Galaxy S23 Ultra tests indicate the parity of the Android flagship

Initial CPU benchmarks for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra have surfaced online, suggesting that its custom chip might not deliver that much of a boost.

On the eve of the launch Galaxy S23 Ultramuch was done custom’Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxythe chip that will power Samsung’s new line of phones. This modified component will reportedly run faster than other 2023 Android flagships running the stock Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Now that the latest hardware is in the hands of reviewers, initial tests of the Galaxy S23 Ultra are starting to trickle out. Based on Geekbench 5 scores provided CompareDial at least the Galaxy S23 Ultra doesn’t really offer a performance advantage.

Indeed, with a multi-core score of 4584, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is slightly below the other Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones we’ve tested. I personally found the iQOO 11 at 4855 and OnePlus 11 at 4,867.

In terms of single-core mode, the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s score of 1480 is about the same as the iQOO 11’s (1462), but ahead of the OnePlus 11’s 1159.

So at the end of the day, the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s processor seems largely indistinguishable from other Android flagships that run on a mere Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Meanwhile, all Android flagships are running well behind iPhone 14 Pro Max CPU-wise, its single-core score of 1872 and multi-core score of 5264 blew everyone away.

That’s not to say that Samsung’s deal with Qualcomm hasn’t brought other benefits, but they’re likely to be specific to Samsung’s particular setup rather than offering any meaningful sense of performance margin over the competition.

Of course, benchmarks should never be the basis of any purchase decision. For a more rounded look, you’ll have to wait for our final Galaxy S23 Ultra review. Stay tuned for updates on that front.