With the bleeding edge reserved for high-end huge telephones—smaller telephones, together with each Android and iOS sides of issues, have suffered. Not solely has it turn into more and more tough to seek out flagship telephones that don’t compromise on specs, consumer expertise, and battery life, however over time, the few telephones that do have gone up in value. Samsung, nonetheless, with the launch of the Galaxy S23 collection, has hit a house run. Despite being smaller of the lot, in comparison with Galaxy S23 Plus and the highest of the road Galaxy S23 Ultra, the smaller (compact by at the moment’s requirements) holds its personal—in each means potential—be it cameras, show, and even battery life.
In this long-term assessment of the Galaxy S23, we’ll see if the newest compact flagship from Samsung deserves a spot in your pocket and does it get the crown for the perfect compact flagship in 2023.
Design and Display: If it ain’t broke, don’t repair it
Adopting the design from final yr’s Galaxy S22, the Galaxy S23 retains the boxy, squared-off look—whereas making sufficient adjustments to provide the telephone a brand new id of its personal—with the brand new minimalist digital camera bump. The body of the telephone is made out of polished aluminum, and as anticipated, the again is glass, with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the entrance as properly.
When it involves sturdiness, I’d charge the newest Samsung flagships extremely. Over a few months of my testing, the telephone has held up properly—with little to no micro scratches and barely a mark on the body. It nonetheless appears to be like model new.
The bezels surrounding the beautiful 6.1” FHD+ show are additionally symmetrical—giving the telephone a premium really feel. The punch-hole digital camera cutout on the entrance additionally sits properly, with no seen distortion.
Talking in regards to the show, the 6.1” panel appears to be like unbelievable and stays true to the roots that Samsung AMOLED panels are identified for. With a peak 1750 nits brightness, the show stays simply seen even in harsh daylight, and watching TV exhibits and flicks in HDR is actually a pleasure on the panel.
And, talking of aesthetics, I’ve the Cream colour with me and truthfully, it appears to be like good. It’s not solely white, and neither is it a complete heat shade, it simply appears to be like proper, and matched with the matte again, the telephone feels posh and fairly upmarket.
Performance and Battery Life: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Brings Refinement and Reliability
The Galaxy S22 was notorious for its heating points and poor battery life—stemming from the poorly optimized Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. But now, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, all of these issues have been rectified and truthfully, the efficiency is the perfect I’ve seen on an Android telephone. It has turn into the gold customary, actually.
Moreover, underrated issues just like the naked foremost idle drain, the good standby time, and the in-app efficiency are good. Switching between apps, preserving them in reminiscence, and enhancing images and movies is the perfect I’ve seen on an Android telephone. This holds true for different fashions—the larger Galaxy S23 Plus and the S23 Ultra.
Gaming can be a pleasure on the Galaxy S23 collection smartphones. Check out our devoted gaming assessment of the Galaxy S23 Ultra; every little thing applies to the bottom Galaxy S23.
Battery life has additionally vastly improved for the reason that final technology. Now, it simply lasts a full working day, and I’m left with greater than 20% battery. So, in case you use it judiciously, it will probably final you a day and a half. On an excellent day, with a stability between cellular information and Wi-Fi, the Galaxy S23 bought me round 7hrs of display screen on time, with a full day’s utilization.
I can’t say good issues in regards to the charging expertise although. Despite calling it Super Fast Charging,” Samsung has capped the charging to 25W with the Galaxy S23, and allows the more expensive S23 Plus and S23 Ultra to get faster 45W charging. It’s truly baffling to see this. But yes, using the 25W charging, you can charge the Galaxy S23 in about an hour and a half from zero to full.
Camera: A reliable camera system with a few inconsistencies
Unlike the Pixels and iPhones of the world, Samsung chose to include a third telephoto sensor with the vanilla model, and I truly appreciate the brand for not skipping the lens. Apart from me, I know a multitude of people who’d rather have a telephoto instead of an ultrawide lens, but it’s always a good thing to have them all. So, the camera setup consists of a 50-megapixel wide camera, a 3X telephoto, and a 0.6X ultrawide lens—which makes the camera quite versatile—even compared to the nearest competition.
The photos coming out of the main camera are excellent—with phenomenal dynamic range, sharpness, and minimum noise in low lighting situations. The lens also controls flaring, which was a notable issue with previous Galaxy flagships. The colors and skin tones are also reproduced well in natural lighting but in artificial lighting, the camera tends to boost the yellows—especially in the skin tones—and that causes skin to appear yellow. I believe a software update can fix this and should not deter you from enjoying what is overall an excellent camera system.
Portrait mode is also quite rock solid with the Galaxy S23—with solid edge detection and natural bokeh. I’m especially fond of the portrait mode images using the 3X telephoto lens, which gets you a background compression that resembles that of an 85mm full-frame equivalent lens. Compared to even the iPhone 14 Pro, the edge detection is phenomenal and works consistently well.
Samsung, for quite some time now, has included the Pro modes—for both photos and videos, and here, you can tweak the images according to your liking. And even get high-resolution photos in 50-megapixels—for those who want the maximum detail.
However, the major gripe with Samsung flagship cameras, for quite some time now, has been the infamous shutter lag, and with the Galaxy S23, it unfortunately makes a return. It isn’t as bad as it used to be, and most users will not even notice it, but if you are an enthusiast and want to capture fast-moving subjects—like children, pets, and more—you will consistently end up with soft-looking photos.
And talking about the video capabilities, the 4K60 and 4K30 video is excellent, almost creeping up to iPhone standards—with great dynamic range, nice highlight roll-off, accurate color reproduction, and minimal noise in low light. I’m also a fan of the Portrait Video feature—which is in its fourth generation now. It holds onto the focus and provides a natural-looking focus roll-off.
Overall, the Galaxy S23’s camera system is one you can depend on, and certainly gets you a dynamic and versatile setup—anyone would enjoy having in their pockets.
Here are some more camera samples:
Attention To Detail: Masterstroke!
Talking about the nitty gritty stuff, the Galaxy S23 impressed me here too. Right from how well the haptics are—thanks to the brilliant vibration motor—to the way how it works with other Samsung devices like the Galaxy Books, Samsung has left no stone unturned to ensure a premium user experience. OneUI 5.1 is also a major improvement compared to few iterations in the past.
The animations are buttery smooth, and other features like Quick Share ensure a seamless experience if you are in the Galaxy ecosystem. I’ve been also using the Galaxy Book3 Pro alongside the Galaxy S23, and let me tell you the experience is no less than Apple’s. Copy-pasting, drag and drop images, and even using your mobile devices as a secondary screen—it all comes together!
Verdict: A reliable compact Android flagship that you have been waiting for
The Samsung Galaxy S23 features a sleek and robust design along with a stunning 6.1-inch FHD 120Hz display that’s bright, symmetrical, and features a punch hole camera cutout on the front. Thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the phone delivers exceptional performance without any heating or battery issues that were present in the previous model.
Additionally, the battery life has significantly improved, offering a full day of usage and 7 hours of screen on time on a single charge. However, the charging experience is limited to 25W. The camera system is also reliable, delivering excellent photos with a versatile set of lenses, although there are some inconsistencies in artificial lighting.
Overall, I’d rate Samsung Galaxy S23 quite highly, and if you are on the lookout for a compact Android flagship phone that doesn’t compromise on specifications and the overall user experience, look no further than the Galaxy S23.
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