Should you wait for the Pixel 8 Pro or buy the Galaxy S23 Ultra now?

In the event you walked right into a retailer and requested for the very best Android telephone, you’d possible be pointed to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely. Samsung’s massive and unapologetic flagship ticks all the appropriate containers for individuals who don’t thoughts spending the massive bucks. Within the land of the Apple and Samsung duopoly, maybe the one different Android telephone that may add a garnish of competitors is the Google Pixel 8 Professional. In the event you’re on the cusp of constructing a telephone buy, must you watch for the Pixel 8 Professional, or must you go forward and purchase the Galaxy S23 Extremely? We try to remedy your conundrum on this article.

Editor’s observe: Google has but to announce the Pixel 8 collection, and any details about it’s primarily based on rumors or hypothesis. As renders and pictures usually are not obtainable for the Pixel 8 Professional, the Pixel 7 Professional is used as a reference. Maintain that in thoughts as we transfer ahead with this text.

Let’s handle the most important elephant within the room: should you’re contemplating both the Galaxy S23 Extremely or the Pixel 8 Professional, you higher have some massive palms. In search of one thing a bit extra affordable? We’ve additionally checked out whether or not it is best to seize the Galaxy S23 or watch for the Pixel 8.

In the event you’re nonetheless right here I take you’re within the larger is healthier camp. Nicely, you’re in luck; the Galaxy S23 Extremely is without doubt one of the largest Android telephones you should purchase that doesn’t deliberately fold in half. With dimensions admeasuring 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9mm, it’s not going to be a simple suggestion for anybody who needs a one-handed telephone. All that bodily footprint is put to good use in the direction of the versatile digital camera, the big battery, and the S Pen that’s housed inside the physique. At 234g of weight, your palms will even really feel the heft of the telephone while you seize it.

All of that weight and dimension on the S23 Extremely leads us to a wonderful 6.8-inch 3,088 x 1,440 AMOLED show, which is considered the very best within the enterprise. The show is curved on the edges, albeit not as a lot because the S22 Extremely.

We don’t have the precise dimensions of the Pixel 8 Professional at this stage. Nevertheless, leaks and rumors counsel that Google shall be sticking to the identical dimension as with the Pixel 7 Professional. There could also be some minor deviations within the actual dimensions, however the Pixel 7 Professional’s 162.9 x 76.6 x 8.9 mm dimensions are ballpark for the Pixel 8 Professional’s footprint. We’re additionally anticipating the Pixel 8 Professional to stay near the Pixel 7 Professional’s 6.7-inch show dimension.

You’d discover that the Pixel 7 Professional’s (and by extension, Pixel 8 Professional’s) dimensions are a couple of millimeters smaller than that of the Galaxy S23 Extremely. These millimeters solely turn out to be obvious while you evaluate each telephones side-by-side. In actuality, each telephones are massive. So don’t count on the Pixel 8 Professional to be any simpler to deal with for its “smaller” dimension. The Pixel 8 Professional’s dimension might turn out to be a bit tough to digest while you understand that it doesn’t home any S Pen performance both, so it’s only a massive telephone with out as a lot obvious {hardware} profit because the Galaxy S23 Extremely.

The Galaxy S23 Extremely is virtually similar to its predecessor, the S22 Extremely. The one actual variations are the marginally bigger digital camera holes and the display curve radius. And all of it is a good factor as a result of the S Extremely lineup boasts some exceptionally well-built telephones. There’s a stable aluminum body right here with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back and front. All of it provides as much as and chunky smartphone. It’s possible you’ll battle to confidently grip it with one hand due to the scale and the 234g of weight, however you’d by no means get the sensation of “low cost” on this telephone. It’s premium by means of and thru.

We don’t have particulars in regards to the Pixel 8 Professional’s design and construct high quality as of but. If we needed to take a guess, Google may proceed to construct up on the distinctive design language that it has rigorously created with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 collection. The broad digital camera visor on the again of those units offers them an identification that stands out within the sea of similar-looking Android units, and we might like to see the identical constructed up on the Pixel 8 Professional. We additional have no idea if the visor shall be fabricated from glass or aluminum.

Despite the fact that the again materials stays unconfirmed, our cash can be on it being glass. So a mixture of the aluminum mid-frame and good high quality glass on the back and front would enable the Pixel 8 Professional to really feel simply as premium because the S23 Extremely.

