Samsung Galaxy S23+ vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| SamsungGalaxy S23+ | SamsungGalaxy S26 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | February 2023 | March 2026 |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 6.6″ | 6.9″ |
| Resolution | 2340 × 1080 | 3120 × 1440 (better) |
| Sharpness | 390 pixels per inch | 498 pixels per inch (better) |
| Panel | OLED | LTPO OLED |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Peak brightness | 1,750 nits | 2,600 nits (better) |
| Display type | FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (2,340 × 1,080); Super Smooth 120 Hz (48–120 Hz); 240 Hz touch sampling in Game Mode; 6.6 inches as a full rectangle, 6.4 inches with rounded corners | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, QHD+, 16M colours; 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate (1–120 Hz) |
| Pixel density | 393 ppi (Samsung) | – |
| Brightness detail | 1,750 nits peak | – |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front and back | Corning Gorilla Armor 2 |
| Display features | Vision booster; Enhanced comfort | Built-in Privacy Display; anti-reflective display; Vision booster; ProScaler and mDNIe image processing |
| Performance | ||
| Chip | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy |
| Memory | 8 GB | 12 GB – 16 GB (better) |
| Storage | 256 GB, 512 GB | 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB (better) |
| CPU | Octa-core, 3.36 GHz + 2.8 GHz + 2 GHz; 8 GB of RAM | Octa-core (4.74 GHz, 3.6 GHz) |
| Cooling | – | Redesigned Vapor Chamber, Samsung's largest yet, with thermal interface material along the sides of the processor |
| Storage type | 256 GB (216.7 GB available) or 512 GB (453.6 GB available); no microSD slot | – |
| Cameras | ||
| Main camera | 50 MP | 200 MP (better) |
| Ultra wide camera | 12 MP | 50 MP |
| Telephoto camera | 10 MP | 50 MP |
| Optical zoom | 3× | 5× (better) |
| Front camera | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Main camera | 50 MP wide, F1.8, 85° | 200 MP wide, F1.4 |
| Ultra wide camera | 12 MP, F2.2, 120° | 50 MP, F1.9 |
| Telephoto camera | 10 MP, F2.4, 36°, 3x optical zoom | 50 MP, F2.9, 5x optical zoom |
| Second telephoto camera | – | 10 MP, F2.4, 3x optical zoom |
| Front camera | 12 MP, F2.2, 80° | 12 MP, F2.2, autofocus |
| Zoom | 3x optical zoom | 3x and 5x optical zoom; 2x and 10x optical-quality zoom (Adaptive Pixel sensor); digital zoom up to 100x |
| Video recording | 8K at 30 fps | Up to 8K (7680 × 4320) at 30 fps; APV codec; slow motion at 240 fps (FHD) and 120 fps (FHD and UHD) |
| Camera features | Nightography; Expert RAW (free download); 360 Audio Recording with Galaxy Buds2 Pro | Nightography; Super Steady with Horizontal Lock |
| Battery and charging | ||
| Battery | 4,700 mAh | 5,000 mAh (better) |
| Video playback (maker's claim) | Up to 27 hours | Up to 31 hours |
| Wired charging | Up to 45 W | Up to 60 W (better) |
| Wireless charging | Yes (wattage not published) | Yes (wattage not published) |
| Battery life detail | 4,700 mAh typical, 4,565 mAh rated; video playback (streaming) up to 27 hours; internet use up to 22 hours (LTE) or 23 hours (Wi-Fi); talk time up to 44 hours (4G) | Rated (minimum) capacity 4,855 mAh; at least 1,200 charge cycles; EU energy class A |
| Wired charging | Up to 65% in around 30 minutes with a 45 W adapter (sold separately) and 5 A USB-C cable | Super Fast Charging 3.0, up to 75% in around 30 minutes with a 60 W adapter (sold separately); QC2.0 and AFC PD compatible |
| Wireless charging | Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 | Super Fast Wireless Charging (WPC); Samsung doesn't state the wattage |
| Charges other devices | Wireless PowerShare | Wireless PowerShare |
| Design | ||
| Type | Standard | Standard |
| Weight | 196 g (better) | 214 g |
| Thickness | 7.6 mm (better) | 7.9 mm |
| Height × width | 157.8 × 76.2 mm | 163.6 × 78.1 mm |
| Water and dust resistance | IP68 | IP68 |
| Stylus | – | Yes |
| Materials | Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front and back with an aluminium frame; recycled plastic, glass and aluminium in some components | Armor Aluminum frame; Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 back |
| Colours | Phantom Black, Cream, Green, Lavender; Graphite, Lime on Samsung.com | Cobalt Violet, White, Black, Sky Blue; Pink Gold and Silver Shadow (Samsung.com only) |
| Water resistance detail | IP68, up to 1.5 m of fresh water for up to 30 minutes; not advised for beach or pool use | IP68, dust-tight and tested for submersion in up to 1.5 m of fresh water for up to 30 minutes |
| Biometrics | In-screen fingerprint sensor, face recognition | Fingerprint sensor |
| Sensors | – | Accelerometer, barometer, fingerprint sensor, gyro sensor, geomagnetic sensor, Hall sensor, light sensor, proximity sensor |
| Speakers | – | Stereo speakers |
| Software | ||
| Operating system | Android | Android |
| Software at launch | Android 13, One UI 5.1 | One UI 8.5 (Android 16) |
| Software updates | Four generations of Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates | Security updates until 28 February 2033 (UK) |
| AI features | – | Galaxy AI, including Now Nudge, Now Brief, Photo Assist and Creative Studio; a choice of agents including Bixby, Gemini and Perplexity |
| Connectivity | ||
| Satellite messaging | – | Yes |
| Mobile network | 5G, LTE | 5G Sub6 (FDD, TDD, SDL); 4G LTE (FDD, TDD); 3G WCDMA; 2G GSM |
| SIM | Nano-SIM plus a second nano-SIM or eSIM | Two nano-SIMs, nano-SIM and eSIM, or dual eSIM |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi Direct | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be), 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz, EHT320, MIMO, 4096-QAM |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.3 | Bluetooth 6.0 |
| Ultra Wideband | Yes | Yes |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Satellite features | – | Works with O2 Satellite in the UK (texts, supported apps, maps and location sharing where O2 has no signal; not emergency calls); satellite texting and emergency SOS with Verizon in the US |
| USB | USB Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1 | USB Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1 |
| Positioning | – | GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
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