Samsung Galaxy S23+ review

GSMArena Team, 9 February 2023.

OneUI 5.1 on top of Android 13

The Galaxy S23+ ships with Samsung's latest One UI 5.1 on top of Android 13. As is typically the case, the new software version is iterative in its features and simply builds on top of the strong One UI foundation. This time around, we get new widgets, Expert RAW mode, various improvements in the gallery, connectivity options, and DeX mode.

Samsung chargers: 65W - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review

Let's talk about the Android OS 13 core first. Samsung has always been diligent when it comes to implementing the new Android core features into its OS. This year's intrinsic Android 13 features aren't many, and most of them are focused on the visual aspect of Android's Material Design looks. And since those are not applicable to Samsung's own take on how Android should look, this leaves us with privacy and notification-focused improvements.

Notification control has been streamlined. Notification-related settings are now front and center around the top of the system menu. Also, app notifications are disabled by default. The first time you launch an app after installing, it will trigger a prompt asking you whether you want notifications from the said app or not. A direct shortcut to the app's internal notification settings can be found at the bottom of the notification panel. There is also more granular control over what types of notifications apps can send - badges, floating notifications and notification cards on the Lock screen.

Another newly-available option is per-app language control. It sounds like something that should have been part of Android for a long time now but is finally a thing in Android 13 and One UI.

Samsung chargers: 65W - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review

In terms of privacy improvements, Android 13 now has an autodelete option for the clipboard. Many unscrupulous apps will still prompt for access to the clipboard to this day since it is a common attack vector for privacy and security penetration. Users tend to copy plenty of sensitive data like emails, passwords, credit card numbers and the like.

On to One UI 5 itself.

One of the biggest improvements One UI 5 brings to the table has to do with general performance and fluidity. Samsung has optimized the OS from its core up and worked hard on animations and transitions. Everything feels smoother and snappier now. The phone is more responsive.

Other visual changes include better contrast, new app icons and illustrations across the system menus, making it easier to recognize apps and read text.

Of course, most of these visual elements remain user-customizable. Accent colors, for instance, can be auto-generated based on your wallpaper. One UI now gives you a broader choice of color combinations than ever, and the palette can also be applied to app icons.

Samsung chargers: 65W - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Samsung chargers: 65W - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Color palette

Widgets can now be stacked, and you can switch between stacked widgets with a simple swipe. Not all widgets support stacking, though, and that might require updates from developers to implement properly.

Stacked widgets - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Stacked widgets - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Stacked widgets - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Stacked widgets - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Stacked widgets - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Stacked widgets

The default Samsung dialer now picks animated backgrounds for contacts by default, so you can easily see who is calling. These can, of course, be manually overwritten with a photo, sticker or AR emoji of your choice.

There are also a few improvements brought by the One UI 5.1 - new widget and wallpaper options, improved connectivity, multi-tasking and DeX experience, and we will discuss those on the fly.

The logic of One UI is unchanged. The lock screen looks the same as before, with two monochrome shortcuts - dialer and camera. The under-screen ultrasonic fingerprint reader will likely be the primary method of unlocking for most, as it is quite fast and reliable. You can still use face unlock either instead of or alongside it. It can be more convenient in certain situations, but it generally is less secure since it's just using the selfie camera.

Always-on display is available - it's the simplified version of One UI 3. You can choose between a few clock styles or opt for an Image Clock. Music info is also supported. The feature can be always-off, always-on, scheduled, shown only when new notifications are available, or you can opt for a tap to show for 10s.

Always-on display options - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Always-on display options - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Always-on display options - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Always-on display options

The lock screen is largely unchanged, as mentioned, and has a lot of customization options available.

lockscreen and security options - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review lockscreen and security options - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review lockscreen and security options - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review lockscreen and security options - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review lockscreen and security options - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review lockscreen and security options - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
lockscreen and security options

You populate homescreens with app shortcuts, folders and widgets. The leftmost homescreen is Google's, as usual. App Drawer is present, too.

One UI 5.1 - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review One UI 5.1 - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review One UI 5.1 - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review One UI 5.1 - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review One UI 5.1 - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
One UI 5.1

The new version of One UI - 5.1 - introduces a new battery widget, which combines the battery information for all Galaxy devices connected to your phone. An improved weather widget is also available.

Battery and weather widgets - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Battery and weather widgets - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Battery and weather widgets - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Battery and weather widgets

There is an easier way to launch two apps in split screen mode - a short swipe up from the bottom edge of the display with two fingers. The same action can be done through the recent apps menu.

And while we are talking about quick access, there are also new quick shortcuts for minimizing/maximizing floating windows - just drag on one of the corners of the pop-up.

