The sensibly-sized Samsung Galaxy S23 might free me from awkward phones and camera spec overkill

Big telephones are nice. Right? And on my strategy to the hands-on preview occasion for the Samsung Galaxy S23 collection, I knew that I’d be making a beeline for the S23 Ultra for that beautiful 6.8-inch display, improved digicam, and extra energy than any of my laptops have had in years. And I did. And it was nice. It’s in all probability going to be Samsung’s greatest telephone but, and a robust contender for greatest Android telephone for certain. I’ll have the ability to say the very same factor this time subsequent yr and the yr after that. And as somebody that has been utilizing a Note 20 Ultra (in traditional Mystic Bronze, after all) on and off for the final two years whereas bouncing between varied Flip and Fold evaluate items, this yr’s Ultra was trying like all set to grow to be my subsequent every day driver.But then I picked up the smallest (6.1-inch display) Galaxy S23 on the preview occasion, and every little thing appeared to click on . As a lot as I’ve beloved the Note and foldable telephones of latest years, their dimension and weight have grow to be a problem, particularly for single-handed use when out of the home/workplace. The base S23, a small telephone by right now’s requirements – the place even price range Android telephones have greater screens – simply felt…proper.(Image credit score: Brendan Griffiths / Android Central)Better on the moveI’d forgotten what it was prefer to navigate most options of a telephone one-handed – one thing that’s unimaginable for many on a Note/Ultra-sized telephone. With the smaller S23, it by no means felt like I used to be vulnerable to dropping it. The flat sides assist, though I’m involved they could be barely uncomfortable for prolonged periods. The new S23 Ultra, by comparability, has extra rounded sides, if somewhat flatter than final yr and the display is flatter on the sides too.Foldables haven’t fared a lot better because the Galaxy Flip 4 continues to be a really tall telephone as soon as opened up, and opening the telephone one-handed is manner harder than it must be, extra so for those who don’t have a Flip 4 case because the telephone itself is extremely slippery to the contact which may very well be disastrous when attempting to open it on the transfer. And you’ll be able to overlook about opening one of many bigger Fold telephones one-handed.These irritating downsides of contemporary high-end telephones appeared to fall away when holding the S23, forcing me to assume: isn’t this higher? Like… loads higher?The telephone’s stability feels implausible even when holding it from the underside moderately than a full-handed grip you would possibly use for basic navigation. Larger flagships are far too top-heavy, though the stability is no less than extra even than the S20 Ultra, which had a monstrous digicam housing block. Everyone I do know that owned that telephone admitted dropping it onto their face greater than as soon as when utilizing it mendacity down.The S23 Ultra: a telephone so huge it mugs different telephones on road corners. (Image credit score: Brendan Griffiths / Android Central)What about downgrade FOMO?Of course, going to the small aspect will include compromises that could be tough for my tech snobbery to beat. The major component I’d really feel I’m lacking out on can be the cameras, however maybe I must be lifelike about how a lot digicam horsepower I would like. The proven fact that I simply stated ‘camera horsepower’ ought to let you know every little thing you must find out about my in-depth images data.And let’s face it, smartphone images has developed at a staggering fee over the past ten years that even right now’s mid-range telephones (assume Samsung’s vastly underrated A5 collection) obliterate flagships of the pretty latest previous. So the S23 might be greater than high-quality for my wants – in actuality, the Galaxy A53 can be too, however that’s not the place I’ve chosen to reside, sadly. Yes, choosing the S23  wouldn’t get me the S23 Ultra’s new, elective 200MP mode, however I’m not one for whoring out photos of my disturbingly beige meals on Instagram. Anyway, from my hands-on expertise with the S23 Ultra, I discovered that the 200MP photos weren’t that a lot totally different than the 50MP photos when seen on a telephone, the one place I have a look at my photographs, and the slower shutter velocity will virtually definitely imply I’ll miss no matter entertaining factor my cat was doing by the point the picture is captured.(Image credit score: Brendan Griffiths / Android Central)Smaller display, smaller keyboardGoing again to a small display would maybe take some adjustment. As I don’t commute on public transport proper now, I not often watch something longer than a evaluate or trailer on YouTube, so I don’t actually require it for prolonged streaming, and I have a tendency to make use of tablets for cellular gaming, ideally with an Android controller. I browse the net loads on my telephone although, and the extra scrolling and smaller textual content might be a bummer, however on the similar time, I might definitely afford to spend much less time on my telephone.Small screens and their extra condensed keyboards aren’t pretty much as good for typing longer messages although even for those who use each palms. Seriously, I feel my typing’s getting worse. Nowadays, my thumbs have all of the grace of a drunk ballroom dancer carrying snowshoes. I swear autocorrect has made it its mission to screw with me and change each point out of ‘in’ with ‘on’ and vice versa. The T-9 keyboard days of me with the ability to kind a textual content message with out even trying on the telephone are very useless certainly. The S23 Ultra’s digicam is nice for 200MP shut ups. But when will I would like this? (Image credit score: Brendan Griffiths / Android Central)Do you really want a wow issue?I’ve primarily been utilizing a Flip 4 for the final six months, and I completely find it irresistible. It’s simply the best telephone I’ve ever owned (shhh, don’t inform my beloved Razr V3). When most annual releases are virtually indistinguishable from final yr’s (okay, we will put the S23 in that class too), it’s good to have one thing totally different and foldables are lastly stepping away from early-adopter fodder the place they felt like unfinished units – severely the unique and newest Fold/Flips are worlds aside.But issues appear to be slowing down once more so far as innovation goes. And choosing up a brand new telephone yearly has by no means been extra pointless than it’s proper now. In actuality, my Note 20 Ultra continues to be a beast of a telephone, and if the battery hadn’t began to lose a few of its longevity, I’d contemplate holding out to see what the S24 Ultra has up its sleeve subsequent yr. So as a substitute, the S23 would possibly the best choice, particularly as Samsung has dedicated to 4 years of One UI upgrades and 5 years of safety updates. That’s greater than sufficient, as I think about after round two years, my required battery capability will begin to drop off.From my transient testing, the bottom S23’s digicam is greater than as much as the duty for what I’m going to want from it for just a few years, and the interior spec might be greater than able to working a number of apps without delay with out the battery fading earlier than I get residence. Plus, I don’t want to hold a film display in my pocket. Oh, and it’s $400 cheaper than the Ultra and comes with a free storage improve, as seen on our roundup of the newest Samsung Galaxy S23 offers roundup.So how about it? Are you satisfied? Am I simply speaking crap? Quite presumably. Fast ahead six months, and I’ll have simply dropped my new Galaxy Fold 5 Bespoke Edition down the hole on the subway as a result of FOMO is a bitch.For a deeper dive into the brand new telephones, make sure certain to take a look at Michael’s full Samsung Galaxy S23 hands-on report and keep tuned for our full critiques of all the brand new units quickly. And for a wider have a look at the yr forward, take a look at android Central’s tackle what we hope the Android world will enhance in 2023.Today’s greatest Samsung Galaxy S23 Pre-Order offers