Samsung Galaxy S23 long-term review

6 January 2024


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If it isn't 16:9 then I don't want a big display. If I can't enjoy media on the device then why should I carry around a big one? That's why this size is interesting to me.

The missing memory card slot isn't a dealbreaker but the 8GB of ram is unfortunately. I think Samsung confuses small handsets with amateur users. Big mistake. I'm definitely a power user. I very much value apps staying in ram for weeks and my Dex experience to be able to handle lots of apps side by side. Even running other OS in a virtual machine. 16GB would have been a future proof amount of ram.

    • y
    • yalim
    • mu4
    • 07 Jan 2024

    I have this phone since the pre-order. I have all my apps installed and have zero lags. probably due to 8GB ram, apps can reload after they wait in the background for 1-2 days. that can be an issue for some people but, nothing so important for me.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • q3R
      • 07 Jan 2024

      tr3ei, 07 Jan 2024"The S23 is also the smoothest Samsung we've ever... more"all your needed apps."

      What, do you install 800 "needed" apps? Do you multitask between 20 apps at a time all day? If so, sure I could see it lagging....or your definition of "need" is way off base for most people.

        LoneOwl, 07 Jan 2024Where we are talking flagship ''Ultra''... moreXiaomi's 16 GB ultra phones killed off background apps faster than the S23 Ultra's 12 GB ones, RAM is DEFINITELY more of a software thing now than hardware. Past 8 GB you won't feel it but YES, I agree, they should give AT LEAST 12 GB considering that Apple's giving 8 GB now in their pro models! The 11 Pro Max had 4 GB of RAM, the S10 had 8 GB of ram, that's double the RAM at a cheaper price, S10 was peak Samsung. Now they give the same ram as Apple? Pathetic.

        Also, Exynos was mainly a problem after the S10 and till the S21 Ultra, the S22 Ultra one was fine, it wasn't great but it wasn't a problem either. The speed difference wasn't vast, it didn't heat up as much and was actually better at battery, saw in a few tests. I used the S8 and S7 edge and exynos ruled back then. Exynos is a cost cutting measure, yes, but we're reaching the point when anything is good enough after the 8 gen 1, phones are getting too powerful for their use, they just don't get utilised properly due to thermal issues.

        Anyways yeah, I agree, Samsung has just gone downhill after the Huawei ban, on a positive note though their midrange phones are good at least, not great but good all rounders you can't go wrong with. I don't see any reason for the S23 to cost double the A54's price. It's 90% of the experience. Samsung is complacent here as well, the A54 only has the power of the A52s 5G but it's an exynos SoC vs the previous SD one, so it kinda makes sense ig. The industry has kinda gone to shit after Huawei, just look at Google, the Nexus 6P was one of their best phones and it was by Huawei, pretty sure they thought of creating their Pixel line after being inspired by Huawei's computational photography. They do computational photography all right, just not with the cutting edge hardware that Huawei had. Also, everyone raves about the Huawei and Xiaomi's variable aperture but I first saw it in a consumer mainstream phone on the S9, now THAT was something, Samsung basically "made" the trend and forgot about it when they need it the most now that the sensors are big and the DoF is too shallow. Using the UW to take a closeup isn't really ideal most of the time.

          Altezza, 07 Jan 20241yr is not a long-term. 3-4yrs is a long term. What would be the point of returning to any phone model after three years with long-term review? Those would be in the absolute tail of sales then, if sold at all.
          Seriously strange comment to commit.

            jiyen235, 07 Jan 2024RAM is something that doesn't matter much for 80% of u... moreWhere we are talking flagship ''Ultra'' phones like the S22 and S23 Ultra, for the price they are asking, they should start at least from 12gb, just like they start at 256gb base storage.
            Ram management has nothing to do with it.

            As for Samsung cutting corners, this is the same company that for years is using the inferior Exynos SoC on their flagships outside US.
            They even removed the factory screen protector from new devices, to sell it as extra, along with the chargers.

            So yeah, its nothing new for Samsung to cut corners for profits. This is what people feared would happen, after Huawei/Google ban.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • j83
              • 07 Jan 2024

              tr3ei, 07 Jan 2024"The S23 is also the smoothest Samsung we've ever... moreYou either have a bad phone (doubt) or you are making up a story. (likely)

                • K
                • Kumar
                • vGN
                • 07 Jan 2024

                I love my S 23. Better battery life than my previous S 22 Ultra, great display for its size, pretty good cameras, fits well into pocket. Good vibration motor too.

