Google Pixel 8 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S23 UItra

The Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra take fundamentally different approaches to design. Samsung goes for a boxy look with flat sides and sharp edges, while Google’s phone has rounded sides with a bulging frame for a more comfortable grip. The weight difference is also massive, as the Pixel 8 Pro is over 22% lighter than the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Aluminum and Gorilla Glass Victus protect both phones, which have builds that are IP68-certified. Each device offers a large OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and dynamic adjustment tech, but the Pixel 8 Pro’s screen is brighter and goes all the way up to 2,400 nits.

In day-to-day life, however, those numerical figures won’t make much of a difference as the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s screen is also sufficiently bright, and content legibility is not a problem even under broad daylight. But one area where the Samsung flagship leaps far ahead is stylus support.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra supports stylus input and comes with the S Pen that slots right inside the phone’s chassis. This stylus is not merely a gimmick, though. It supports a wide array of Air Gestures and comes with a ton of customization and shortcut tricks.

Samsung has equipped the Galaxy S23 Ultra with a slightly overclocked trim of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip that is exclusive to this particular phone. The chip is paired with 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage without any scope for further expansion. The S23 Ultra is also equipped with a larger vapor chamber cooling system for improved heat dissipation, and it actually does a great job.

Google’s top-tier offering leads with a 50-megapixel optically stabilized main camera. It is assisted by a 48MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom output and a 48MP ultrawide snapper. Selfie duties fall to a 10.5MP sensor with autofocus. As has become customary with Pixel phones, the images taken are nothing short of exceptional, and this time around, all three lenses output still photos of a similar quality.

But can Samsung overcome Google with the massive 200MP main camera on the Galaxy S23 Ultra? This allows the phone to perform multiple layers of pixel binning to output images in smaller formats. There are also a couple of 10MP telephoto cameras, with one delivering a 3x optical zoom range while the other one banks on a periscope system to offer 10x optical zoom. Put together, it’s an amazing camera, and it’s the periscope zoom lens that’s seen the largest improvement by far. Oversaturation can still sometimes be a problem, but Samsung is clearly improving on this front.

Ultrawide capture is handled by a 12MP snapper, and the front camera also relies on a 12MP camera. The Galaxy S23 Ultra allows 8K capture and can do slow-motion videos at up to 960 frames per second (fps), while the Pixel 8 Pro maxes out at 4K 60 fps capture, with slo-mo is limited 240 fps.

Software is where the two phones sit on almost opposite ends of the spectrum. Google serves a vanilla flavor of Android on the Pixel 8 Pro with a ton of exclusive features. The Google Assistant experience is the best you’ll come across, with more tricks arriving at a regular cadence via Pixel feature drop updates.

This year, Google is adding multilingual assistant voice typing into the mix alongside more natural conversations, improved call-screening capability, better noise isolation for calls, and more. Google is also extending the Face Unlock convenience to payments and app sign-ins. Hardware-wise, there’s also a new temperature sensor, which, admittedly, has limited usefulness.

Samsung, on the other hand, is currently seeding out the Android 14-based One UI 6 to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The Android skin on Samsung phones is a bit divisive. On the bad side, it is cluttered with a healthy dose of bloatware and ads.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro starts at $999 and comes with 128GB of storage. If you need more room, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB models are also available. It is fully available for purchase and comes in a trio of colors: Bay, Obsidian, and Porcelain.

Samsung, on the other hand, is charging a minimum of $1,199 for the Galaxy S23 Ultra with 256GB of internal storage. That’s a healthy $200 gulf and enough to buy a good pair of wireless earbuds or even a previous-generation smartwatch. Color options on the table are Green, Phantom Black, Lavender, Cream, Lime, Sky Blue, Graphite, and Red. But do keep in mind that a bunch of these are exclusive to the Samsung store.

Picking between these two phones is fairly straightforward. If you’re chasing the best Android experience, with unbeatable support, reliable cameras, a standout design, and the most rewarding Android experience out there, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is where you should put your money. And if you’re after the most advanced AI wizardry available on a phone today, the Pixel should be your default choice.

But if you’re looking for an Android phone that offers camera perks like 10x optical zoom, tons of pro-grade video and photo capture gimmicks, and the versatility of an excellent stylus, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra should be your pick. It comes at a 20% premium over the Pixel 8 Pro, but if you’re invested in Samsung’s ecosystem and appreciate the flexibility of One UI, this is the most feature-loaded phone you can possibly get.

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