Multi-tasking and pop-up windows - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Multi-tasking and pop-up windows - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Multi-tasking and pop-up windows - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Multi-tasking and pop-up windows - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Multi-tasking and pop-up windows - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Multi-tasking and pop-up windows

We've already touched upon the new notification features that come bundled with Android 13. However, Samsung decided to improve upon the notification UI further still. The notification cards in the drop-down shade appear with bigger app icons and corresponding colors. Text alignment is also custom and meant to improve readability.

Notification area and controls - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Notification area and controls - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Notification area and controls - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Notification area and controls - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Notification area and controls

Samsung is introducing Modes and Routines, a feature similar to Apple's Focus. You can choose a mode based on what you are doing right now and execute certain actions, change sound profiles, display settings, notifications, etc. For instance, the Driving Mode can be set up to turn on DnD mode and launch Spotify automatically, for example. You can even trigger certain Modes with actions of your choice, such as turning on the hotspot or airplane mode - these you set up from the Routines menu.

One UI 5.1 also allows you to change the wallpaper with each Mode - an option that wasn't available before.

Modes and routines - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Modes and routines - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Modes and routines - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Modes and routines - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Modes and routines - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Modes and routines - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Modes and routines - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Modes and routines

Samsung also made connecting with nearby devices a tad easier. In the Connected devices sub-menu, you will find available devices for Smart View connection (read screen cast) or Samsung DeX, where available. Chromecasts are easier to discover and stream audio too. When you play sound from your phone, nearby Chromecasts will appear on the quick panel.

And once you cast the phone's screen on a TV, for example, you can choose to hide your notifications so others won't be able to read sensitive information from your phone.

Continue on PC is a new feature introduced in One UI 5.1. If you happen to use the Samsung Internet browser on your phone, you can set up a hand-off of sorts to your PC's default web browser.

Continue on PC - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Continue on PC - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Continue on PC

Familiar proprietary Samsung features present in One UI 5 include the Edge panels - the panes that show up when you swipe in from the side and provide tools and shortcuts to apps and contacts. Game launcher, the hub for all your games, which also provides options for limiting distraction when gaming is here to stay as well.

Otherwise, the software package is similar to other Samsung phones, with an in-house Gallery app, the Game Launcher app, and a proprietary file manager. Naturally, Samsung's Internet web browser is also available.

Gallery - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Game Launcher - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review File manager - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Edge panel - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Edge panel - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Gallery • Game Launcher • File manager • Edge panel

The built-in photo and video editors get a couple of new functionalities. You can create a sticker from any picture; there are more ways to edit GIFs now, draw perfect shapes on top of videos and photos using the pen tool, and you can find 60 new emoji stickers to add to your stills and clips.

There is also a new AI Image Clip option in the gallery in addition to text lookup. It is quite similar to Apple's Visual Lookup. You can tap and hold on an object from a photo and then either copy it, save it as an image, or share it.

AI Image clipping - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review AI Image clipping - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review AI Image clipping - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review AI Image clipping - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
AI Image clipping

Some small new functionalities spread across the system include exceptions for DnD mode (apps of your choice won't be affected by DnD), RAM Plus can be completely disabled through Device care, auto background optimization that keeps the system running smoothly, set up more timers simultaneously, expanded search in the My Files app, redesigned Digital Wellbeing, etc.

RAM Plus - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review RAM Plus - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
RAM Plus

Speaking of the Device Care menu, it is worth noting that the "Processing speed" menu within advanced battery settings has been reworked and now only features two performance profiles – Standard and Light, instead of the previous three ones. This might also have something to do with the switch to Qualcomm chipsets this generation.

The camera app has an Expert RAW mode, expanded with easy one-handed zoom controls. The watermark option is now highly customizable.

Watermark - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Watermark - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review Watermark - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Watermark

Last but not least, the S23+ supports the full Samsung DeX experience, including all of the wired and wireless connection modes now at up to 4K@60fps resolutions.

Performance and benchmarks

As we already mentioned, there is no Exynos chipset this year. Instead, the entire Galaxy S23 family in every market is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset for Galaxy. That last bit is important since it signifies the overclocked nature of the chip. That's right, the Galaxy S22+ and its siblings don't use the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 but rather a slightly higher-clocked version. That includes both the Cortex-X3 prime CPU core, clocked at 1.36GHz instead of its regular 3.2GHz and the Adreno 740 GPU, clocked at 719 MHz instead of its usual 680 MHz. We aren't sure whether this particular chip will be the basis for the eventual Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2, but we can speculate as much.

Samsung Galaxy S23+ review

Anyway, the new Gen 2 chipset offers 35% higher performance and 40% improved efficiency in the CPU department over its Gen 1 counterpart and 25% and 45% performance and efficiency bumps on the GPU side of things. It also has support for new, faster memory technologies (LPDDR5X and UFS 4.0).

