Samsung has once again made big waves in the smartphone market with the launch of their latest Galaxy S23 Series, which include the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, as well as the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Among these, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to test out the S23 and experience firsthand its true capabilities. Along with the many other exciting facets that this device has to offer, a refined nightogrophy camera and a revolutionary 4nm processor are two of the main characteristics Samsung highlights.
Display:
Despite it being the smallest among the Galaxy S23 family, don’t let its small stature fool you; the S23 is blessed with vivid, dynamic and smooth displays that give its users quite the treat. In fact, one aspect that I almost immediately noticed was that its edges only had very minimal bezels, making its display slightly larger than what it might actually seem.
With a 6.1” FHD+, Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display, the S23 delivers lively colors, even in varying levels of brightness. Moreover, one of my first impressions of it was how incredibly smooth simply scrolling through the phone was, which can be mainly attributed to its Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate. To add to this even further, a 240Hz Touch Sampling Rate during Game Mode is available for when you want to turn your gaming experience up a notch.
With features such as vision booster, enhanced comfort, adaptive outdoor visibility for optimal color and brightness, as well as Eye Comfort Shield for when in dimly-lit settings, the S23 puts less strain on the eyes, ultimately allowing us to enjoy using the device even during lengthy periods.
Especially as someone who could spend a lot of time in front of the screen– be it catching NBA games, streaming Netflix or simply scrolling through social media –the S23 has the capabilities to bring out vividness and clarity. Furthermore, switching to Game Mode to crank up the Touch Sampling Rate to 240Hz definitely helps overall, though don’t expect it to be such a drastic difference, especially with more demanding games.
Design:
The Galaxy S23 comes in 4 different iterations, namely Lavender, Cream, Phantom Black and Green.
Toward the right side of the device is where you’ll find the volume rockers and power button, while its left side is completely bare.
Located at the rear are the 3 cameras, situated vertically along the top left side. Moving away from the design of its predecessor, the S23’s cameras are all individually housed, without the platform-like housing that protrudes the rear, as seen on the S22. This, personally, gives it a more clean and sleek appearance.
At only 168g, the Galaxy S23’s lightweightedness compliments its sleek design, making it all the more portable and convenient when on the move, as well as have a good feel and fit whether in hand, placed in your pocket or packed inside a bag.
Camera:
As previously mentioned, one of Samsung’s greatest selling points for its Galaxy S23 is its refined pro-grade camera, backed by a high-resolution sensor and intelligent, light-absorbing pixels for clear shots.
Its triple camera setup at the rear consists of a 12MP Ultra-Wide camera with a 120° range situated at the very top, a 50MP Wide Camera in the middle and a 10MP Telephoto Camera with 3x optical zoom at the bottom. Lastly, at the front you’ll find the punch hole-type, 12MP Front Camera with Dual Pixel technology to focus faster and more accurately even in low light, which is an upgrade from the previous gen’s 10MP.
Some of the support the camera gets in order to conjure such pictures is that it works hand-in-hand with the chip to rapidly combine frames to extract bits from each into a single, hi-res photo. Detail Enhancer technology is also present for sharper quality, while you also have the option to capture photos in hi-res RAW format for those brighter and more detailed shots. Moreover, its nightogrophy’s enhanced AI really brings out the color and detail even in low light.
As someone who enjoys casually taking photos wherever I may be and if the situation calls for it, I greatly appreciated the abilities and, consequently, the quality of the pictures. During a recent trip to Singapore, I pleasantly found myself in a multitude of situations where the S23 was not only able to capture the moment, but to do so with clarity and detail.
Processor:
Powered by the fastest-ever Snapdragon chipset for unprecedented performance in both work and play, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy is more than capable of delivering betting gaming, video streaming, as well as an extended battery life.
Having primarily used the S23 for rather regular day-to-day activities such as streaming videos, scrolling through the web, taking photos/videos and multitasking, the device was more than capable of withstanding whatever I asked of it. Even after ramping up its usage, I barely noticed much of a dip in its performance.
The S23 has an 8GB RAM and has a storage of either 128GB for a cost of P53,990, or 256GB for P57,990.
Running on One UI 5.1, customization is the name of the game; experience better personalization with more color and graphic options, upgraded widgets, new emojis, animation effects, Bixby Text Call and customized Modes and Routines for seamless usage.
Battery:
A fairly large 3,900mAh battery powers the S23, which equates to roughly a total of 22 hours video playback. This is a slight upgrade in terms of capacity as compared to the S22.
With a 25W Adapter, charging is also rather swift, as a 50% recharge can be accomplished in a mere 30 minutes.
I did notice, however, that during extensive and heavy usage, such as when continuously taking photos and videos, or utilizing Smart View to cast music videos onto the living room TV, a relatively significant portion of the battery would be used. Situationally, though, it would be more understandable given the increased usage and, at least, the battery doesn’t get drained at an alarming rate.
Other Features:
Furthermore, other notable features of the S23 would be that it is 5G-compatible, Wi-Fi 6E ready, IP68 Water Resistant, as well as being the first Samsung Galaxy smartphone to be coated with Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Verdict:
Samsung has once again proven why their Galaxy series is one to be reckoned with, and its latest S23 is no different. With a powerful chipset and a capable camera (among other things), I wouldn’t be surprised to see existing Samsung users go for the upgrade, while non-Samsung users swayed enough to make the switch.
