Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Should you upgrade?

samsung galaxy 26 ultra vs galaxy s23 ultra

(Image credit: OnLeaks / Tom's Guide)

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Rumored Specs
Price & Release
Design & Display
Performance
Cameras
Battery & Charging
Software & AI
Outlook

Every time we get a brand new Galaxy phone release, existing owners have to answer the question of whether the new model is worth it — or whether they’re better off sticking with their existing device for another year.

Older phones still have a lot to offer, and with such minimal differences in hardware from one generation to the next, there’s still plenty of life left in your old phone. More so when you remember that Samsung flagships get a guaranteed seven years of software updates. Which means a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra comparison isn’t quite as simple as it sounds — despite the three-year gap between the two phones.

Here’s everything we know so far.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Rumored Specs

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Row 0 - Cell 0	Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (rumored)	Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Display	6.9 inches	6.8 inches
CPU	Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 / Exynos 2600	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
RAM	12GB	12GB
Storage	256GB, 512GB, and 1TB	256GB, 512GB, and 1TB
Rear cameras	200MP main (f/1.4), 50MP ultrawide, 12MP 3x telephoto, 50MP 5x telephoto	200MP main, 10MP ultrawide, 10MP 10x telephoto, 10MP 3x telephoto
Front camera	12MP	12MP
Battery	5,000 mAh	5,000 mAh
Charging	60W	45W

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Release date & Price

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra was released back in February 2023, with a starting price of $1,199 / £1,249 / AU$1,949 for 256GB of storage. You’ll struggle to find a brand new model these days, but refurbished models are readily available for under $500 in a variety of conditions.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra release date is still unknown, though we’re likely looking for a launch at the end of February or start of March. It all depends on when Samsung decides when the next Galaxy Unpacked is going to be. The actual price is still unclear, though we don’t expect the phone to be any cheaper than the Galaxy S25 Ultra ($1,299). Still, with the skyrocketing cost of RAM and other components, that figure may end up being higher.

The good news is that recent rumors suggest that Samsung will be maintaining the $1,299 starting price for another year. But considering this is still unverified by Samsung itself, things could change.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Design & display

Leaked renders of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra — (Image credit: Android Headlines)

The Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with a 6.8-inch QHD AMOLED display with an adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate — both of which have been standard options on Samsung’s Ultra phones for a number of years. The phone itself measures 6.4 x 3.0 x 0.35 inches (163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9mm), weighs 8.2 ounces and was available in a choice of four colors: Phantom Black, Cotton Flower, Botanic Green and Mystic Lilac.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to come with a slightly larger 6.9-inch AMOLED display, with the same QHD resolution and 1-120Hz refresh rate. Details about the design aren’t clear, but rumor has it that the phone will be somewhere between 7 and 8mm thick, which would make it noticeably sleeker than the S23 Ultra.

The phone is also expected to retain the rounded corners of the past few generations, something Samsung introduced with the Galaxy S24 series. That’s in direct contrast to the sharper right angles on the S23 series. Similarly, leaks suggest we’ll see the same raised camera bump as the Galaxy S25 series, which has a little more meat to it than the S23 Ultra’s camera lenses that protrude straight from the back of the phone.

It has been speculated that Samsung would remove the digitizer layer from the phone, which is how Samsung powers features for the S Pen stylus. Though several leaks seem to suggest the stylus isn’t going anywhere — suggesting this rumor may not be true. It’s also speculated that Samsung may ditch the titanium frame, though whether it would be substituted for Armor Aluminum (like the S23 Ultra) or some other metal isn’t clear.

The most recent Galaxy S26 Ultra color leaks claim that the phone will be available in White, Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue and Black. There has also been word of Pink Gold and Silver Shadow colors, though some of these may end up being retailer exclusives.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Performance

Performance is the area that Samsung flagships excel at, and typically the Ultra models offer the most raw performance power of any Android phone in a given year — aided by the custom Snapdragon for Galaxy chips. That was the case with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which was powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, which has proven itself very capable in benchmark tests — with improvements to raw performance, AI, and camera processing. All things that are pretty darn important on modern phones. We’re also expecting an extra 4GB of RAM, rising from 12GB to 16GB, which will be a major benefit Assuming the RAM shortages don’t get in the way.

