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Dave245

macrumors G3
Sep 15, 2013
9,852
8,079
IMG_4383.jpeg
My S23 Ultra has arrived, it’s so nice in the cream colour 😍
 

majkom

macrumors 68000
May 3, 2011
1,943
1,251
Oh boy… fortunatelly, i resisted as i did not get code for another discount… i cant leave ios anyway.. but reaaaly like ultra soo much (and yes, love possibilities ultra offers - gamepass, dex, usb disk like behaviour…)… shame samsung cant make camera faster to catch moving objects as good as pixel or iphone..
 

Dave245

macrumors G3
Sep 15, 2013
9,852
8,079
Oh boy… fortunatelly, i resisted as i did not get code for another discount… i cant leave ios anyway.. but reaaaly like ultra soo much (and yes, love possibilities ultra offers - gamepass, dex, usb disk like behaviour…)… shame samsung cant make camera faster to catch moving objects as good as pixel or iphone..

The camera is one of the main reasons I’m back, the pictures just look better than my 14 Pro Max. Don’t get me wrong I love iOS and I will still be using my iPhone, My S23 Ultra will be my second phone.

I do love the fact that Samsung give something and their promotional deals are great, at least here in the UK. I got the Buds Pro 2 for free, the case and the wireless charger I got for 15% off with a further 10% off the phone.
 
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Dave245

macrumors G3
Sep 15, 2013
9,852
8,079
I would also say that the Buds Pro 2 are great, they are on par with if not better than the Air Pods Pro 2. i’ve been listening to Shane MacGowan and the Pogues for the last couple of hours and i can hear everything :), considering these were free with my S23 Ultra I’m more than happy.
 

mjschabow

macrumors 601
Dec 25, 2013
4,924
6,239
The camera is one of the main reasons I’m back, the pictures just look better than my 14 Pro Max. Don’t get me wrong I love iOS and I will still be using my iPhone, My S23 Ultra will be my second phone.

I do love the fact that Samsung give something and their promotional deals are great, at least here in the UK. I got the Buds Pro 2 for free, the case and the wireless charger I got for 15% off with a further 10% off the phone.
I think the camera on the S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro are about even, but one big advantage is the 10x Zoom which I actually find myself using way more than I ever thought I would. It's been a joy to use at my son's soccer games and I'm sure it'll come in handy when I see the Foo Fighters in a couple weeks too!
 

Dave245

macrumors G3
Sep 15, 2013
9,852
8,079
I think the camera on the S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro are about even, but one big advantage is the 10x Zoom which I actually find myself using way more than I ever thought I would. It's been a joy to use at my son's soccer games and I'm sure it'll come in handy when I see the Foo Fighters in a couple weeks too!

Yea the zoom is what i meant, but also that 200mp, zooming in holds so much detail it’s crazy. I’m sure Apple will do something in September to make the iPhone camera great, there are rumours of a zoom lens but only to 5X so I’m not sure if it will compete with the S23 Ultra.
 

mjschabow

macrumors 601
Dec 25, 2013
4,924
6,239
Yea the zoom is what i meant, but also that 200mp, zooming in holds so much detail it’s crazy. I’m sure Apple will do something in September to make the iPhone camera great, there are rumours of a zoom lens but only to 5X so I’m not sure if it will compete with the S23 Ultra.
Yeah and they're so focused on AR that I'm not holding my breath for anything good enough to entice me, but we'll see. Apple Marketing always seems to get me.
 
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Dave245

macrumors G3
Sep 15, 2013
9,852
8,079
Yeah and they're so focused on AR that I'm not holding my breath for anything good enough to entice me, but we'll see. Apple Marketing always seems to get me.

That’s the same as me, im like nah i wont upgrade this year, i then watch the event and I’m like take my money Tim 🤣
 
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SteveJUAE

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2015
4,513
4,753
Land of Smiles
Oh boy… fortunatelly, i resisted as i did not get code for another discount… i cant leave ios anyway.. but reaaaly like ultra soo much (and yes, love possibilities ultra offers - gamepass, dex, usb disk like behaviour…)… shame samsung cant make camera faster to catch moving objects as good as pixel or iphone..
This is simply untrue

The Iphone burst mode is only 10fps Samsung over 30fps,

However

Some people get caught out on Samsung default settings with moving objects in low light, change these and there should be no problems
 

MaskedCarrot

macrumors 6502
Mar 25, 2009
464
270
Northern VA
Oh boy… fortunatelly, i resisted as i did not get code for another discount… i cant leave ios anyway.. but reaaaly like ultra soo much (and yes, love possibilities ultra offers - gamepass, dex, usb disk like behaviour…)… shame samsung cant make camera faster to catch moving objects as good as pixel or iphone..
I thought I would be like this when I got my S23U back in March. I thought I just needed an Android fix and would go back to my iPhone 14 PM. Wow was I wrong. I really like the S23U much better. Now I feel a little disgusted when I turn on my iPhone. Everything seems so slow and sluggish on it.

