If you’re familiar with my work here at Android Police, you’ll know I enjoy Samsung devices. I’m probably the only person on the team who is genuinely excited about the launch of the S24 Ultra, even if it’ll be largely indiscernible from my S23 Ultra. Naturally, when I saw that the Pixel 8 Pro would be winning ourPhone of the Year award, I was disappointed, even if I did see it coming from a mile away. But while many people might assume that I disagree because I’m a Samsung fanboy, that isn’t true. I will happily point out the flaws in any of Samsung’s phones just as I would showcase the highlights, and with all of that in mind, the S23 Ultra is unequivocally my phone of the year for 2023.
The consistency
I only bought the S23 Ultra because Samsung finally brought a Snapdragon-equipped flagship to the UK. My experience with the Exynos S22 Ultra had done a lot to sour my experience, and I was considering moving on to another brand. The S22 was fine initially and had good points, but it became unreliable, especially in the last few months. The slightest task would make it overheat, and I’d be lucky to get more than three or four hours out of the battery if I left the comfort of my home Wi-Fi.
The S23 Ultra, by comparison, is the most consistent phone I’ve ever used. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will be remembered as one of the greats, and anyone who’s used it will see why. This phone has barely even gotten warm, let alone hot, despite my throwing plenty of demanding tasks at it. That thermal efficiency translates into fantastic battery life and dependable performance.
In the ten months I’ve owned this phone, the battery has only died twice, and one of those times doesn’t count because I forgot to turn the charger on at the wall. The other time it died was planned — I wanted to push it and see how far it could go.
That test went well. The day started at 6 am and ended at 1 am the following day, with the hours in between filled with a train journey to London, hours of underground tube travel, sightseeing, and the like. During these activities, the S23 Ultra wasn’t secured away in a pocket or bag; it was in use. The cameras were hammering away at the landmarks, the GPS and 5G radios were locked in the on position for navigation, and the display maxed out to fight the rare sunshine (and heat) we had that day, all while streaming YouTube Music to two separate sets of Galaxy Buds, one set for me, the other for my wife. Eight hours of screen time over 19 hours of use in those conditions would’ve been unheard of with an Exynos-powered phone, or anything else I’ve ever used for that matter.
That’s all well and good, but how does that compare with the Pixel 8 Pro, AP’s phone of the year? It doesn’t compare at all; the Pixel 8 Pro can’t stand up to that punishment. I’ve already spoken aboutmy time with the Pixel 8 Pro, but I’d like to share more after using it longer. I should note, however, that my 8 Pro has been donated to another member of the AP team, so I haven’t used it since it received the latest QPR update, although none of those changes should change anything relevant to this piece.
The 8 Pro tempted me; it’s the best Google phone I have ever used, and I’ve used many of them, daily driving everything from a Nexus 4 to the Pixel 3XL and 6a. The Pixel 8 Pro is a lovely phone to use, but you can’t always depend on it. There were days when the battery life would be almost as good as my S23 Ultra, but the next day, it would beg for a top-up by lunch.
Consistency is essential in a smartphone, and the Pixel 8 Pro doesn’t have it. I shouldn’t have to worry about my phone randomly overheating, losing signal, or hitting 0% for no apparent reason. I used the 8 Pro as my primary phone for over a month, and during that time, I wouldn’t leave the house for an extended period unless I had at least 60% left, or I’d be worried the phone would die before I made it home.
I’ve spent a lot of time at the hospital this year, for myself and with family and friends. You don’t want to worry about your battery level in those situations, especially as these visits are often unplanned. The Pixel 8 Pro was a nightmare. Although I only wanted to scroll through Twitter on Wi-Fi and keep my family up to date with what was happening, the phone got as hot as a furnace and burned through 10% of its battery in less than 10 minutes. I had to resort to extreme power-saving mode in the end. All of the visits with the S23 Ultra were the opposite experience. It kept me distracted when I needed it without worrying about battery or performance. It quietly got on with things and stayed out of my way, as a smartphone should.
It feels like my phone
The Pixel 8 Pro is fun. While the results aren’t always usable, messing around with the AI features is a blast, and some things about the Pixel experience are genuinely great, like Call Screen and Now Playing. But they aren’t enough for me to give up everything else. Whenever I use a Pixel, I feel the same as when I use my iPad Pro. Certain aspects of the experience feel like they’re telling me this is Google’s phone, not mine. Google might be prepping to let usremove At a Glance, but it’s too little too late. Everything from the lack of icon pack support to the fact that many Pixel features are locked to the US and are inaccessible in the UK makes the Pixel feel limited.
One UI takes the opposite approach. You can change app icons system-wide, customize the layout of the multitasking screen, override Material You, and make custom navigation gestures to make the S23 Ultra feel uniquely yours. I often bang on aboutGood Lock, but that’s because it’s excellent.
Reputation
Every phone has issues; there’s no denying that. But Pixels get the worst of them, and that’s been especially apparent since the move to Tensor in the Pixel 6 onward. These chips can do amazing things, but they come at the sacrifice of fundamentals, like consistent performance and battery life. The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro may offer seven years of OS updates, but I have no confidence in anyone wanting to use the phone for three or five years, let alone seven. Every year, we’re promised that the new Pixel won’t overheat, drop calls, or die in the middle of the day. The 8 Pro comes closer than previous phones but still fails to deliver on those promises. I have never seen a device flicker between 3G, 4G, and 5G as much as the 8 Pro.
Boring is good
The S23 Ultra doesn’t have the best camera; there are phones with even better battery life, and it doesn’t even have the best screen anymore, which is unusual for a Samsung flagship. What it does have is the best combination of parts. No other phone is as good ateverythingas the S23 Ultra is. This year, I’ve realized that a phone’s ability to excite me is just a bonus. It was cringy when Samsung called the Galaxy S4 your “life companion,” but that phrase is true of its 2023 flagship.
Come rain or shine, the S23 Ultra is ready to help you through the day with minimal fuss. It might be hard to remember as an enthusiast, but that’s all the average person on the street wants. Fancy AI features mean nothing if you can’t reliably make a phone call or your phone is always plugged into a power bank. A phone of the year should be dependable, worry-free, and offer as few disappointments as possible. It should have the best combination of hardware rather than propping up inferior tech with clever software. Based on the track record of previous Pixels, I worry about how the 8 Pro will age, especially with how often the battery has to be recharged and how hot it gets. The S23 Ultra, on the other hand, has been out for the best part of a year, and it’s yet to put a foot wrong. That’s a true Phone of the Year to me.
