Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Vivo X300 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Samsung

8.7

Best big Android phone of 2023, still kicking in 2026

Vivo X300 Ultra

Vivo

8.7

The video and zoom monster

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

What Reviewers Agree On

Best stylus in any phone — the built-in S Pen remains uniquely useful for notes, signing PDFs and screenshots
Stunning 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, 1-120Hz LTPO, 1750-nit peak — among the best phone screens of its era
Stellar battery life from a 5,000mAh cell with the more efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy — comfortably an all-day phone, often two
New 200MP main camera with a 3-degree OIS module hugely improves video stabilization (best on Android, just behind iPhone 14 Pro)
Quad-camera versatility — 200MP main + 12MP ultrawide + 10MP 3x telephoto + 10MP 10x periscope — still class-leading zoom range

Pros & Cons

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Pros

Best stylus in any phone — the built-in S Pen remains uniquely useful for notes, signing PDFs and screenshots
Stunning 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, 1-120Hz LTPO, 1750-nit peak — among the best phone screens of its era
Stellar battery life from a 5,000mAh cell with the more efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy — comfortably an all-day phone, often two
New 200MP main camera with a 3-degree OIS module hugely improves video stabilization (best on Android, just behind iPhone 14 Pro)
Quad-camera versatility — 200MP main + 12MP ultrawide + 10MP 3x telephoto + 10MP 10x periscope — still class-leading zoom range

Detailed Comparison

Cameras

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

The headline upgrade — a new 200MP ISOCELL HP2 main camera with a doubled-range OIS module, alongside the unique 10x periscope + 3x telephoto + ultrawide combo. Real-world results are generally excellent but mixed against the iPhone 14 Pro on DXOMARK scoring.

Cameras: 200MP main (f/1.7, 1/1.3", 0.6μm, ISOCELL HP2) + 12MP ultrawide + 10MP 3x telephoto + 10MP 10x periscope; selfie 12MP, all 4K60 capable.
New OIS module bumps stabilization from 1.5 to 3 degrees of movement — arguably the best Android video stabilization, just behind the iPhone 14 Pro.
8K video bumped to 30fps (from 24fps on the S22 Ultra), with wider 8K capture (80° vs 57°) thanks to the new chip and sensor.
DXOMARK scored the camera 140 — putting it tied for 10th alongside the Pixel 7, well behind iPhone 14 Pro models at 140-142.

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Vivo X300 Ultra

What Reviewers Agree On

The camera system — twin ~1-inch 200MP main and 200MP 85mm periscope plus a large ultrawide — is the best-equipped on any 2026 phone and the entire reason the device exists.
Video is class-leading: 4K 120fps 10-bit Log with Dolby Vision recorded on-device (no SSD), 8K30 across the rear cameras, and 4K 60fps on every lens including the selfie.
Battery life is genuinely strong — roughly 16 hours active-use score, ~7h heavy screen-on time, and 13–14 hour days with charge to spare, on the 6,600mAh cell.
The Zeiss 200mm/400mm telephoto extenders deliver real, usable optical reach (8.7x and 17.4x) with surprisingly good handheld stabilisation.
100W wired charging refills the big battery in roughly 46–50 minutes, with 40W wireless on top.
The 6.82-inch 144Hz LTPO AMOLED is among the best displays available, hitting ~1,900 nits in auto and ~3,300 nits peak.

Deal Breakers

The 35mm (~1.5x) default main focal length is polarising — many reviewers find it too tight/zoomed versus the usual 24mm.
It heats up quickly under sustained camera or gaming load and throttles to roughly 60–65% stability in prolonged stress tests.
The full experience needs the expensive Photography Kit — the global bundle approaches €2,600 and the 200mm lens isn't in every box.
Notebookcheck found it 'hardly better than the X300 Pro in camera performance despite top-notch hardware', and Linus preferred Oppo's less over-sharpened processing.
It launched in China first with a rocky early software state (fixed via updates), and global availability/pricing is limited and steep.

Vivo X300 Ultra

Pros

The camera system — twin ~1-inch 200MP main and 200MP 85mm periscope plus a large ultrawide — is the best-equipped on any 2026 phone and the entire reason the device exists.
Video is class-leading: 4K 120fps 10-bit Log with Dolby Vision recorded on-device (no SSD), 8K30 across the rear cameras, and 4K 60fps on every lens including the selfie.
Battery life is genuinely strong — roughly 16 hours active-use score, ~7h heavy screen-on time, and 13–14 hour days with charge to spare, on the 6,600mAh cell.
The Zeiss 200mm/400mm telephoto extenders deliver real, usable optical reach (8.7x and 17.4x) with surprisingly good handheld stabilisation.
100W wired charging refills the big battery in roughly 46–50 minutes, with 40W wireless on top.
The 6.82-inch 144Hz LTPO AMOLED is among the best displays available, hitting ~1,900 nits in auto and ~3,300 nits peak.

Cons

The 35mm (~1.5x) default main focal length is polarising — many reviewers find it too tight/zoomed versus the usual 24mm.
It heats up quickly under sustained camera or gaming load and throttles to roughly 60–65% stability in prolonged stress tests.
The full experience needs the expensive Photography Kit — the global bundle approaches €2,600 and the 200mm lens isn't in every box.
Notebookcheck found it 'hardly better than the X300 Pro in camera performance despite top-notch hardware', and Linus preferred Oppo's less over-sharpened processing.
It launched in China first with a rocky early software state (fixed via updates), and global availability/pricing is limited and steep.

Vivo X300 Ultra

The reason the X300 Ultra exists: a near-1-inch 200MP 35mm main (Sony Lytia 901), a 200MP 85mm periscope, and the best ultrawide sensor on the market, tuned with Zeiss. Reviewers near-universally rate it the best-equipped camera phone of 2026 — with two important caveats: the 35mm default is divisive, and on raw image quality it's only marginally ahead of the cheaper X300 Pro.

At the center is a 200MP main that's nearly a 1-inch sensor (Sony Lytia 901), backed by a 200MP 85mm-equivalent periscope telephoto — the phone is focused on camera quality and, even more so, video.
Featuring three extra-large image sensors, the X300 Ultra's uncompromising camera hardware earned a solid rating — but it's hardly better than the cheaper X300 Pro in actual camera performance despite the top-notch hardware.
I'm not sure I've seen better results from even 1-inch sensors — it's so close to 1-inch and the 35mm focal length makes for more cinematic-looking shots; the 85mm periscope is the sweet spot for portraits.
It still holds the record for the best portrait-mode photos on a smartphone, especially at 85mm and 135mm; the 14mm ultrawide is sharp edge to edge.
Comparing it directly with the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, even though the Vivo looks great at a glance you could edit the Oppo image and get better detail because the Vivo isn't all over-sharpened and crusty.
Schools the Galaxy S26 Ultra in zoom quality without an excessive camera count — shaping up to be one of the best camera phones not just for 2026 but 2027 and 2028.
The 35mm main is divisive — many feel 24mm is better for phone photography and that 35mm is too tight; cropping to 23–28mm shows a noticeable detail drop.

Performance

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

The bespoke Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy (3.36GHz, higher-binned) was the fastest mobile chip of its day, with a much-improved vapor chamber. Three years on it still feels snappy for everyday use, only outclassed by the latest 8 Gen 3/4 silicon.

Powered by a bespoke 'Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy' — same chip as other 8 Gen 2 devices but clocked higher at 3.36GHz vs the standard 3.2GHz.
12GB RAM + 256GB UFS 4.0 base storage, scaling up to 1TB — flagship-tier specs that still hold up in 2026.
Significantly cooler under sustained load than the S22 Ultra and even the iPhone 14 Pro Max thanks to a larger vapor chamber.
Still smooth in 2026 for everyday use, app switching and Call of Duty — multitasking remains snappy on 12GB RAM.
Sustained-load testing showed frame rate improvements over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 with much less throttling.

Vivo X300 Ultra

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 plus Vivo's custom imaging silicon delivers flagship benchmark numbers and strong gaming, but the camera-heavy hardware runs hot — sustained stress tests show roughly 60–65% stability and the camera app warms it up fast.

At the heart is Qualcomm's current flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, supplemented by Vivo's custom VS1 and V3-Plus imaging chips.
It boots in 16 seconds (vs 21s for the S26 Ultra and 19s for the iPhone 17 Pro Max) and posts an AnTuTu score over 3,800,000, stronger than Samsung.
In a prolonged stress test it throttled CPU performance to about 60% of peak — in line with other high-powered flagships — and 3DMark stability landed around 63–66%.
It gets a bit hot after 30–40 minutes of gaming, but with no throttling even past an hour and never uncomfortable to hold; boost mode at max graphics gives around 4 hours of Wuthering Waves on a full charge.
Native 120fps gaming with smooth/very-high graphics in many titles, with temperature barely crossing 35°C and power draw around 4W in battle-royale modes.

Battery & Charging

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

5,000mAh paired with the efficient 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy delivered the era's best Android battery life — 6-7 hours of screen-on time, still close to 5 hours of mixed heavy use after 2 years. The catch is charging speed: 45W wired (and a special cable is needed to hit it) when rivals offer 80W+.

5,000mAh battery + the efficient 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy gives 6-7 hours of screen-on time at full brightness in WQHD with no power-save modes.
Two-year battery test still delivered ~4h44m of mixed heavy SOT (PUBG, Genshin, 4K video, Spotify) — strong longevity even after 2 years.
Pure-runtime lab test hit 11h5m vs 8h13m on the S22 Ultra — a major efficiency leap from the Snapdragon chip alone.
45W wired charging: 40% in 15 min, 72% in 30 min, 91% in 45 min, full in ~1h3m — but only with a separate 5A cable and 45W brick.
The included box cable doesn't trigger Super Fast Charging 2.0 — Samsung sells the 5A cable and 45W brick separately, a recurring complaint.
15W wireless charging works as advertised: 20% in 20 min, 50% in 50 min, full in 1h58m.
Versus OnePlus 11's 80W charging (~25 min full): the S23 Ultra's 45W feels noticeably slow — the era's clearest charging gap.

Vivo X300 Ultra

Vivo grew the silicon-carbon cell 10% to 6,600mAh while keeping the body the same size. Real-world endurance is strong — ~16h active-use score, ~7h heavy screen-on, 13–14 hour days with charge to spare — and 100W wired refills it in under an hour, with 40W wireless.

Vivo increased the battery by 10% to 6,600mAh despite the phone being practically the same size on paper.
In our battery test it earned an active-use score of almost 16 hours; 100W charging took it 0–66% in 30 minutes and a full charge in 46 minutes, plus 40W wireless. A charger is in the box except in Europe.
On the China version I'm finishing entire 13–14 hour days with 25–30% left; the global version keeps the 6,600mAh cell so battery life should comfortably last 12–13 hours of heavy use.
Getting nearly 7 hours of screen-on time with very heavy usage from the 6,600mAh silicon-carbon unit, with 100W wired and 40W wireless charging support.
After a 4-hour heavy-usage simulation the phone still had ~45% battery left, which is solid by today's standards, and 100W wired charging takes about 45 minutes to full.