Should You Buy Google Pixel 8 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra?

Posted on by

The Pixel 8 Pro is my favorite Android smartphone right now, and for good reason. It combines high performance, fantastic cameras and a great display in one package. But it’s not the only stellar Android phone on the market: the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is undoubtedly one of the best flagship Android phones you can buy. Question: which one is better? Let’s dive into the data.

Characteristics

The Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra may be flagship devices, but they come with different hardware. Where Google offers its new Tensor G3 chip, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is paired with a high-end Qualcomm chip, or a Samsung Exynos chip if you live outside the US.

Characteristics of Pixel 8 Pro:

  • Display: 6.7″ Super Actu panel, 1344 x 2992 resolution, 120Hz, up to 1600 nits (high brightness mode) and 2400 nits (peak HDR)

  • RAM: 12 GB

  • Memory: 128 GB/256 GB/512 GB/1 TB

  • Processor: Google Tensor G3.

  • Battery: capacity 5050 mAh.

  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, Ultra Wideband, Dual Band GNSS, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS

  • Cameras: 50MP Octa PD wide-angle camera, 48MP Quad PD ultra-wide camera, 48MP Quad PD telephoto (rear); 10.5MP Dual PD Selfie Camera (Front)

Galaxy S23 Ultra specifications:

  • Display: 6.8″ Edge Quad HD+ panel, 3088 x 1440 resolution, 120Hz, up to 1200 nits (high brightness mode) and 1750 nits (peak brightness mode)

  • RAM: 8 GB/12 GB (depending on model)

  • Memory: 256 GB/512 GB/1 TB

  • Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

  • Battery: capacity 5000 mAh

  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo.

  • Cameras: 200MP wide-angle camera, 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera, 10MP telephoto camera, 10MP periscope telephoto camera (rear); 12 MP selfie camera (front)

Display and design

You won’t confuse one of these phones with another. The Pixel 8 Pro has sleek, rounded corners that feel great in your hands. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, on the other hand, has a more blocky design that still has rounded corners, but is more rectangle-like than the Pixel 8 Pro.

However, both smartphones have great designs and are just the right weight and width for a premium device. Both devices also feature a USB-C charger at the bottom as well as bottom-mounted speakers. From an aesthetic point of view, I’m more of a fan of the Pixel 8 Pro’s design, although Google hasn’t done much to differentiate this phone from the old Pixel 7. However, the company has designed great looks for its smartphones and affordable color options. (Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay) only emphasize the friendly and comfortable design.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra also continues to build on Samsung’s proven design with clicky buttons and an exceptional display. Since you’re going to be spending a lot of time looking at the panel, it’s important to have a great display that doesn’t clash with your phone’s design, and both fit the bill here.

The back of the phones represents one of the biggest differences. The Galaxy S23 Ultra features side-mounted cameras, while the Pixel 8 Pro has a camera array on the back of the phone in a horizontal position. Both look good and raise the back of the phone slightly, making it difficult for either to sit flat on a table surface. But chance solves this problem.

The displays on both devices are also fantastic, and while the Galaxy S23 Ultra offers a higher resolution, both OLED panels offer excellent contrast with bright, rich colors and dark blacks. However, when placed side by side, the S23 Ultra is the brighter and more contrasty of the two. However, the Pixel 8 Pro wins back some points thanks to its much higher peak brightness.

Performance and Software

Both the Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra are powerful and easy to use, although ultimately the choice of software you prefer will likely play a role.

Once again, Google is working on its own line of Tensor chips, and while the Tensor G3 isn’t quite as game-changing as the M1 chip for Apple’s MacBook line, it still offers a ton of performance and great features, most notably a ton of AI features , which Google built directly into the chip. As usual, the Pixel 8 Pro runs a clean, stock version of the latest Android OS (in this case, Android 14 ), so you can experience Android in its purest form, without a ton of bloatware slowing things down.

On the other hand, the Galaxy S23 Ultra runs on the latest Android 14 but has Samsung’s One UI on top of it. This means there is a bit of bloatware present on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, although much less than previously seen on phones of this type. Both Android 14 on the Pixel 8 Pro and Android 14 on the Galaxy S23 Ultra deliver excellent performance, although the Qualcomm Snapdragon chip inside the S23 Ultra offers a bit more power compared to the Google Tensor G3 in the Pixel 8 Pro.

