Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the best — and most expensive — Android smartphones on the market, but how does it compare to Google's cheaper Pixel 7 Pro? Both Google and Samsung decided to keep their offerings at the same prices as last year's models, all while providing a few upgrades. That's good news for buyers at a time when analysts were concerned about potential price hikes to come. But even as the Galaxy S23 Ultra retains the same price point as the S22 Ultra, it's still a bigger investment than the Pixel 7 Pro.
The S23 Ultra has a starting price of $1,199 for the base-model version that comes with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. For a limited time, buyers that purchase an S23 Ultra through Samsung can upgrade to 512GB of storage and 12GB of RAM at no extra cost, sweetening the deal. The Pixel 7 Pro undercuts that price point by a wide margin, starting at just $899. And for a limited time, buyers can snag a Pixel 7 Pro from Google for just $749. Considering the base-model Pixel 7 Pro is equipped with 128GB of storage and 12GB of RAM, Google's offering provides great value.
S22 Ultra Vs. Pixel 7 Pro: Display, Performance, & Camera
Starting with the display, there's a lot to like between these two smartphones. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is equipped with a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. In comparison, the Pixel 7 Pro features a 6.7-inch OLED display that can also variate up to 120Hz. Samsung has the edge in peak brightness with the S23 Ultra's 1,750 nits display, but Google isn't that far behind with the Pixel 7 Pro's 1,500 nits panel. The two smartphones are incredibly similar in pixel density – the Pixel 7 Pro comes in at 512 ppi, while the S23 Ultra records 500 ppi.
The Pixel 7 Pro uses a Tensor G2 chip, which is the second iteration of Google's in-house system-on-a-chip (SoC). Like Samsung's entire S23 lineup, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform. The Snapdragon chip is paired with 8GB or 12GB of RAM, depending on the storage configuration. Any configuration with 512GB or more of storage ships with 12GB of RAM. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy easily beats the Tensor G2 in most benchmarks, and it's also built on the more power-efficient 4nm process, compared to 5nm for Google's chipset.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a camera system that features mind-boggling specs, headlined by a 200MP main camera with laser autofocus. It's complimented by a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and two 10MP telephoto cameras. With that hardware, the S23 Ultra can take photos with up to 10x optical zoom and 100x Space Zoom. The Pixel 7 Pro has a triple-camera system with a 50MP Octa PD Quad Bayer wide camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera with autofocus, and a 48MP Quad Bayer PD telephoto camera. Both cameras have impressive hardware, but Google's software image processing is hard to beat.
The Pixel 7 Pro claims to provide 24-hour battery life, and in Screen Rant's testing, it gets pretty close. The smartphone has a 5,000mAh battery, which matches the Galaxy S23 Ultra's battery size. But the Pixel 7 Pro charges slower than the S23 Ultra, supporting 23W speeds, which is half as fast as the S23 Ultra's 45W rating. Both phones feature wireless charging support with Qi-enabled chargers. The Pixel 7 offers three years of Android updates and five years of security updates. In comparison, the Galaxy S23 Ultra offers four years of Android updates and five years of software updates, making it a longer-lasting smartphone than Google's own.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is likely to be the better-performing smartphone, both in terms of hardware and software. Additionally, it comes with an inbuilt S Pen that allows user to take notes and make sketches, in addition to other productivity features that will appeal to power users. The Pixel 7 Pro is better suited to Android flagship buyers on a restricted budget, but those who can afford to spend a few hundred dollars more will be better off getting the Galaxy S23 Ultra.