I’m at a crossroads. Just a number of weeks in the past, I reviewed Samsung’s Galaxy A14 5G, calling it an exceptional telephone that prices a mere $200, proving that you just actually don’t must pay heaving wads of dough to get a great smartphone. Now I’m reviewing Samsung’s top-tier $1,200 Galaxy S23 Ultra and $800 Galaxy S23—and dang it, generally it’s good to splurge, ?

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 lineup (which additionally contains the S23+, a mannequin I haven’t examined but) usually are not game-changing gadgets within the least—and most of the people don’t want all these high-end cameras and great horsepower. But I’ve to remind myself that generally it’s OK to pay up for the best of the best. It’s good not having to squint at a dim display screen on a sunny day, and to have the power to play a demanding recreation at its highest constancy.

If you’re coming from a Galaxy S22 or S21 or some other flagship machine launched throughout the final two years, these new Samsung handsets do not actually provide you with a cause to improve. But when you’ve got one thing older in your pocket, or a extra wallet-friendly machine that you just really feel gives a compromised expertise, then you must undoubtedly have a look.

Stellar Galaxies

I received’t bore you with the nitty-gritty specs on these telephones. Instead, you may read my explainer on how the Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra are all completely different and the way they’re related. (Heck, you may learn final yr’s S22 series review to get the gist on what most of those new gadgets are about.) What you may’t fairly discover out by studying specs are how these telephones really feel—the 6.1-inch S23 is my private favourite as a result of it suits my arms and many of the display screen stays pretty accessible after I wish to use it one-handed. The S23 Ultra’s 6.8-inch show is not terribly unwieldy, however whereas utilizing it, I discover my thumbs stretching farther and farther till my different hand has to affix in—and I’ve giant arms.

The greatest change is the S23 Ultra’s edges, that are far flatter than final yr’s curvy S22 Ultra. The edges usually are not as flat as the perimeters on an iPhone 14, however the Ultra nonetheless feels nicer to carry than its predecessor, and my grip nearly by no means interrupts the display screen. Outside this, shade me whelmed with how the Galaxy S23 lineup appears. I nonetheless assume Samsung’s S21 series provided a sharper design language with the Contour Cut digicam module in an accent shade. These new telephones with their understated and accent-free digicam array seem like the textbook definition of a “smartphone”—they’re little question elegant, however there’s not a lot character.

The three handsets share most of the similar traits, like how the 120-Hz AMOLED screens can every now hit 1,750 nits of peak brightness. This is a function that is usually neglected; a excessive brightness makes it a lot simpler to learn the display screen once you’re outdoors on a sunny day. Too usually my fiancée has to squint at her Pixel phone, and that is by no means an issue right here. (It additionally will get fairly darn dim for anybody who appreciates low brightness at bedtime.)

They’re all powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 “for Galaxy” chipset, which is barely quicker than the base-level Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 you will discover on different flagship Android telephones just like the OnePlus 11. My benchmark exams bore that out, but it surely’s not an enormous leap. This chip is particular in two methods. Year over yr, it is actually arduous to note significant good points in efficiency today, however I’ve seen that telephones with this processor really feel extra responsive and snappier than ever earlier than.