Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Specifications
The supposed awkward middle kid from Samsung's Galaxy S23 range is sure to have potential, with a high-end large screen, big battery, and faster charging than the standard S23 without the high-end S23 Ultra price tag.
Key features
Great display 6.6in AMOLED 120Hz screen perfect for scrolling through social media and watching videos
High performance Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy delivers top-notch performance
Long-term software support for Samsung promises 4 years of OS upgrades and 5 years of security updates with S23 Plus
Introduction
Samsung has just lifted the cover of the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S23 lineup; the S23, S23 Plus, and S23 Ultra phones.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus offers key specs including a 6.6-inch AMOLED display, a triple camera setup and a special Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, but is it a worthy upgrade to last year's Galaxy S22 Plus?
I spent some time with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus at a hands-on event before it was revealed, and here's what I'm thinking so far.
Design & Display
Renewed design
Too big to use with one hand
Brilliant 6.6-inch AMOLED display
Like the entry-level Samsung Galaxy S23, the Galaxy S23 Plus has a slight design tweaking to make it more like the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It's a more unified approach to design than the S22 series where the Ultra model looks very different from the rest of the range, with both the S23 and S23 Plus abandoning the surrounding camera casing at the back for something simpler.
This is paired with flat aluminum edges and surprisingly rounded corners — at least compared to the Ultra model — which, in my opinion, brings the S23 Plus's look and feel closer to the iPhone 14. I'm sure there will be some people who love it, but for me, it's very simple. Even a decorative finish in the back will stir things up a little.
Color options also sync across the range with all three models that come in the same dummy black, cream, green, and lavender finishes, meaning you won't have to throw away anything extra to get the color you prefer.
The 6.6-inch AMOLED display means the Galaxy S23 Plus isn't quite as pocket-in-pocket as the 6.1-inch Galaxy S23, though it's still far from the beast which is the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It could still be used with one hand as I discovered during my two practical sessions, but the edges of the S23 Plus looked noticeably sharper than the standard S23 edges that felt relatively beautiful in the hand.
The 6.6-inch flat screen is one of the S23 Plus's powerful selling points; it's bright, vibrant, and smooth thanks to the combination of Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology, a high-resolution display, and a 120Hz refresh rate. It's the perfect size to watch TikToks and scroll through social media in my opinion, with a screen big enough to appreciate the really smaller details – despite obvious warnings about its overall size.
It's not much different from its predecessor, except for Corning's Gorilla Glass 2 Victus display protection newer and larger that Corning suggests should work well when it falls on concrete surfaces, but let's wait and see what happens once the phone starts popping into the hands of consumers who are particularly vulnerable to projection in a few weeks.
It's also more environmentally friendly than its predecessor, with Samsung claiming that the phone uses a mix of recycled components and materials such as recycled fishing nets, water barrels and PET bottles, although the total amount of smartphone made from recycled materials has not yet been made. to be confirmed.
Cameras
Only minor improvements to the rear camera
RAW shooting up to 50 MP
New 12MP selfie camera
With the addition of a massive 200MP final tool on the S23 Ultra, you've probably been hoping for similar gains in standard models, but that's unfortunately not the case. Like its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus comes with a back array consisting of a 50MP main lens, a 12MP and 120° wide-angle and a 10MP telephoto lens 3×.
That may not excite those looking to upgrade from the S22 lineup, but improvements to AI on board mean image processing has improved. I took a quick clip during the pre-synopsis and was very impressed with the level of detail, although I have to note that it was a fairly well-lit space. The real challenge will be when light levels start to drop.
There are improvements to the Expert RAW with this year's S23 Plus capable of capturing 50MP RAW images – a significant improvement over the 12MP output of the S22 range. I can't see many people using RAW on a regular basis with such large file sizes, but it's a good idea to have the option to compress as much detail out of the scene as possible.
There is also high-level video performance with the ability to shoot at up to 8K @ 30 fps with faster frame rates available in 1080p and 4K.
Turn the S23 Plus over and you'll see a 12MP front selfie camera, higher than 10Mp, with new features including Samsung's Super HDR capabilities and 60fps video recording capabilities. While this may not sound like a big push, it's worth noting that this is the same selfie camera as the S23 Ultra, so expect great things.
performance
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
Same 44W charging as S23 Ultra
Fairly large 4700mAh battery
At the heart of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is a special version of the latest Qualcomm chipset called "Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy".
It's not just a simple exercise for the brand either; Qualcomm has confirmed that the unique version of its latest chipset comes with an enhanced speed of 3.36GHz, higher than the standard 3.2GHz 8th generation, along with an upgraded Adreno GPU that features better performance and more energy efficiency than standard chipsets. . Samsung phones should have a performance advantage over other flagship batteries with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, but I'll keep the judgment until I get full benchmark results.
The best news for European fans is that the Galaxy S23 Plus will ship with the Qualcomm chipset no matter where you are, a welcome change compared to the Snapdragon and Exynos split over the past few years.
It pairs with either 256GB or 512GB storage depending on the variant you choose. Since there is no microSD card slot, a higher storage layer is a good choice for users with particularly large storage space. The 8K videos you will undoubtedly capture take up a lot of storage space, after all...
One of the main advantages of the larger Galaxy S23 Plus compared to its younger brother is the battery life, as it features a larger 4700mAh battery – up 200mAh from last year – which is very close to the 5000mAh of the high-end S23 Ultra.
This pairs with the same 44W charging as the Ultra model, a 19W boost compared to the 25W charging on the standard S23. It's not exactly fast compared to charging with 120W like the Xiaomi 12, but it should reduce the amount of time you spend tied to the wall.
The Galaxy S23 Plus comes with Android 13, which is the latest Samsung OneUI 5.1 at the top. It features new features such as customizable modes and actions that, as I understand, offer something close to the focus modes offered to the iPhone with iOS 16. There are also smaller features like the ability to answer an incoming call with text using Bixby and new. UI customization tools to enjoy, but it's not exactly a flagship Samsung skin update.
However, there are four years of Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates on offer that are supposed to take you to Android 17. Android phone makers have stepped up long-term software support over the past few years, but Samsung remains one of the most competitive for long-term use.
Early judgment
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus may seem like the awkward middle child of the S23 range sitting between the small S23 screen and the S23 Ultra's fully vocalized and dancing display, but if you focus more on entertainment than productivity and high-end photography, it seems to be a more enticing and, more importantly, cheaper option than the high-end S23 Ultra.