Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is an Attractive Flagship Smartphone For 2023

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is larger than the ordinary Galaxy S23 and lacks many of the high-end capabilities of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, putting it in a difficult situation. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is the middle child in many ways, with a 6.6-inch AMOLED display, triple camera configuration, and Qualcomm’s exclusive ‘Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy CPU. It looks extremely similar to the S23 but with a little larger screen.

With the more expensive and feature-rich Galaxy S23 Ultra taking center stage, it can be easy to forget that the Galaxy S23 Plus ever existed at all. Additionally, people searching for a less expensive flagship smartphone may find the adorable small Galaxy S23 appealing. Though the S23 Plus and the rest of the S23 family share many characteristics, such as an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, an amazing OLED screen, and Samsung’s industry-best update promise, there’s no need to write this phone off. Samsung is one of the few smartphone OEMs with the size to release three distinct versions of the same phone. That means you can play Goldilocks, ignoring the too-small phone and avoiding the too-big phone, and choose a phone that might be perfect for you.

Price when reviewed: $952.99 | Check price at Amazon

GALAXY S23 PLUS KEY FEATURES

Indeed, time flies by. It seems like yesterday we were ringing in the new year, and now it’s time to welcome the Samsung Galaxy S23 flagships for this year. There aren’t any significant alterations to the lineup’s composition right away. There is still the standard S23, the somewhat larger but otherwise very similar S23+ that we are currently examining, and the S23 Ultra, which follows in the footsteps of the S22 Ultra and, consequently, the Galaxy Note range.

The Galaxy S23+ has also not altered significantly from its predecessor. This year, Samsung is releasing a tiny incremental upgrade rather than a huge one. You’ll have to look into the Ultra and its brand-new 200MP camera for that.

Instead, the S23+ features a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor, a new 12MP front camera, and a slightly larger 4,700 mAh battery. These are the key differences from the S22+, plus a few minor subtleties that will be covered in the review.

Naturally, the S23+ has a new look, but it isn’t significantly different from last year’s design, as indicated by its specs sheet. This year, the camera island is gone, and each snapper stands alone on the back of the phone. This is significantly more similar to and in line with the Ultra design, making the entire S23 range more visually unified.

Overall, we do not anticipate any huge shocks from the S23+. It appears to be a solid refresh of last year’s model, making it a fairly “safe choice”. Without further ado, let’s get started.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S23 PLUS UNBOXING

Let’s start with the retail package. Samsung’s packaging has remained basic yet again. The phone arrives in a sleek two-piece box constructed entirely of recycled paper, except for the shrinkage vinyl wrap and sealing label. The screen protector on the phone’s display and the sheet shielding the phone’s rear side are both composed of 100% recycled paper.

We’ve grown to anticipate little in the way of accessories from Galaxy S handsets, and the S23+ is no exception. The packaging includes a USB Type-C to Type-C connector, a SIM ejector tool, and a tiny beginning guide. Bundled chargers are no longer available, so plan to purchase one separately if you don’t already own a quality Power Delivery unit of at least 45W, preferably with PPS.

CAMERA

The elimination of the raised metal Contour Cut feature around the camera system makes all three lenses appear slightly larger, although this is the same hardware layout as the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus. The significant changes in image capture performance are, unsurprisingly, driven by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that supports them.

It’s a shame the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus didn’t use the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s camera array, which has a 108MP sensor and an incredible 100x Space Zoom. Still, this arrangement, with its enhanced picture sensor and image processing, is not to be overlooked.

Images captured in the phone’s default “pixel-binned” mode are appropriately realistic and vivid, with minimal quality difference between day and night scenes. Low-light settings appear to produce a slightly warmer tone, although HDR is used to great effect when things go very dark.

Despite the loss of the S22 (and S23) Ultra’s 100x Space Zoom capability on the S23 Plus, the latter’s 30x maximum digital zoom remains outstanding. Images become muddy around the 10x mark, but you can still capture excellent shots of objects up to 50m away.

Samsung’s iPhone-beating Portrait mode returns from the S22 Plus, along with new camera capabilities such as Astrophoto, Astro Hyperlapse, Super HDR selfie video at 60fps, and more accurate skin tone capture.

The Plus shares the same video capabilities as the S23 and S23 Ultra. You can shoot in up to 8K at 30fps, but with no image stabilization on all three phones, you’re better off shooting in fully stabilized 4K at 60fps. Nonetheless, this is an excellent video-capture handset.

The S23 Plus outperforms its predecessor in the front-facing camera department, replacing the latter’s 10MP sensor with a new 12MP one. Sure, 12MP isn’t exactly world-beating, but other phones in this price bracket, like the iPhone 14 Pro, have comparable front-facing cameras.

