Think mine is going back. Lots of people are clearly happy, which is good, but for me it just doesn't feel like an upgrade over my Pixel 6 Pro. Exynos again seems poor compared to the SD variant and there are just too many bugs. Quick summary of my experience.
Battery life is poor. Drains at about the same rate as my Pixel even when the Ultra is just sat there doing nothing.
Screen is good, as you would expect with Samsung.
Speakers I think are disappointing. Nowhere near as good as the Note 20 Ultra I had.
Overall UI experience is not good enough. I wouldn't say the phone is a mess, but on my Pixel I can flick apps closed or open the app switcher and there is zero lag and it's smooth. On the Ultra it's just a bit....janky! Things like split screen really aren't smooth and I hate the blurring when you adjust the split screen ratio.
Software is fine, not too much bloat.
FPS is ok, but given the criticism of the Pixel's, I'd say the Ultra's is only slightly better. Face unlock is better than on the Note 20 Ultra I had, but it's no Face ID.
Camera is...ok. I'm warming to Samsung's images but it really does seem to oversaturate images, especially in low light. Anything in the house after dark looks like it's had a sepia filter applied. Zoom is good as is portrait mode. Haven't tried video or selfies. There's definitely shutter lag compared to other phones. Not ideal if you're aiming at something which moves!
Overall build quality is great, as you'd expect.
And that's about it. My advice if anyone is thinking of getting an Exynos version would be to wait. Your handset might be fine but I'd wait to see what updates come out over the next month. Or buy in such a way you can return it.
A shame really as I'd love to keep it as I fancy a change. I do wonder how much is down to Exynos as I have to say the Note 20 Ultra also left me underwhelmed. That's probably me done with Samsung until they sort out the SD / Exynos divide.
I do like the look of the Oppo X5 Pro and might give that a go. But if the iPhone 13 Pro Max had an AOD and I could transfer WhatsApp messages then I reckon that's where I'd go.