Samsung Galaxy S23 Review: First Impressions

The Samsung Galaxy S23 could be a tempting flagship designed for one-handed use, boasting a compact design that doesn’t really compromise on features.

Introduction

The Samsung Galaxy S23 is official, and it could be the pocketable phone that Samsung fans have been waiting for.

With a smaller footprint and lighter build than the rest of the collection, there’s certainly appeal for the 6.1in Samsung Galaxy S23, but is there a compromise to achieve such a compact size? I was invited to a hands-on session ahead of the Samsung launch, and here are my early thoughts on Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S23.

Design and screen

The Samsung Galaxy S23 might look similar, but there are key changes on offer from this year’s flagship. 

The most immediately noticeable change for many will be the removal of the contour camera housing on the rear, replaced instead by a minimalist line of cameras that mimics that of the top-end Galaxy S23 Ultra. It’s a nice move considering the standard Galaxy S22 felt like a different beast to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, and although I personally find it a little too minimalistic, I’m sure there will be many consumers that like the cleaner aesthetic. 

There’s a more dramatic curvature not to the display, which is once again flat, but to the corners. Combined with flat sides, it brings the Galaxy S23 closer in look to an iPhone 14 than the top-end Galaxy S23 Ultra. 

Otherwise, the Galaxy S23 could be the ideal small-screen smartphone with a design that’s incredibly easy to use one-handed, and it feels much nicer in the hand than the larger models. That’s particularly true when compared to the S23 Plus with noticeably sharper edges when trying to use it with one hand.

It’ll be available in the same colours as the Plus and Ultra models, with phantom black, cream, green and lavender finishes available. It’s nice not to have to upgrade to a more expensive model just to get the colour you want, right? 

The main reason why the Samsung Galaxy S23 is so pocketable is the 6.1in AMOLED display, complete with its high resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and support for HDR10+ content. As you’d expect from a Samsung display, the S23’s screen is vivid, detailed and bright enough that I wouldn’t have any worries using it outdoors – though I’ll have to put that to the test once I get a sample. 

That tiny-but-powerful display boasts a new level of protection too, with Corning’s latest and greatest Gorilla Glass Victus 2 present and accounted for. Corning claims that the new glass has been specifically tested against concrete flooring, also known as the mortal enemy of any smartphone display. 

It’s nice peace of mind, for sure, though let’s see how it performs once it ends up in the hands of consumers in a few weeks’ time.   

Camera

• Near-identical camera setup to last year
• Expert RAW improvements
• New 12MP selfie camera

While the S23 Ultra gets an all-new 200MP snapper upgrade, the same can’t be said for the standard Galaxy S23, which sports the same combination of a main 50MP camera with dual pixel PDAF and OIS alongside a 12MP 120-degree ultrawide and a 10MP 3x telephoto with OIS. 

While that will be disappointing for those looking for a true camera upgrade, Samsung has made strides in the AI department that should boost the quality of images taken. The images I took during the hands-on event certainly looked promising, but I’ll hold my reservations for now. 

There are also new Expert RAW capabilities, a feature first introduced on the S22 series. While last year’s model was capped at capturing RAW images at 12MP despite the inclusion of a 50MP main sensor, that has been rectified this year with full 50MP RAW images available with the tap of a button.  

The selfie camera has also had a bit of TLC with a megapixel bump from 10MP to 12MP, and while that doesn’t sound like much, the new camera setup enables new features like Samsung’s ‘Super HDR’ and 60fps video recording capabilities. 

It’ll be interesting to see just how it compares to last year’s selfie camera in more thorough testing, as it’s the same as you’ll find on this year’s top-end Galaxy S23 Ultra. 

Performance

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
• Impressive multi-year software promise
• Slightly boosted battery capacity

At the heart of the Samsung Galaxy S23 is Qualcomm’s ‘Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy’, a unique chipset exclusive to Samsung smartphones. 

According to Qualcomm, the upgraded chipset boasts improved CPU performance with an increased 3.36GHz peak speeds compared to the 3.2GHz you’ll find in the already top-end standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It’s a similar story with GPU performance, with an upgraded Adreno GPU that’s both better performing and more energy efficient than the standard variant.

It’s also the same chipset as that found in the Plus and Ultra models, and there’s no Snapdragon and Exynos split this year either, meaning you’ll get the same level of power regardless of the model you opt for. 

That’s paired with the same 128GB or 256GB of storage as last year, which while not quite as much as the 512GB option from the S23 Plus and the 1TB from the S23 Ultra, it should be enough for the majority of users.

Chipset aside, the Samsung Galaxy S23 will come running Android 13 out of the box with Samsung’s new OneUI 5.1 applied on top. Key new features of the update include customisable modes and routines which work in a similar way to Focus modes on iPhone, along with the ability to respond to incoming calls with a text via Bixby and new customisation options to further personalise the look of the interface. 

Samsung is also offering four years of OS upgrades and five years of security updates, which should comfortably take the Galaxy S23 through to Android 17. Android manufacturers are upping their game when it comes to multi-year promises, but Samsung’s is among the best.

Battery life should be slightly better than the previous model with an incremental 200mAh boost, bringing the total capacity to 3900mAh. It’s still a way off the Plus model’s 4700mAh, but there’s only so much you can do with the relatively small dimensions of the standard S23. There’s no way for me to tell at this point if it has any effect on overall battery life, but I’d expect something not dissimilar to the Samsung Galaxy S22. 

Though there aren’t many differentiators between the S23 and the Plus model, charge speed is one of them; the Plus model gets access to the same 44W charging as the S23 Ultra, while the standard Galaxy S23 is capped at a rather slow 25W. 

That isn’t as bad with a comparatively smaller battery, but it’ll mean your S23 won’t charge quite as quickly as others in the range, and it’s much slower than most of the Android competition. We’ll put that to the test once we get a review model in to the Trusted office. 

Early Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S23 is a pocket-friendly charmer with a slick, minimalistic design, a gorgeous 6.1in AMOLED display and, although not quite as capable as the S23 Ultra, it should be able to hold its own in the camera department too – though I’ll reserve final judgement for my full review. 

It does look promising though, especially for those on the hunt for a high-end smartphone that’s easy to use one-handed and will slip into small pockets without complaint.