The Samsung Galaxy S23 has been out for a few days now and stocks are piling up for customers to purchase around the world. But what do we think of it?
It's undoubtedly true that the S23 is the best android phone available on the market right now, especially with the upgraded Snapdragon chip. Given its familiar design and the continued presence of its defining features, such as the sharp corners, the S Pen, and the impressive 10X optical zoom camera, you can expect quite a few similarities to the S22. Although the improvements of the S23 don’t seem major in comparison to its predecessor, it’s a worthy upgrade and a great competitor for Apple’s iPhone.
Take a look at some pros and cons that we compiled:
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Snapdragon chip is incredible |
Charging speeds aren’t improved |
|
New design is far superior |
Competitor haptics are still better |
|
Screen is less curvaceous and dims better |
Camera quality hasn’t improved much |
|
Improvements in the camera |
A little on the expensive side |
|
Loudspeakers are LOUDER! |
Minimal AV updates over the year |
|
Extremely powerful battery |
|
|
Double the storage |
The biggest change for this Samsung line up is the Snapdragon chip which has been rolled out in all three of the S23 line up devices. The Snapdragon chip finally gives the iPhone something to compete with faster graphics performance and greater efficiency.
Samsung's decision to equip all versions of the S23, regardless of the country they are sold in, with a powerful Snapdragon chip marks a strategic shift for the company. Previously, Samsung used its in-house Exynos chip in overseas versions of their phone models, which was criticized for being inferior to the Snapdragon processors used in the U.S. models. However, Samsung has made a significant change in its approach, ensuring that all users can benefit from the same high-performance chipset.
Design
In terms of the overall design, we love the new S23. Samsung has made some noticeable changes to the look of the phone that competes nicely with the iPhone. It's compact, sturdy and lightweight with an IP68 rating, making it waterproof. We think the new back camera housing on the S23 was definitely needed where Samsung have finally retired the contour-cut style and gone with a clean, flat back that places nicely onto the phone, similar to the iPhone. In our opinion, it was about time. It makes the phone look less and less bulky.
Although the S23 line up doesn’t offer as many color variations as its predecessors, it won’t be hard to find one that you love. As you may already know, the S23 has pretty much the same as the S22, with exceptionally thin screen bezels and a small camera cutout that supports Dual Pixel autofocus and takes even better selfies with a 12MP sensor instead of the previous 10MP on older models.
Build
The Galaxy S23 is slightly larger than the S22 with measurements of 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches and a weight of 6 ounces but when it comes to the hardware aspects on the physical device, the Galaxy S23 has some noteworthy features. The Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panels installed are designed to be durable and with the armored aluminum frame, the S23 is better protected from damage. The Victus 2 glass is even better than previous versions at surviving drops on rough surfaces like concrete or granite tiles which means if you accidentally drop your S23, there's a better chance it'll come out unscathed.
All the Galaxy S23 phones come with this armored aluminum frame that's designed to be more resistant to drops and scratches than regular aluminum. This frame has a subtle curve and a matte finish with the same frame across all S23 models on the line up. The S23 Ultra model is still the only model with curved panels but you honestly won’t miss it if you plan on getting the S23 or S23 plus.
One thing we're really hoping for is that the colored coating on the S23 is a lot more durable than what we saw on the S22. After just a few months of being in a case, we found that the S22 had a lot of blemishes on the color and would prefer for the coating to be more robust.
Camera
The S23 powerful camera is quite clearly the best on any smartphone device right now, something that Samsung has been working toward. Although the S23 features an identical three-lens system set up to the S22, you can enjoy the new 12MP high resolution selfie camera feature. The camera shoots a fairly wide dynamic range and accurate color rendering both indoors and outdoors. You’ll also see finer details and higher quality in each picture that you take, whether you use the front camera for your selfies or back. When compared to the iPhone, the Galaxy S23 offers more versatility with the telephoto camera.
The S23 Ultra has a different camera hardware in comparison to the S23 with a larger image sensor but in terms of quality, they are still quite similar which means you won’t be losing out if you opt for the S23.
Display
You can expect one of the best displays, if not the best display, on any smartphone right now. The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s slightly larger panel measures at 6.8inches of super dynamic AMOLED 2X infinity-O QHD with always on display and an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. You can expect a better user experience including the improved eye-comfort shield feature that limits blue light and an enhanced comfort mode to adjust the colors and contrast between Natural and Vivid modes. The display is brighter at 1,750 nits compared to the S22 to give you peak brightness, even when outside or in direct sunlight.
The Galaxy S23 outshines the iPhone 14 in terms of impressive features, primarily owing to its exceptional Super Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and higher resolution. Now, that’s definitely something to brag about!
Battery and Performance
As we mentioned, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip upgrade from Qualcomm is an outstanding upgrade that gives you both improved and faster performance on every model in the line up. The chip is fully optimized and specially made to maximize the Galaxy S23 to offer a very powerful device to anyone on the market. Samsung developed the smartphone with mobile gaming at its forefront which means that you can run your games at the highest resolution and fastest frames for even longer.
The battery on the Galaxy S23 packs large battery capacity at 3,900mAh with a super charging feature. This means that you can rely on the phone to last longer and charge up even quicker.
If you already have a recent flagship phone such as the Galaxy S22 or S21, then the new Samsung S23 might not offer enough to make upgrading worthwhile. But, if you're using an older device or want to compete with the iPhone, then you should definitely consider checking out the new S23 line up as your next device!