This story is a part of Samsung Event, CNET’s assortment of stories, suggestions and recommendation round Samsung’s hottest merchandise.
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus look to be prioritizing sensible enhancements this 12 months fairly than making sweeping design adjustments to the corporate’s flagship telephone line. We’re within the strategy of reviewing these two telephones proper now to see what’s modified over final 12 months’s Galaxy S22. For now you may take a look at our full Galaxy S23 Ultra evaluate to see how Samsung revamped its highest-end $1,200 telephone, however there’s nonetheless loads to look at from our preliminary impressions with the 2 base Galaxy telephones. Both embrace bigger batteries, higher selfie cameras and a barely up to date design, whereas the Plus mannequin additionally has twice as a lot storage. The Galaxy S23 begins at $800 (£849, AU$1,349), whereas the bigger Plus begins at $1,000 (£1,049, AU$1,649). Both gadgets launch on Friday, Feb. 17, with preorders accessible now. Those costs are just like what Apple prices for the iPhone 14 lineup, which begins at $799 for the common model and $999 for the Pro. The launch additionally comes as Google has been undercutting Samsung on value with its current Pixel telephones, which begin at $599 for the Pixel 7 and $899 for the Pixel 7 Pro. The new pair of telephones embrace incremental updates in comparison with the Galaxy S22 lineup. But these upgrading from the Galaxy S21 or earlier will seemingly have loads to realize from the S23’s enhancements. It’s one other signal that phone-makers are focusing extra on customary, pragmatic updates for his or her entry-level premium telephones fairly than introducing radical adjustments. Apple took an identical method with 2021’s iPhone 13, which featured longer battery life and extra storage on the base degree.
Both new telephones have a battery that is 200 mAh bigger than those in final 12 months’s gadgets, which quantities to a 3,900-mAh capability for the S23 and a 4,700-mAh capability for the S23 Plus. I hope this modification makes for a big enchancment in battery life, since final 12 months’s Galaxy S22 generally struggles to get via a day.
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Samsung’s all-new Galaxy S23 flagship lineup is now accessible to preorder with gadgets starting transport on Feb 17. You can save on the newest gadgets with a number of Galaxy S23 preorder offers already accessible at Samsung, Best Buy and elsewhere.
Even although it is a small replace, it is one which I believe folks will recognize — so long as the change in battery life is definitely noticeable. A 2018 survey from YouGov America discovered that 41% of respondents selected battery life as the highest characteristic they needed in a brand new telephone. Charging speeds stay the identical, with the Galaxy S23 supporting 25-watt wired charging and the S23 Plus able to as much as 45-watt speeds.
The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus can be found in the identical sizes as final 12 months: 6.1 inches for the S23 and 6.6 inches for the S23 Plus. The base mannequin of the Galaxy S23 Plus has extra storage, now starting at 256GB as an alternative of S22 Plus’ 128GB beginning capability. The common S23 nonetheless begins at 128GB of storage. Samsung’s Galaxy S23 boosts its storage measurement with out elevating the worth.
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When I reviewed the Galaxy S22 Plus final 12 months, I wrote that it was my favourite telephone within the trio as a result of it strikes an awesome stability of offering a big display and longer battery life with out feeling overwhelming. It’s good to see Samsung give the Plus mannequin extra consideration by additional distinguishing it from the common model.
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Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Lineup Is Here With Big Camera Upgrades
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The telephones usually look just like final 12 months’s gadgets, till you flip them over and spot that the digicam bump is gone. Instead, Samsung has carried out the identical floating digicam lens design because the Ultra mannequin, which creates just a little extra consistency all through the road. All three telephones are available in the identical 4 colours: black, cream, inexperienced and lavender. From left: The Galaxy S23 Plus alongside the Galaxy S22 Plus.
Bobby Oliver/CNET
The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus’ digicam {hardware} is essentially the identical as final 12 months’s telephones. There’s a 50-megapixel principal digicam, 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10-megapixel telephoto. Samsung says it is made some under-the-hood enhancements that ought to enhance dynamic vary and different capabilities like glare discount. The new telephones get a brand new 12-megapixel selfie digicam that ought to be higher at figuring out objects in body and optimizing the picture accordingly. The Galaxy S23’s digicam.
