00:00 That's right, the Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23+ are here. The standard for good Android
00:05 phones in 2023 is now in place. Unlike the Galaxy S23 Ultra, there are no real headline-worthy
00:13 upgrades to focus on with these two models. But Samsung's basic flagship phones still
00:18 bring a level of quality, power and features that make them hard to overlook. Improvement
00:25 to the Galaxy S23's performance, cameras, battery and a fresh design make this model
00:30 a potentially worthwhile upgrade for users still on aging devices. But while the S23
00:37 makes a strong first impression, there are still some compelling alternative phones around
00:41 that can do certain things better and, sometimes, for less money.
00:47 From the back, the Galaxy S23 and S23+ are noticeably different from last year's phones.
00:53 As the cameras now float by themselves in the top left-hand corner of the phone instead
00:58 of huddling together in a single block. They now look much more like their bigger Ultra
01:03 brother, which seems like a wise move on Samsung's part.
01:06 From the front and the side, the new phones look nearly identical to the Galaxy S22 range.
01:12 You get flat displays with curved side rails, with the handsets measuring at either 6.1
01:17 inches for the basic S23 or 6.6 inches for the S23+. Samsung will sell you a Galaxy S23
01:25 in one of four colours. Cream, Phantom Black, Green or Lavender. All four colours look pretty
01:31 smart in person, thanks to the S23's matte finish on the back.
01:36 The Galaxy S23 series is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus II on front and back, with Samsung
01:42 being the first company to use this more durable glass on a smartphone.
01:47 The Galaxy S23 could be one of the toughest phones of the year as a result, along with
01:52 the usual IP68 rating against intrusions by water and dust.
01:57 As for the screen's particulars, the Galaxy S23 continues to feature a 120Hz Full HD AMOLED
02:04 display, just like on the S22 and S22+. That display can scale down to 48Hz to save battery,
02:11 just like before. Samsung also increased the brightness of the
02:15 Galaxy S23's screen with a new maximum brightness of 1750nits. That's according to its own
02:23 figures and we'll need time with it in the lab before we can confirm.
02:27 But in the brief hands-on time I did have with it, the screen seemed plenty bright enough
02:31 to keep the home screen and other apps visible even under the bright lights of the Samsung
02:35 demo area. For your photo taking needs, the Samsung Galaxy
02:39 S23 and S23+ provide a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide camera and 10MP telephoto lens
02:48 with 3x optical zoom. If those cameras sound familiar to you, then it's because they're
02:52 the exact same camera setup as on the S22 and S22+ from last year.
02:58 These cameras are still totally solid though, even when compared with the latest iPhones.
03:03 This main shot of a stand of cupcakes in front of a tasty looking conveyor belt of confectionery
03:08 is much warmer through the iPhone 14 Pro Max's lens. We'd say that the Galaxy S23+ image
03:15 is much more appealing here, and closer to what we saw in real life on the day.
03:20 Meanwhile, the ultra-wide image flips the script. The bike suspended from the wall here
03:26 is captured as much cooler on the iPhone, as well as from a wider angle. The iPhone
03:31 also captured the scene a little more sharply too, with less obtrusive noise in the dark
03:37 areas. The highlights in this 3x zoom shot are much
03:41 more prominent in the iPhone 14 Pro Max's photo, and not necessarily to the benefit
03:46 of the beard statue and the cube shelf here. Both images are nice and sharp though, which
03:51 is the most important thing when trying to shoot a telephoto lens.
03:55 The only new cameras on the Galaxy S23 is the 12MP selfie camera. This is a small resolution
04:02 jump compared to the S22's 10MP selfie snapper. Looking at this comparison with the iPhone
04:08 14 Pro Max, we much prefer the more balanced colours of the face and jumper that the Samsung
04:14 camera phone offers. It's also done a much better job of cutting around the edge of Richard's
04:18 glasses with the portrait mode effect, something the iPhone completely messed up.
04:25 Samsung is using a unique Snapdragon 8Gen2 for Galaxy chipset in the Galaxy S23 series.
04:32 It's apparently a superior version of the regular Snapdragon 8Gen2 chip that's making
04:37 its way onto the best Android phones available. The Galaxy version runs at a higher clock
04:42 speed than standard, which Samsung is touting as excellent for mobile gaming.
04:47 Regardless of whether you buy the Galaxy S23 or the S23 Plus, your phone comes with 8GB
04:54 of RAM. That's lower than most rival phones which use 12GB or higher, so we could see
05:00 slower multitasking performance on the S23 series when compared to the competition.
05:06 While a lot of the specs remain almost unchanged from last year's handsets, one important
05:10 upgrade that you will get is a bigger battery. There's now a 3,900mAh battery in the Galaxy
05:18 S23 and 4,700mAh in the Galaxy S23 Plus. These aren't massive increases, but more battery
05:26 is always a good thing. Samsung has kept the same charging standards
05:31 as last year's phones for both of these new models, which gives you a maximum of 25W wired
05:36 charging on the basic S23 and 45W wired charging on the new S23 Plus. There's still no included
05:44 charger in the box though, meaning you'll have to go out and get your own compatible
05:48 chargers if you want these maximum speeds. The upgrades Samsung has made to the Galaxy
05:53 S23 and S23 Plus are welcome, even if they don't look that large on paper. We like
05:59 the new tougher design, not to mention the potential of the updated selfie camera, larger
06:05 batteries and custom chipset. But more testing is definitely needed to see if this is a big
06:09 step forward for the Galaxy range, or if it's more of a short shuffle ahead.
06:14 The truth is that some rival phones still have an edge over the S23 for various reasons.
06:20 If you're concerned with price, then you've got the Pixel or OnePlus options, and if you're
06:24 concerned with cameras, then you might be better off going for an iPhone, or Pixel again
06:29 if you're not an Apple fan. If you love Samsung and you're still rocking
06:33 an S21 or older, then the S23 could be a great upgrade for you. But if you're tempted by
06:39 other phones in the $800-$1000 price range, you may want to wait for our full review to
06:45 see if the Samsung Galaxy S23 or S23 Plus is the best use of your money.
06:51 Samsung is officially selling the Galaxy S23 series from February 17th, with the standard
06:56 model starting at just $799. The S23 Plus starts a little higher at $999.
07:04 Unfortunately for us Brits, these phones start at £849 and £1049 in the UK, which is a
07:11 touch higher than the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus cost when they launched.
07:17 If all of this seems a little tame to you, and you want to see our initial thoughts on
07:21 the brand new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, then head over to the Tom's Guide YouTube channel
07:26 and check it out. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you on the next one.
07:30 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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