I am not even interested in the iPhone 15 now when it comes out and won't be getting it. But I will get the new S24U when it comes out next year.

I still have an iMac which I am keeping. I am not a big fan of Windows these days and can't stand Windows 11. I still have an iPad that the family uses. So I like the Apple ecosystem for most things, but for the phone, I really like the S23U much better.
 

mjschabow

macrumors 601
Dec 25, 2013
4,924
6,239
I thought I would be like this when I got my S23U back in March. I thought I just needed an Android fix and would go back to my iPhone 14 PM. Wow was I wrong. I really like the S23U much better. Now I feel a little disgusted when I turn on my iPhone. Everything seems so slow and sluggish on it.

I am not even interested in the iPhone 15 now when it comes out and won't be getting it. But I will get the new S24U when it comes out next year.

I still have an iMac which I am keeping. I am not a big fan of Windows these days and can't stand Windows 11. I still have an iPad that the family uses. So I like the Apple ecosystem for most things, but for the phone, I really like the S23U much better.
It's crazy to say that I'm in the same boat. I really just figured I'd do what I always do, but almost 5 months later, I'm still happily using this phone!
 
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Tig Bitties

macrumors 603
Sep 6, 2012
5,517
5,692
I'm a diehard Nexus Pixel guy, but my recent trip this week to Yosemite National Park and my Pixel 7 Pro's horrible battery life pissed me off. Plus camera zoom is not that good on the 7 Pro. And the displays average brightness outdoors didn't help.

Is the S23 Ultra known to have great battery life?
 

hockeyfan81

macrumors 6502
Jun 17, 2014
280
341
I'm a diehard Nexus Pixel guy, but my recent trip this week to Yosemite National Park and my Pixel 7 Pro's horrible battery life pissed me off. Plus camera zoom is not that good on the 7 Pro. And the displays average brightness outdoors didn't help.

Is the S23 Ultra known to have great battery life?
Amazing battery life, I'm yet to kill my battery down to zero.
 

kkh786

macrumors 6502a
Nov 25, 2013
734
816
United Kingdom
The camera is one of the main reasons I’m back, the pictures just look better than my 14 Pro Max. Don’t get me wrong I love iOS and I will still be using my iPhone, My S23 Ultra will be my second phone.

I do love the fact that Samsung give something and their promotional deals are great, at least here in the UK. I got the Buds Pro 2 for free, the case and the wireless charger I got for 15% off with a further 10% off the phone.

I can attest to this sentiment. I was worried about the camera on the S23 Ultra but it is definitely on par with my iPhone 14 Pro. Video = TBC

The only thing now is the Apple Watch. I still need it for health and fitness features. Have swapped the wife’s iPhone 13 Pro with the my iPhone 14 Pro as my Apple Watch surrogate. She’s noticed the camera upgrade for her coming from the iPhone 13 Pro. So win win.

I will see what September brings but for now I will use the S23 Ultra with the Apple Watch for health and fitness.. and try to live without the notifications on my wrist.

The battery life has been better than I could have imagined especially after using the deep sleep feature in battery management for certain battery hogging apps.

Another note, found a gem of a case in the Ringke Onyx at Amazon UK. I would recommend it for anyone looking to not add bulk but loads of grip.
 
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Technerd108

macrumors 68040
Oct 24, 2021
3,062
4,313
I'm a diehard Nexus Pixel guy, but my recent trip this week to Yosemite National Park and my Pixel 7 Pro's horrible battery life pissed me off. Plus camera zoom is not that good on the 7 Pro. And the displays average brightness outdoors didn't help.

Is the S23 Ultra known to have great battery life?
The s23 ultra has very good battery life. One of the best Android phones I have ever had.

I haven't had an issue with cameras on either phone but the zoom on the s23 ultra is pretty stellar.

Still the Pixel is the best camera for closer shots and fast action shots.

I am really hoping that the Pixel 8 Pro and Tensor G3 improves efficiency, battery life and thermal performance.

You can tweak the Pixel 7 Pro to get better battery life but one of the tweaks is lowering screen brightness which wouldn't help in outdoors.

The s23u you can use any way you want and forget about settings as the battery just keeps going.
 

