Samsung Galaxy S23 long-term review

6 January 2024


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  • J
  • Juancho
  • SHx
  • 07 Jan 2024

This article is excellent. My congratulations to the writer for the analysis. I liked it so much that I reviewed all the advertisements. Like a humble retribution. It's been a long time since I read such an interesting and compelling review.

    DBS, 06 Jan 2024Calling this gigantic phone "small" is ridiculous... moreIt really is *small* when compared to all other phones nowadays whether you like it or not. I'm not a fan of the current trend of big phones but they're basically only two "small" phones today, this S series and Zenfone. Having used ZF9 and S23 back to back, I must say that Samsung one is much better, the screen, cameras, OS, reliability... Zenfone is still good but overpriced for what it's offering. I wish there were small phones on the market but alas..

      • M
      • Maria
      • xhn
      • 07 Jan 2024

      The main reason why S23 looks worse is that we've got S24 in the counted days. It happens every year anyway but I personally appreciate the SD8Gen2 inside.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • K1G
        • 07 Jan 2024

        Anonymous, 06 Jan 2024As for battery not as good as people say some A models better You didn't know A series use 5000mA battery?

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 0p}
          • 07 Jan 2024

          DBS, 06 Jan 2024Calling this gigantic phone "small" is ridiculous... moreIt is larger than S7.
          Not even S7 is small.

            • D
            • DBS
            • B1m
            • 06 Jan 2024

            Calling this gigantic phone "small" is ridiculous. That's like saying the White House is small if what you're comparing it with is Hampton Court.

            As for the phone itself, I have one because I was basically forced by Samsung to get a new phone as their final update to the S10e killed its already meager battery life.

            This one is better when it comes to battery life... But that's it. The phone is an ergonomic nightmare (made worse by the awful OneUI 6.0 update), it lacks BASIC features like expandable storage and a headphone jack, the cameras are extremely sub-par thanks to Samsung's unwillingness to create good post-processing and the under the display fps, while fast, it's an horrid experience compared to the superior side-mounted ones Samsung had on the S10e and has on the folding gimmicks.

            This will definitely be the last Samsung phone I'll buy, considering they - like Disney - seem hell-bent on their current failed strategy (these S phones are selling 4 times less than the last good line-up Samsung had with the original S10 trio).

            As for the claims that "there's no demand for small phones"...funny. The 12 Mini alone sold more units than the entire S21 line-up together. And that was with those phone sales cannibalised by the even smaller SE.
            On Android "there's no demand"? Well, hard to have ANY "demand" when you do NOT offer users choice. When we ARE FORCED to pick between an array of dinner-table-sized phones, it's hard to show OEMs what we want. Other than, of course, the crashing smartphone sales. People aren't keeping their phones longer because they want to. They simply aren't seeing anything compelling anymore on the market. And no, the folding gimmicks aren't a solution. They *could* be if the Find N2 strategy had gone on. But with Oppo screwing that up, it clearly won't be.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • i2Y
              • 06 Jan 2024

              As for battery not as good as people say some A models better

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • i2Y
                • 06 Jan 2024

                To small one ui 6 made it look crap

                  • S
                  • Sammy
                  • q{r
                  • 06 Jan 2024

                  I distinctly remember when my dear friend, Fawzy Moghanghab, first picked up this phone and told me he was mesmerised. Those were the days.

                    jiyen235, 06 Jan 2024This phone should've been called the S23e and the S23+... moreSince you havent done your research, let me tell you that beside S23, many other companies start from 128gb

                    Xiaomi 13
                    Iphone 15/15plus/15pro
                    Oneplus 11
                    Pixel 8
                    Sony xperia 5V


                    Also, how the hell is Apple getting closer to Samsung.

                    The iphone 15 and 15plus
                    -use 1 year old chip
                    -also start from 128gb(even iphone 15 pro)
                    -have 60hz screens with no Always on display
                    -Usb C type 2.0
                    -20W charging
                    -no telephoto camera at all.

                    This is how Apple comes closer and closer to Samsung??

                      • p
                      • petar
                      • g8V
                      • 06 Jan 2024

                      LoneOwl, 06 Jan 2024Galaxy S23 will be relevant in 2024 too outside of US, due ... moreIt really depends on the country and mobile operator. I got my S23 256GB + original fast charger included for 650 usd on a preorder. Still can't see such a deal 1 year later, even from the same mobile operator. ;)

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • 0p}
                        • 06 Jan 2024

                        Rikka, 06 Jan 2024Tried Zenfone 10, even while the OS support sucks (2 OS upg... moreSince when 5v uses same screen of 5ii?
                        It is different screen, also inferior by the way.
                        Same case of 10v compared to 10 iv.

                          • F
                          • Fred
                          • HC3
                          • 06 Jan 2024

                          All I want is a phone is this form factor with the ultra/pro cameras and slightly faster charging. Legit one of the best phones I've owned.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • gXJ
                            • 06 Jan 2024

                            GoodLock allows you to add widgets to the lockscreen and AOD which is really nice. I have the Unread WhatsApp Notifications widget on my AOD because it doesn't show notification content.

                            My A13 5G got One UI 6 over Android 14 recently. It is impossible (not almost, IS) to find any 2-year-old Chinese phone with Android 14.

                              Anonymous, 06 Jan 2024The regular 16 Pro is set to get a 6.3" screen.At least that's the good part, but I'm not sure that's great for the people that need 6.1" phones either. Still, happy to see an otherwise uncommon size being offered.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • gXJ
                                • 06 Jan 2024

                                Darth Caesium, 06 Jan 2024This kind of makes me want to get a 6.3"-6.5" pho... moreThe regular 16 Pro is set to get a 6.3" screen.

                                  • N
                                  • Nameless
                                  • pdq
                                  • 06 Jan 2024

                                  My wife's got an iphone 14 as her work phone. I have never had an iphone before and I was curious how is it. As a gadget it feels the most premium, but iOS is simply horrible compared to android. I'll not go into the details, but I thought to myself, I'll never consider an iphone, no matter what pros they would come with. Samsung S23 would be my choice hands down.

                                    • O
                                    • Ocramavaf
                                    • nwc
                                    • 06 Jan 2024

                                    darkich, 06 Jan 2024It's a complete travesty that this phone is kind of ov... moreVery true as far as compact flagships go the non pro or+ versions of the S23 and the Xiaomi 13/14 are always the best in class for a reasonable price (meaning sub 1000€ and often sub 900€) without omitting anything expected of flagship phones, performance, cameras, IP rating and wireless charging, I'd give the S23 the edge here for the value added features in software like Dex, longer software support and more available peripherals

                                      darkich, 06 Jan 2024It's a complete travesty that this phone is kind of ov... moreI agree, this one is very underrated. Hope it had the press the Google Pixel models have.

                                        This phone should've been called the S23e and the S23+ should've been called the S23e+, their specs differ vastly from the Ultra phone and these just look more or less like the A54 which is horrible for the price. The worst part is the fact that the S23 STILL gets 128 gb, that's some midranger typa thing why put it in a FLAGSHIP. Didn't expect this from Samsung now, after so many years of making killer flagships. The sad part is this phone's telephoto lens is smaller than even the S9+'s, yeah this is 3x and that was 2x but still, it just shows Samsung's complacency. Apple used to be FAR inferior to Samsung and now they're getting closer and closer by the day.

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