My Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra love-hate relationship has already begun

TechPhonesAndroid PhonesMy Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra love-hate relationship has already begunMy oft-favourite Android phone is here: but while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is great I’m also disappointed. Here’s whyWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

My oft-favourite Android phone is here: but while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is great I’m also disappointed. Here’s why

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Future / Mike Lowe)

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in hand in Lavender finish

(Image credit: Future / Mike Lowe)

Samsungjust announced its new flagship, theGalaxy S23 Ultra, at its annual bi-annualGalaxy Unpackedevent. I’ve been fortunate to use the phone ahead of time and able to explore many of the goodies it offers.

Thing is, I’m conflicted. I mean, Ilovethe Galaxy S23 Ultra already, because it’s plain and clear it’s a contender for thebest Android phonesright off the bat. I’ve long been an advocate of this flagship, because Samsung is just so good at polishing things into tip-top shape and making thebest phonesaround.

So what’s my conflict? Well, if you put anS23 Ultra next to an S22 Ultraand asked almost anyone to pick their favourite out of the two, they’d probably base it on the colour finish. Because the two handsets are visually almost identical, when I was pining for a more substantial change.

There are differences, of course, in that the S23 Ultra ups the main camera to 200-megapixels and bringsQualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platformto the fore, but that’s more or less your lot. What Ihate, therefore,is thatthe Galaxy S23 Ultra’s price will surprise you, given just how much cheaper the earlier Galaxy S22 is for much of the same (see the shopping widget below and you’ll see exactly what I mean).

Today’s best Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra dealsSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultra$919ViewSee all pricesSamsung Galaxy S22 Ultra$829ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

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I have a feeling that theSamsung GalaxyS23 Ultra is affected and, in some ways, the victim of both those above points. Iloveit, it’s a great phone for sure, but it’s just such a minor incremental upgrade over the S22 Ultra thatpre-ordering an S23 modelis only going to really make sense for most people if you can get a good trade-in or you’re coming from a much older generation device.

I alsohatethat: that the Galaxy S23 Ultra might not get the kudos it deserves because of economic climes, and therefore lower potential demand. So you can see mylove-hateconundrum is double-edged already. I’m not the only one either: my colleague penned a letter pondering whethernow is the time for Samsung Galaxy fans to try a different phone.

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I’ll be using the Galaxy S23 Ultra extensively and loving in its languish, then, but also pondering ifcompared to the Google Pixel 7 Proor similar flagship that there’s any sense in buying one – unless, of course, you’re a major S Pen stylus fan, which is where the S23 Ultra rules.

Today’s best Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, Google Pixel 7 Pro and Oppo Find X5 Pro dealsSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultra$919ViewSee all pricesSamsung Galaxy S22 Ultra$829ViewSee all pricesGoogle Pixel 7 Pro$26.12ViewSee all pricesOppo Find X5 Pro$1,086ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

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