We just got back from our first brief hands-on session with the new Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23 plus so let’s talk about it…
The upgrades Samsung has made to the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus are welcome, even if they don't look that large on paper.
We like the new, tougher design, not to mention the potential of the updated selfie camera, larger batteries and custom chipset. But more testing is definitely needed to see if this is a big step forward from the Galaxy S22 series or more of a short shuffle ahead.
But if you're tempted by other phones in the $800 to $1,000 price range, you may want to wait for our full review to see if the Galaxy S23 or Galaxy S23 Plus is the best use of your money.
The upgrades Samsung has made to the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus are welcome, even if they don't look that large on paper.
We like the new, tougher design, not to mention the potential of the updated selfie camera, larger batteries and custom chipset. But more testing is definitely needed to see if this is a big step forward from the Galaxy S22 series or more of a short shuffle ahead.
But if you're tempted by other phones in the $800 to $1,000 price range, you may want to wait for our full review to see if the Galaxy S23 or Galaxy S23 Plus is the best use of your money.
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TechTranscript
00:00 That's right, the Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23+ are here. The standard for good Android
00:05 phones in 2023 is now in place. Unlike the Galaxy S23 Ultra, there are no real headline-worthy
00:13 upgrades to focus on with these two models. But Samsung's basic flagship phones still
00:18 bring a level of quality, power and features that make them hard to overlook. Improvement
00:25 to the Galaxy S23's performance, cameras, battery and a fresh design make this model
00:30 a potentially worthwhile upgrade for users still on aging devices. But while the S23
00:37 makes a strong first impression, there are still some compelling alternative phones around
00:41 that can do certain things better and, sometimes, for less money.
00:47 From the back, the Galaxy S23 and S23+ are noticeably different from last year's phones.
00:53 As the cameras now float by themselves in the top left-hand corner of the phone instead
00:58 of huddling together in a single block. They now look much more like their bigger Ultra
01:03 brother, which seems like a wise move on Samsung's part.
01:06 From the front and the side, the new phones look nearly identical to the Galaxy S22 range.
01:12 You get flat displays with curved side rails, with the handsets measuring at either 6.1
01:17 inches for the basic S23 or 6.6 inches for the S23+. Samsung will sell you a Galaxy S23
01:25 in one of four colours. Cream, Phantom Black, Green or Lavender. All four colours look pretty
01:31 smart in person, thanks to the S23's matte finish on the back.
01:36 The Galaxy S23 series is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus II on front and back, with Samsung
01:42 being the first company to use this more durable glass on a smartphone.
01:47 The Galaxy S23 could be one of the toughest phones of the year as a result, along with
01:52 the usual IP68 rating against intrusions by water and dust.
01:57 As for the screen's particulars, the Galaxy S23 continues to feature a 120Hz Full HD AMOLED
02:04 display, just like on the S22 and S22+. That display can scale down to 48Hz to save battery,
02:11 just like before. Samsung also increased the brightness of the
02:15 Galaxy S23's screen with a new maximum brightness of 1750nits. That's according to its own
02:23 figures and we'll need time with it in the lab before we can confirm.
02:27 But in the brief hands-on time I did have with it, the screen seemed plenty bright enough
02:31 to keep the home screen and other apps visible even under the bright lights of the Samsung
02:35 demo area. For your photo taking needs, the Samsung Galaxy
02:39 S23 and S23+ provide a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide camera and 10MP telephoto lens
02:48 with 3x optical zoom. If those cameras sound familiar to you, then it's because they're
02:52 the exact same camera setup as on the S22 and S22+ from last year.
02:58 These cameras are still totally solid though, even when compared with the latest iPhones.
03:03 This main shot of a stand of cupcakes in front of a tasty looking conveyor belt of confectionery
03:08 is much warmer through the iPhone 14 Pro Max's lens. We'd say that the Galaxy S23+ image
03:15 is much more appealing here, and closer to what we saw in real life on the day.
03:20 Meanwhile, the ultra-wide image flips the script. The bike suspended from the wall here
03:26 is captured as much cooler on the iPhone, as well as from a wider angle. The iPhone
03:31 also captured the scene a little more sharply too, with less obtrusive noise in the dark
03:37 areas. The highlights in this 3x zoom shot are much
03:41 more prominent in the iPhone 14 Pro Max's photo, and not necessarily to the benefit
03:46 of the beard statue and the cube shelf here. Both images are nice and sharp though, which
03:51 is the most important thing when trying to shoot a telephoto lens.
03:55 The only new cameras on the Galaxy S23 is the 12MP selfie camera. This is a small resolution
04:02 jump compared to the S22's 10MP selfie snapper. Looking at this comparison with the iPhone
04:08 14 Pro Max, we much prefer the more balanced colours of the face and jumper that the Samsung
04:14 camera phone offers. It's also done a much better job of cutting around the edge of Richard's
04:18 glasses with the portrait mode effect, something the iPhone completely messed up.
04:25 Samsung is using a unique Snapdragon 8Gen2 for Galaxy chipset in the Galaxy S23 series.
04:32 It's apparently a superior version of the regular Snapdragon 8Gen2 chip that's making
04:37 its way onto the best Android phones available. The Galaxy version runs at a higher clock
04:42 speed than standard, which Samsung is touting as excellent for mobile gaming.
04:47 Regardless of whether you buy the Galaxy S23 or the S23 Plus, your phone comes with 8GB
04:54 of RAM. That's lower than most rival phones which use 12GB or higher, so we could see
05:00 slower multitasking performance on the S23 series when compared to the competition.
05:06 While a lot of the specs remain almost unchanged from last year's handsets, one important
05:10 upgrade that you will get is a bigger battery. There's now a 3,900mAh battery in the Galaxy
05:18 S23 and 4,700mAh in the Galaxy S23 Plus. These aren't massive increases, but more battery
05:26 is always a good thing. Samsung has kept the same charging standards
05:31 as last year's phones for both of these new models, which gives you a maximum of 25W wired
05:36 charging on the basic S23 and 45W wired charging on the new S23 Plus. There's still no included
05:44 charger in the box though, meaning you'll have to go out and get your own compatible
05:48 chargers if you want these maximum speeds. The upgrades Samsung has made to the Galaxy
05:53 S23 and S23 Plus are welcome, even if they don't look that large on paper. We like
05:59 the new tougher design, not to mention the potential of the updated selfie camera, larger
06:05 batteries and custom chipset. But more testing is definitely needed to see if this is a big
06:09 step forward for the Galaxy range, or if it's more of a short shuffle ahead.
06:14 The truth is that some rival phones still have an edge over the S23 for various reasons.
06:20 If you're concerned with price, then you've got the Pixel or OnePlus options, and if you're
06:24 concerned with cameras, then you might be better off going for an iPhone, or Pixel again
06:29 if you're not an Apple fan. If you love Samsung and you're still rocking
06:33 an S21 or older, then the S23 could be a great upgrade for you. But if you're tempted by
06:39 other phones in the $800-$1000 price range, you may want to wait for our full review to
06:45 see if the Samsung Galaxy S23 or S23 Plus is the best use of your money.
06:51 Samsung is officially selling the Galaxy S23 series from February 17th, with the standard
06:56 model starting at just $799. The S23 Plus starts a little higher at $999.
07:04 Unfortunately for us Brits, these phones start at £849 and £1049 in the UK, which is a
07:11 touch higher than the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus cost when they launched.
07:17 If all of this seems a little tame to you, and you want to see our initial thoughts on
07:21 the brand new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, then head over to the Tom's Guide YouTube channel
07:26 and check it out. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you on the next one.
07:30 [MUSIC PLAYING]