We might have some excellent news on the burden entrance. The Pixel 7 Professional weighs 212g. So except Google makes some drastic divergences, the Pixel 8 Professional must also be inside 10g of this quantity.

All in all, except Google actually messes issues up, the Pixel 8 Professional ought to proceed to retain the Pixel identification, of which there are numerous followers. We’ll allow you to select which telephone appears to be like higher when we’ve advertising renders.

The Galaxy S23 Extremely has one card up its sleeve that the remainder of the competitors merely doesn’t: the S Pen. The S Pen is a stylus that’s housed inside the physique of the S23 Extremely, tracing its roots again to the legendary Galaxy Observe collection. With the S Pen, you unlock a complete host of exact scribbling and drawing performance. The stylus may also be used for system navigation and management.

Whereas Google has not explicitly denied the presence of a stylus on the Pixel 8 Professional, not one of the earlier Pixels have supported an energetic stylus or have come included with one. And we don’t count on that to alter with the Pixel 8 Professional both.

The Galaxy S23 collection comes with the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in a particular “for Galaxy” avatar. This collaboration between Samsung and Qualcomm offers us a chip that has the next clock pace on the prime core in addition to a slightly larger clock pace on the GPU in comparison with the vanilla model of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. So what you get is great efficiency due to the 1+(2+2)+3 core setup and general improved thermal effectivity year-on-year.

That is additionally the primary time everybody all over the world will get the identical Qualcomm processor, as Samsung has benched its Exynos variants for this technology. For RAM, the Galaxy S23 Extremely will get 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and for storage, you get choices of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage. There isn’t any microSD card slot on the Galaxy S23, very like the way it has at all times been the case for the Pixels.

Forecasting for the Pixel 8, leaks counsel it would include the brand new Tensor G3 processor. We don’t know the efficiency and effectivity capabilities of this processor, so all observations are by means of its predecessor, the Tensor G2. We all know that the Tensor G2 performs effectively as a flagship SoC for normal utilization however falls behind Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8-series choices in GPU and sustained efficiency. Evaluating the Tensor G2 to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the Snapdragon has lead, particularly to be used circumstances like gaming. So it stays to be seen if Google can meet up with the Tensor G3.

In the event you name your self a gamer, going with the Galaxy S23 Extremely straight away makes numerous sense. We’re not writing off the Tensor G3, however primarily based on previous developments on the unique Tensor and Tensor G2, gaming hasn’t been a big focus for Google. There’s nothing to point that is altering in 2023. However the Galaxy S23 Extremely already performs effectively in gaming, so you may safely decide the Samsung telephone on your day by day Fortnite wants.

In the event you depend on AI-related duties, like capabilities across the Google Assistant, there’s an argument to be made on how the following Tensor might be definitely worth the wait, figuring out Google’s eager give attention to AI efficiency.

For different bits of efficiency, the Pixel 8 Professional is predicted to return with 12GB of RAM. We do not need data on the storage numbers, nor do we’ve data on the technical specification beneath.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely comes with an insanely versatile set of cameras that additionally excel in setting a excessive bar for the remainder of the smartphone market. There are 4 cameras on the again of the gadget, and all 4 serve their functions very effectively.

The first digital camera is a 200MP ISOCELL HP2 1/1.3-inch sensor with an f/1.7 aperture, which provides you with wonderful outcomes, day or evening. Aside from slight complaints of shutter lag and consequent movement blur, there actually isn’t a lot to complain in regards to the S23 Extremely’s main sensor, and that claims one thing. Take a look at a few of the samples from the first sensor beneath:

The S23 Extremely opts for the 12MP Sony IMX564 sensor for the ultrawide shooter, with a 1/2.55-inch sensor, f/2.2 aperture, and 120-degree FoV. Whereas there are nonetheless some variations in high quality between the first and ultrawide sensors, it’s the narrowest margin within the S-series historical past, a sworn statement to the years of evolution of Samsung’s processing algorithm.

Telephoto zoom duties are dealt with by the 10MP ISOCELL S5K3K1 sensor that may do 3x optical zoom and has an f/2.4 aperture. The fourth digital camera is the 10MP 1/3.52″ sensor that has an f/4.9 aperture and is liable for 10x optical zoom. That is the Galaxy S23 Extremely’s get together trick, as it might probably deal with each 3x and 10x zooms optically. Distances between 1x, 3x, and 10x milestones are completed by means of a digital crop from the upper zoom sensor.