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Row 0 - Cell 0	Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (Reference Device)	Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Geekbench 6 Single-core	3,832	1,396
Geekbench 6 Multi-core	12,208	4,882
3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited	40.83 fps	20.9 fps
Video transcoding (Mins:Secs)	0:47	0:40

In fact, looking at the benchmarks we've seen from a Qualcomm reference device, the S26 Ultra could leave the S23 Ultra in the dust.

However, it’s worth noting that Samsung could ditch Qualcomm in some regions, and power the S26 Ultra with its own Exynos 2600. Exynos chips have improved a lot, though they often underperform compared to Qualcomm. However, we won’t know for sure until we actually benchmark the phones for ourselves.

Typically, U.S. models remain on Qualcomm Snapdragon chips, while international markets get Exynos. Though there’s no way of knowing what Samsung will do, it has been somewhat inconsistent in the implementation in previous years.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Cameras

The Galaxy S23 Ultra was the first Samsung flagship to feature the 200MP main camera. This came with a 12MP ultrawide lens and a pair of 10MP telephoto lenses offering 3x and 10x optical zoom. Plus a 12MP selfie camera.

Overall, the photos produced were fantastic for their time, especially with low-light performance. But camera hardware has changed a lot in the years since. The Galaxy S23 Ultra also marked the last time a Galaxy Ultra model featured a 10x optical zoom camera.

We’re expecting the Galaxy S26 Ultra to retain the 200MP main camera, with a base resolution of 24MP rather than the usual 12MP. Word is that it will also have a larger f/1.4 aperture, which would allow even more light to hit the sensor. That’ll be a huge benefit for low-light performance. It’s also speculated that Samsung will resurrect the variable aperture for the S26 Ultra, something we haven’t seen since the Galaxy S10 in 2018.

Other rumors suggest that the secondary telephoto lens will get a boosted 12MP resolution, though the ultrawide and main telephoto lenses will stick with the same 50MP resolution as the Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, it’s worth mentioning that the higher resolution came with a cost, and optical zoom has been reduced to 5x magnification since the S23 Ultra’s day.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Battery life & charging

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra concept image — (Image credit: Technizo Concept/YouTube)

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra features a 5,000 mAh battery, which lasted up to 13 hours and 9 minutes in our custom battery life test. The phone also offered up to 45W fast charging, which was able to restore to a 57% charge in 30 minutes.

Sadly, battery upgrades have not been high on Samsung’s list of priorities, and the S26 Ultra is also expected to feature a 5,000 mAh battery.

However, unlike its predecessors, leaks suggest that Samsung will be upping the charging speed to 60W this year. This is long overdue, and while we won’t know how good the battery life is, or how fast it actually recharges, it’s good to see that Samsung is offering some improvements to charging after so many years of stagnation.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Software and AI

An alleged official render of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra — (Image credit: Evan Blass)

One thing the Galaxy S23 Ultra is likely to fall down on is AI and software prowess. The phone does support Galaxy AI, with several features that are new and old. However, some features are missing, including newer features like Audio Eraser and Natural Language search — both of which debuted last year.

With that in mind, there’s a good chance that it will miss some of the newer additions coming as part of the Galaxy S26 Ultra launch. Though there’s no telling what they might be.

We have heard that Samsung is considering integrating Perplexity AI into the Bixby digital assistant, and there may be some S26 Ultra exclusive features that other phones miss out on — even the S26 and S26 Plus. But there’s no word on what those features may involve.

One other extra rumor is that the Galaxy S26 series may follow in Apple and Google's footsteps by adding satellite messaging capabilities in the U.S. Though it’s unclear whether the international models will be quite as lucky, and local regulations may play their part.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Outlook

SmartPrix renders of the galaxy s26 phones — (Image credit: SmartPrix / Tom's Guide)

There are plenty of upgrades to look forward to with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. Better performance, more powerful cameras, a slightly larger display, extra RAM and some bonus features like satellite connectivity. Of course, the downside is that it’s going to cost you over a grand, and you have to decide whether the upgrades are worth it right now.

If you are still rocking a Galaxy S23 Ultra, then there’s still plenty to love about the phone. The least of which is the classic Galaxy design, from a time before the iPhone-looking rounded design took over. While it may not be as technically impressive as newer models, you still get a great camera, a long-lasting battery and strong performance with a slew of AI features.

That said, we won’t know exactly how the two compare until we can get hold of the Galaxy S26 Ultra for hands-on testing. At which point we’ll have a much better idea of what upgrading actually gets you.

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Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

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