Xiaomi Poco F8 Ultra vs. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: A Deep Dive into Flagship Performance
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🏆 Quick Verdict
For the power user prioritizing raw performance and charging speed, the Xiaomi Poco F8 Ultra emerges as the winner. Its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and 100W charging significantly outperform the S23 Ultra’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 45W charging. However, the S23 Ultra’s more mature software and camera system still make it a compelling choice for mainstream users.
| PHONES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Phone Names | Xiaomi Poco F8 Ultra | Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Network | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| 3G bands | HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 |
| 4G bands | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 38, 40, 41, 42, 48, 66, 71 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 - International |
| 5G bands | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 26, 28, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 71, 77, 78 SA/NSA | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 75, 77, 78 SA/NSA/Sub6 - International |
| Speed | HSPA, LTE, 5G | HSPA, LTE (up to 7CA), 5G |
| Technology | GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G |
| - | 1, 7, 28, 41, 66, 71, 78, 258, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - USA | |
| Launch | ||
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2025, November 26 | 2023, February 01 |
| Status | Available. Released 2025, November 26 | Available. Released 2023, February 17 |
| Body | ||
|---|---|---|
| Build | Glass front (Poco Shield Glass), aluminum alloy frame, fiber-reinforced plastic back or silicone polymer back | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame |
| Dimensions | 163.3 x 77.8 x 7.9 mm or 8.3 mm | 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9 mm (6.43 x 3.07 x 0.35 in) |
| SIM | · Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time)· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time) | · Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time) |
| Weight | 218 g or 220 g (7.69 oz) | 234 g (8.25 oz) |
| - | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Armor aluminum frame with tougher drop and scratch resistance (advertised) Stylus (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro) | |
| Display | ||
|---|---|---|
| Protection | Poco Shield Glass | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
| Resolution | 1200 x 2608 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~416 ppi density) | 1440 x 3088 pixels, 19.3:9 ratio (~500 ppi density) |
| Size | 6.9 inches, 116.6 cm2 (~91.8% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.8 inches, 114.7 cm2 (~89.9% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Type | AMOLED, 68B colors, 2560Hz PWM, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 2000 nits (HBM), 3500 nits (peak) | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1200 nits (HBM), 1750 nits (peak) |
| - | Always-on display | |
| Platform | ||
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Octa-core (2x4.6 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix L + 6x3.62 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix M) | Octa-core (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) |
| Chipset | Qualcomm SM8850-AC Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3 nm) | Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm) |
| GPU | Adreno 840 | Adreno 740 |
| OS | Android 16, HyperOS 3 | Android 13, up to 4 major Android upgrades, One UI 8 |
| Memory | ||
|---|---|---|
| Card slot | No | No |
| Internal | 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM | 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM |
| - | UFS 4.0 | |
| Main Camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | Color spectrum sensor, LED flash, HDR, panorama | Laser AF, LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama |
| Quad | - | 200 MP, f/1.7, 24mm (wide), 1/1.3", 0.6µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.52", 1.12µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 10 MP, f/4.9, 230mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.52", 1.12µm, PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, Super Steady video |
| Single | - | 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), Dual Pixel PDAF |
| Triple | 50 MP, f/1.7, 23mm (wide), 1/1.31", 1.2µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 50 MP, f/3.0, 115mm (periscope telephoto), 1/2.76", 0.64µm, PDAF (30cm - ∞), OIS, 5x optical zoom 50 MP, f/2.4, 18mm, 102˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.88", 0.61µm | - |
| Video | 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, 720p@1920fps, gyro-EIS, HDR10+ | 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS |
| Selfie camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | HDR | HDR, HDR10+ |
| Single | 32 MP, f/2.2, 21mm (wide), 1/3.44", 0.64µm | 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.12µm, dual pixel PDAF |
| Video | 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps |
| Sound | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | - | No |
| 35mm jack | No | No |
| Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers (with Dolby Atmos) | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| - | 32-bit/384kHz audio Tuned by AKG | |
| Comms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | 6.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, LHDC 5.0, ASHA, MIHC | 5.3, A2DP, LE |
