The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is in the middle of nowhere between other top devices, at a price that is far too high.

If you want the best, choose the Galaxy S23 Ultra today. Do you prefer a compact smartphone with top performance? Then the small Galaxy S23 is the ideal candidate. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus (1,199 euros incl. VAT) lies in between and does a lot of good things, but is too expensive and can be flattened by the competition.

Samsung should know this. Last year there was already the S22 Plus, which was in no man’s land. This year the difference has become even bigger as the price of the new model has skyrocketed by 150 euros. The result is an unnecessary device that we cannot recommend to anyone.

Since the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is identical to its smaller brother S23, you can read the detailed Galaxy S23 review on the most important things here.

twin brothers

Whether you go for the smaller S23 or the S23 Plus, both are near-identical copies of each other. The only difference is the screen size (6.1-inch and 6.7-inch), battery capacity (3,900 mAh and 4,700 mAh) and charging speed (25 watts and 45 watts). Otherwise, both devices are identical in terms of specifications, cameras and workmanship.

The big difference is that the S23 is unique as a compact device in this premium segment. The S23 Plus has to compete against the OnePlus 11, Xiaomi 13 Pro, Oppo Find X5 Pro and Motorola Edge 30 Ultra. Each of these devices delivers a better overall package. Also worth considering is the S23 Ultra, Samsung’s top model, which hardly differs in price from the S23 Plus and has a lot of extra advantages.

You can find out how good the camera is and how powerful the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is in our Galaxy S23 review.

marathon runner

In exchange for last year’s energy-guzzling Exynos chip and a slightly larger battery, the S23 Plus takes a significant step forward in terms of battery life.

In our benchmarks, only the S23 Ultra and Motorola Edge 30 Ultra can keep up with the S23 Plus. With this phone, you’ll break the two-day mark more times than you think.

It’s good that you don’t have to charge quickly, because the charging speed of 45 watts is not really “fast charging”. Samsung clearly lags behind the competition here. Fortunately, it’s not as bad as the smaller S23, which has to make do with 25 watts, but just over a quarter of an hour at 50 percent is too long today. Fast charging at the breakfast table is not enough to comfortably get through the day. Overnight charging remains the norm here.

Diploma

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus (1,199 euros incl. VAT) doesn’t do anything wrong, but it doesn’t flex its muscles like the competition either. Incidentally, Samsung has a more interesting device on offer with the S23 Ultra, which costs “only” 200 euros more in the premium segment. The rest of the competition costs significantly less than the S23 Plus.

Where the S22 Plus fell a little behind last year, this is now completely the case with a price that is 150 euros higher. There is no reason to bring this device into your home today.

Want a Samsung device with similar specs? Take last year’s S22 Plus, which is almost identical and is available in stores today for significantly less. If you’re not tied to Samsung, almost every other manufacturer can offer you a better top-end device. Just ignore the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is available in four colors: green, black, cream and purple. The basic version gets 8 GB of RAM with 256 GB of storage and costs 1,199 euros. You pay 1,319 euros for 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. Exclusively in the Samsung online store, you can configure two more colors: graphite and lime. All above prices include VAT.

Android update policy: Samsung guarantees that the Galaxy S23 Plus will receive security updates for at least five years and OS updates for four years. This period begins with the launch on February 1, 2023 with Android 13.