I’m at a crossroads. Just some weeks in the past, I reviewed Samsung’s Galaxy A14 5G, calling it an outstanding telephone that prices a mere $200, proving that you just actually don’t must pay heaving wads of dough to get a great smartphone. Now I’m reviewing Samsung’s top-tier $1,200 Galaxy S23 Extremely and $800 Galaxy S23—and dang it, typically it’s good to splurge, you already know?
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 lineup (which additionally consists of the S23+, a mannequin I haven’t examined but) usually are not game-changing units within the least—and most of the people don’t want all these high-end cameras and great horsepower. However I’ve to remind myself that typically it’s OK to pay up for the best of the best. It’s good not having to squint at a dim display on a sunny day, and to have the power to play a demanding sport at its highest constancy.
In the event you’re coming from a Galaxy S22 or S21 or every other flagship system launched throughout the final two years, these new Samsung handsets do not actually offer you a motive to improve. However if in case you have one thing older in your pocket, or a extra wallet-friendly system that you just really feel affords a compromised expertise, then it’s best to undoubtedly have a look.
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I received’t bore you with the nitty-gritty specs on these telephones. As a substitute, you possibly can read my explainer on how the Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra are all completely different and the way they’re comparable. (Heck, you possibly can learn final yr’s S22 series review to get the gist on what most of those new units are about.) What you possibly can’t fairly discover out by studying specs are how these telephones really feel—the 6.1-inch S23 is my private favourite as a result of it matches my fingers and many of the display stays pretty accessible once I wish to use it one-handed. The S23 Extremely’s 6.8-inch show is not terribly unwieldy, however whereas utilizing it, I discover my thumbs stretching farther and farther till my different hand has to affix in—and I’ve massive fingers.
The most effective change is the S23 Extremely’s edges, that are far flatter than final yr’s curvy S22 Extremely. The sides usually are not as flat as the sides on an iPhone 14, however the Extremely nonetheless feels nicer to carry than its predecessor, and my grip virtually by no means interrupts the display. Exterior this, coloration me whelmed with how the Galaxy S23 lineup appears. I nonetheless suppose Samsung’s S21 series provided a sharper design language with the Contour Minimize digicam module in an accent coloration. These new telephones with their understated and accent-free digicam array appear like the textbook definition of a “smartphone”—they’re little question elegant, however there’s not a lot character.
The three handsets share most of the similar traits, like how the 120-Hz AMOLED screens can every now hit 1,750 nits of peak brightness. It is a characteristic that is typically neglected; a excessive brightness makes it a lot simpler to learn the display while you’re outdoors on a sunny day. Too typically my fiancée has to squint at her Pixel phone, and that is by no means an issue right here. (It additionally will get fairly darn dim for anybody who appreciates low brightness at bedtime.)
They’re all powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 “for Galaxy” chipset, which is barely sooner than the base-level Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 you will discover on different flagship Android telephones just like the OnePlus 11. My benchmark checks bore that out, however it’s not a large leap. This chip is particular in two methods. Yr over yr, it is actually laborious to note significant beneficial properties in efficiency today, however I’ve seen that telephones with this processor really feel extra responsive and snappier than ever earlier than.