When comparing the two devices using Geekbench 6 , the Pixel 8 Pro scored 1,760 in single-core mode, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra scored 1,885 . The difference is slightly higher when comparing their multi-core scores, with the Pixel 8 Pro scoring 4442 and the Galaxy S23 Ultra scoring 4998. This suggests that the Galaxy S23 Ultra performs better overall when looking at pure performance. Note. The exact Geekbench scores may change, but the differences between the two phones should remain relatively constant.

However, brute force is not everything. Samsung isn’t as big into the AI ​​world as Google, which means you’re missing out on a lot of the AI ​​features that help provide better multitasking and valuable features in the Pixel 8 Pro. Some of these AI features range from small things (like the ability to create wallpapers using generative AI) to larger features that tie into various phone systems (like the ability to edit unwanted sounds from videos and audio recordings), as well as Google’s previously released Magic Eraser feature allows you to completely remove objects and people from photos.

Google has also introduced the ability to translate languages ​​on the spot using the Pixel 8 Pro and includes the ability to filter incoming calls and only let through the people you want to talk to. Some of these features were already available on Google Pixel 7 and earlier smartphones, but the updated chip in the Pixel 8 Pro allows you to process data much faster and more efficiently.

However, no matter which device you buy, both the Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra are more than powerful enough to handle everyday tasks, whether that’s messaging, browsing Instagram, or taking high-quality photos in your free time. .

Cameras

Both the Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra come with top-notch cameras. The Pixel lineup has always offered solid cameras, although it hasn’t always included the most expensive hardware for the job. But it’s not the hardware that makes the Pixel a famous photography device: much of that reputation comes down to the processing power and machine learning that Google puts into its phones, and those systems continue to play a big role in how good the Pixel 8 Pro is. does photography.

The high-resolution cameras on the back of the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro take great photos. However, the S23 Ultra can oversaturate colors in photos , an issue that has plagued Samsung devices for years. If you want more lifelike, realistic photos, the Pixel 8 Pro takes better photos. But if you don’t mind more saturated and overly vibrant colors, the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera will take some great photos.

Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention the massive 200-megapixel camera on the back of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. While I’m a much bigger fan of the more realistic colors the Pixel 8 Pro offers in photos, the S23 Ultra’s camera captures so much detail thanks to its higher quality main camera. Samsung also has a 10MP periscope telephoto lens, which means much less blur when zooming in on distant objects. You can get all the details of distant objects without having to go into grainy feedback or artifacts. The Pixel 8 Pro doesn’t have a periscope camera, but its various AI programs enable digital zoom without losing much detail. Just don’t expect it to look as sharp as zoomed-in photos taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s periscope lens.

Battery

Even though the specs and features are great, none of this means anything if your phone’s battery is unreliable. Thankfully, neither the Pixel 8 Pro nor the Galaxy S23 Ultra suffer from battery life, thanks to the Pixel’s massive 5,050mAh battery and the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 5,000mAh battery.

However, don’t let this slight difference in capacity fool you. Depending on what you’re doing, these two phones may see very different battery life limits. Both the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro handle surfing and messaging very well, but I noticed that playing videos and other media tends to drain the battery much faster on the Galaxy S23 Ultra than on the Pixel 8 Pro. This is likely due to the S23 Ultra’s power-hungry hardware, which generates more heat than Google’s AI-powered efficiency. That said, both the Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra have more than enough battery power to last you through the day, unless you spend seven hours gaming non-stop.

However, when it comes to charging, the two devices offer different charging options. The Pixel 8 Pro is rated at 30W wired charging and 12W wireless charging, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra offers 45W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. This means you can expect decent recharge times on both devices, although the Galaxy S23 Ultra will charge slightly faster than the Pixel 8 Pro.

Selecting your next Android device

If you’re planning to buy a new Android smartphone and want one of the best, then you can’t go wrong with the Pixel 8 Pro or Galaxy S23 Ultra. Personally, I’d rather recommend the Pixel 8 Pro as I really like Google’s design and the Pixel’s many AI features. However, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has struggled to find its place as one of the best Android smartphones on the market, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least give Samsung the credit it deserves here.

The Pixel 8 Pro typically costs $999 for the 128GB model, and the smallest storage option for the Galaxy S23 Ultra (256GB) typically costs around $1,150 on Amazon.

More…

0
Android

Leave a Reply