Samsung S23: Yay or nay?

SRWilliam22 · October 31, 2023

Hi everyone!

TL;WR: Why did Linus dislike Yvonne's choice when she bought the S23 for her AMD tech upgrade?

Long version:

Long time viewer, first time poster here. I've been set on buying the Samsung S23, especially with the Black Friday/Cyber Monday discounts; it seems like a great small phone albeit a bit overpriced.

I'm switching from a Realme X3 Superzoom highest config, which is truly a beast when it comes to battery life (especially with that fast charging), great storage, good RAM, the camera and screen aren't the best but good enough for a budget flagship at the time. The camera quality is "fine" but the colour science is absolutely terrible, either blown out or washed out. My only issue with my current phone is that its charging port is starting to be wonky (errors requiring me to restart), and the phone size... Awesome for content consumption, horrible for single handed use.

The android world isn't really kind to small-mid sized phone choices (I don't want something over 6.3" at this point), the main contenders for me were:

1- The Samsung S23 (and the S23+ but its bigger screen didn't warrant the extra price)

2- Asus Zenfone 9 or 10, but the cameras beside the S23 look bad (at least from the comparison I saw), also the Zenfone 10 is dramatically more expensive than the S23 where I am.

3- Sony V 5 (also much more expensive) and while I LOVE Sony phones and camera sensors (I have a Sony mirrorless camera), the computational photography on it just isn't there yet... and overheating issues?

4- Pixel 7, fine camera and software, almost-terrible everything else (Charging, battery, processor, serviceability... etc.) .

As a power user I do enjoy a "kitted" Android skin; I think stock Android looks great but lacks some useful features like shortcuts to take screenshots instead of pressing volume and buttons. Also one of the reasons I settled on the S23 other than the other two is the support, not just software but also serviceability (it's much easier to find someone who'd fix a S23 rather than a rather obscure phone) AND third party accessories, I have only bought one good case and one properly fitting screen protector for my phone and that was AT LAUNCH; three years later... Good luck.

So am I missing something? Would love some other techies input.

Thanks!

igormp · October 31, 2023

i have a S22 and like it. Still a bit larger than I'd like, but it's okay to use with a single hand. Camera is great, battery life is meh (although the S23 seems to have improved considerably on this front).

Samsung also provides a nice update support, I guess it's 4 years or something. I like their backup solution as well, moved from my previous S10e to the S22 without any issues, even my banking apps still worked flawlessly.

I almost upgraded to a S23 just because of the better battery, but I guess I can hold on it until the S24 becomes a thing with more noticeable upgrades.

Linus may not have liked it because he seems to be a larger-phone fan, which also have more gimmicks (like his folding phone).

IAmAndre · November 1, 2023

I'm personally waiting for the S24 but I'd say go for it because it's one of the rare good small smartphones on the market, with premium features and all that jazz, along with long-term software support. You can't go wrong with that one. It's one of the most vanilla (or boring for some) devices on the market.

I was initially waiting for the techtober announcements and got very disappointed in the Pixel 8. That's just my opinion but I think that Samsung has more experience making smartphones than Google and it shows here. Google added a lot of gimmicky features (personal opinion again) while skipping on fundamental aspects like battery life. I also hate the fact that many features are software-locked, and I'm a fan of telephoto camera on the Galaxy devices.