The Galaxy S23 is the standard model in Samsung’s S23 range. Our page goes through everything you need to know about the pint-sized flagship, as well as how to find the best deal for you.
Image credit: 4RMD
Samsung Galaxy S23 deals
Been waiting to get your hands on Samsung’s flagship phone for 2023? You can compare deals here at CompareMyMobile.
You’ll find offers from all major networks, and you can sort by your preferences. Whether you're looking for unlimited data or the lowest monthly price possible, you can shop around for a deal that best suits you.
Samsung Galaxy S23 at a glance
- 6.1-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display
- Dimensions: 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6mm
- Weight: 168g
- Three rear cameras: 12MP ultra wide, 50MP wide, 10MP telephoto
- 12MP front camera
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset
- 8GB of RAM
- Storage options: 128GB, 256GB
- 5G-enabled
- Operating system: Android 13
- Other variants: Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
With the Galaxy S23, Samsung begins 2023's phone releases on a strong note. While it's not massively different to the previous year's Galaxy S22, it has improved and refined a few key features under the hood – making it Samsung's most powerful pocket-friendly phone to date.
Availability and price
The first official glimpse of the Galaxy S23 range was on 1 February 2023, when Samsung unveiled it at its Unpacked event. It goes on sale on 17 February, though pre-orders are available now.
The 128GB model costs £849 at launch, while the 256GB version costs £899.
Design
On the back, the Galaxy S23 retains the same stack of three camera lenses as seen on the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S22. However, it’s done away with the raised camera module design – instead, the three lenses are housed in their own individual units, making the phone more like the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
It comes in four colourways: Green, Cream, Phantom Black and Lavender. There’s also two colours exclusive to the Samsung.com website: Lime and Graphite.
Camera
Looking at the specs sheet, the Galaxy S23 has the same rear camera set-up as its predecessor: a 50MP f/1.8 wide lens, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra wide lens, and a 10MP f2.4 telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom.
The main upgrades are all in the software. Thanks to the phone's new chipset, the Galaxy S23 boasts even more powerful photo processing and advanced computational photography features. For example, night photography has improved, and you can now use the Expert Raw mode to capture 50MP snaps (to illustrate, Expert Raw photos on the excellent Galaxy S22 Ultra was capped at around 30-40MP).
The front camera has also been upgraded to 12MP resolution, up from the Galaxy S22's 10MP.
Specs
Most excitingly, the Galaxy S23 is powered by the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. It's an upgrade from the Galaxy S22, and it should translate into a more powerful all-round performance.
Not to mention, it's particularly good news for UK customers. Previously, Samsung handsets in Europe were given Samsung’s own Exynos chip, which generally performed worse than its Snapdragon counterparts. This time around, however, all Samsung Galaxy S23 phones have the same chip, regardless of region.
It ships with Android 13, Google’s latest operating system, as well as a new version of One UI (One UI 5.1). It’s set to receive four major OS upgrades and five years of security patches after launch, meaning that Samsung will support the Galaxy S23 until at least 2028.
Can I get the Samsung Galaxy S23 with no upfront cost?
It depends on the network, but it’s common for contracts to come with an upfront cost of £50-£200 for the handset – particularly if the phone is a recent, high-end release.
That said, some networks might offer the Galaxy S23 with no upfront cost – use our comparison table to check. Just adjust the filter above to zero, or to the lowest amount you’d be willing to pay on a contract today.
Is the Samsung Galaxy S23 worth buying in 2024?
There’s no doubt that the Galaxy S23 is a high-end, high-performance phone. At the time of writing, it’s Samsung’s most recent release – making it a great choice for tech enthusiasts or those itching for an upgrade.
However, if you have last year’s Galaxy S22, you might not be rushing to upgrade just yet. We go through the main differences between this year and last year’s model below…
What’s the difference between Samsung Galaxy S23 and Samsung Galaxy S22?
The differences between the Galaxy S23 and its predecessor are more major than minor. Nevertheless, there are a few improvements worth noting.
Most significantly, the Samsung Galaxy S23 features a new processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. This should mean a more powerful performance, as well as even more advanced photography features and image processing.
Given that one weakness of the S22 was its disappointing battery life, it’s a relief that the Samsung Galaxy S23 has been given a larger battery (3,900mAh to the S22's 3,700mAh cell). It's a small boost – but when coupled with a new processor and power efficiency measures, it should help prolong the battery life.
What’s the cheapest way to get a Samsung Galaxy S23?
There are two ways to get a new phone: either paying full price to buy it outright, or spreading out the cost with a phone contract.
While it’s a lot of money to pay upfront, the cheapest way to get the Galaxy S23 is to buy it outright. It works out cheaper in the long run, and you can get an affordable SIM-only deal to go with it.
Nevertheless, you may find a mobile phone contract to be more suitable. While it’ll cost more overall, it’ll let you spread out the cost over the course of a phone contract – which can be a lot more manageable.
At CompareMyMobile.com, you can compare monthly costs, as well as the overall cost of the contract.
Can I get the Samsung Galaxy S23 with poor credit?
Most networks will run a credit check by you before letting you sign up to a phone contract. So, if you have poor credit, it might be difficult to get approved for a Galaxy S23 contract.
You’d have better luck getting a mid-range phone or an older flagship, and trying to improve your credit score in the meantime. Visit our page on bad credit phones for more tips on what you can do.
Galaxy S23 5G specs
Manufacturer | Samsung |
---|---|
Operating System | Android |
Sim Card Type | Nano |
Accelerometer | Yes |
---|---|
Proximity | Yes |
Compass | Yes |
Barometer | Yes |
Gyroscope | Yes |
GPS | Yes |
Form Factor | Candy Bar |
---|---|
Thickness | 7.6 mm |
Size | 146.3mm x 7.6mm x 70.9mm |
Weight | 167 g |
Battery Type | Lithium Polymer |
---|---|
Capacity | 3900 mah |
Standby | hours |
Talktime | hours |
Display Size | 6.1 inches |
---|---|
Screen Type | AMOLED |
Resolution | 1080 x 2340 inches |
Pixels Per Inch | 422 ppi |
Touch Screen Type | Capacitive |
CPU | 0 mhz |
---|---|
Processor Cores | Octa Core Cores |
Memory | 8000 MB |
Internal Storage | 128, 256 |
---|---|
External Storage | No |
Primary Camera | MP |
---|---|
Flash | Yes |
LED Flash | |
GEO Tagging | Yes |
Auto Focus | Yes |
Fixed Focus | Yes |
Touch Focus | |
Face Detection | Yes |
Smile Detection | |
Image Stabilisation | Yes |
Video Quality | |
2nd Camera | MP |
Generation | 5G |
---|---|
Frequency | Dual-band |
NFC | No |
Wi-Fi | No |
Wi-Fi Hotspot | Yes |
Wi-Fi Direct | Yes |
Bluetooth | Yes |
USB | No |
Loudspeaker | Yes |
---|