Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Which is better?
Samsung has updated its flagship line of smartphones for 2023, with the new models led by the pare Galaxy s23 ultra. But, how does it compare to Google's best phone, the Pixel 7 Pro?
Both of these popular Android phones have the perfect specs for mobile photography, but that doesn't mean they're the same in any way.
We've broken down all the key differences between the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Pixel 7 Pro, so you can get an idea of which device is the best choice for you.
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The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a much larger camera
Perhaps the most exciting feature of the Galaxy S23 Ultra is its massive 200-megapixel camera.
The camera uses 16-in-1 pixel binning technology to achieve this size and dramatically improve image detail and lighting, with low-light photography being the biggest benefit here.
We haven't had a chance to test the camera to its full potential yet, but our first impressions have been positive. Low-light images are clearer with sharper detail, selfies should appear more realistic, and Samsung's Moon Shot feature supports 100x zoom for detailed images using AI.
Along with the 200-megapixel lens, there's a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a pair of 10-megapixel telephoto lenses. There is also a 12 megapixel camera on the front of the phone.
The Pixel 7 Pro is also a fantastic camera phone with a 50-megapixel wide lens, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 48-megapixel telephoto lens.
The device is packed with software photography features including Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Motion Mode, Real Tone, and Night Sight, to name a few.
The Pixel 7 Pro is currently our favorite phone for photos in our list of best camera phones, so we'll have to see if the Galaxy S23 Ultra can beat Google's flagship in that regard.
They have different custom chips
The Galaxy S23 Ultra and Pixel 7 Pro are powered by custom chipsets – the Pixel 7 Pro by Google's Tensor G2 chip and the Galaxy S23 Ultra by a special version of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 designed for Galaxy phones.
This is the first time that Samsung has collaborated with Qualcomm in this way and marks the end of the Snapdragon/Exynos differentiation in the United States and Europe.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy is a version of the chipset that has been enhanced for gaming with a higher clocked CPU and improved Adreno GPU compared to the standard 8 Gen 2. This means that it should offer better performance and energy efficiency than other devices. powered by flagship Snapdragon chip.
As for the Pixel 7 Pro, Google opted for its own Tensor G2. It's a chipset designed to support Google's suite of AI features, such as Face Unblur, translation, and transcription, to compete with the performance of the Snapdragon chip.
The Pixel 7 Pro has up to 3 days of battery life
One of the neatest features of the Pixel 7 Pro is its Extreme Power Saver mode. This allows the phone to last up to 72 hours – or 3 days – on a single charge. Of course, this will severely limit the phone's performance, so you probably won't be using the mode on a day-to-day basis, but it's good to know it's there when you really need it.
For daily use, the Pixel 7 Pro will likely require overnight charging, which is pretty standard for a flagship mobile.
We haven't had a chance to test the Galaxy S23 Ultra's battery yet, but hopefully it will see some improvements over the Galaxy S22 Ultra. While the phone had the same battery size as the Pixel 7 Pro at 5000mAh, it fell behind in terms of battery life and was our main issue with the 2022 smartphone.
Hopefully the Galaxy S23 Ultra will see a big improvement in this area, but you'll have to wait for our full review to find out.
The Pixel 7 Pro is much cheaper
While all of these specs and features are important, cost will undoubtedly play a big part in your decision.
One of the advantages of choosing a Pixel phone is that it is significantly cheaper than other flagships on the market. Pixel 7 Pro prices start at £849 for 128GB or £949 for 256GB.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will set you back £1249 for its cheapest model, which comes with 256GB of storage. That's over £300 more for the equivalent number of gigabytes.
