Samsung Galaxy S23 review: is it worth buying in 2024?

With the screen size of the Pixel 6a, the processing power of the Galaxy S23 Ultra and more cameras than the iPhone 14, Samsung's 2023 flagship phone, the S23, takes what makes its rivals great and packs it into a lightweight, pocket-friendly design.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 was one of the best phones of the year when it launched, and even in 2024, it remains one of the best Samsung phones you can buy.

You get high performance, a trio of lenses and years of support. Still, it falls into the same trap as recent Apple and Google phones: the 2022 model is still around and more affordable, making it hard to recommend paying full price (for now).

That's not to say Samsung didn't make improvements with this flagship handset – it definitely did. The back of the phone was refined to completely remove the camera bump (something we wish Apple would do), the processor was tailor-made for Galaxy devices and incredibly fast, battery life was given a boost and the display was made brighter.

These aren't industry-shaking developments, but the result is that the smallest entry in the S-series for 2023 was a top choice for Android lovers.

Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S23 is still one of the best iPhone alternatives in 2024 thanks to its excellent camera system, compact design and speedy performance.

Plus, because a new Samsung Galaxy S24 handset was released at the beginning of this year, you can find some excellent Samsung Galaxy S23 deals right now. Samsung devices get discounts regularly, even its flagship smartphones!

• Screen size: 6.1 inches
• Resolution: 1080 x 2340 pixels
• Operating system: Android 13, One UI 5.1
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• Cameras: 50MP wide, 10MP telephoto, 12MP ultrawide
• Battery: 3,900 mAh
• Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
• RAM: 8GB
• Weight: 168g
• Water resistance: IP68
• MicroSD slot: No

Samsung Galaxy S23

Now 14% Off

£599 at Amazon

Pros

• Compact and lightweight
• Great camera system

Cons

• Not many changes from S22
• Some bloatware

The Samsung Galaxy S23 and the Samsung Galaxy S24 aren't that different — they look almost identical, although the S23 has a slightly smaller 6.1-inch screen as opposed to the S24's 6.2-inch display.

The screen resolution and camera system are the same across both handsets, but the latest device has a marginally bigger battery and an upgraded processor for faster system speeds.

One of the biggest differences is that the Samsung Galaxy S23 promised four years of updates and new feature drops after its launch, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S24 offers seven years of updates so it'll still be useable much further into the future.

Most upgrades with the S23 are found inside the phone, but the design is refined for this new model.

Gone is the raised camera module, with the trio of camera lenses no longer separated from the rest of the matte aluminium back panel – a look that was previously exclusive to the Ultra. We love that you can use the S23 with one hand, a welcome change coming from a 6.7-inch Pixel 7 Pro.

While its dimensions are similar to the iPhone 14, the S23 feels smaller. That's partially due to its weight and lack of protruding lenses, but there's no doubt that this is a very pocketable phone.

The chassis of the device is sleek and lightweight, but not that head-turning. We like the softly rounded corners, tiny bezels and lack of tilt when it's placed on a flat surface (take note, Apple), but it just isn't on the same level as the designs of the newer iPhones or Pixels. Those competitors have more unique, head-turning designs.

The S23 doesn't look bad, just a bit dull. We tested the black version, and perhaps our opinion would be different if we had a brighter colour. It comes in Cream, Green and Lavender, with two more (Graphite and Lime) available via the Samsung store.

We're not quite sure when it happened, but yes, a 6.1-inch display is considered fairly small these days – especially when put beside a handset like the iPhone 14 Plus and especially Samsung's massive Galaxy Fold 4.

The panel on the S23 (FHD resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate) is the same as last year, but the brightness has been boosted from 1,500 nits to a much better 1,750 nits. We used the phone in darker and sunny conditions and it was consistently sharp, smooth and readable.

We downloaded an episode of Blue Lights to watch on our commute and had no issues with the screen size, either. It's nice to be able to tap and navigate with one hand, too, and we found this was an ideal size for scrolling through YouTube.

Another feature we enabled was the always-on display. It's really helpful to be able to check notifications and the time at a glance without having to tap the screen, and we like having the option of customising the layout, clock styles and brightness.

Even if you ignore every other aspect of the phone, the S23 would still be impressive as a pocketable camera system. You get more lenses than the iPhone 14 and the Pixel 6a, with the trio on the back of the S23 (a 50MP wide, 10MP telephoto and 12MP ultrawide) being one of the best we've tried on a device at this price point.

We tested it on London streets in overcast conditions and found it effortlessly takes solid photos – the background is softly blurred when shooting close-ups, there's lots of detail when taking images outdoors on busy roads and colours are vivid and accurate.

Here are some unedited examples from the S23 camera:

S23 photo gallery

Open Gallery

The 10x optical zoom function on here is good, but don't expect to find the borderline alarmingly impressive results of the Galaxy S23 Ultra's 100x zoom. Still, we tested it by focusing on signs at the other side of a train platform and it managed to retain a solid amount of detail at full zoom.

