Throughout the use of Galaxy S23 Ultra, I have a lot of fun experiences with this phone. I didn’t expect that I could put my iPhone 14 Pro aside and use a completely Android phone, of course there are still some inconveniences because I have been attached to Apple’s ecosystem.

Galaxy S23 Ultra is a valuable phone to use and worth experiencing.

Switching from iPhone 14 Pro to S23 Ultra is a very big phone, but I like the Ultra line so I have to accept it, actually there is no other way.

In this overall, I like the screen less curved (almost flat) and the edges are more square, very “masculine”.

It can be said that looking at any angle, S23 Ultra is beautiful and harmonious.

The actual daily use process, I don’t need a screen as big as S23 Ultra, putting it in my pants pocket is also more difficult than iPhone 14 Pro.

I really like the always-on screen (AOD) on Android phones.

Using both phones, I can see how boring AOD on iPhone is.

Galaxy S23 Ultra lets me customize this screen a lot, from how to display the clock, color to notification. The notifications on the always-on screen are also just small icons, they look very comfortable and not as big as iPhone, because in the end this screen is just for us to glance at the time and see if there are notifications, if anyone texts me or not.

About notifications, I turn on the flashing edge of the screen when there are new notifications, this is a bit flashy but also fun 😁

Depending on each notification icon, this edge flashes according to that color, we can also adjust it.

Or record calls, I rarely use it but when I need to listen to a call again, I will find it so helpful.

The power button of S23 Ultra can be customized and assigned functions to quickly access the camera or call the virtual assistant.

I set it to press twice to enter the camera, this is very convenient and fast because I don’t have to operate on the touch screen.

I heard that iPhone 15 will have a customizable button like this, we can assign multiple functions to it to quickly access a feature or setting.

There are some things that Apple users find inconvenient when switching over, for me it’s AirDrop, AirPlay and CarPlay. ( I’m sure a lot of people will tell me I’m a fool because of course this is a Samsung Phone 😁😁😁. It’s also a bit difficult for iFan like me when I’m used to Apple’s ecosystem )

I use a MacBook, sometimes I shoot videos with my iPhone and AirDrop with my MacBook is very convenient and fast, when I switch phones it also affects my workflow that I’m so used to.

I use HomePod both at home and at work, then S23 Ultra can’t play music on the speakers, so I have to find another way.

My car also doesn’t have Android Auto so I can’t connect S23 Ultra to the entertainment system in the car as fully as possible.

CarPlay allows me to use the phone interface on the car screen, allowing navigation, music, phone calls, podcasts…

When using S23 Ultra, I only have one way to connect via Bluetooth to listen to music, and you guys know how boring it is.

I don’t use Samsung Pay but I use GPay because I think that later if I use any other Android phone it will be more convenient. I have to say that Samsung Pay or GPay is great for those who often use payment cards.

With GPay, I just need to unlock my phone, I don’t need to go into the app or do anything else and touch the POS machine and I can pay.

Many times I try to touch it and lift it up right away, somewhere less than 1s then it still recognizes. Fast and Furious.

The S Pen for me is good, butI don’t use it much. There are two things I use it for: translating words when reading Japan news and using it for tasks that require precision.

For example, when editing photos with Lightroom, I drag the adjustment bars then Android doesn’t do it very accurately, not as good as iOS then the S Pen has helped me solve that problem. Using the pen tip to edit photos is great, you guys try it.

The under-screen fingerprint sensor of S23 Ultra has a very fast speed but I think I prefer Face ID more, because it is convenient for my needs.

A very simple example is that I ride a motorbike with protective gloves, then I can’t use the fingerprint sensor, while iPhone 14 Pro still supports face unlock even when wearing a mask and wearing gloves still operate on the screen.

The only case where I find the fingerprint sensor more convenient than Face ID is when I put the phone on the table, I just need to touch my hand to open the machine, while iPhone I have to lift the phone up, or put my face in the right position, or use passcode.

I chose the lowest version, which is 8GB RAM, then I found it optimal for my needs, for battery.

I usually don’t like to evaluate performance, benchmark numbers, but once I tried to see the RAM manager, I saw that with normal usage, no gaming, the phone had about 2GB RAM left over.

So if you guys play games or want to use it for a long time, 8GB RAM may not be enough. I’m not sure if higher RAM consumes more battery either, but S23 Ultra is truly a machine with a very good battery.

I won’t say much about the battery of S23 Ultra but it’s really impressive, I never have to charge it halfway through the day, only at night when I sleep I put it on the wireless charging dock.

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