The color accuracy of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra varies significantly across different lighting conditions when compared to other flagship smartphones. Hereâs a detailed comparison based on various lighting scenarios:
General Color Performance
- Saturation and Fidelity: The S23 Ultra exhibits saturated colors, which can be perceived as overly vibrant, especially in bright conditions. However, it has shown improvements in color fidelity compared to its predecessor, the S22 Ultra. Notably, while the S22 Ultra had an orange cast, the S23 Ultra tends to display a green cast, which negatively affects skin tone rendering[1][3].- Color Gamut: The S23 Ultra covers 112.2% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, indicating strong performance in reproducing a wide range of colors[4]. In contrast, the iPhone 14 and Google Pixel 7 Pro cover 83.1% and 79.4% of the same spectrum respectively, suggesting that the S23 Ultra has an edge in terms of color range[8].
Performance in Different Lighting Conditions
- Indoor Lighting (1000 lux): Under controlled indoor lighting conditions, the S23 Ultra performs reasonably well but still shows a tendency towards oversaturation. It manages to reproduce colors accurately but struggles with maintaining natural skin tones due to its green cast[1][2].- Bright Outdoor Lighting (>90,000 lux): In bright sunlight, the S23 Ultra's display reaches a peak brightness of around 1910 nits in High Brightness Mode. While this allows for good readability outdoors, it tends to lose subtle color nuances and can oversaturate colors further[1][3]. Comparatively, the iPhone 14 Pro performs better in terms of maintaining color accuracy under similar conditions[5].
- Low Light Conditions: In low-light scenarios, the S23 Ultra captures good detail but often introduces noise and can produce unnatural color casts (e.g., a yellow tint). This is particularly evident when compared to competitors like the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which maintains more accurate colors and finer details in similar conditions[5][6].
Summary of Findings
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra excels in high brightness and offers a wide color gamut but struggles with color accuracy due to its tendency to oversaturate colors and introduce casts under various lighting conditions. While it performs well compared to its predecessor and some competitors, it does not consistently outperform devices like the iPhone 14 Pro Max regarding natural color reproduction, especially in challenging lighting scenarios.Citations:
[1] https://www.dxomark.com/samsung-galaxy-s23-ultra-display-test/
[2] https://blog.sbenny.com/technology/smartphones/smartphone-reviews/smartphone-display-reviews/samsung-galaxy-s23-display-test-2/
[3] https://www.xda-developers.com/samsung-galaxy-s23-ultra-display-deep-dive/
[4] https://www.tomsguide.com/phones/samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-vs-samsung--galaxy-s23-ultra
[5] https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/iphone-15-pro-max-camera-vs-galaxy-s23-ultra-which-is-best/
[6] https://www.dxomark.com/samsung-galaxy-s23-ultra-camera-test/
[7] https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s23_ultra-review-2526p3.php
[8] https://www.tomsguide.com/opinion/ive-tested-the-galaxy-s23-and-this-is-my-favorite-feature