By Holly, Mozillion Team
Samsung revealed the three new Galaxy S23 phones – the S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra – on the 1st February 2023 at their annual ‘Galaxy Unpacked’ event. Let’s take a closer look.
Samsung Galaxy S23
The S23 is the base model.The first thing to notice with the least expensive smartphone of the three is the significant change in design to the S22. This model takes its lead from 2022’s Ultra with a minimalist array of three camera lenses on the rear rather than the ‘contour cut’ camera module observed on the S22. The size and weight of the phone have not changed however and the display is the same at 6.1 inches, although it has been reinforced with the toughest glass around; Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The 120Hz AMOLED panel can slow down to a 48Hz refresh rate with the same Full HD+ resolution while maintaining a similar brightness which means less power consumption and hopefully better battery life.
Inside the phone is the processor of dreams for Samsung fans; it is actually custom made for the S23 series and is branded ‘Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy’. This unique chip’s prime CPU core runs at a higher clock speed of 3.36GHz, up from the 3.2GHz of the regular 8 Gen 2’s main core. It ships with 8GB of RAM as standard and there is a choice of two storage options: 128GB or 256GB. Battery capacity has improved to; up from 3700mAh to 3900mAh, while charging speeds stay the same along with Qi wireless charging.
In terms of camera, the S23 boasts a 50 MP (megapixel) main camera, a 12MP ultrawide lens and a 10MP telephoto lens. There has been a slight upgrade to the selfie camera from 10MP to 12MP. There are also several software improvements, especially for low light photography and night shooting.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus
This model benefits from all the standard S23 features and then some. There is a bigger AMOLED screen at 6.6 inches and 256GB or 512GB of storage available. There is also an even bigger battery with the S23+ having a 4,700mAh version.
Like the S23 Ultra, the S23+ includes Super Fast Charging 2.0 while the S23 includes standard Super Fast Charging. What does that mean in reality? It’s all about the first 30 minutes of charging. Both phones can charge to full in about an hour, but 2.0 (assuming you have a compatible cable and charger) will give you more charge in the first 30 minutes of charging. Can I use the word charging any more in this paragraph? Charging.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
The top tier Galaxy S23 model. The Ultra has the highest spec of the lot, including that epic 200MP main camera.
Although it looks almost identical to the previous year’s S22 Ultra, Samsung have been busy upgrading under the hood.
With its substantial 6.8 inch display, it is also the only model in the series with a dynamic refresh rate able to scale all the way from 1 – 120Hz, a boon for improving power consumption.
The S Pen stylus comes as standard with this smartphone (which will please Note fans) and the design accommodates this accordingly with a slightly curved panel for the stylus to slot nicely into. The bespoke Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor powers the device and base storage options are the same as the S23 Plus, along with a third option of 1TB of storage. There is also the opportunity to jump up to 12GB of RAM for faster performance if you like using lots of apps at the same time or find yourself using demanding services like video editing on the phone.
There is a significant upgrade on the camera side – this is the highlight of this flagship. The main rear camera is an astounding 200MP and uses Samsung’s new ISOSELL HP2 sensor. This includes a large 1/1.3in sensor, enhanced HDR, improved low-light focussing and Tetra2pixel technology that allows the phone to pixel-bin to different levels depending on lighting.
What does this mean in practice? Well, for one it means you can take those awesome close-up moon shots that you see on Instagram.
Alongside this beast of a main lens are the additional rear cameras including a 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto lens and then a 12MP selfie camera around the front. The battery is also upgraded again from the S23 Plus at 5000 mAh so you’re getting more capacity there.
The entire S23 series comes in the same colours: Green, Lavender, Cream and Phantom Black.