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Samsung Galaxy S23

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Camera
Display
Performance
Battery Life
Speakers
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9 Verified Hands-On Reviews

To combat fake reviews we only accept video reviews from verified channels. Each review must show the product and the face of the reviewer.

Expert reviews [9]

86
Total expert reviews: 9
  • with a score: 8
  • without a score: 1
Highest score by Android Police
90
Average score based on 9 reviews
86
Lowest score by TechRadar
80

Score distribution:

80-100
60-80
40-60
20-40
0-20
80
Samsung Galaxy S23 Review
The Samsung Galaxy S23 is a high-end compact phone with impressive specs and performance, including a durable design, great connectivity, and an above-average camera. While it lacks some features found in its larger counterparts, it's a great option for those who prioritize a smaller form factor.
+ pros
  • Compact size with high-end specs and performance.
  • Better battery life than its predecessor.
  • Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panels on the front and back, and Samsung's Armor Aluminum chassis provide additional protection.
  • IP68 rating for water resistance.
  • Fantastic connectivity with support for 5G, 4G, and Wi-Fi, including the Wi-Fi 6E standard for better performance.
  • Above-average camera with a 50MP main sensor, a 10MP 3x optical telephoto camera, and a 12MP ultra-wide camera.
  • Runs on One UI 5.1 skin for Android 13 and comes with an industry-leading update policy, with four operating system upgrades and five years of security updates.
- cons
  • Lack of UWB support.
  • Slower charging compared to the S23+ and S23 Ultra.
90
Samsung Galaxy S23 review: A small success
The Samsung Galaxy S23 is a small flagship phone with improved battery life, a bright screen, and plenty of power from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. It is one of the best small Android phones on the market, offering solid performance and battery improvements.
+ pros
  • Improved battery life: The Samsung Galaxy S23 offers improved battery life compared to its predecessors.
  • Bright screen: The phone features a bright screen that is easy to read in full sunlight.
  • Plenty of power: The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy provides the phone with plenty of power.
  • Compact size: The phone's compact size makes it one of the best small Android phones on the market.
- cons
  • Shiny chrome finish can be slippery: The phone's shiny chrome finish can make it slippery to hold.
  • Floating camera design can be a dust magnet: The floating camera design can attract dust and other particles.
  • Camera struggles with night shots and movement: The phone's camera has some issues with shutter lag and struggles with night shots and movement.
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Expert consensus

The Samsung Galaxy S23 is a compact and lightweight smartphone with impressive camera capabilities, a high-quality display, powerful performance, reliable battery life, and satisfactory audio quality.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 has received positive reviews from experts, particularly for its compact and lightweight design, making it a convenient option for users who prefer smaller smartphones. The phone is constructed using high-quality materials, ensuring durability and protection.

It is available in various color options, allowing users to choose a color that suits their personal style.

The camera capabilities of the Galaxy S23 have also been praised, particularly its impressive low-light photography performance. The main camera has a resolution of 50 megapixels and can capture high-quality images in challenging lighting conditions.

However, the front-facing camera is not as impressive as the rear camera setup, and the zoom capabilities beyond 10x are not of the highest quality.

The display of the Galaxy S23 offers a high-quality viewing experience, with vibrant colors and sharp text. The 6. 1-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate ensures a smooth and immersive visual experience.

In terms of performance, the Galaxy S23 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform, providing a powerful processing performance. It can handle demanding tasks, multitasking, and gaming with ease. The 8GB of RAM and two storage options (128GB and 256GB) further contribute to its smooth performance.

The battery life of the Galaxy S23 is generally good, offering all-day battery life and even lasting for around two full days with normal use. It charges quickly, reaching a 50% charge in around 30 minutes.

The speakers on the Galaxy S23 are considered decent in terms of audio quality, but they lack bass. They offer Dolby Atmos capabilities, enhancing the audio experience while watching supporting films. However, for a more immersive sound or deeper bass, alternative options may be preferred.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S23 is recommended for users who prefer smaller smartphones, prioritize low-light photography, and require a high-quality display and performance. It offers a compact and lightweight design, impressive camera capabilities, a vibrant display, powerful processing performance, reliable battery life, and satisfactory audio quality.

Design

The Samsung Galaxy S23 offers a compact and lightweight design, premium materials, various color options, and a sleek and minimalistic look, making it a convenient and stylish choice for users who prefer smaller smartphones.

Based on the expert reviews, the Samsung Galaxy S23 has a compact and lightweight design, making it a convenient option for users who prefer smaller smartphones. The phone is constructed using high-quality materials, including Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for the front and back panels and Samsung's Armor Aluminum for the frame, ensuring durability and protection.

The Galaxy S23 is available in various color options, including classic black, creamy white, lavender, green, graphite (exclusive color), and lime (exclusive color), allowing users to choose a color that suits their personal style.

In terms of design, the Galaxy S23 features a sleek and clean look, with a new rear camera placement that includes vertically stacked lenses and three small rings. The rear panel is flat, interrupted only by the slightly protruding camera modules. The front display is flat with rounded corners and slightly curved edges, offering a modern and minimalistic design.

The Galaxy S23 also includes an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor integrated into the display, providing accurate and quick unlocking. This feature is convenient for users who prioritize security and easy access to their device.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S23 offers a compact and lightweight design, premium materials, various color options, and a sleek and minimalistic look. It is suitable for users who prefer smaller smartphones and value both style and functionality.

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Camera

The Samsung Galaxy S23 is praised for its impressive low-light photography capabilities, but its front-facing camera and zoom capabilities beyond 10x are not as impressive.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 has received positive reviews for its camera capabilities. The main camera has a resolution of 50 megapixels and is praised for its impressive low-light photography performance. It can capture high-quality images in challenging lighting conditions, including low light and nighttime scenarios.