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset has 1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510 CPU cores, and a 719 MHz Adreno 740 GPU, apparently capable of Ray Tracing. Whether and how that gets used in actual mobile games remains to be seen in the future. The Galaxy S23+ comes with 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM in both its storage variants, 256GB and 512GB. Both of those use UFS 4.0 chips. Only the 128GB vanilla S23 packs slower UFS 3.1 storage this time around.

Samsung also reworked and improved the internal cooling system for the S23 generation. This time around, the vapor chamber cooling has grown in size. But we'll get to that in the CPU throttling section. First things first - some benchmarks.

Samsung Galaxy S23+ review

Kicking things off, we have some CPU runs and GeekBench where the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy really shines. We can clearly see the effects of the overclock. So much so, in fact, that the Galaxy S23+ and its siblings are getting closer and closer to finally closing the gap with Apple's Bionic line of chips.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    5423
  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    5211
  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    5073
  • OnePlus 11
    4899
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
    4878
  • iQOO 11
    4803
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    4300
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    4265
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    4081
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    4021
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    3981
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    3913
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    3839
  • Xiaomi 12T
    3756
  • Poco X4 GT
    3719
  • Oppo Find N2
    3670
  • Xiaomi 12
    3652
  • Galaxy S22+
    3528
  • vivo X80 Pro
    3505
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    3458
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    3433
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    3403
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    3395
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    3187

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    1890
  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    1551
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
    1550
  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    1486
  • iQOO 11
    1479
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    1337
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    1336
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    1324
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    1277
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    1276
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    1270
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    1238
  • Xiaomi 12
    1187
  • vivo X80 Pro
    1184
  • Galaxy S22+
    1165
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    1160
  • OnePlus 11
    1150
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    1073
  • Oppo Find N2
    1057
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    1056
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    1002
  • Xiaomi 12T
    925
  • Poco X4 GT
    917
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    894

AnTuTu paints a very similar picture where the new Galaxies score very highly on the chart for overall system performance, basically only outpaced by a margin of error worth of points by other phones rocking the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. We can also clearly see just how substantial the uplift in performance is from the Galaxy S22+ and its Exynos 2200 chipset.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    1288866
  • iQOO 11
    1281665
  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    1234077
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
    1231075
  • OnePlus 11
    1140661
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    1074722
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    1045876
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    1039412
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    1032185
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    1012896
  • vivo X80 Pro
    1002570
  • Xiaomi 12
    985115
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    979921
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    964530
  • Oppo Find N2
    962082
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    955884
  • Galaxy S22+
    886916
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    838832
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    827929
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    800001
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    796369
  • Xiaomi 12T
    780204
  • Poco X4 GT
    747871
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    718351

The Adreno 740 chews through graphical tasks like a real champ as well. Even in the toughest of benchmark runs in GFXBench, the S23+ manages to exceed the 60fps mark, which is quite an achievement.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    89
  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    75
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    65
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    60
  • Xiaomi 12
    59
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    59
  • iQOO 11
    54
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    52
  • Galaxy S22+
    50
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    50
  • OnePlus 11
    49
  • Oppo Find N2
    49
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    43
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    43
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    43
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    39
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    38
  • Poco X4 GT
    38
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    35
  • vivo X80 Pro
    34
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    26

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    62
  • iQOO 11
    62
  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    61
  • OnePlus 11
    61
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    46
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    46
  • Oppo Find N2
    46
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    46
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    45
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    45
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    45
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    43
  • Xiaomi 12
    41
  • vivo X80 Pro
    41
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    40
  • Galaxy S22+
    31
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    29
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    26
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    26
  • Poco X4 GT
    26
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    26

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    93
  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    79
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    62
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    62
  • Xiaomi 12
    59
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    59
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    58
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    55
  • iQOO 11
    55
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    54
  • OnePlus 11
    53
  • Oppo Find N2
    52
  • Galaxy S22+
    51
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    42
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    40
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    39
  • Poco X4 GT
    38
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    36
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    35
  • vivo X80 Pro
    34
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    31
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    25

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    69
  • iQOO 11
    69
  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    68
  • OnePlus 11
    68
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    52
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    51
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    51
  • Oppo Find N2
    51
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    50
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    50
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    50
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    45
  • Xiaomi 12
    45
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    44
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    43
  • vivo X80 Pro
    37
  • Galaxy S22+
    34
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    30
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    26
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    26
  • Poco X4 GT
    24
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    23

Going further down the difficulty ladder in GFXBench starts yielding results in the triple digits. Close, in fact, to maxing out and saturating the 120fps on-screen render cap of the Galaxy S23+.

