Samsung Galaxy S23 is a Compact Flagship phone

The Samsung Galaxy S23 is the most reasonably priced phone in the company’s 2023 S-Series lineup. Even if the Galaxy S24 has since taken its place, the Galaxy S23 is still a good option. Many of the high-end features included in the Galaxy S23 are also present in the Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra, such as the AMOLED display, 120Hz refresh rate, and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.

The battery now has a 3,900mAh capacity after being upgraded by 200mAh. The S22’s wired 25W charging capabilities are retained, along with the ability to charge wirelessly and reverse wirelessly. In terms of connectivity, the Galaxy S23 has Bluetooth 5.3 and tri-band Wi-Fi with 6e compatibility. Only the Plus and Ultra versions are eligible for the Ultra Wideband capability. To cut a long tale short, the Galaxy S23 is a speedier, better screen, bigger battery-carrying version of the Galaxy S22. Plus a more exquisite design, however, that’s always up for interpretation.

Price when reviewed: €594.90 | Check price at Amazon

Galaxy S23 KEY FEATURES

The 6.1-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the Galaxy S23 boasts an adjustable refresh rate of 120 Hz and a Full HD+ resolution. The Galaxy S23 has the smallest battery in the lineup, yet it still has flawless all-day battery life. Even in low light, the 50MP primary, 12MP ultrawide, and 10MP 3x telephoto lenses of the S23 provide a flexible configuration.

The Galaxy S23 lineup as a whole uses a Snapdragon chipset for the first time in a long time, so if you’re not into the Exynos platform, you don’t have to import a Qualcomm-powered device (though we won’t hold it against you). Better yet, Samsung employed a version that was only available on the Galaxy S23 phones that were overclocked and had faster CPU and GPU rates.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S23 UNBOXING

The phone, a USB-C connector, and a SIM ejector tool are all included in the thin paper box that the Galaxy S23 comes in. Samsung removed chargers and headphones from its boxes a couple of years ago, but we are glad it still provides cables (unlike Sony). And if you’ve bought a Samsung 25W charger, the one that has been available for a few years already, or any USB-C PD + PPS power adapter, you are already well prepared.

CAMERA

Even though the Galaxy S23 is the entry-level model in the series, it has a triple-lens camera setup. A 12MP ultrawide camera with an f/2.2 aperture, a 10MP telephoto camera with an f/2.4 aperture, and a 50MP primary camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) are all included. The selfie camera has a good 12-megapixel sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and dual-pixel autofocus.

Of course, the S23 Ultra with its 200MP primary camera sensor took center stage this year. Even though Samsung ought to have included the outdated 108MP camera from the S22 Ultra in the S23 and S23 Plus, the S23 overall still produces some excellent pictures.

I tried recording my 15-month-old toddler’s antics at the park in front of my house a few times, putting the camera to the test. When you push the shutter, a picture is recorded pretty rapidly because of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. The outcome is detailed photos with rich, bold colors. I also used the S23 to take pictures at Disneyland, and the results are bright, clear, and visually appealing.

I did occasionally notice that the colors didn’t seem to match the real world exactly, but it could also be because of Samsung’s display, which tends to be brighter and more saturated. I shot some pictures with both my iPhone 14 Pro and the S23, however, the color reproduction on the iPhone was more accurate and lifelike. However, if viewing the S23 images via Google Photos on a different display, such as the iPhone 14 Pro, the brightness and vibrancy are slightly reduced, bringing the images closer to reality.

I enjoy taking pictures in portrait mode whenever I can, and I think the Galaxy S23 does a better job at edge detection in portrait mode than my iPhone 14 Pro. Even on regular shots taken with the main camera, I significantly like the bokeh effect that the Galaxy S23 generates. The portrait mode images that I took with the S23 look amazing, especially selfies. The S23 does a fantastic job of lighting things up when necessary, so night mode images are fairly nice (though if you zoom in, some of the finer details are lost in the noise).

The Galaxy S23’s telephoto lens has an optical zoom of three times and a digital zoom of up to thirty times. Though 10x is pretty much the maximum magnification for taking good pictures, I was eager to test out the 30x zoom option. Most of the 20x and 30x images I captured resembled terrible watercolor drawings. A passenger cabin on the Pixar Pal-A-Round and the Disney 100 Years of Wonder sign above Disney California Adventure are two examples of photos that seem decent. But thirty times closer to a Disney duck? It certainly doesn’t look good. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is unquestionably the superior choice if you’re searching for sharp zoom photos—at least up to 30X.