Tig Bitties

macrumors 603
Sep 6, 2012
5,517
5,692
@Tig Bitties I would definitely recommend the S23U but I think I know you a little bit by now from our interactions on here and as good as this phone is, you would probably return it or not. Be happy TBH. I just feel like you said you are a Pixel guy...

Yeah fair point.

Man I wish the GPE program was still around. Back in the day Google allowed stock Android for current flagship phones from Samsung and HTC. So you got the best hardware in a phone, with the unbloated vanilla Android.
 

Bkdodger

macrumors 68040
Jun 6, 2019
3,624
6,055
Yeah fair point.

Man I wish the GPE program was still around. Back in the day Google allowed stock Android for current flagship phones from Samsung and HTC. So you got the best hardware in a phone, with the unbloated vanilla Android.
Yea man no kidding was a great program
 
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Technerd108

macrumors 68040
Oct 24, 2021
3,062
4,313
Yeah fair point.

Man I wish the GPE program was still around. Back in the day Google allowed stock Android for current flagship phones from Samsung and HTC. So you got the best hardware in a phone, with the unbloated vanilla Android.
I remember those days! All I can say is the Pixel 7 Pro is a great phone and when you consider the price-specially during sales it cost less than a regular S23. I don't think there is a better phone when value is considered and we are not talking carrier discounts.

I have a Google 7 Pro and the S23 ultra and I got them both with little money out of pocket. I sold a Galaxy s22 plus and got a killer promotion from Google Fi on Pre-order to get the s23 ultra and traded in my iPhone 13 Pro Max for the Pixel 7 Pro. I am rather strapped for money as a single parent and extremely limited income so I have to jump through hoops in order to get new tech.

All that being said both phones are really great. I do prefer the S23 ultra because of the hardware. The squared screen, less curved display, the faster processor, the speakers, the s pen, the cameras all make an incredible package. The UI Samsung has is vastly improved from the days of touchwiz. That is not to say it is perfect. But there are actually some things I actually like better on One UI vs Pixel UI and some things I prefer on Pixel UI. However if I had to choose I would probably just use Pixel UI. The AI features are just better on the Pixel-including call screening. The camera post processing and fast action shots are better on the Pixel. I like the more simplified UI. However there are some annoyances like Google apps like Google TV which is pretty useless and I can't uninstall it. Other Google apps for products I don't own that I can't uninstall or disable. Overall Pixel UI is clean but it is not perfect and it suffers from the same problem One UI has which is apps you can't uninstall or disable. At least with Samsung I can put those apps in deep sleep or sleep which I can't do on Pixel UI.

So the bloat issue is now a problem on all phones.

So if you are even a little bit interested in Samsung s23 ultra I would see if the summer sales are good enough to bite. Or you could wait until November sales. But then the s24 ultra will be right around the corner and pre-order deals are usually pretty good. My point is that I think your looking at Samsung with a lense from the past. Sure overall Pixel UI is more slim but the Tensor is not as fast as the 8 gen 2. So it is kind of a wash. One UI is vastly better optimized than even a year ago. Samsung always discounts their phones and it is pretty amazing how you can upgrade with them. They really do have the best hardware of any OEM. Sure the Chinese phones like Xiaomi, Oppo, and the like may have a couple stand out features like 1 inch sensor or crazy optical zoom, faster charging speeds but the software is the catch 22. They have poor update frequency and support overall, and terrible optimization. They have a ton of bloatware. They have zero warranty here, poor cellular band support in USA, and no customer service in the USA so for me they are all a non starter unless they give me the phone and even then I have some trust issues with the software and privacy.

BUT if you truly are a Pixel guy I get it. I really do love my Pixel and definitely plan on getting the Pixel 8 Pro. I just hope that Google doesn't give us crap trade in values because resale for the P7P is pretty bad. That being said there are so many improvements that I want. Flat screen, better screen tech-which is really important because the P7P screen chews through battery, faster more efficient Tensor G3- sure it may not best the 8 gen 2 or be as fast as 8 gen 3, but as long as it is close to 8 gen 2 in speed and efficiency I will be very happy. Better cameras and possibly a Dex like interface. I am hoping but not very convinced Google will also use ddr5x and ufs 4.0. If they do this will also improve speed, app loading times and give better battery life. So if Google does all of these things and is rumored to keep the 5000mah battery we might get close to s23 u level performance and battery life. This would be a game changer for me.

I have been using my Pixel as my primary phone and I used 1080p resolution, adaptive battery, adaptive brightness and I was shocked at the battery life. It still heats up but it was like a completely different phone and didn't change the performance like using battery saver. You might want to try it and see how it works for you. Or maybe 2 out of the 3?
 
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