Bobby Oliver/CNET
That upgraded selfie digicam is thanks partly to the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip discovered contained in the S23 lineup, which is liable for among the S23’s photo-processing enhancements. All three S23 collection telephones run on a custom-made model of the processor that Samsung mentioned has been optimized for sooner efficiency. It’s a singular model of the chip that’s distinct from the one we’ll see in rivals just like the OnePlus 11 5G.The launch comes as smartphone upgrades have begun to really feel much less monumental than in years previous. The Galaxy S23’s upgrades in complete really feel like sensible adjustments fairly than groundbreaking ones. That continues a theme we noticed all through 2022, as firms resembling Apple, Google and Samsung prioritized elements like privateness, security and longevity of their new merchandise. The S23 Ultra, alternatively, received a extra substantial improve to a brand new 200-megapixel digicam, which we discovered to provide colourful pictures that seize considerably extra element over final 12 months’s S22 Ultra.Overall, the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus seem to be small however essential steps ahead for Samsung’s smartphone lineup. These telephones are seemingly greatest suited to Android followers upgrading from a telephone that is a minimum of two years previous, however we’ll know extra as soon as we have had the possibility to evaluate them.
Samsung Galaxy S23 lineup specs in contrast
Galaxy S23
Galaxy S23 Plus
Galaxy S23 Ultra
Display measurement, tech, decision, refresh fee, brightness
6.1-inch AMOLED; 2,340×1,080 pixels; 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate; 1,750 nits
6.6-inch AMOLED; 2,340×1,080 pixels; 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate; 1,750 nits
6.8-inch AMOLED 3,088×1,440 pixels; 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate; Edge Screen; 1,750 nits
Pixel density
425 pixels per inch
393 pixels per inch
500 pixels per inch
Dimensions (inches)
2.79 x 5.76 x 0.3 in
3 x 6.21 x 0.3 in
3.07 x 6.43 x 0.35 in
Dimensions (millimeters)
70.9 x 146.3 x 7.6 mm
76.2 x 157.7 x 7.6 mm
78 x 163.3 x 8.9 mm
Weight (ounces, grams)
168 g (5.93 oz)
196 g (6.91 oz)
234 g (8.25 oz)
Mobile software program
Android 13
Android 13
Android 13
Camera
50-megapixel (broad), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (telephoto)
50-megapixel (broad), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (telephoto)
200-megapixel (broad), 12-megapixel (ultrawide) 10-megapixel (telephoto) 10-megapixel (telephoto)
Front-facing digicam
12-megapixel
12-megapixel
12-megapixel
Video seize
8K at 30fps
8K at 30fps
8K at 30fps
Processor
Galaxy-optimized Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Galaxy-optimized Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Galaxy-optimized Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
RAM/storage
8GB RAM + 128GB; 8GB RAM + 256GB
8GB + 256GB; 8GB + 512GB
12GB + 256GB; 12GB + 512GB; 12GB + 1TB
Expandable storage
None
None
None
Battery/charging speeds
3,900 mAh (25W wired charging)
4,700 mAh (45W wired charging)
5,000 mAh (45W wired charger)
Fingerprint sensor
In-display
In-display
In-display
Connector
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
Headphone jack
None
None
None
Special options
5G (mmw/Sub6), IP68 ranking, sooner wired charging, wi-fi PowerShare to cost different gadgets
5G (mmw/Sub6), IP68 ranking, sooner wired charging, wi-fi PowerShare to cost different gadgets, UWB for locating different gadgets
5G (mmw/Sub6), IP68 ranking, sooner wired charging, wi-fi PowerShare to cost different gadgets, built-in S-Pen, 200x Space Zoom, 10x Optical Zoom, UWB for locating different gadgets
US value off-contract
$800 (8GB/128GB)
$1,000 (8GB/256GB)
$1,200 (12GB/256GB)
UK value
£849 (8GB/128GB)
£1,049 (8GB/256GB)
£1,249 (12GB/256GB)
Australia value
AU$1,349 (8GB/128GB)
AU$1,649 (8GB/256GB)
AU$1,949 (12GB/256GB)