Google Pixel 8a / Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

The always-on display shows the time, notifications and the song playing nearby (Now Playing) at low power while the phone is locked.

Adaptive refresh drops to as low as 1 Hz when content is static to save power and rises to 120 Hz when scrolling and gaming. Vision Booster adjusts colour and contrast in bright conditions across three lighting levels; the edge curve is reduced compared with the S22 Ultra.

The upper limit, 90 Hz on earlier A-series phones, rises to 120 Hz on this model; Google notes it is not available in every app.

HDR brightness is measured with the whole screen lit and peak brightness with only 5% lit.

The aluminium in the housing and camera bar is 100% recycled; the back cover uses 76% recycled plastic.

IP67 means full dust protection and resistance to brief immersion; it is one step below IP68. Protection can diminish over time.

It is the same chip as the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

Samsung says the vapour chamber is larger on every S23-series model.

There is no card slot; the 256 GB option is not offered in every country.

Memory depends on the storage option; usable space is lower because of preloaded software. There is no memory card slot.

Super Res Zoom up to 8x is software magnification; there is no telephoto camera.

On the S23 series the front camera gets fast autofocus and 60 fps Super HDR.

The Expert RAW app (downloaded separately from the Galaxy Store) offers RAW capture at up to 50 MP.

According to Google, average battery life in testing was at least 31 hours; figures are based on a median user profile.

No charger is included; the box contains a USB-C cable and a Quick Switch adapter for transferring data from an old phone.

The seven years count from the first sale date on the US Google Store; this was the first A-series phone with the promise.

Update timing can vary by model and market.

According to Samsung, the S23 series was the first S series to use Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

The 200 MP sensor outputs 200, 50 or 12 MP images through pixel binning. 100x Space Zoom combines 10x optical with 10x AI-assisted digital zoom; image quality may deteriorate beyond 10x. The optical stabilisation angle was doubled compared with the S22 Ultra.

45 W requires a separately sold 45 W adapter and a 5 A USB-C cable; wired charging is compatible with QC2.0 and AFC. Wireless PowerShare charges Qi-compatible devices from the back of the phone when the battery is above 30%.

Using Wi‑Fi 6E’s 6 GHz band needs a Wi‑Fi 6E router and market availability.

Knox Vault keeps critical data in separate hardware isolated from the operating system.

Samsung does not recommend beach or pool use.