DESIGN AND SCREEN

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is the middle child of the Korean brand’s 2023 flagship smartphone lineup, with a larger screen than the smaller Galaxy S23 but fewer features than the more expensive S23 Ultra. It’s simplest to think of this as a larger S23, but the Ultra model stands out with its curved screen, S Pen, and flagship camera.

Samsung has certainly tried to bring the series closer together this time. The S22, for example, appeared very different from the Ultra variant, although the S23 Plus retains the simpler camera design first presented with the S22 Ultra. There is no camera housing, and the three lenses protrude from the back of the phone. The sides are also slightly flatter, giving it an overall appearance similar to an iPhone 14.

When my colleague Lewis examined the smaller S23, he commented that the design was “a little too minimalistic” for his liking. I view this as a significant advantage, and I much prefer the discreet design here over a garish phone like the OnePlus 11 with its large camera module. However, if you desire something more distinctive, the S23 Plus is unlikely to be the phone for you.

All of the typical mod-cons are present, including an IP68 rating, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the front and back, and dual-SIM functionality in some areas. It’s also quite well polished, with all of the buttons and the USB-C port nicely chiseled. I expect this from a phone that costs over $1,000, but it’s not a certainty.

The Galaxy S23 Plus, weighing 196g, is lighter than the smaller iPhone 14 Pro and feels excellent to operate. This size feels just perfect, providing more room than the, in my perspective, cramped S23 but without the hand gymnastics required to use the 6.8-inch S23 Ultra comfortably.

The 6.6-inch screen is the same size as the smaller S23, not the S23 Ultra. That means the resolution is 1080p (rather than 1440p), and the lack of LTPO technology prevents the refresh rate from dropping below 1Hz. Unfortunately, the screen lacks some of the features found on other phones at this price point.

The 1080p resolution is quite fine on the smaller 6.1-inch Galaxy S23, and it will suffice for the majority of users here as well. When compared to the sharper OnePlus 11 or S23 Ultra, the difference is noticeable: details stand out more, and the overall viewing experience is more engaging elsewhere.

The 120Hz refresh rate may not be able to decrease to 1Hz, however, in my tests, it appears to go as low as 48Hz. This still provides a very fluid experience, especially when browsing through web pages or feeds.

HOW’S THE PERFORMANCE?

All members of Samsung’s S23 family receive the identical Qualcomm system on a chip (SoC), and they are the only phones to have it. The S23 Plus is powered by Samsung’s modified Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, which includes an overclocked prime CPU core and GPU. This isn’t just marketing fluff; the Samsung-exclusive chip outperforms other Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones in some benchmarks (particularly those with mixed or CPU workloads), but the difference is so slight that it won’t be evident in everyday use.

However, if you are upgrading from last year’s Samsung flagships, you will notice a significant improvement. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on the S23 Plus outperforms the Gen 1, especially in gaming. All mobile SoCs throttle to some extent under sustained stress; the S23 Plus is no exception, despite its unique chip design. However, even when it warms up, the custom Snapdragon chip is faster than most flagships at its peak and performs well in GPU stress testing.

We put the S23 Plus through various benchmarks, including the new Geekbench 6 and the old 3DMark. Naturally, the flagship-class gear produced excellent results. It scored inside the margin of error for the whole Galaxy S23 series in Geekbench, topped the PCMark Work 3.0 test, and got a 3,818 in 3DMark Wild Life Extreme, which is a significant improvement over the Galaxy S22 Plus’ 2,538 in the same GPU test. Interestingly, we saw that thermal performance lagged significantly behind the S23 Ultra, which starts with a better score in the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test and plateaus at a marginally higher number after repeated runs.

Samsung only offers 8GB of RAM on the S23 Plus, regardless of whether you choose 256GB or 512GB of storage. The S23 Ultra offers a 12GB RAM variant, which is more future-proof and consistent with current flagships such as the Pixel 7 Pro and OnePlus 11. However, we didn’t see much of a difference between the two in terms of background apps. The Galaxy S23 Plus can rapidly remember an app from the background, even if it has not been open for hours. Phones with less RAM will typically have to refresh apps in that case.

Buy it if...

• Victus 2 features a simple but modern, robust, and comfortable design with an IP68 rating and Gorilla Glass.
• Beautiful AMOLED display with superb brightness and color and a fast and adaptable refresh rate.
• Excellent battery life.
• Excellent stereo speakers.
• An overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset delivers chart-topping performance.
• Overall, the photo and video quality are excellent.
• Excellent productivity thanks to One UI 5.1, full DeX support, and a variety of networking choices.

Don't buy it if...

• There is no extendable storage.
• No 10-bit color support or Dolby Vision.
• Under extended stress, the chipset throttles quickly and aggressively.
• 45W charging is not significantly faster than 25W.

FULL SPECIFICATION