Thanks to certification agencies like China’s TENAA, we often learn near-official details about phones long before they launch, and so it is now with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Spotted by MyFixGuide, a TENAA listing – which should be based on official information provided by Samsung – almost completely reveals the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s specs.
These include a 6.8-inch 1440 x 3088 screen, a choice of 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage, 8GB or 12GB of RAM, and a 4,855mAh battery – that being the minimum capacity, with the phone likely to be advertised as having a 5,000mAh typical capacity.
The chipset isn’t named but is listed as being clocked at up to 3.36GHz, which is consistent with the overclocked version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that’s been rumored for the Galaxy S23 line.
As for the cameras, these apparently include a 108MP one, two 12MP ones, and a 2MP one on the back, along with another 12MP one on the front. One of the rear cameras (probably one of the 12MP ones) is said to offer 10x optical zoom, as we’d expect. But this camera setup on the whole doesn’t sound right.
It seems very unlikely that Samsung would put a 2MP camera on such a high-end smartphone, so perhaps that’s a typo and should be 200MP – especially since such a sensor has been rumored for inclusion.
But then we wouldn’t think there would also be a 108MP camera. The front-facing camera would also be a significant downgrade in terms of megapixels if it’s 12MP, as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 40MP selfie snapper.
So we’d take these camera specs with a serious helping of salt, and while the rest of the listed specs sound believable this casts doubt on them too, despite the reputable nature of the source.
In any case, the listing also mentions dimensions of 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9mm, a weight of 233g, and of course 5G support. With the Samsung Galaxy S23 line likely to land in early 2023, we'll assess the accuracy of these leaks soon enough.
Analysis: how this compares to the Galaxy S22 Ultra
If we take these specs as accurate, then a lot of things are probably going to be similar on this phone to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
The screen size and resolution are the same, the dimensions and weight are very similar (suggesting that the design will be similar too), and the typical battery capacity is likely to be the same. Storage and RAM amounts are also similar, though you can get the S22 Ultra with 128GB of storage, which isn’t listed here.
The main differences are the chipset and the cameras. For the former, this is a typical and expected upgrade, but one that should mean the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is substantially more powerful than its predecessor.
For the latter, well, as noted above we’re deeply skeptical of these camera specs, but for reference, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 108MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide, a 10MP telephoto (offering 3x optical zoom) and a 10MP telephoto offering 10x optical zoom.
We’d expect the same lens types and zoom levels on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, but it’s possible that the megapixels for some have changed – most notably to a 200MP primary sensor, which is an upgrade that could help the Galaxy S23 Ultra secure a place among the best camera phones.
