Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23+ preview great selfie camera and durable design

The Samsung Galaxy S23 series is the logical successor to the Galaxy S22 and consists of the S23, the S23+ and the Galaxy S23 Ultra preview, which is described in detail here. Samsung puts the emphasis on the cameras with, among other things, the new Nightography functions. In this article you will find the main elements of the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22+ that I saw during the preview, including a much better selfie camera and it is much faster thanks to a new chipset developed for galaxy models .

Design and housing Galaxy S23 and S23+
The Galaxy S23 and S23+ look nice and sleek, partly due to the edges (Samsung calls this the Contour Cut design), the aluminum housing and the glass front and back. What is immediately striking is that there is no longer a camera island on the back, but that the cameras are ‘separate’ from each other. And although they logically protrude a bit, it looks nice and sleek. Incidentally, the smartphones from the A series that will appear later this year will no longer have an island. (article continues below the image)

Example of the S23 Ultra: the cameras are ‘separate’ from each other

These smartphones are made of Armor Aluminium, Samsung’s strongest aluminum housing, on the sides and have an eco-friendly paint finish. They are also the first smartphones to be equipped with the new Gorilla Glass 8 that should last longer and is made from an average of 22% recycled material. Samsung is also fully committed to sustainability, so there is no more plastic packaging, everything is made of paper.
The S23 measures 70.9 x 146.3 x 7.6 mm and weighs 168 grams, while the S23+ measures 76.2 x 157.8 x 7.6 mm and weighs 196 grams. (article continues below the image)

The different sizes of the S23 series: on the left the S23, in the middle the S23+ and on the right the S23 Ultra

Both the Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23+, just like the S23 Ultra, are available in the colors Phantom Black, Green, Cream and Lavender. Black will probably be the most sold color, followed by green. (article continues below the image)

The 4 colors of the Samsung Galaxy S23 series

Screen Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23+
The Galaxy S23 has a 6.1-inch screen and the Galaxy S23+ has a 6.6-inch screen. Because of the round corners you have a little less left, while of course the selfie camera also takes up a bit of space. Both are equipped with an FHD+ screen: the Dynamic AMOLED 2x 120Hz screen. There’s a Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate, while there’s a 240Hz Touch Sampling Rate in game mode. In addition, the Vision Booster technology again ensures that the intelligent screen adjusts the brightness during the day, for example in full sunlight.

New processor, more memory and longer battery life
The Galaxy S23 and S23+ feature the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, a chipset specially developed with Qualcomm that is optimized for Samsung. And we should see that reflected in, for example, the graphic performance, during the preview both devices were in any case nice and fast.
In terms of memory, you get 8 GB of working memory (RAM) and 128 GB of storage memory with the S23 (just like with the Galaxy S22). You can also opt for 256 GB of storage memory with this model, which is not bad when you consider that you cannot add a micro SD card to these S23s. The Samsung Galaxy S23+ has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage memory as standard, while there is also a version with 512GB of storage. Samsung no longer offers 128GB storage memory for the S23+ and S23 Ultra: this is partly due to the photos and videos (in 4K and 8K) that take up a lot of storage. In addition, Samsung indicated that (younger) users would like to have an image immediately and do not want to search in the cloud first.
The Galaxy S23 has a battery of 3900 mAh (S22: 3700 mAh), the S23+ of 4700 mAh (was 4500 mAh). They therefore last longer thanks to the larger battery, but also thanks to the more efficient chipset.

Much better selfie camera
In addition to the aforementioned specifications and focus points of Samsung, which should ensure consistent performance and a premium design, Samsung mainly focuses on the cameras. It is in any case remarkable that every S23 has the same selfie camera that now has 12 megapixels (F2.2 and Field of View or FOV 80 degrees) (was 10 MP). Field of View means field of view and is expressed in degrees; the human field of view is about 140 degrees horizontally and 80 degrees vertically. The S23 series features a new fast autofocus and is Samsung’s first Super HDR selfie camera with 60 fps (frames per second) instead of 30 fps for visibly better photos and videos.
In addition, the object-based artificial intelligence present should also result in more beautiful and better night selfies on photos and videos, partly due to noise reduction for background, sky, skin, lips and hair, among other things. Under dark conditions, visual noise can cause lesser photos, but a new AI-driven algorithm for image signal processing (ISP) should improve details and color tones.

Cameras on the back with HDR
Samsung is betting heavily on the cameras, one of the most important purchasing arguments for consumers when they buy a smartphone. Thanks to the new Nightography functions of the Galaxy S23 series, this should result in beautiful night photography with great details for these devices, according to Samsung. Both devices have the same 3 cameras: a powerful 50MP main camera (F1.8 and FOV 85 degrees) with HDR function added, 10 MP telephoto lens (F2.4 and FOV 36 degrees) with 3x optical zoom and 12 MP ultra wide angle lens (F2 .2 and FOV 120 degrees). All cameras are equipped with a ring to protect them. The optical image stabilizer (OIS) is also larger for better performance.
With a range of built-in editing tools, it should almost feel like you’re holding an SLR camera in your hands. This allows you to save photos in RAW format up to 16-bit and gives you more control over your edits with more data from your images. The Expert RAW app, available only on Samsung Galaxy models, allows RAW and JPEG photos to be captured and edited in DSLR fashion. You can experiment with Multi-Exposure photography or take a clear shot of the galaxy with the Astrophoto functionality in the Samsung Camera App or the Expert RAW app. Just like on a DSLR camera, you make your photos brighter or darker with ISO settings and shutter speed. You can also adjust the white balance to make your photo warmer or cooler.

Software, updates, connections, security and IP68
The Galaxy S23 series is equipped with Android 13 and the Samsung shell One UI 5.1. About the latter: there are more widgets, clearer letters and you can also play videos on your lock screen, a cool option. Furthermore, Samsung guarantees no less than 4 years of Android updates and 5 years of monthly security updates, after which you will receive the latter once every 3 months. Of course this is a 5G model and it also has Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. The Galaxy S23 series is secured with Samsung Knox and Samsung Knox Vault. Finally, it receives a water and dust rating of IP68: water resistant to 1.5 meters of fresh water for up to 30 minutes and protected against dust, dirt and sand. Not recommended for beach or pool use, according to Samsung.

Price and availability
Samsung classifies a smartphone above 600 euros as a premium flagship and above 1000 euros as a super-premium flagship, the latter segment will also experience a growth of 25% from 2020. For the S23 with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, the suggested retail price is 949 euros, for the version with 256GB storage that is 1009 euros. For the S23+ you pay 1199 euros for 8GB RAM and 256GM storage and 1319 euros for the version with 512GB storage. Incidentally, there are great cashback promotions with the pre-order, so pay attention to that. You don’t get an extra device, but you get double the amount of memory for the same price.