Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus: longer Battery life and More processing Power!

With the Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus, Samsung is prioritizing practical improvements that could make doing your daily tasks more convenient, rather than making huge intense changes. The two new phones made their debut with the Galaxy S23 Ultra and a new Galaxy book at Samsung’s unpacked event in San Francisco.

The Galaxy S23 and S23 plus bring upgrades, including larger batteries, better selfie cameras and a slightly updated design, the Plus model also has twice as much storage. The Galaxy S23 starts at $800 (£849, AU$1,349), while the larger Plus option begins at $1,000 (£1,049, AU$1,649). Both devices launch on February 17th.

The new pair of phones include incremental updates compared to the Galaxy S22 lineup. But those upgrading from the Galaxy S21 or earlier will likely have a lot to gain from the S23's improvements.

It's another sign that phone-makers are focusing more on standard updates for their entry-level premium phones rather than introducing huge changes. Apple took a similar approach with 2021's iPhone 13, which featured longer battery life and more storage at the base level.

Both new phones have a battery that's 200 mAh larger than the ones in last year's devices, which comes to a 3,900-mAh capacity for the S23 and a 4,700-mAh capacity for the S23 Plus. Even though it's a small update, it's one that people will appreciate as long as the change in battery life is actually noticeable. Charging speeds remain the same, with the Galaxy S23 supporting 25-watt wired charging and the S23 Plus capable of up to 45-watt speeds. However it’s does not come with a charger head.

The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus are available in the same sizes as last year: 6.1 inches for the S23 and 6.6 inches for the S23 Plus. The base model of the Galaxy S23 Plus has more storage, now beginning at 256GB instead of S22 Plus' 128GB starting capacity. The regular S23 still starts at 128GB of storage.

The phones generally look similar to last year's devices, until you flip them over and notice that the camera bump is gone. Instead, Samsung has the same floating camera lens design as the Ultra model, which creates a little more consistency throughout the line. All three phones come in the same four colors: black, cream, green and lavender.

The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus' camera hardware is mostly the same as last year's phones. There's a 50-megapixel main camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10-megapixel telephoto. Samsung says it's made some “under-the-hood” improvements that should increase dynamic range and other capabilities like glare reduction.

The new phones also get a new 12-megapixel selfie camera that should be better at identifying objects in frame and optimizing the image accordingly. That upgraded selfie camera is partially thanks to the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip found inside the S23 lineup, which is responsible for some of the S23's photo-processing enhancements.

All three S23 series phones run on a customized version of the processor that Samsung said has been optimized for faster performance. It's a unique version of the chip.

The Galaxy S23's upgrades in total feel like practical changes rather than groundbreaking ones. Which is just as we saw throughout 2022, with companies such as Apple, Google and Samsung prioritized factors like privacy, safety and longevity in their new products. The S23 Ultra, on the other hand, is getting a more substantial upgrade to a new 200-megapixel camera.

I’m conclusion, the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus seem like small but important steps forward for Samsung's smartphone lineup. These phones are likely best suited for Android fans upgrading from a phone that's at least two years old or avid fans that get upgrade every year!

Samsung Galaxy S23 lineup specs compared

	Galaxy S23	Galaxy S23 Plus	Galaxy S23 Ultra
Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate, brightness	6.1-inch AMOLED; 2,340x1,080 pixels; 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate; 1,750 nits	6.6-inch AMOLED; 2,340x1,080 pixels; 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate; 1,750 nits	6.8-inch AMOLED 3,088x1,440 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	Android 13	Android 13	Android 13
Camera	50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (telephoto)	50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (telephoto)	200-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide) 10-megapixel (telephoto) 10-megapixel (telephoto)
Front-facing camera	12-megapixel	12-megapixel	12-megapixel
Video capture	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 features	5G (mmw/Sub6), IP68 rating, faster wired charging, wireless PowerShare to charge other devices	5G (mmw/Sub6), IP68 rating, faster wired charging, wireless PowerShare to charge other devices, UWB for finding other devices	5G (mmw/Sub6), IP68 rating, faster wired charging, wireless PowerShare to charge other devices, integrated S-Pen, 200x Space Zoom, 10x Optical Zoom, UWB for finding other devices
US price off-contract	$800 (8GB/128GB)	$1,000 (8GB/256GB)	$1,200 (12GB/256GB)
UK price	£849 (8GB/128GB)	£1,049 (8GB/256GB)	£1,249 (12GB/256GB)
Australia price	AU$1,349 (8GB/128GB)	AU$1,649 (8GB/256GB)	AU$1,949 (12GB/256GB)