The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra might not be much of an upgrade

Typically, new phones in Samsung’s Galaxy S Ultra line are among the most exciting handsets of the year, but that might not be the case with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, as a leak suggests you could be hard pressed to tell the difference between this and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

That’s the impression we get from unofficial renders shared by @OnLeaks – a leaker with a great track record – on behalf of SmartPrix. They show a phone that looks almost identical to the S22 Ultra, as you can see below.

There are some slight changes though. While this leak suggests the phone will have a 6.8-inch screen again, the dimensions will seemingly differ slightly, coming in at 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.8mm, compared to 163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9mm on the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

An unofficial render of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

(Image credit: @OnLeaks / SmartPrix)

The screen will also apparently have some improvements, such as being brighter and offering better color accuracy and HDR performance.

Other listed changes for the Galaxy S23 Ultra include less curvy sides, and the two smallest sensors on the camera being flush with the rear, where on the S22 Ultra they stuck out a bit.

We’d take this leak with a pinch of salt for now, but given the source there’s a high chance it’s accurate, and if so, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra might barely be a change at all – at least visually.


Analysis: upgrades under the hood

The good news is that while the design might not be changing much, the specs could be. There isn’t much in the way of specs included in this latest leak, but an earlier leak suggested the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra might get a 200MP camera – up from 108MP on the S22 Ultra.

It will also of course have a new and more powerful chipset – likely the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, so performance will be improved at the very least.

Still, if that’s the bulk of the upgrades then the Galaxy S23 Ultra probably won’t be a super exciting phone overall, even if it’s sure to be one of the best Samsung phones.