Optus Mobile Review ALDI Mobile Review Amaysim Mobile Review Belong Mobile Review Circles.Life Review Vodafone Mobile Review Woolworths Mobile Review Felix Mobile Review Best iPhone Plans Best Family Mobile Plans Best Budget Smartphones Best Prepaid Plans Best SIM-Only Plans Best Plans For Kids And Teens Best Cheap Mobile Plans Telstra vs Optus Mobile Optus NBN Review Belong NBN Review Vodafone NBN Review Superloop NBN Review Aussie BB NBN Review iiNet NBN Review MyRepublic NBN Review TPG NBN Review Best NBN Satellite Plans Best NBN Alternatives Best NBN Providers Best Home Wireless Plans What is a Good NBN Speed? Test NBN Speed How to speed up your internet Optus vs Telstra Broadband ExpressVPN Review CyberGhost VPN Review NordVPN Review PureVPN Review Norton Secure VPN Review IPVanish VPN Review Windscribe VPN Review Hotspot Shield VPN Review Best cheap VPN services Best VPN for streaming Best VPNs for gaming What is a VPN? VPNs for ad-blocking We had a chance to spend a little hands-on time with the Galaxy S23 and the Galaxy S23 Plus ahead of today’s announcement. While the pair very much stick to the tried and true formula, they still have some welcome improvements. Here are our first thoughts. Both phones have an extra 200mAh of battery capacity, which is promising in itself, and Samsung says the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor adds further efficiencies. The devices are a little thicker to account for the bigger batteries, but impercetably so. When testing Galaxy S22 family last year, we found the Galaxy S23 Plus battery respectable, but were a little disappointed with the standard Galaxy S22. While there’s no way to gauge actual battery life from a demo session, I’m cautiously optimistic. It’s good to see Samsung treat battery life as the important criterion it is. An improved selfie camera. The entire Galaxy S23 family now feature a 12MP selfie camera that’s been upgraded with faster autofocus. This should lead to more reliable selfies - especially in low light. It’s very similar to what Apple did with the iPhone 14 family. While I was only able to take selfies in a controlled environment, I was able to get surprisingly bright photos in a room with very little ambient light. A more refined design. The Galaxy S23 doesn’t deviate from the S22 too much, but it does have a cleaner design. Samsung has killed the camera bump, with the cameras now floating on the back glass. This brings it in line with the aesthetic Samsung uses for the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and it looks just that little bit cleaner. I’m a fan. The new lavendar shade is also lovely. More expensive. Both the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus start at $100 more than last year’s models. Admittedly I was expecting a larger price hike, but no matter which way you slice it, it sucks when devices get more expensive. The Galaxy S23 Plus does however start with 256GB of storage this time around, somewhat offsetting the more expensive price tag. Iterative. The Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus are just very samey when compared to last year’s models. Sure they benefit from some improvements like the new selfie camera, but there’s not a lot here that feels overly exciting. They seem like a great update if you’re on an S20 or older, but its hard to pick out clear selling points when compared to more recent models. This doesn’t take away from how refined the new phones feel, but they lack a clear selling point for those outside of the upgrade cycle. If you were already ready to pull the trigger on an S23, go for it. If you were thinking about upgrading early, there’s nothing here that’s overly tempting - at least on first impression. Here’s a look at a selection of Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 plans:
