Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Has a Sleeker Design, Big Upgrades

The Samsung Galaxy S22 phones were probably the best Android smartphones of 2022. But it’s a new year, and they’re now due for a refresh. Alongside the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung has just announced the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus, both of which are packed to the brim with improvements.

The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus (also stylized as S23+) were just announced at the company’s Unpacked event, and will serve as Samsung’s main non-folding flagships for 2023, alongside the S23 Ultra. There’s a lot to talk about here, but the first thing you might notice about the pair of phones is the updated design.

After two years of re-using the same design, Samsung went for a subtle design change with the Galaxy S23 range. Instead of having a camera bump housing the whole rear camera setup, the individual lenses now protrude from the otherwise flush back, making the phones look more like their Ultra counterpart. We’ve seen this look already on some budget Samsung phones, like the Galaxy A13 and Galaxy Z Flip 4.

The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus have 6.1-inch and 6.6-inch FHD+ 120Hz displays, respectively, just like their predecessors. Both phones are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, which is a Samsung-exclusive variant of the latest Qualcomm chip that provides accelerated CPU and GPU performance. You also get up to 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage in the S23 Plus, as well as a 50MP triple rear camera setup and slightly increased battery sizes compared to the S22 series — the S23 gets a 3,900 mAh battery, and the S23 Plus gets a 4,700 mAh one.

The Galaxy S23 will start at $799 for the 128GB variant, while the Galaxy S23 Plus will start at $999 for the 256GB variant (there is no 128GB variant for the S23 Plus). They will go on sale on February 17th and you’ll be able to buy them in Phantom Black, Green, Cream, and Lavender colorways. If you buy them from the Samsung.com online storefront, you can buy them in four additional colors, including Lime, Sky Blue, Graphite, and Red. They are available for pre-order right now.