Two-minute preview
- What is this? Another big flagship phone from Samsung
- when is it coming out? February 17, 2023
- How much is it? It starts at $799.99 / £849 / AU$1,349
The Samsung Galaxy S23 is the first major phone launch of 2023 and – having been announced alongside the Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra on February 1 – it won’t be a surprise to learn that it’s likely to be one of the best phones money can buy this year year.
The vanilla model in Samsung’s latest Galaxy lineup isn’t a monumental upgrade over its predecessor, the Galaxy S22, but a minor design change – and one very significant upgrade under the hood – makes the Galaxy S23 a worthy competitor to similarly more expensive phones like the iPhone 14 and Google Pixel 7 Pro.
On the design front, both the Galaxy S23 and its larger sibling, the S23 Plus, forgo the S22’s convex metal outline in favor of the S22 Ultra’s individual camera lenses, although the phone is essentially the same size and weight as its predecessor.
Instead of inheriting the S22 Ultra’s impressive sensor and 108MP sensor, Samsung opted to leave the S23’s sensor largely unchanged, meaning it still has a 50MP wide-angle lens, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and an optically stabilized 10MP 3x zoom camera optical. The front camera is only 12MP, though it’s still an upgrade from the S22’s 10MP selfie camera.
The main upgrade of this phone is the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset which is the real highlight of the Galaxy S23 and its bigger sibling.
Below, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S23, putting together details on its price, specs, design, display, and more.
Samsung Galaxy S23: price and availability
- It starts at $799.99 / £849 / AU$1,349
- Available for pre-order now, shipping February 17
Samsung unveiled the Samsung Galaxy S23 alongside the Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra on its own Galaxy unpacked February 1. The phone can be pre-ordered now, and it will ship on February 17.
The Galaxy S23 comes in two storage variants, 128GB and 256GB, which cost $799.99/£849/AU$1,349 and $859.99/£899/AU$1,449 respectively. The larger Galaxy S23 Plus is available in 256GB or 512GB versions, which cost $999.99 / £1,049 / AU$1,649 and $1,119.99 / £1,149 / AU$1,849 respectively.
Samsung Galaxy S23: specs
| Header cell – column 0 | Galaxy S23 | Galaxy S23 Plus | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| display | 6.1 inch AMOLED at 120Hz | 6.6 inch AMOLED at 120Hz | 6.8 inch AMOLED at 120Hz |
| Screen resolution | 2340×1080 | 2340×1080 | 3088×1440 |
| Platform | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy |
| Aries | 8GB (LPDDR5X) | 8GB (LPDDR5X) | 8GB/12GB (LPDDR5X) |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB | 256GB/512GB | 256GB / 512GB / 1TB |
| main camera | 50MP | 50MP | 200MP |
| Ultra wide camera | 12MP | 12MP | 12MP |
| Telephoto | 10MP, 3x optical zoom | 10MP, 3x optical zoom | 10MP, 3X and 10X optical zoom |
| Selfie camera | 12MP | 12MP | 12MP |
| Dimensions | 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches | 6.2 x 3 x 0.3 inches | 6.4 x 3.1 x 0.35 inches |
| Libra | 6 oz | 7.3 oz | 8.2 oz |
| Battery size | 3900mAh | 4700mAh | 5000mAh |
| Charging speed (wired) | 25W | 45W | 45W |
| Price on launch day | $799.99 / £849 / AU$1,349 | $999.99 / £1,049 / $1,649 | $1,199 / £1,249 / AU$1,949 |
Samsung Galaxy S23: design
- Almost identical design to last year’s Galaxy S22
- The tumor of the apparatus has disappeared
The design of the Samsung Galaxy S23 largely mirrors that of the Galaxy S22, with the exception of the island of raised metal surrounding the latter’s camera array, which is now non-existent.
Without the outline, the Samsung Galaxy S23’s three rear cameras float in the upper left corner of the 6.1-inch Gorilla Glass Victus 2 brushed back. The front is also Gorilla Glass Victus 2, but glossy instead of brushed.
