Exynos. Also seeing what pre-order gifts we get and most of all what the trade in will be like for my 22 Ultra.

 

[The Game 161]

So not iPhone 13 Pro Max or 14 Pro Max level then. I'm glad that Samsung have kept the same design though, I love the design of my S22 Ultra. In my opinion it's a better design than my 14 Pro Max.

It will be interesting to see what having a SD version is like, instead of the Exynos. Also seeing what pre-order gifts we get and most of all what the trade in will be like for my 22 Ultra.

I think it will be close.

 

[ian87w]

So not iPhone 13 Pro Max or 14 Pro Max level then. I'm glad that Samsung have kept the same design though, I love the design of my S22 Ultra. In my opinion it's a better design than my 14 Pro Max.

It will be interesting to see what having a SD version is like, instead of the Exynos. Also seeing what pre-order gifts we get and most of all what the trade in will be like for my 22 Ultra.

TMSC fabbed 8gen2 will have CPU efficiency rivaling A15, and GPU efficiency better than A16. The one who is slacking actually is Apple, which is why they use A15 on the iPhone 14. A16 offers almost no improvement (and sometimes worse) than A15 in efficiency.