Samsung Galaxy A23 review

Design and ergonomics

The Galaxy A23 has a familiar design language, which puts it closer to the Galaxy A33 and the A53 than its more affordable Galaxy A13 sibling. This means that the camera module is slightly protruding, but it's not a separate piece. It's still part of the back panel and the edges are smoothed out. Also, contrary to the Galaxy A13, the A23 doesn't have a unibody design. The plastic back panel is separate from the side frame.

Despite the curved panel and frame, the two form a noticeable ridge, which isn't ideal, but it's not a deal-breaker either. It just feels a bit clunky in hand.

We have the Black color with us, which looks more like a dark, graphite gray, probably due to the glossy finish. It's a tad less slippery than glass, but fingerprints and smudges still stick.

As we go around the sides, we find the volume rocker and the power button, which doubles as a fingerprint reader as well, on the right side. Both are positioned adequately, and the indentation makes it easy to find the power key. The bottom, as usual, is the place for the USB-C connector and the loudspeaker. The left houses only the SIM card tray, which happens to be compatible with two SIM cards and a microSD card simultaneously.

Samsung Galaxy A23

There's not much to talk about the front side of the phone, however. It's business as usual, except for the notch. The V-shaped notch is an outdated design but is still being implemented on low-end and rarely on mid-range devices. The A23 also has some thick bezels all-around that don't really come as a surprise.

Despite its drawbacks, the handset is fairly comfortable to hold and even surprisingly hefty. A 6.6-inch, plastic phone that weighs 195 grams is a bit above the average. That shouldn't scare you, though, as some of us find the little extra weight pleasing. It adds a little sense of sturdiness, and that's always welcome. It also wouldn't be fair to complain about trivial things when the price point of the handset is in the mid-€200. Having Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the front is a good enough bonus.