prologue
Time will surely pass. Yesterday we celebrated the New Year, and now it’s time to welcome this year’s Samsung Galaxy S23 flagships. We still have the vanilla S23. This is his S23+ with slightly larger but very similar specs. This is what we see today, the S23 Ultra following in the footsteps of his S22 Ultra, which was once the Galaxy Note line. .
Another thing that hasn’t changed much is the Galaxy S23+. This year Samsung is offering small incremental updates instead of major updates. For that, you should consider the Ultra and its new 200MP camera.
Instead, the S23+ offers a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for the Galaxy chipset, a new 12MP selfie camera, and a slightly larger 4,700 mAh battery. These are pretty much all of the major changes to the S22+, with some other smaller details covered in our review.
Samsung Galaxy S23+ specs summary:
- body: 157.8×76.2×7.6mm, 196g; front glass (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), rear glass (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame. IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 minutes), Armor aluminum frame is more rugged drop and scratch resistant (as advertised).
- screen: 6.60″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1750 nits (peak), 1080x2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 393ppi, Always On.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3×2.0 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 740 .
- memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM; UFS4.0.
- OS/Software: Android 13, One UI 5.1.
- Rear camera: wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS; telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm, 1/3.94″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom. super wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120 degrees, 1/2.55″ 1.4µm, super steady video.
- Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), dual pixel PDAF.
- Video capture: rear camera: 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 1080p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo recording, gyro EIS; front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps.
- battery: 4700mAh; 45W wired, PD3.0, 65% in 30 minutes (ad), 15W wireless (Qi/PMA), 4.5W reverse wireless.
- others: Fingerprint reader (under-display, ultrasonic); NFC; stereo speakers; Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support), Bixby natural language command and dictation, Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified), Ultra Wideband (UWB) support.
Naturally, the S23+ has a new look, but like the spec sheet, it’s not radically different from last year’s design. This year the camera island is gone, with each snapper free standing on the back of the phone. This is very similar to the Ultra’s design, adding to the cohesiveness of the design across the S23 line.
Galaxy S22+ next to S23+
The price of the S23+ hasn’t changed much either. In the US, it starts at $1,000, the same S22+ MSRP. Only this time, Samsung has decided to increase the phone’s base storage from 128GB to 256GB. It’s a pretty sweet deal even before Samsung runs into other bonuses and rebates, though in Europe the S23+ is overpriced compared to his S22+.
Overall, don’t expect big surprises from the S23+. Formed as a solid refresh of last year’s model, it’s a very “safe choice”. So without further ado, let’s dig in.
Unpacking
Let’s take out the retail package first. Samsung’s packaging remains minimalistic. The slim two-piece box that holds your phone is made from 100% recycled paper, with the exception of the shrink wrap and seal label. 100% recycled paper is also used for the LCD protection sheet that is attached to the display and the sheet that protects the back.
You can expect little when it comes to accessories for Galaxy S devices, and the S23+ is no exception. Inside the box you’ll find a USB Type-C to Type-C cable, a SIM ejector tool, and a thin starter guide.
The days of bundled chargers are long gone, so be prepared to charge them separately if you don’t have a decent Power Delivery unit of at least 45W, preferably a PPS.
