Whether you’re looking for a new smartphone, you must decide whether to purchase the Galaxy S23 right now or wait to see if any other of the top models will end up being a better investment.
Even though the Galaxy S23 won’t be available until February 17, it still makes sense to decide now. Preorders for the Galaxy S23 are currently available, and if you get the new phone soon, you can save money on it.
On the other hand, new gadgets are on the way. The OnePlus 11 makes its international premiere on February 7 for instance. The Galaxy S23 may not be the best option for you; perhaps that phone or one of the more expensive Samsung models, such the Galaxy S23 Plus or Galaxy S23 Ultra, will work out better.
An effective new chipset
Every new flagship comes equipped with the most advanced silicon, which promises significant improvements in performance and power usage. However, it appears that there is more than just talk in the case of the Galaxy S23’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU, at least in terms of performance.
The latest Qualcomm chip isn’t merely an off-the-shelf model used by the Galaxy S23 family. Instead, it’s a specialized version with a faster main CPU core clock speed called the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy.
Although we haven’t yet received test results specifically for the Galaxy S23, our initial Galaxy S23 Ultra benchmarks have given us an idea of how the S23 will perform. (The fact that the $799 Galaxy S23 and the $1,199 Galaxy S23 Ultra share the same silicon is a major plus for the less expensive phone.) The S23 Ultra outperformed other Android devices and even outperformed the iPhone 14’s multicore Geekbench score. The S23 Ultra managed to outperform the A16 Bionic-powered iPhone 14 Pro in one of our graphics benchmark tests, but it still remains our top performer overall.
While the Galaxy S23 Ultra probably benefits from having more RAM (12GB compared to 8GB in the S23), the Galaxy S23 should achieve the same overall outcomes. Given the price, this phone appears to be incredibly powerful.
A visible display
I recently evaluated the displays of the Galaxy S22, iPhone 14, and Pixel 7 to discover which flagship phone has the best overall display. Although it was close, the Samsung flagship from the previous year won. What ways does Samsung make with the Galaxy S23 to improve upon that?
The Galaxy S22’s screen was already very brilliant, I assure you. When we tested it, our light meter registered 1,152 nits with HDR enabled, which is quite close to the 1,300 nits claimed for the max brightness of last year’s phone.
Samsung has increased the Galaxy S23’s maximum brightness to 1,750 nits, the same level as the S23 Plus and S23 Ultra. The Galaxy S23 should outperform every other phone in its pricing range if it even comes close to that mark throughout our testing.
Hard design
The Galaxy S23 should be more robust than its predecessor, though we’ll have to wait until the phone starts delivering later this month for drop tests. The Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 will be used for the first time in the Galaxy S23 series, offering an additional layer of protection to the phone’s front and back.
The Galaxy S23 also features the scratch-resistant metal that Samsung utilized on its flagship models from a year ago, and the new phones continue to meet IP68 standards for water and dust protection. It sounds like the Galaxy S23 is designed to stay in good form throughout the years, no matter what life throws at you, assuming you like to hang onto your smartphone for as long as the device can last. (We would still most likely spend money on a Galaxy S23 case, though.)
A front camera upgrade
There is a new front camera for Samsung’s flagships, continuing the trend of features from other S23 models that Samsung also included in the less expensive Galaxy S23. The Galaxy S23’s 12MP camera is an improvement over the Galaxy S22’s 10MP front-facing camera.
But this isn’t simply a slight increase in megapixels. When taking low-light self-portraits, the new front camera on the Galaxy S23 series should benefit from a quicker autofocus and improved night photography features. Since the front camera can also record 4K video at 60 frames per second, all of the images you take with it ought to appear more fluid.
Added low-light features
With the Galaxy S23, Samsung keeps focusing on night photography, which it has been doing for more than a year. An AI-powered ISP algorithm for improved detail and color tone in whatever you’re shooting was one of the features Samsung bragged about during the Galaxy Unpacked announcement. Additionally, even in low light, the S23’s AI Stereo Depth Map should make your subjects stand out in portrait photographs.
These improvements look wonderful on paper, but testing will be necessary to verify that the Galaxy S23 lives up to Samsung’s claims. But it sounds like the Galaxy S23 might be what you’re looking for if you’ve been unhappy with the quality of your low-light images taken with other camera phones.
A chic new layout
Recently, there was a debate about whether the Galaxy S23 actually sports much of a new design in the Tom’s Guide office. I would have replied that it did not, had I not seen the phone in person. But comparing the S23 to the Galaxy S22 from the previous year is pretty telling.
Conclusion
Once we have more hands-on time with Samsung’s newest phone, the Galaxy S23, stay tuned for our comprehensive review.