What the Galaxy S23 Extremely additionally manages to do effectively is 30x and 100x digital zoom, a characteristic unmatched by some other telephone offered within the US. 30x zoom images have additionally been pretty usable now, and whereas it received’t be wallpaper materials, it’s nonetheless helpful to seize data at a distance that was merely not doable earlier than.

The entrance digital camera is a 12MP ISOCELL S5K3LU that can also be seen on the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus. It’s technically a {hardware} downgrade from the 40MP sensor on the Galaxy S22 Extremely, however most common customers are unlikely to note a distinction.

The ultimate takeaway from the Galaxy S23 Extremely’s digital camera setup is that it’s arguably the very best smartphone digital camera you should purchase within the US. The iPhone 14 Professional Max maintains a slight lead in video, however oh so barely. The Google Pixels have wonderful post-processing, however Samsung has turn out to be the king of versatility with the S23 Extremely. Irrespective of the taking pictures situation, you’ll at all times be well-equipped to take shot with the Galaxy S23 Extremely. The one actual grievance, as talked about, can be the shutter lag and the accompanying movement blur, which may be a difficulty in case your main topics are excited pets and youngsters.

The Pixel 8 Professional’s digital camera continues to be a good thriller. Early leaks counsel that Google might be upgrading from the 50MP ISOCELL GN1 sensor to the GN2 sensor, bringing alongside assist for options like staggered HDR. If this seems to be the case, then you may count on to see faster HDR photographs with higher particulars and richer colours.

The Professional Pixel is the place Google experiments a bit with the auxiliary digital camera {hardware}. We don’t have good data on any experiments but on the Pixel 8 Professional, however it’s nonetheless protected to presume that we are going to see at the very least three digital camera sensors, with the first and ultra-wide being guess. The third digital camera will possible stay a telephoto with optical zoom, however admittedly, issues may change by the point the product formally releases.

No matter whether or not we see {hardware} modifications or not, there’s one factor we are able to safely assure for the Pixel 8 Professional: Google’s computational pictures magic. Google leans very closely into letting post-processing do the heavy lifting quite than simply the pure {hardware}. Because of this, Pixel cameras have at all times punched approach above their weight than their boring spec sheet numbers. It’s even arduous to recall when a Pixel’s digital camera was unhealthy, ever. So we stay very optimistic about what Google can do with the Pixel 8 Professional.

It’s very tough even to touch upon which might be a greater digital camera telephone: the Galaxy S23 Extremely in its present avatar, or the Pixel 8 Professional in its late 2023 avatar. The Galaxy S23 Extremely is without doubt one of the finest digital camera smartphones you should purchase straight away, however Google has the potential to actually increase the bar with the Pixel 8 Professional.

Software program will stay a divisive level of distinction between Samsung Galaxy and a Google Pixel telephones. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely comes with One UI 5.1 primarily based on Android 13, providing the acquainted Samsung expertise and all of the Galaxy ecosystem play together with it. One UI has its personal followers, and lots of respect the plethora of options that Samsung provides to get the very best out of the obtainable {hardware}.

Google hasn’t explicitly talked about something in regards to the Pixel 8 Professional’s software program state of affairs but, so we are going to use the Pixel 7 Professional because the baseline. We’re anticipating the Pixel 8 Professional to proceed to ship with inventory Android as the bottom and Google’s Pixel-specific additions on high. Everybody acquainted with inventory Android will respect the no-frills strategy, and all of Google’s Pixel UI additions are centered on enhancing your telephone expertise with smaller High quality-of-Life modifications. The Android base can also be possible going to be Android 14, as Google makes use of the Pixel launch as the chance for the general public launch of the following model of Android.

Whether or not the Pixel 8 Professional’s Android 14 plus Pixel UI expertise shall be higher than Galaxy S23 Extremely’s One UI 5.1 expertise is totally a subjective opinion. There are followers of each consumer experiences — some individuals like One UI’s characteristic abundance, whereas others strategy the extra thoughtfully-minimalistic strategy of Pixel UI. We additionally don’t know what new software program options Google will add to the Pixel 8 Professional, so we’ve to remain tuned for that.