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    110
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
    110
  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    97
  • Xiaomi 12
    75
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    74
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    74
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    73
  • Galaxy S22+
    68
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    68
  • iQOO 11
    67
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    65
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    62
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    60
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    59
  • Oppo Find N2
    59
  • OnePlus 11
    57
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    54
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    51
  • Poco X4 GT
    46
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    44
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    44
  • vivo X80 Pro
    44
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    34

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    130
  • iQOO 11
    128
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
    127
  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    127
  • OnePlus 11
    126
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    118
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    104
  • Oppo Find N2
    104
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    103
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    102
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    101
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    100
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    94
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    93
  • vivo X80 Pro
    90
  • Xiaomi 12
    84
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    83
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    79
  • Galaxy S22+
    76
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    63
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    63
  • Poco X4 GT
    52
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    46

We were kind of hesitant to even post the Manhattan GFXBench runs since the scores are so ridiculously high. So much so that the phone has its refresh rate fully saturated by the on-screen tests.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    121
  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    120
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
    120
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    119
  • Xiaomi 12
    117
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    116
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    113
  • iQOO 11
    112
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    97
  • Galaxy S22+
    94
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    93
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    91
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    82
  • vivo X80 Pro
    82
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    72
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    60
  • OnePlus 11
    60
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    60
  • Oppo Find N2
    60
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    60
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    57
  • Poco X4 GT
    54

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    224
  • iQOO 11
    222
  • OnePlus 11
    220
  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    219
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
    212
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    192
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    182
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    182
  • Oppo Find N2
    180
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    179
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    178
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    174
  • Xiaomi 12
    164
  • vivo X80 Pro
    164
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    162
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    126
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    121
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    108
  • Galaxy S22+
    105
  • Poco X4 GT
    103
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    97
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    96
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    81

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    121
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    121
  • Xiaomi 12
    121
  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    120
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
    120
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    120
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    120
  • iQOO 11
    120
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    118
  • Galaxy S22+
    118
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    118
  • vivo X80 Pro
    113
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    103
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    100
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    93
  • Poco X4 GT
    65
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    61
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    60
  • OnePlus 11
    60
  • Oppo Find N2
    60
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    60

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    328
  • OnePlus 11
    327
  • iQOO 11
    321
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
    320
  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    319
  • Oppo Find N2
    269
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    268
  • Realme GT2 Explorer Master
    267
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    266
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    264
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    262
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    262
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    244
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    236
  • Xiaomi 12
    236
  • vivo X80 Pro
    226
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    186
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    178
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    170
  • Galaxy S22+
    168
  • Poco X4 GT
    146
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    137
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    99

The Galaxy S23+ also manages to ace the 3DMark test across the board. It literally maxes out the Slingshot and Slingshot Extreme tests, just leaving Wild Life.

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • iQOO 11
    12738
  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    12654
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
    11109
  • Xiaomi 12S Ultra
    10533
  • Oppo Find N2
    10517
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    10468
  • Galaxy Z Fold4
    10382
  • Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
    10248
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    9894
  • Sony Xperia 1 IV
    9794
  • vivo X80 Pro
    9778
  • Oppo Find X5 Pro
    9758
  • Xiaomi 12
    9535
  • Galaxy Z Flip4
    8460
  • Galaxy S22+
    7405
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    6470
  • Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
    5797
  • Oppo Reno8 Pro
    5668
  • Poco X4 GT
    4301

3DMark Wild Life Extreme (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy S23+
    3830
  • ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
    3643
  • OnePlus 11
    3594
  • iQOO 11
    3514
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    3341
  • Oppo Find N2
    2823
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro
    2753
  • Xiaomi 12T Pro
    2740
  • Google Pixel 7 Pro
    1835

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S23+ is an excellent performer. It pulls no punches and chewed through every test and task we threw at it. The phone also manages to be smooth and snappy in menus while launching and navigating apps. Gaming is a real pleasure on the S22+ as well, with many of the high-refresh-rate-capable games we tried making proper use of its 120Hz display and ample rendering power. The S23+ never got uncomfortably hot during testing, either.

Unfortunately, this does come at the expense of major thermal-throttling. The Galaxy S23+ and its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 dropped to 67% of its maximum performance during an intense one-hour-long torture test.

Thermal throttling - Samsung Galaxy S23+ review
Thermal throttling

Such a scenario is, of course, totally unrealistic in real usage and meant to purposefully saturate the phone with as much heat as possible as quickly as possible. Despite the major loss in total performance, we are at least happy to say that the S23+ throttles down gracefully without any major dips that would result in stutters in game. In our opinion, Samsung managed to strike a good balance between sustained performance and surface temperature/hand comfort.

Reader comments

Charger included in the box isn't gone everywhere, in Brazil all Samsung phones comes with charger in the box, S series comes with 25W brick included.

  • Gqx
  • 11 Apr 2024
  • dQT

What dolby vision and 10 bit color really makes? Copl that, it's one of the most compact phone with this size of screen 😃

  • Shid
  • 31 Mar 2024
  • 0FY

Which phone would you recommend?