Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2023, with display 6.8 with chipsetSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon), Manufactured in March, 2026with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4900mAh
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
  • Higher pixel density: 516ppi
  • Lighter design: 190g vs 233g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.3

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.8 in 6.7 in
Resolution 1440x3088 pixels 1440x3120 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.3:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 500 ppi 516 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 850 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5 % 91.7 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1269 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
n/a
sRGB gamut96.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time2 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.4 mm (6.43 in) 158.4 mm (6.24 in)
Width 78.1 mm (3.07 in) 75.8 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.3 mm (0.29 in)
Weight 233 g (8.22 oz) 190 g (6.7 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Gray
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- Purple
- White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
89.5 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
91.7 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 3360 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 3/2 (Cortex-A510)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A710)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A715)
- 1/3.2 (Cortex-X3)
- 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Hexagon
Graphics Adreno 740 Adreno 840
GPU Cores 1536 1536
GPU Frequency 719 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 2089 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1976
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
3393
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
5221
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
11515
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)19763393
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)522111515
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1541246
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
3670711
CPU3710841070381
GPU6007321431843
Memory299004420557
UX270462747930
NanoReview Score15412463670711
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
12160
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
n/a
Max Surface Temp.34.8 °Cn/a
Stability64 %n/a
Graphics Test72 fpsn/a
Graphics Score12160n/a
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
16130
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
n/a
Writing score19799n/a
Web score16101n/a
Video editing7815n/a
Data manipulation13142n/a
NanoReview Score16130n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB
12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 4200 MHz 5300 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0UFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 16
OS Size 39.9 GB 30.8 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.1 One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4900 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 W 45 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (68% in 30 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 0:59 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
26:01
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
n/a
Web Browsing09:57 hn/a
Video Playback15:38 hn/a
Games06:22 hn/a
Standby Mode130 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 200 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 16320x12240 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom Optical, 10x Optical, 3x
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix200 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/1.8
Focal length23 mm24 mm
SensorSamsung ISOCELL HP2Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN3
Sensor size1/1.31/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size0.64 μm1 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MP10 MP
Aperturef/4.9f/2.4
Focal length230 mm67 mm
SensorSony IMX754Samsung ISOCELL S5K3K1
Sensor size1/3.521/3.94 (0.25)
Pixel size1.12 μm1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX564Sony IMX564
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55 (0.39)
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
139
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
137
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
140
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview73n/a
Zoom141n/a

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3LU Samsung S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
139
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
145
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 6.0
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes DP 1.2 Yes, DP 1.2
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G Bandsn/aGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G Bandsn/aUMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*n/aLTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)
LTE category20n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
91.8 dB
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon)
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced February, 2023 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date February, 2023 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 1199 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1099
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus (Snapdragon) the clear winner in this comparison.

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