For software program updates, you’re getting best-in-class replace insurance policies with Samsung. The Galaxy S23 Extremely will get 4 Android platform updates and 5 years of safety updates, which means it would rise up to Android 17 and safety patches as much as 2028. This makes it the telephone with essentially the most replace potential.

The Google Pixel 8 Professional might or might not be higher than Samsung, however we’re assured it would at the very least come very shut. Google guarantees as much as three Android platform updates and as much as 5 years of safety patch updates. Confidently presuming the Google Pixel 8 Professional launches with Android 14 in 2023, it would rise up to Android 17 and safety patches as much as 2028 as effectively. So whereas Google’s platform replace promise is technically decrease than Samsung’s by one technology, it will get equalized by the truth that the Pixel launch can also be the launch car for the most recent model of Android. There’s additionally a really small probability that Google manages to additional improve its software program replace promise — we’re retaining our fingers crossed.

The variety of updates is one argument, however the pace of supply for these updates is one other. Pixel telephones get all platform updates on day one. There could also be small delays due to bugs, however Google has largely delivered on this promise. Then again, Samsung will lag behind by a month or three for platform updates as One UI platform replace will even be delivered alongside the Android platform replace. This lag additionally will increase because the gadget will get older, which isn’t often the case with Google.

The story is surprisingly flipped for safety updates. Samsung regularly pushes safety updates to its units earlier than the safety bulletin is even launched for the month! Google at all times follows with an replace after the bulletin is launched.

All in all, each the Galaxy S23 Extremely and the Pixel 8 Professional are pretty much as good because it will get for the software program state of affairs general. Which gadget you select will find yourself being primarily based in your private choice in the direction of the UI: do you want One UI, or do you want Pixel UI?

The Professional Max iPhone is broadly considered the king of battery life on smartphones. However in 2023, Samsung really managed to one-up even the iPhone 14 Professional Max with the Galaxy S23 Extremely’s battery life.

The bodily battery on the Galaxy S23 Extremely has remained the identical at 5,000mAh, as seen on the Galaxy S22 Extremely. What has modified is a change over to LTPO 3.0 for refresh charge efficiencies, and a brand new and environment friendly Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. These have been sufficient to push the Galaxy S23 Extremely from being a one-day telephone like its predecessor to being a stable two-day telephone which can provide you 6-8 hours of display time. That’s very spectacular, contemplating the truth that it is a very highly effective, succesful, and versatile smartphone.

For the Pixel 8 Professional, as soon as once more, leaks haven’t pointed to its battery spec but. We’re hoping to see the gadget retain its 5,000mAh battery from the Pixel 7 Professional, which needs to be sufficient to ship a full day’s price of battery life to most customers.

Samsung is doing higher than Google in relation to charging speeds, albeit solely marginally. The Galaxy S23 Extremely boasts of 45W quick charging by means of a USB PD PPS charger. You possibly can count on to take underneath an hour for a full cost, which is respectable for the scale of the battery on the gadget.

There’s no data on what the Google Pixel 8 Professional will convey to the desk. If the Pixel 7 Professional is any reference, we aren’t anticipating a charging revolution both. The Pixel 7 Professional supported solely 23W charging, taking round one and a half hours for a full cost of the 5,000mAh battery. Irrespective of how you chop it, that’s quite sluggish. Google actually must catch as much as the remainder of the market right here, and we hope they do with the Pixel 8 Professional.

In the event you’re out there for a telephone buy straight away, and also you had been leaning in the direction of selecting up the Google Pixel 8 Professional, we’ve some unhealthy information for you: you’re going to have to attend some time. The Google Pixel 7 collection was simply launched in October 2022, so it’s just some months outdated. We’re nonetheless eight to 9 months away from the primary gross sales of the Google Pixel 8 Professional. It might even take Google a couple of months till Google I/O 2023 in Might to formally reveal any additional teasers in regards to the gadget.

So for the following few months, all that you’ll possible hear in regards to the Pixel 8 Professional shall be leaks and rumors. With historical past as our reference level, count on some Pixel 8 Professional teasers in Might throughout Google I/O, after which an official launch and first gross sales round October 2023.

