Introducing the Galaxy S23 Series

The wait is over! 

Samsung’s latest flagship S23 Series is out and we are stoked! For a lot of my Samsung loyal friends, this is nothing short of an occasion. The good news is they won’t be disappointed.  This article gives an overview of the entire S23 series.

The S23 series consists of the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+ and S23 Ultra and launched on Feb 17. 

You can also check out how the S23 Series does vs S22 Series or read how the S23 phones compare with each other.

Contents

• Galaxy S23 Series Top Features
• Galaxy S23 Series: Design
• Galaxy S23 Series Display and Size
• Galaxy S23 Series Camera
• Galaxy S23 Series Performance
• Galaxy S23 Series Nightography
• Galaxy S23 battery
• Are the Galaxy S23 Series better than S22 Series?
• Should you buy one of the S23 Series phone?

Samsung calls the S23 series a “revolutionary leap” featuring improvements over the previous S22 series on aspects like the camera system, gaming experience, display and battery life.

Every phone in the Galaxy S23 Series is packed with a lot of power. With the Galaxy S23 base model, you get a lot of value for your money. In fact, both the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus boast some features of the S23 Ultra.

But it’s the Galaxy S23 Ultra that steals the spotlight. Packed to the brim with some really great features, the key themes for the S23 Ultra are Nightography, Gaming and Design.

The highlights of the S23 series are - camera system, display size, Nightography, performance, battery and gaming performance. As you’ll see below, Samsung’s improved some features while adding serious heft to the others in the entire S23 Series.

No big surprises in the S23 Series’ design. Samsung has retained major elements like the size for each phone and dimensions although the S23 Ultra is a bit heavier than its predecessor.

The one change to highlight would be the rear camera system on the S23 and S23 Plus is no longer housed in a separate bumped up area (although the camera layout remains the same). I think this change is better since the colour of the camera “area” was the same as the rest of the rear panel anyway in the S22 Series.

Galaxy S23 Series Colours: The S23 family comes in four colours: Phantom Black (black), Misty Lilac, Cotton Flower (creamy white) and Botanic Green (a dark seaweed green shade).

The Galaxy S23 Series Display retains most elements from the Galaxy S22 Series with no changes to the display size, dimensions and device weight.

The S23 base model sports a display screen size of 6.1-inch¹ , the same as S22 base model. Weighing about 167g, S23 dimensions sit at 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6mm. 

Similarly, Galaxy S23 Plus retains its 6.6-inch²  display size and is a bit weightier than the S23 at 195g but the same as S22 Plus. 

With the S23 Ultra, the display size is a massive 6.8-inch³  and is the heaviest of the whole S23 lot at 234g. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is heavier than S22 Ultra’s 228g. 

The S23 Series applies the why-fix-something-that’s-already-awesome theme with the display. The S23 Series display is the same as the S22 Series, featuring a Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O display along with a 120Hz refresh rate. 

Infinity-O Display is a reference to an almost bezel-less experience made possible by housing the front camera in a small cut out (vs placing it in the bezels).

All of these seem to imply the S23 Series phones offer:

• Wider range of colours
• Vision booster display
• Vivid and realistic imagery 
• Higher power efficiency; possible battery benefits
• Immersive gaming experience
• Smoother picture quality

Of course, I will know more when I test out these devices. For more in-depth information on each device, read my S23 first review, S23 Plus first look and S23 Ultra first thoughts.

Where the S23 Ultra beats the S23 and S23 Plus it offers a Quad HD+ display or a Quad High-definition display which essentially means it’s got a higher pixel density producing sharper, more detailed images.

Samsung continues to dazzle us with its camera system.

The S23 Series camera system at a glance:

12 MP Selfie Camera in S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra - An improvement over both S22 and S22 Plus which offer a 10MP selfie camera but a step down from the 40MP front camera lens on the S23 Ultra.

Ultra-Wide angle Camera: S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra sport a 12MP Ultra Wide Camera lens.

Wide Angle Camera: When it comes to wide angle camera lenses, S23 and S23+ continue to possess a 50MP wide angle camera lens. Samsung outdoes itself with a 200 MP camera on its S23 Ultra phone - the HIGHEST resolution on any Galaxy smartphone yet in Australia. The 200MP lens is a huge improvement over the previous S22 Ultra’s 108MP.

This is a massive jump from the S22 Ultra’s 108 MP camera lens with a slightly smaller aperture and could seriously give a boost to S23 Ultra’s photography prowess. Combine that with Samsung’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and Android 13 OS, the S23 Ultra is a beast of a phone especially in low light settings (Nightography).

In a recent demo, I saw S23 Ultra’s photography prowess and was impressed. I can’t wait to get my hands on it and experiment a bit!