The device's improved image processing and camera app tricks designed for night and astrophotography contribute to its excellent performance in low light.

The front-facing camera on the Galaxy S23 is a 12MP camera with fast autofocus and dual-pixel autofocus technology. While it offers decent image quality for selfies, some reviewers have noted that it is not as impressive as the rear camera setup.

The maximum zoom level on the Galaxy S23 is 10x optical zoom. The quality of the zoomed-in images is generally considered to be decent up to 10x zoom. However, beyond that, the quality significantly worsens, with images taken at 20x and 30x zoom appearing like bad watercolor paintings with a loss of detail.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S23 is recommended for users who prioritize low-light photography and want a versatile camera for various lighting conditions. It may not be the best option for users who heavily rely on the front-facing camera or require high-quality zoom capabilities beyond 10x.

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Display

The Samsung Galaxy S23 offers a high-quality 6.1-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a Full HD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, providing a vibrant and sharp viewing experience.

Based on expert reviews, the Samsung Galaxy S23 offers a 6. 1-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. The screen is measured as a full rectangle, but rounding off the corners makes it 5. 9 inches.

The curved corners of the screen make it easier to reach the top corners when using the phone one-handed. The display uses Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for protection against scratches and cracks, and it has a peak brightness of 1,750 nits, ensuring excellent visibility even in bright lighting conditions.

The colors on the display are vibrant, and the text is sharp and crisp. Overall, the display technology and materials used in the Samsung Galaxy S23 provide a high-quality viewing experience. This makes the phone suitable for tasks such as watching videos, playing games, and browsing the internet, where a sharp and vibrant display is important.

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Performance

The Samsung Galaxy S23 offers powerful processing performance, smooth multitasking, and impressive gaming capabilities, making it an excellent choice for power users.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 offers a powerful processing performance, thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform. With an octa-core Kryo CPU, including a high-performance Arm Cortex-X3 core, the S23 can handle demanding tasks, multitasking, and gaming with ease.

Benchmark scores in GeekBench 5 and PCMark Work 3. 0 tests demonstrate its impressive processing power.

The S23 comes with 8GB of RAM, which is sufficient for smooth multitasking and efficient app performance. While it doesn't have as much RAM as the S23 Ultra, it still delivers plenty of power.

In terms of storage capacity, the S23 offers two options: 128GB and 256GB. The 256GB variant features faster UFS 4.0 storage, but the performance difference between the two options is unlikely to be noticeable in everyday use.

When running demanding applications or multitasking, the S23 performs exceptionally well. It is described as "blisteringly fast" and capable of handling top-end AAA gaming with maximum graphics enabled. The combination of powerful hardware and a 120Hz refresh rate display ensures smooth performance and near-instantaneous app opening and switching.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S23 offers stellar performance for power users. It can handle demanding tasks, multitasking, and gaming without any stutter or lag, making it an excellent choice for those who require high-performance capabilities from their smartphone.

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Battery Life

The Samsung Galaxy S23 has a battery capacity of 3,900mAh and offers all-day battery life, lasting longer than its predecessor and outperforming other smartphones in battery tests.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 has a battery capacity of 3,900mAh and generally offers all-day battery life without any issues. In a continuous loop of a 1080p YouTube video with maximum brightness, it ran for 13 hours and 12 minutes, slightly shorter than the S23+ model.

The S23 has a slightly larger battery compared to its predecessor, the S22, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor offers greater power efficiency, resulting in improved battery life. In lab-based tests, it achieved around 10-11 hours of battery life. The total charging time for the S23 is approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, reaching a 50% charge in around 30 minutes.

It supports up to 25W fast charging. The battery performance of the S23 is generally good, lasting longer than the S22 and outperforming other smartphones in battery tests. It can provide all-day battery life and even last for around two full days with normal use.

The S23 also manages heat efficiently, staying cool even during intense use. Overall, the S23 offers reliable battery life and performance for various use cases.

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Speakers

The speakers on the Samsung Galaxy S23 are generally considered decent in terms of audio quality, offering sharp and clear stereo sound but lacking in bass, with the option to enhance the audio experience through Dolby Atmos capabilities, though they are not described as surround sound, and connecting to Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is suggested for a better audio experience.

Based on expert reviews, the speakers on the Samsung Galaxy S23 are generally considered to be decent in terms of audio quality. The stereo sound is described as sharp and clear, but lacking in bass. The speakers offer Dolby Atmos capabilities, which can enhance the audio experience while watching supporting films.

However, it's important to note that the speakers are not described as surround sound. The speakers are reported to be loud and clear, making phone calls sound clear regardless of signal strength. The quality of the speakers is said to be the same as the previous model, the Galaxy S22.

For users who prioritize audio quality, it is suggested to connect the Galaxy S23 to a pair of Galaxy Buds 2 Pro for a better audio experience, as these earbuds provide excellent audio and noise cancellation. Overall, the speakers on the Galaxy S23 offer a satisfactory audio experience, but for those seeking a more immersive sound or deeper bass, alternative options may be preferred.

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Position in ranking

We maintain a monthly ranking that sums up expert recommendations for all smartphones.

Rank Change Price Smartphone
Laptop Mag
The Verge
TechRadar
T3
Pocket-lint
Tom's Guide
IGN
Creative Bloq
Digital Trends
ZD Net
1
- $929
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
-
3
4
2
2
2
-
1
-
1
2
+1 Check price
iPhone 16 Pro Max
-
-
1
-
-
1
-
-
2
2
3
+1 $799
Google Pixel 9 Pro
-
-
2
-
-
3
2
5
4
-
4
+9 $0
iPhone 16
-
1
-
-
-
5
-
-
1
-
Show all rows
Samsung Galaxy S23 did not receive any endorsements this month.

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