The sweet spot in the Galaxy S23 lineup
Starting at $999.99, the Galaxy S23+ is Samsung’s most traditional flagship smartphone. It offers lots of the same features as our Editors’ Choice, the Galaxy S23 Ultra (starting at $1,199), but it’s a little smaller and drops the S Pen stylus. The S23+ still packs a top processor and loads of functionality in a stylish piece of hardware, making it a great choice if you want a phone with better battery life than the standard Galaxy S23 (starting at $799.99) but don’t need the over-the-top capabilities of the pricier Ultra model.Just the Right Size
Samsung hardly recast the mold in updating from the Galaxy S22+ to the S23+. The outgoing phone measures 6.20 by 2.98 by 0.3 inches (HWD) and the new phone is just a touch larger at 6.21 by 3.0 by 0.3 inches. The weight hasn’t changed; both the S22+ and the S23+ weigh in at 6.91 ounces. In comparison, the S23 (5.76 by 2.79 by 0.3 inches, 5.93 ounces) is less to tote about while the S23 Ultra (6.43 by 3.07 by 0.35 inches, 8.25 ounces) is decidedly more. Ultimately, the S23+ is big enough to offer the large display that many smartphone shoppers want without being obnoxiously huge. You might prefer the standard S23 if you want the most portable model, but we think the S23+ is the best size for most people.
Importantly, the S23 and S23+ share almost every spec other than size and battery capacity. The experience of using them will be mostly the same, save for a few small differences here and there.
Samsung assembles the phone from an attractive mix of glass and metal. The durable Armor Aluminum frame is partially made with recycled materials. Both the front and back of the handset are made with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which can handle higher drops than earlier versions of Gorilla Glass while still preventing scratches. The matte finish on the back of the phone isn’t prone to fingerprints, which we appreciate. And it meets the IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, which means it can handle up to 30 minutes in about 4.5 feet of water without issue. This is the same level of protection offered by the Pixel 7 ($699) and the iPhone 14 ($799).
Samsung offers a few different color options for the S23+. Cream, Green, Lavender, and Phantom Black are widely available at retail, while Graphite and Lime are exclusive to Samsung’s website. Samsung sent us the Lavender device which is a subdued yet attractive shade of purple.
Samsung has made some intelligent changes to the camera design, removing the extra framing around the lenses and letting them stand apart on the back of the phone. It’s a nice look that creates a cleaner overall style.
You’ll find a volume rocker and a power button on the right edge. The top and left sides have no controls, but the bottom has a dual SIM slot (yes, it supports physical SIM cards in addition to eSIM), a USB-C port, and a downward-firing speaker.
You can unlock the phone by using the in-display ultrasonic fingerprint reader or facial recognition. We tested both and found each of them easy to use, though the fingerprint scanner seemed slightly snappier. Samsung notes that the fingerprint reader is the more secure option of the two. Either way, you can get into the phone quickly without entering a PIN each time.A Stellar Screen
The S23+’s 6.6-inch Super AMOLED 2X Infinity-O screen is beautiful. It’s not vastly improved from last year’s S22+, but we’re not complaining.
The screen features FHD+ resolution with 2,340 by 1,080 pixels, which makes for a pixel density of 393ppi. The S23 Ultra offers a QHD+ (3,088 by 1,440) display with a density of 501ppi. You can also opt for the 6.1-inch S23, which has the same resolution as the S23+ but a higher pixel density of 425ppi because it’s smaller.
The display is vibrant with the same 1,200 nits (typical) and 1,750 nits (peak outdoor) brightness as the Ultra. It’s brighter than the Pixel 7 and the iPhone 14 Plus, which peak at 1,400 nits and 1,200 nits, respectively.
Speed is important in the world of displays and the S23+ features an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. It can run as slow as 1Hz to save battery when the always-on display is on and as fast as 120Hz for smooth scrolling in high-performance apps and games.
The selfie camera is a small hole in the screen centered near the upper edge. The S23+ features thin bezels between the display and the frame, and an approximate 87.6% screen-to-body ratio.Tuned to Perfection
The Galaxy S23+ is a top performer thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy running the show. Instead of using a stock 8 Gen 2 like the OnePlus 11 5G, Samsung worked with the chipmaker to create a faster version of the SoC. This leads to better performance and improved benchmark scores across most categories. The S23 is powered by the same SoC.
The chip is made with a 4nm process and has a single Arm Cortex-X3 core at up to 3.36GHz (the standard 8 Gen 2 runs at 3.2GHz). It also includes four performance cores at up to 2.8GHz and three efficiency cores at up to 2.