In terms of S23 Series phone memory specs, S23 features an 8GB RAM with 128GB/256GB storage capacity.

With the S23 Plus, the 8GB RAM remains as is but internal memory stats are better with a 256GB/512GB option compared with S22 Plus’s 128GB/256GB.

If you want to go onto something more, S23 Ultra has got two RAM options - 8GB and 12GB with the 12GB having 1TB and 512GB internal storage options followed by 8GB with 256GB storage.

None of the S23 variants feature expandable memory in the form of microSD slots. But the good news is, the S23 good news is, the S23 Ultra features a 1TB storage option if you have higher storage needs, something that the S22 Series lacked.

Let’s talk about the processor. After S21’s Snapdragon 888 and Samsung Galaxy S22’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, the S23 Series is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform which is a beast of a chipset.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform or Qualcomm SM8550 Pro Octa Core processor is one of the latest in town and is sure to impact everything ranging from phone performance, display, camera capabilities and of course gaming.

The S23 Nightography is clearly the highlight of the entire Series. First launched in 2022 with the S22 Series, Nightography produces fabulous picture even in low light conditions using a combination of AI, Samsung software and hardware.

I do have a sample photo taken on the S23 Ultra in a demo I attended.

On the left is a photo we took on the S23 Ultra in really low light conditions using the front camera. On the right, we tried taking the same photo with the S22 Ultra front camera.  

I did not expect to see this level of photo capturing. We were in a room where I could just make out my colleagues. You notice the difference in the two photos immediately – it was as if the S23 Ultra “knew” which bits to brighten up, colours to add and basically how to produce an image even in such little light.

The slight blur you see is probably because a colleague was taking selfies. If this is the detail level the S23 Ultra’s 12MP camera can capture, I am super excited to see what the rear 200 MP camera does.

(There is also a photo of me with my jaw hanging after seeing the picture above. While that’s clearer, for obvious reasons I’m not putting it up.)

The Galaxy S23 Series are a clear winner when it comes to battery upgrades with both S23 and S23+ getting battery improvements over their predecessors. 

The S23 has a battery capacity of 3,900mAh, higher than the S22’s 3700mAh. S23+’s battery is also improved to 4,700mAh versus S22+’s 4500mAh.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra continues with a 5,000mAh, the same as S22 Ultra. It will be interesting to see battery performance for all three Galaxy S23 variants but especially the S23 Ultra since it’s got a powerful camera, epic processor and better operating system. 

The Galaxy S23 Series are better than S22 Series with many advantages including better camera system, epic processor and battery stats unlike the S22 Series. Also, the S23 Series continues to include multiple sized displays to suit varied tastes, decent RAM and storage along with aesthetically pleasing colours.

Moreover, the Galaxy S23 Series has got more powerful when it comes to Nightography and gaming thanks to an improved processor, better operating system.

The Galaxy S23 Series uses the latest and more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip as compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the S22 Series.

Battery performance: Both S23 and S23 Plus feature improvements over their respective S22 counterparts in terms of battery.

Camera capabilities: Here, all Galaxy S23 devices have a better front facing 12MP selfie camera as compared to the 10MP on the previous phones. The cherry on cake is of course, S23 Ultra’s 200MP wide angle camera lens.

Better Operating System – Galaxy S23 Series have been released with the Android 13 operating system as opposed to Android 12 on the S22 phones.

The Galaxy S23 series is the phone for you if you 

• You want to capture great quality photographs
• Love sharing things with your tribe online
• Have a taste for the latest and best in Android phones
• Want to enjoy a great gaming experience

You can order your own Samsung Galaxy S23 from Optus today.

Read my first thoughts on S23 Series in the S23 review, S23 Plus review and S23 Ultra review.

Find out how the S23 Series does vs S22 Series. Still curious about the S23 Series? Read how the S23 phones compare with each other.

Mobile innovation never stops, with the latest Galaxy S25 Series finally landing in Australia. The new Galaxy S25 Series features new Galaxy AI tools, as well as upgraded processors and camera lenses. Check out the Galaxy S25 Ultra for a look at Samsung’s newest flagship phone.

Angelique Thakur works with Optus. She loves to play around with gadgets and is a dog lover. She also enjoys going on hikes and annoying her partner.

^{[1] Galaxy S23's screen size is 6.1 inches in the full rectangle. Actual viewable area is less due to the rounded corners and camera hole.
[2] Galaxy S23+'s screen size is 6.6 inches in the full rectangle. Actual viewable area is less due to the rounded corners and camera hole.
[3] Galaxy S23 Ultra's screen size is 6.8 inches in the full rectangle. Actual viewable area is less due to the rounded corners and camera hole.}