Okay, today we’re reviewing the Galaxy S23+, which is the last one on our list. I think many people will agree when I say that the S23+ has the middle-child syndrome. It’s oftentimes ignored and gets left out. It even shares many similarities with the base S23 too.
For today, we’re going to do this review a tad bit differently. We’re going to talk about the similarities with the S23 first, then the many differences that I’ve found out, and finally – the value proposition of the S23+.
So, we’ll start with the similarities. The S23+ shares the exact same design as the regular S23. The Plus is just bigger. The colors are also identical, so we have the 4 colors – Cream, Green, Lavender, and Phantom Black – alongside the 2 exclusive colors on Samsung.com – Graphite and Lime.
With a bigger phone size means a bigger screen too. The S23+ comes with a 6.6-inch screen but the resolution is identical to the S23. It has 2340×1080 pixels in resolution and uses the Dynamic AMOLED 2X branding which means 120Hz refresh rate too. The display also goes down to 10Hz, by the way – we can also use the Device Info HW app to check the phone’s refresh rates.
The screen’s overall brightness values in different modes are also identical since Samsung claims all phones within the S23 series has a peak brightness of 1750 nits – and from our tests, yes – they’re all achieving the same max brightness.
Even the color accuracy is the same too. Tested at 100 nits brightness, it can cover virtually 100% of sRGB And DCI-P3 color gamuts with a similar Delta E as the S23.
Skipping forward, the software. All phones within the S23 series – and even the S22 series and the Z Fold4 – are already using the One UI 5.1. The features are the same across all of them, so watch our other reviews at the top right corner instead because I don’t want to repeat the same things.
Then, everything else is surprisingly different even though they share some key specs.
Camera
We’ll talk about the cameras first. As you know, the cameras are identical to the S22+ too. Furthermore, the S23+’s camera are identical to the small S23 too. So, when we look at all of the pictures taken, they’re identical.
To have a look at all the pictures taken by the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, watch our video at the top of this review.
Performance
And then, the performance. The S23+ also uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and the performance is… well, kinda weird. You see, for whatever reason, the S23+’s render resolution in Genshin Impact is the highest out of the three – at 1872×864. It’s only slightly higher than the Ultra, though.
The resulting performance is also very similar with the small S23 and Ultra – hovering about 55fps to 60fps average and dip to about 50fps in certain scenes. It’s never stuttery and I enjoyed the gaming experience overall.
Since it is bigger than the S23, the temperature is also better controlled and it’s always below 42°C on all sides of the phone’s surface. I had a lot of fun playing games on this phone, honestly.
Of course, the Galaxy S23+ also has the “pause USB Power Delivery” feature and you’ll need to perform some ritual to summon it out. Watch our video here to find out how.
Battery life
Then, the battery life. Now, since we didn’t review the S22+, we don’t have any past data to compare with. However, we can compare it with the small S23 and the Ultra instead. So, using the same PCMark test locked at 100 nits brightness, the S23+ can reach 15 hours!
How is this possible with its 4,700mAh battery? It’s 300mAh less than the Ultra, but lasts 2 hours more. Well, I think it’s mainly because the S23+ has the same number of pixels on the screen as the small one, hence the power saving.
Charging speed
The charging speed is something that we’ll have to use the Ugreen 100W GaN charger again – and it takes bout 70 minutes to charge from 15% to completion. The temperature is kinda weird since it did touch 40°C and immediately drop back down, then it does the temperature control thing by controlling the charging speed to go up and down in response to the temperature.
Few more things to highlight
And a few more things to mention. The Galaxy S23+ still uses a USB 3.0 port at the bottom, so we can transfer files in and out quickly.
Of course, Samsung DeX is also present here – and it also has the IP68 rating as well. Nothing out of the ordinary.
What I realized is that the S23+ starts from 256GB storage only. That means it is using UFS 4.0, just like the Ultra – and that’s why the write speed is identical to the Ultra. The read speed and the RAM speed are identical across all the 3 phones within the series.
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus?
And finally – let’s talk about the middle-child syndrome. The reason why I say this is because the S23 is one of the best small flagship smartphones that is available worldwide and there is a surprising number of people who likes small phones. The Ultra – well, it’s the best of everything. If someone wants the best flagship smartphone money can buy, they’ll go for the Ultra.
That leaves the S23+ stuck in the middle. It’s practically a larger S23 but without the Ultra’s flairs. If you just want a bigger S23, then yeah – go ahead. This is actually a fantastic phone.
However, I want to talk about the value proposition and why the S23+ exists. If we look at the S23 family, the prices are as shown here.
Let’s just use the 256GB storage as the comparison since I think 128GB is just insufficient for today’s usage.
As we can see, there is a huge price gap between the small S23 and the Ultra. So, Samsung made the Plus to be an in-between option. Bigger than the S23, but without the Ultra’s flair.
Honestly speaking, I personally think the price of the Plus is appropriate. It’s justifiable, just for whatever reason – many people tend to forget about the Plus and rarely get talked about.
So, if you’re looking to get a new everyday flagship phone without the premium price and features, then the S23+ is a fantastic phone – especially the battery life.
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