                I wish Samsung gave all soft features of ultra phone to this too (such as remaster picture). I am very happy

                  • t
                  • tr3ei
                  • y2g
                  • 07 Jan 2024

                  "The S23 is also the smoothest Samsung we've ever reviewed long term...."
                  Seriously??? This phone has only 8 GB of RAM, as if today was 2017 (the year high end phones got 8 GB of ram)
                  Have you installed any application on this phone??
                  This phone lags like hell after you install all your needed apps.
                  Yes, yes, let's all buy 2017 technology because it's a Samsung and it shows that you are someone!! Lol

                    • s
                    • sle
                    • 3ej
                    • 07 Jan 2024

                    Anonymous, 07 Jan 2024I kind of have the same experience as you but with the less... moreWell, base s23 version (as opposed to plus and ultra versions) has two problems related to camera :
                    - the x1 camera is desserved by a suboptimal (to say the least) optical lense, and a purposedly diminished sensor output compared to plus version (with no reason except for marketing and segmentation)
                    - the app camera sharpens too much and globally has overtuned colors and shadows

                    And you're right : you have to install a good gcam port *and* config file to have better results.

                    Personnally, I use BigKaka's AGC gcam port 8.8_224.v8 (see celsoazevedo website) combined with javasabr v26 config for s23 (see Telegram for group "gcam for s23/s23+/s23u). It is really night and day compared to Samsung' stock camera app.

                    Worth every bit of effort. But I agree with you, we should get the same result from the base camera app without having to be geeky about our phones.

                      LoneOwl, 07 Jan 2024You have wrong expectations man. Apple and Samsung have ... moreRAM is something that doesn't matter much for 80% of users, 8-10 gigs is fine, 12 is perfect. RAM management is the issue. "Apple and Samsung have no competition at this level" that's mostly due to brand image. If Samsung started now with these prices they'd die faster than Nokia's new lineup did. Samsung is just riding on its brand image whereas Apple is making extremely small improvements each year to the iPhones which are slowly making them one of the most well rounded phones. These companies aren't cutting corners to give us phones at lower prices, they're cutting corners for 2 reasons :
                      1.) Upsell the product, to make you upgrade/choose the Ultra/Pro Max model.
                      2.) Cut the costs for higher profit.
                      Win-win for both Apple AND Samsung due to this.

                      I'm not saying Apple should do this, but they can and they can get away with it cus an Apple product's an Apple product, everyone just views it differently. But Samsung too now? Come on, absolutely horrible now, considering the price at least. If these phones were cheaper than yeah, but not at this price. I'm using an S22U and I'll just buy midrangers, flagships are supremely overrated, I shoot in Pro Mode lots of the time anyway so a cheap dedicated cam is gonna suit me right. Phone cams are vastly overrated and their processor's power vastly underutilised.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • HxH
                        • 07 Jan 2024

                        I use one and it’s pretty solid device, except the battery.

                          Altezza, 07 Jan 20241yr is not a long-term. 3-4yrs is a long term. oh, give me a break, it's a phone, not a car.

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                            • Elayarasu G
                            • rJ7
                            • 07 Jan 2024

                            Neph, 07 Jan 2024I like the review and I agree with pretty much everything e... moreYes absolutely

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                              • Alex
                              • Lay
                              • 07 Jan 2024

                              Anonymous, 07 Jan 2024"Calling this gigantic phone "small" is ridi... moreThe phone is 146mm high. Name a smaller phone.

                                1yr is not a long-term. 3-4yrs is a long term.

                                  Yoedi16, 07 Jan 2024How zenfone is overpriced, in my country, Zenfone 10 is 200... moreZenfone is overpriced cause it costs the same as base S series or more. The problem is that it's not as good, far from it actually

                                    jiyen235, 07 Jan 2024I understand that you showed it to say that others do it to... moreYou have wrong expectations man.

                                    Apple and Samsung have no competition on flagship level. Thats why both of them are cutting corners like removing charger in the box, lowest charging speeds on the market, low base storage or even ram options(S23Ultra starting at just 8gb ram).

                                    The other companies have to offer more/be more competitive in hardware and pricing(and software nowadays) to attract more people.

                                    People in China for example prefer to buy a base Iphone 15 128gb than a Vivo X100 pro 256gb at almost the same price....

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                                      • Sle
                                      • 3ej
                                      • 07 Jan 2024

                                      Neph, 07 Jan 2024I like the review and I agree with pretty much everything e... moreHi,


                                      It's very true that the rear camera system is no match to s23+ or s23 ultra. For two separate reason : the base x1 camera is of lower quality optically speaking, and for all lenses the camera software has a lower quality for no reason except forcing a difference with + and ultra models.

                                      You can get a real huge quality improvement using a GoogleCam port for your phone. I personally use AGC gcam port (BigKaka AGC 8.8_224 v8) with Aliaksandr config file (javasabr v26 for s23 base). You can find that on telegram in "Gcam S23/S23+/s23u" group for the config and celsoazevedo website for Bigkaka gcam port.

                                      And boy, the result compared to stock camera app is really really really amazing.

                                        • h
                                        • huns
                                        • 3d0
                                        • 07 Jan 2024

                                        Neph, 07 Jan 2024I like the review and I agree with pretty much everything e... moreWhat GCAM port/version do you recommend? Thanks.

                                        And I agree: the camera is poor, especially for moving objects. I always wonder why GSMArena ignores this topic. Pixel phones handle pets or kids just fine.

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