Samsung Galaxy S23
The most basic Galaxy S23 phone remains a fine choice, but it’s expensive when compared to rivals
“Let’s not quibble: this is a gorgeous, vibrant and fiercely bright screen that makes games, photos and videos look amazing”
SCORE PRICE 128GB/8GB, £708 (£849 inc VAT) from samsung.com/uk
The S23 is the cheapest of the three phones in the series, with Samsung charging £849 for the 8GB version – but that only includes a 128GB SSD, so most people will be better served by the £899 option with 256GB of storage. If you want 512GB, you’ll need the S23+ ( see opposite).
This buys you a larger screen and battery, but otherwise the phones are essentially the same. That includes the overclocked version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform, and even with 8GB of RAM it massacres Gen 1 chips. It returned 1,522 and
4,876 in Geekbench 5’s single-core and multicore test, which is about
40% faster than a typical Gen 1 phone.
The Adreno 840 graphics chip will keep any game at 60fps or above, and games that support it should happily run at the screen’s peak refresh rate of 120Hz. The dynamic refresh rate ranges from 48Hz to 120Hz, with the OS clever enough to detect when it needs to boost.
It’s a lovely display, based on Samsung’s AMOLED technology, even if it’s essentially unchanged from the Galaxy S22 ( see issue 332, p68). Because it squeezes the same number of pixels into a tighter space, the Galaxy S23 even beat the S23+ on pixels per inch: 425ppi vs 393ppi. Samsung claims it can hit 1,750cd/m2 but the 1,002cd/m2 we measured in SDR mode only increased to 1,340cd/m2 with HDR active. But let’s not quibble: this is a gorgeous, vibrant and fiercely bright screen that makes games, photos and videos look amazing.
After a while, I started to prefer the Dark Mode to the default, and that should save battery. Not that this proved a concern during my testing. Samsung squeezes a 3,900mAh unit into the Galaxy S23, a 200mAh increase over the S22, and it easily lasted more than a day; if I didn’t charge overnight, I could get halfway through the following morning. In our lab-based tests, the S23 lasted for 10hrs 27mins in Adaptive refresh rate mode and 11hrs 20mins at 60Hz, but you notice the judder of the latter.
There’s no charger in the box, but if you have a 25W charger to hand then the S23 goes from zero to 55% in 30 minutes. If you want faster 45W charging then you’ll need to buy the S23+ or Ultra, while the OnePlus 11 ( see p72) goes all the way up to 100W. But with fast wireless charging and wireless PowerShare, I’m not going to complain. Incidentally, Wireless PowerShare isn’t on by default, but it’s easy to find with a Settings search. I used it to charge my Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, my only complaint being that you have to slide the case around to find that sweet charging spot.
Samsung has oddly hidden its Dolby Atmos capabilities i n settings as well, but you should turn them on if using the speakers to watch a film. I wouldn’t call the audio surround sound, but it’s still enjoyable – and the standard stereo is sharp, clear and, naturally, lacking in any real bass.
I say “naturally” because the S23 is a slender 7.6mm thick, and by milling away the raised contour metal surrounding the phone’s three cameras Samsung has created a cleaner and more appealing look than the S22. Meanwhile, the slightly curved stainless-steel-looking aluminium band gives the phone a retro aesthetic that harkens back to the Galaxy series’ humble beginnings. Colour options are the same as the S23+, with muted pastels, including lime, which is exclusive to those ordering directly from Samsung.
That chiselling away of the contour makes the S23’s cameras look larger, but these are the same sensors as in the S22 and the S23+. As such, all the comments in that review hold here too, right down to the upgraded 12MP camera integrated into the display. The S23 shares its siblings’ build quality and IP68 rating, too, including the brushed Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back and the glossy version of Victus 2 covering the screen.
For the first time, some external portions of the device are made, in part, from recycled materials.
These include the volume and power buttons and the speaker grille at the top of the display. In addition, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 includes some recycled glass. Even the plastic cover you’ll peel off the screen is partially recycled. There’s still a physical SIM slot, but the entire Galaxy S23 lineup offers eSIM support, too.
Seen in a vacuum, the Samsung Galaxy S23 is an excellent Android handset. It has a stellar screen, great cameras and the cleanest design of any Galaxy phone in recent memory. Its biggest challenge is the price Samsung is asking for the privilege, especially when you consider the lack of radical leaps forward compared to the S22. I would be much more positive if Samsung had found a way to squeeze in a 10x optical zoom and a 108MP sensor. It’s still a great choice if you want cutting-edge performance, but the Pixel 7 Pro ( see issue 339, p72) beats it for value – especially as this is frequently reduced by £100 in Google’s offers. LANCE ULANOFF
SPECIFICATIONS
8-core (3.36GHz/3GHz/1.8GHz) Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC 8GB RAM
Adreno 740 graphics 6.1in 120Hz AMOLED screen, 1,080 x 2,340 resolution 5G 128GB/ 256GB storage triple 50MP/10MP/12MP rear cameras 12MP front camera Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth 5.3 NFC 3,900mAh battery USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 Android 13 with One UI 5.1 71 x 7.6 x 146mm (WDH) 168g 1yr warranty