The selfie camera also performs well in good lighting. The selfies I took seemed generally true to life, and the skin tones did not appear washed out. I did notice that the selfie camera occasionally made my lips appear bright and strangely orange, but this could be due to the lighting, as it does not happen all the time. By default, there is some skin smoothing, and you may pick whether the skin tone appears natural or warmer, but these can be changed to your preference.

DESIGN AND SCREEN

The Samsung Galaxy S23 is a stunning smartphone with a straightforward design. It is also durable, waterproof, and lightweight, making it an excellent choice. This year, Samsung chose an even cleaner design, which is available in Phantom Black, Cream, Green, Lavender, Graphite, and Lime – less than the Galaxy S22, but more than plenty.

We have the Galaxy S23 in Lavender, which is a really lovely color, easy on the eyes, and less prevalent on the market. The most essential hardware components of the new Galaxy S23 are the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panels, the protected aluminum frame, and the removal of the contour-cut camera housing in favor of a clean flat back. The curved panels remain restricted to the Galaxy S23 Ultra variant, which is fine. We found that the Galaxy S23’s flat front and rear sides were appropriate for its size and design. The new Victus 2 glass has better drop performance against hard surfaces like concrete, increasing the likelihood that the S23 will survive accidental drops against concrete, terracotta, granite tiles, and so on.

The new Galaxy S23 model features the same 6.1-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display as the Galaxy S22. It includes one major improvement: 35% higher peak brightness, which should enhance the HDR streaming experience. The AMOLED panel has the standard 2,340 x 1,080-pixel resolution, but on this 6.1-inch screen, it results in 422ppi density, and everything seems sharp. The display supports a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, a wide color gamut, and HDR10+. The newest Gorilla Glass Victus 2 provides the necessary protection.

Most flagship screens offer 10-bit or even 12-bit color depth, but Samsung has yet to offer more than 16 million colors on its smartphones. However, few people can identify the difference. The Galaxy S23 has two color modes: Vivid (wide, DCI-P3) and Natural (standard, sRGB). Both modes routinely achieve high levels of accuracy towards DCI-P3 and sRGB goals. When utilizing the Vivid option, the white and gray hues have a barely detectable bluish tinge, which can be removed by moving the color temperature slider to the midway point toward Warm.

HOW’S THE PERFORMANCE?

The Samsung Galaxy S23 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, but with a twist: it is a Samsung-exclusive variant with overclocked CPU and GPU compared to the common SD8G2. We believe this version will be released as a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2 later this year. Oh, and there are no more Exynos variants this year; all Galaxy S23 models employ the Qualcomm SoC.

After performing extended benchmarks at top CPU/GPU performance, the Galaxy S23 becomes borderline heated. Aside from that, the S23 becomes heated after about 30 minutes of gaming or shooting photos and videos. It won’t burn your hands in any situation, but we assume a case would reduce its stability significantly more because it would prevent normal heat dissipation.

Overall, the Galaxy S23 has the best Android hardware, but the cooling is subpar, which is not surprising for a tiny smartphone. There is nothing to complain about the Galaxy S23’s performance; on the contrary, you should keep in mind the stability and storage issues we mentioned.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’ve been liking the Samsung Galaxy S23. You get a phone with a sleek and small design that’s comfortable to handle and use one-handed. The display is sharp and gorgeous, with bright colors and deep blacks. The cameras are stable and have rapid performance.

Furthermore, the S23 will receive major software improvements for the next four years, as well as five years of regular security patches, ensuring its lifespan. And, despite being the smallest battery in the S23 lineup, I found it to be rather long-lasting, but I wish the charging speed was faster like its siblings.

Buy it if...

• No-nonsense, durable, and gripping design, with IP68 certification.
• Outstanding OLED screen, bright and responsive.
• Great battery life.
• Excellent stereo speakers.
• Excellent performance, with the fastest Android chip within.
• Overall, the photo and video quality are excellent.
• Exciting One UI with DeX compatibility and great connectivity options.

Don't buy it if...

• The 128GB model employs UFS 3.1 memory chips rather than UFS 4.0.
• No UltraWideBand support.
• There is no Dolby Vision or 10-bit color depth support on the screen.
• The GPU throttles quite quickly under load to 60% of its maximum performance.
• There was no charger in the box.

FULL SPECIFICATION