Review: The Galaxy S23 Plus hits the sweet spot of performance and photography at a price that’s just right.
At least, that’s what it looks like on paper. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks testing the S23 Plus, putting it through its paces to see if this is the Galaxy S23 model that most people should get. And, well, you’re going to have to keep reading to find the answer.
At first glance, the Galaxy S23 Plus looks a lot like last year’s Galaxy S22. The front of the phone has a 6.6-inch display with a hole-punch selfie camera centered along the top of the display.
The only physical buttons you’ll find on the S23 Plus — the power button and volume up and down keys — are on the right side of the armor aluminum body. There’s a USB-C port on the bottom of the phone, next to the physical SIM card tray. Samsung hasn’t followed Apple in ditching physical SIM cards, but the Galaxy S23 Plus does support dual SIM cards, one of which can be an eSIM.
It’s not until you flip the S23 Plus over that you see the biggest difference in design between last year’s S22 Plus and the S23 Plus: the camera array. There are still distinct camera lenses on the S23 Plus, but instead of being in an area that extends out from the phone’s body and houses the camera lenses, the cameras are vertically stacked on the left-hand side.
It’s a much cleaner design, and one I much prefer over the S22 Plus’ layout. It also somewhat standardizes the design language between all three Galaxy S23 models, with the only real visual difference between the S23 Ultra and both S23 models being the Ultra’s two extra lenses.
The S23 Plus comes in a slew of colors, but if you end up deciding the S23 Plus is your next smartphone, be mindful of where you buy it. The standard color lineup you’ll find at Samsung’s retail partners offers Phantom Black, Green, Lavender, and Cream.
However, if you buy the Plus directly from Samsung, there are two additional color choices. There’s a close-to-black Graphite option, and a Lime color option. All of them look great. I’ve been using the Lavender model, and it’s a very light purple that I’d have no problem using on a daily basis if it was my personal phone.
Having just reviewed the S23 Ultra, which is objectively a giant phone, I found the S23 Plus much easier to hold and manage. It’s comfortable to grip, and I had no trouble reaching the top and bottom of the screen when using it with one hand.
The entire Galaxy S23 lineup uses the same processor, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy.