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At 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches, the Galaxy S23 is essentially the same size and weight (168g) as its predecessor (almost exactly the same size as the iPhone 14 Pro), although the power and volume buttons – which are made from recycled materials for the first time – are located slightly lower. The bottom of the phone features a USB-C port, microphone holes, speaker grill, and a physical SIM slot.
The S23 Plus shares the same design philosophy as its smaller sibling but comes in a larger 6.2 x 3 x 0.3 inch size. Not surprisingly, it also weighs a bit more (1.3 ounces more to be exact).
Both the Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus are available in four colors: Phantom Black, Green, Lavender and Cream. However, Samsung will also be releasing some exclusive colors like red through Samsung.com.
As you’d expect from high-end phones, the entire Samsung Galaxy S23 lineup is rated IP68, which means the vanilla S23 is water and dust resistant.
Samsung Galaxy S23: display
- Same 6.1-inch AMOLED display as the Galaxy S22
The Samsung Galaxy S23 has the same 6.1-inch 120 Hz (2340 x 1080 pixels) AMOLED display as its predecessor, the Galaxy S22. Its bigger siblings, the S23 Plus and S23 Ultra, have 6.6-inch and 6.8-inch displays respectively, with the latter display running at a resolution of 3088 x 1440 pixels.
As mentioned, the Samsung Galaxy S23’s display is surrounded by a glossy Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which should offer a reasonable level of protection against everyday scuffs and scrapes.
Samsung Galaxy S23: cameras
- Minimal improvements over the Galaxy S22 setup
The Samsung Galaxy S23’s rear camera setup includes a 50MP f/1.8 wide-angle lens with optical image stabilization (OIS), a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 10MP f/2.4 telephoto lens with OIS and 3x optical zoom. On the front of the phone is a 12-megapixel selfie camera that can record video in resolutions up to 4K.
Nightography has been improved over the Samsung Galaxy S22 and the phone’s Expert Raw mode now supports 50MP photos (where the S22 only supported RAW images up to 12MP).
The S23 Plus shares all of the above with its smaller sibling.
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Samsung Galaxy S23: performance
- Custom made Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor
Despite the rather crude upgrades on the rest of the phone, the Galaxy S23’s impressive credentials under the hood are perhaps its biggest draw.
All three Galaxy S23 models support Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform for Galaxy, a specially designed version of the standard mobile processor overclocked to 3.36GHz. In theory, this super-fast processor enables the S23 (and S23 Plus) to rival Apple best iPhones (with A16 Bionic chips) in terms of power, although we haven’t had a chance to properly test the device yet.
Unfortunately, none of the phones in the S23 line support any form of satellite connectivity – which comes as a surprise considering both the S23 and S23 Plus pair a custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with a satellite-compatible X70 5G modem.
As mentioned, the Galaxy S23 comes in two storage variants, 128GB and 256GB, and both versions come with 8GB of RAM. The S23 comes in 256GB and 512GB variants, again with 8GB of RAM each.
Samsung Galaxy S23: battery
- 3900mAh battery for S23
- 4700mAh battery for S23 Plus
The Samsung Galaxy S23 has a decent enough 3900 mAh battery, which is 200 mAh larger than the Galaxy S22 counterpart.
The phone supports 25W wired super fast charging, wireless fast charging and PowerShare wireless charging so you can charge other Galaxy devices (e.g. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro) in the back.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus has a slightly larger 4700mAh battery (due to its larger size) and more powerful wired charging (45W).
Samsung Galaxy S23: software
- Android 13 on top of Samsung One UI 5.1
- Software features remain a big question
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Every phone in the Samsung Galaxy S23 line comes with Android 13 “Tiramisu” and Samsung One UI 5.1. Samsung has promised four generations of OS updates and five years of security updates for its new devices, so you won’t have to think long about replacing your S23 if you’re someone who likes to keep their phones.
Samsung also introduced some new software features with the Galaxy S23 lineup, including better Samsung Notes (co-authoring features), the ability to watch together on Google Meet, and improved security features (e.g. Maintenance Mode, so all your data is protected when someone is over it). He’s working).
oh, i Galaxy S23 has its own ringtone. really.