Then again, the time is ripe to choose up the Galaxy S23 Extremely. The telephone was simply launched a couple of weeks in the past, and Samsung is being pretty beneficiant with its trade-in offers and reductions. Because the telephone may be very new and early in its launch cycle, you’re going to get numerous utility out of your buy within the type of common bug fixes and updates. Take pleasure in all the eye for nearly a 12 months till the following S collection launches in 2024.

Whereas we don’t know the value of the Pixel 8 collection and certain received’t understand it till the telephone really launches, we do know the overall development. Google doesn’t draw back from pricing its Professional flagship within the larger ranges. If you’d like a extra value-oriented product, there’s the vanilla Pixel and even the Pixel A collection.

The Pixel 7 Professional launched at $899 for the 8GB/128GB variant. We assume the Pixel 8 Professional will preserve the identical value stage, so count on to pay high greenback if you wish to decide the Pixel 8 Professional on launch day. In case you are tremendous with ready, we’ve seen the Pixel 7 Professional get as a lot as a $150 low cost in vacation gross sales, so you may take a threat on the Pixel 8 Professional taking place in value for the vacations too.

The Galaxy S23 Extremely, then again, is even much less shy from strutting its excessive price ticket. Beginning at $1,199 for the 8GB/256GB variant, the Galaxy S23 Extremely is considerably costlier than the Pixel 7 Professional. And we additionally count on it to remain costlier than the Pixel 8 Professional primarily based on present trajectories. Samsung can also be quite stingy with providing reductions on the Extremely collection submit the pre-order interval, so except you propose to choose a pre-owned or refurbished unit, we wouldn’t advise holding your breath on a good low cost.

The reply to this query rests closely on how urgently you want a brand new telephone, and what your funds can be. The largest hurdle in advising individuals to attend for the Pixel 8 Professional is the truth that you received’t be capable to purchase the telephone earlier than October 2023. In case you are in want of a telephone proper now, ready these many months will not be a possible resolution. Thus, it makes higher sense to choose up the Galaxy S23 Extremely instantly.

The one two the reason why somebody ought to wait until late 2023 for the Pixel 8 Professional is that if they’re an enormous fan of Google’s computational pictures strategy, and need to get a camera-centric top-tier flagship underneath $1,000. We admittedly have no idea the pricing of the Pixel 8 Professional, nevertheless it’s a protected guess to presume a sub-$1,000 flagship. We’re additionally massive followers of Google’s digital camera strategy on the Pixels, the place the hardware-software mixture punches above its weight on paper. It is sensible on this state of affairs to see what Google shall be doing earlier than committing to a telephone that you’ll use for a few years sooner or later.

In the event you do need a telephone straight away however nonetheless wish to persist with a Google Pixel, the Pixel 7 Professional is definitely a fairly good smartphone, even in 2023. The telephone was launched in late 2022, so it’s nonetheless pretty early in its launch cycle. And Google regularly provides shock reductions, letting you get the telephone for as little as $750 earlier than trade-in. That price ticket offers the Pixel 7 Professional some nice worth, particularly while you evaluate it to the Galaxy S23 Extremely’s $1,199 price ticket. One caveat price mentioning is that the Pixel 7 Professional will not be a really useful telephone for players, because the sustained efficiency and gaming efficiency of the Tensor G2 chip is lackluster, and also you’d get a considerably higher expertise from a Samsung flagship with a Qualcomm processor. You possibly can learn extra about how these two units evaluate in our Pixel 7 Professional vs Galaxy S23 Extremely comparability.

In the event you aren’t significantly eager on Google’s particular taste of computational pictures, the Galaxy S23 Extremely simply makes a lot sense. It does every thing that the Google Pixel 7 Professional does (and by extension, what the Pixel 8 Professional may do), after which some. It has a wonderful show, wonderful construct, distinctive and versatile digital camera, wonderful efficiency, wonderful battery life, and even an S Pen to spherical issues up. Nevertheless, all of this comes at a value.

If you’d like one thing a bit extra pocket-friendly, each when it comes to value and ergonomics, then check out the Galaxy S23 Plus too. It options numerous what makes the Galaxy S23 Extremely so nice, at a value that makes it extra palatable to a wider viewers. The $999 price ticket continues to be larger than the Pixel 7 Professional, although, so you’ll have to individually assess whether or not the Galaxy S23 Plus ticks all of the containers for you or not.