You won't share these to social media, but it's still a nice feature to have when shooting subjects in the distance, like birds or animals, and we were still extremely impressed with how much clarity the zoom provides.

Full zoom at two objects from the first image: a sign with the number 17 (bottom middle of original picture) and a danger sign (right side of the original picture).

Samsung doesn't seem to advertise it too much, but there are some Pixel-like AI tools on the S23, including an object eraser and a mode to erase shadows. After testing, we kind of understand why.

The shadow eraser couldn't detect any shadows despite one clearly being in the centre of a photo, and the object eraser mode left visible artifacting when trying to remove a headphones case and a banana from a picture. It needs some work.

One test left lots of visible noise, but this was a complex image to work from

However, we did find the object eraser to be significantly better (on par with Pixels) at removing humans from photos in good lighting – and that's impressive.

A test of the subject removal tool on the S23 camera system

The S23 runs a version of Android 13 called One UI 5.1. It is fast and fluid to use when tapping and scrolling through apps. It's not as clean as Google's version of Android, but we like that Samsung takes a similar approach in keeping the layout and icons simple, while letting you customise the amount of widgets to your liking.

Like all of the recent Samsung phones we've tested, the brand includes a selection of pre-loaded apps on the device. Some are useful (SmartThings, Health, Recorder) and some aren't (Facebook, Samsung Boost, Samsung Global Goals).

We're not fans of this approach, but appreciate that it's easy to remove or tidy apps with a few taps and we had our phone's layout back to blissful minimalism in a few minutes. It's great that Samsung is giving four major Android updates, starting with Android 14 this year. That means the S23 will be supported for around four years, until Android 17.

You get an all-day battery life with the S23, which has a 3900 mAh capacity cell inside, compared to the 3700 mAh in last year's model. We have no major complaints with how long it lasts or how long it takes to charge – and like that it supports wireless charging of up to 15W so you can set it on a Qi charging pad and get a quick top-up.

It supports up to 25W wired charging, but like most recent flagships there's no wall plug in the box – only a USB-C cable. We never felt like we would need to always have one of the best power banks in our bag, but that's never a bad idea.

To give you an idea of what to expect from the battery we let it drain and recharged it over 60 minutes with a 20W adapter. In short, it gained 82% in one hour.

• 12 noon: 7%
• 12:20: 35% (+28% from starting point)
• 12:40: 61% (+54% from starting point)
• 13:00: 89% (+82% from starting point)

The S23 was fully charged by 13:20, and by 11am the following day (without further battery top-ups and used moderately) it dropped to 81%. While the results were largely expected, the S23 does have the smallest battery of the newest S23 lineup. The S22+ has a much bigger 4,700mAh battery and the Ultra's is a better 5,000mAh.

You don't have to worry about performance issues. Housed inside is the brand's latest chip technology – the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 – and it's the same as found in the much more expensive S23 Ultra phone.

What that means for you is apps download and open instantly, zipping around websites is responsive and speedy, and there's no overheating or lag when gaming. The S23 is nippy and stutter-free.

Biometrics also worked well during tests – the fingerprint reader that's under the screen never failed, and the face unlocking recognised us ten times in a row.

There's IP68 water and dust resistance – so, in theory, it can survive being submerged in fresh water of up to 1.5 metres for up to 30 minutes – but we didn't fancy hurling our loan sample into a swimming pool to test it out. Still, that provides some peace of mind when you take the S23 to the gym, out on a hike or even being caught in the rain.

The S23 is speedy and feature-rich, but not perfect. Even though the battery is solid, it's also the weakest of the line-up by far.

We also aren't huge fans of the design – there's no doubt that the screen is gorgeous and it's nice to have a phone that can be used one-handed but the rectangular slab just isn't that exciting. And aside from the camera bump, the look also hasn't changed too much from the previous model, either.

We also can't help but wish that Samsung would cut down on the number of preloaded apps on the handset – we prefer bloat-free phones, and no-one needs Facebook.

The premise and appeal of the Galaxy S23 is a simple one: high performance in a small form factor. It succeeds in giving you that.

It's one of the best iPhone alternatives you can buy in 2023, and gives the Google Pixel some mighty competition when it comes to simple phone photography. It's pocketable, powerful and speedy, with software updates promised for years to come.

It's also the most affordable model in the most recent S-series, though anyone who doesn't mind not having the latest chip and the newest design can save £300 by going for last year's model instead. It's been a pattern of every 2023 flagship phone so far: as long as the prior models are around, Samsung is effectively competing with itself.

Samsung Galaxy S23

Now 14% Off

£599 at Amazon

Pros

• Compact and lightweight
• Great camera system

Cons

• Not many changes from S22
• Some bloatware

Digital Spy has been in business for 25 years, with a team of experts across TV, movies and tech. In that time, we have reviewed countless Android and iOS phones.

To test smartphones, we use them extensively over a period of time, using them to snap photos, fire off messages and emails, browse the web and make calls.