The smallest member of the Samsung Galaxy S23 family is one of the few smartphones that offers top performance in a small package.

Take our review of last year’s Samsung Galaxy S22, add in a better battery, a slightly faster chip and a higher price and you’re done. A little too short-sighted? Not really, because the Samsung Galaxy S23 (949 euros incl. VAT) hardly differs from its predecessor.

The main pain point, battery life, has been eliminated this year thanks to a larger battery and a more energy-efficient chip. The difference is so big that we prefer this device to its predecessor, despite the higher recommended retail price.

Since the device is almost identical to the S22, I recommend reading our in-depth review for details on photos, screen quality, and overall build. In this Samsung Galaxy S23 review, we go into more detail on the details where the two differ greatly. If you are curious about the top model, you can read our Galaxy S23 Ultra review here.

Goodbye Exynos, hello Snapdragon

The most important improvement is undoubtedly the chip change that Samsung has made. Last year we were the only ones in Europe to receive an Exynos chip in the S22 devices, a chip from our own stable. The rest of the world got a chip from Qualcomm.

Over the years, Samsung hasn’t been able to keep up with Qualcomm’s pace of development, resulting in a graphics-level performance gap and less battery optimizations. This year, Samsung throws in the towel and only works with Qualcomm chips in the S23 devices worldwide.

Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which gives a significant boost compared to the S22, especially with its GPU. Plus, the chip is also much more economical thanks to built-in 5G connectivity rather than a separate 5G chip in last year’s Exynos models.

By the way, don’t be fooled by the inscription that Qualcomm optimized these chips specifically for the Samsung Galaxy S23. It’s about a slightly higher clock speed in one core (of eight). You can hardly see that in the benchmarks, let alone feel it.

best performance

In terms of performance, we can hardly comment on the latest Qualcomm chip. Just like the S23 Ultra, the S23 performs brilliantly. As will the rest of the top Android devices this year, all of which (will) adopt this chip.

Do you need that much computing power? No, unless you also enjoy using your device to play graphically intensive 3D games. Qualcomm implements performance improvements with each new top chip, but also works on efficiency. The combination of both means that a phone has to work less hard for the same job and is therefore more economical. You can read how much more economical that is later in this test report.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 heats up very quickly when you demand maximum performance. After a few minutes we notice that the S23 drops back to 75 percent of its power to limit the maximum temperature. Still more than enough in almost every situation.

As mentioned, the Qualcomm chips deliver better 3D performance than Samsung’s Exynos variant in last year’s S22 lineup. Convenient for those who like to play high-end 3D games, nothing else needs to worry because the performance today is more than high enough for everyday use.

Excellent camera quality

A handful of photos in this review, see last year’s S22 review for more details. The Samsung Galaxy S23 uses identical cameras: 50 MP main camera (f/1.8, OIS), 10 MP telephoto (f/2.4, 3x optical zoom) and 12 MP wide-angle camera (f/2.2).

Samsung has implemented a number of software extras for the S23 models, which are currently being rolled out to the previous generation, so that both perform almost identically.

Last year’s results were already excellent. The S23 continues this lineage and delivers the best result of all in the limited playing field of a compact Android phone with its 6.1 inch screen.

Load way too long

The biggest change, besides the new Qualcomm chip, is the larger battery in the Samsung Galaxy S23. Now there’s room for 3,900mAh, more than 200mAh more than its predecessor, despite both being the same size. Optimization work inside Samsung ensures additional battery life. This, coupled with a more efficient Qualcomm chip, results in a significant step up compared to the S22.

For a small phone, the S23 delivers excellent battery performance. Unfortunately, we are less enthusiastic about the (again) dramatic loading speed. At a time when a budget phone for 300 euros charges three times as fast as a top device for just under 1,000 euros, we cannot understand this. Samsung has been calling 25 watts “fast charging” for years, which always makes us laugh in the editorial office.

Anyone giving this budget to a phone shouldn’t have to wait half an hour to hit the 50 percent mark. Every other smartphone manufacturer that offers Android devices in this price segment performs (much) better. The fact that Samsung doesn’t include a charger shouldn’t be an excuse for not supporting higher charging speeds.

By far the biggest downside of this device, especially for people who have tried the faster charging technology. Instead of charging at night, you can quickly plug your device into the socket for a quarter of an hour before breakfast. Any other top Android device will get you to the next day with ease. Not with the Samsung Galaxy S23, which sends you back down more traditional paths. In an emergency, quickly recharging a few batteries is not an option either.

Diploma

With that, we end the review of the S23 on a negative note. We’re big fans of this device, but the slow loading is a thorn in our side. If you don’t know better, you’re not missing out. If you’ve ever tasted it, that’s unacceptable on a top-of-the-line device that costs close to a thousand euros.

Can you agree? Then the Samsung Galaxy S23 (949 euros incl. VAT) is the best “small” Android smartphone you can buy today. Especially for professionals there is no competition to the secure Knox environment. The better battery life wipes away the one major pain point of the predecessor. It’s a shame that the other major pain point of slow loading speed is ignored.