Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S23 Manufactured in February, 2023, with display 6.1 with chipsetSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, 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
  • Lighter design: 168g vs 214g
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 500ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 3900mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.3

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming 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 6.1 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1440x3120 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 425 ppi 500 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (24-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits 1500 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 91.4 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S23
1197 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
2811 nits
sRGB gamut98.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time1 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 146.3 mm (5.76 in) 163.6 mm (6.44 in)
Width 70.9 mm (2.79 in) 78.1 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 7.6 mm (0.3 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 168 g (5.93 oz) 214 g (7.55 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Gray
- Green
- Purple
- Yellow
- White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23
88 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
91.4 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 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
1831
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23
4914
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
11259
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)18313753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)491411259
Geekbench Compute (GPU)942228787
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23
1522811
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3720219
CPU3805351094797
GPU5988961447696
Memory273271425113
UX270109752613
NanoReview Score15228113720219
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
12039
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
n/a
Max Surface Temp.34.3 °Cn/a
Stability60 %n/a
Graphics Test72 fpsn/a
Graphics Score12039n/a
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S23
15602
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
n/a
Writing score19330n/a
Web score14262n/a
Video editing7840n/a
Data manipulation12674n/a
NanoReview Score15602n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0UFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 16
OS Size 29.7 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6.1 One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 3900 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 60 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (10 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (57% in 30 min) Yes (84% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:16 h 0:43 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
22:02
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
28:50
Web Browsing08:12 h10:12 h
Video Playback13:41 h21:39 h
Games05:20 h06:42 h
Standby Mode109 h130 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 200 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 16320x12240 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x 141
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 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 240 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP200 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.4
Focal length23 mm23 mm
SensorSamsung S5KGN3Samsung ISOCELL S5KHP2
Sensor size1/1.571/1.3 (0.77)
Pixel size1 μm0.6 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Laser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MP50 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.9
Focal length70 mm111 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3K1Sony IMX854
Sensor size1/3.941/2.52 (0.4)
Pixel size1 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/1.9
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX564Samsung ISOCELL S5KJN3
Sensor size1/2.551/2.5 (0.4)
Pixel size1.4 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S23
129
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
160
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23
137
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
153
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S23
133
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
157
Bokeh70165
Preview72n/a
Zoom126n/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 23 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3LU Samsung ISOCELL S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

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
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 BandsGSM 850/1700/1900/2100MhzGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS 6/5/8/34UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B/B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B16/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B27/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66/B71)LTE (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
91.5 dB
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced February, 2023 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date February, 2023 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 799 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1299
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

Note

Samsung Galaxy S23:

The 128GB version uses slower UFS 3.1 memory, while the 256GB and 512GB models have UFS 4.0.

* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

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