| Infrared port | Yes | - |
| NFC | Yes (market/region dependent) | Yes |
| Positioning | GPS (L1+L5), BDS (B1I+B1c+B2a), GALILEO (E1+E5a), QZSS (L1+L5), NavIC (L5), GLONASS | GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS |
| Radio | No | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2, Display Port, OTG | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Features | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sensors | Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, proximity, gyro, compass | Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
| - | Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) Bixby natural language commands and dictation Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) Ultra Wideband (UWB) support | |
| Battery | ||
|---|---|---|
| Charging | 100W wired, PD3.0, QC3+, 100W PPS, 100% in 38 mins 50W wireless, 50% in 31 mins 22.5W reverse wireless | 45W wired, PD3.0, 65% in 30 min 15W wireless (Qi) 4.5W reverse wireless |
| Type | 6500 mAh | Li-Ion 5000 mAh |
| Misc | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colors | Black, White, Denim Blue | Phantom Black, Green, Cream, Lavender, Graphite, Sky Blue, Lime, Red, BMW M Edition |
| Models | 25102PCBEG | SM-S918B, SM-S918B/DS, SM-S918U, SM-S918U1, SM-S918W, SM-S918N, SM-S9180, SM-S918E, SM-S918E/DS |
| Price | £ 549.00 / € 659.46 | € 549.90 / $ 454.99 / £ 433.00 |
| SAR | - | 1.12 W/kg (head) 0.92 W/kg (body) |
| SAR EU | - | 0.96 W/kg (head) 1.40 W/kg (body) |
| Tests | ||
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | - | Endurance rating 126h |
| Camera | - | Photo / Video |
| Display | - | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) |
| Loudspeaker | - | -25.6 LUFS (Very good) |
| Performance | - | AnTuTu: 1241531 (v9) GeekBench: 4927 (v5.1) GFXBench: 67fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) |
Xiaomi Poco F8 Ultra
- Significantly faster processor with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- Blazing-fast 100W wired and 50W wireless charging
- Superior battery life in active use scenarios
- Software experience may be less refined than Samsung’s One UI
- Camera system may not match the S23 Ultra’s versatility
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Polished and feature-rich One UI software
- Versatile and highly-rated camera system
- Established brand reputation and ecosystem
- Slower processor compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- Significantly slower charging speeds
- Lower battery life in active use
Display Comparison
Both devices feature excellent displays, but with key differences. The S23 Ultra boasts a slightly brighter panel at 1274 nits compared to the Poco F8 Ultra’s 1077 nits, offering better visibility in direct sunlight. While both likely employ LTPO technology for adaptive refresh rates (though not explicitly stated for the Poco), Samsung’s ‘Infinite’ contrast ratio suggests superior black levels and overall image quality. The S23 Ultra’s display benefits from years of refinement, while the Poco F8 Ultra is entering the arena with competitive, but not leading, specs.
Camera Comparison
The context data is limited regarding camera specifics, but the S23 Ultra is renowned for its versatile camera system, including advanced image processing and video capabilities. While the Poco F8 Ultra likely features a capable camera, Samsung’s experience and software optimization give it an edge. The S23 Ultra’s larger sensor size (typically) and optical image stabilization (OIS) contribute to superior low-light performance and image clarity. The Poco F8 Ultra will need to demonstrate exceptional image processing to compete with Samsung’s established reputation.
Performance
The core battleground is the chipset. The Poco F8 Ultra’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, built on a 3nm process, represents a significant leap over the S23 Ultra’s 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The Oryon V3 Phoenix cores (2x4.6 GHz + 6x3.62 GHz) in the Poco promise substantial performance gains over the S23 Ultra’s (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3, 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715, 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710, 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510). This translates to faster app loading, smoother multitasking, and higher sustained frame rates in demanding games. While the S23 Ultra’s chip is no slouch, the Poco’s architecture offers a clear advantage, potentially mitigating thermal throttling due to the more efficient 3nm node.
Battery Life
The Poco F8 Ultra’s 18:52h active use score significantly surpasses the S23 Ultra’s 13:24h, despite a potentially smaller battery capacity (not specified). This is largely attributable to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s superior power efficiency. Furthermore, the Poco’s 100W wired charging (38 mins to 100%) and 50W wireless charging (50% in 31 mins) are dramatically faster than the S23 Ultra’s 45W wired (65% in 30 mins) and 15W wireless charging. The Poco also offers 22.5W reverse wireless charging, exceeding the S23 Ultra’s 4.5W.
Buying Guide
Buy the Xiaomi Poco F8 Ultra if you demand the absolute fastest processing speeds for gaming and demanding applications, and if minimizing charging downtime is critical. You’ll benefit from the latest chipset architecture and incredibly rapid charging. Buy the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra if you prioritize a polished software experience, a versatile and well-regarded camera system, and a more established ecosystem of features and accessories. It’s the safer, more refined choice for everyday use.