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Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus Review: It’s All About the Battery Life

These new phones fix the Galaxy S22’s biggest problem.

This story is part of Samsung Event, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Samsung’s most popular products.

Samsung hasn’t been shy about flaunting the cameras on its new phones. It even wrangled endorsements from acclaimed directors Ridley Scott and Na Hong-jin during its Galaxy S23 announcement. However, in a surprising move for Samsung, the camera plays second fiddle to battery and performance upgrades in the new Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus.

The Galaxy S23 ($800, 849, AU$1,349) and Galaxy S23 Plus ($1,000, 1,049, AU$1,649), which are available today alongside the $1,200 Galaxy S23 Ultra ( 1,249, AU$1,949), feel like a half-generation upgrade compared to last year’s Galaxy S22.

Performance is faster, and battery life is thankfully a bit longer, which addresses the biggest complaint I had about the Galaxy S22. But unlike the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s cameras, which have noticeable improvements in color tone and dynamic range along with a new 200-megapixel sensor, the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus’ cameras largely feel the same as last year.

And that’s OK. We’re past the point of revolutionary annual upgrades, and the Galaxy S23 is the perfect example of that. Instead, Samsung focused on making practical refinements to one of the areas that matters most in a phone: how long it lasts on a single charge. Still, you shouldn’t upgrade to the S23 or S23 Plus unless your phone is more than two years old since it’s not a radical change.

One of the Galaxy S23’s biggest drawbacks, however, isn’t a flaw with the phone itself, but rather the tough competition from Google. The $899 Pixel 7 Pro falls in between the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus pricewise and offers a stellar camera that bests Samsung’s in some scenarios. Samsung, however, does offer compelling trade-in bargains that could make the S23 lineup more compelling.

8.9

Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus

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Like

  • Attractive design
  • 4 generations of Android OS updates
  • Longer battery life than the Galaxy S22
  • Fast performance
  • More storage in the base S23 Plus

Don’t Like

  • Cameras are basically the same as last year
  • Expensive
  • No improvements to fast charging
  • Regular Galaxy S23 lacks base storage upgrade

Overall, the Galaxy S23 is ideal for Android fans that prioritize fast performance, solid cameras and having a spacious and bright screen in a compact package. The Galaxy S23’s cameras don’t always measure up to Apple’s and Google’s, but they’re still good enough to fit most peoples’ needs.

Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus get a battery upgrade

Like the Galaxy S22, the 6.1-inch Galaxy S23 remains a top choice for Android fans that prefer smaller phones. But there was just one problem with the Galaxy S22: Its battery life sometimes felt too short to get through a full day.

It looks like Samsung took these concerns to heart. Both the regular Galaxy S23 and the larger 6.6-inch Galaxy S23 Plus get a longer battery life compared to their predecessors. The Galaxy S23 has a 3,900-mAh battery, up from the Galaxy S22’s 3,700-mAh capacity, while the Galaxy S23 Plus has a 4,700-mAh battery instead of the S22 Plus’ 4,500-mAh battery. The new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor inside the Galaxy S23 series, which has been optimized for Samsung’s new phones, should also bring some improvements to power efficiency.

Even though I’ve only used the new phones for a few days, these upgrades are already noticeable. When I used the 6.1-inch Galaxy S22 as my daily smartphone for roughly a month, I noticed that the battery dipped down to between 30 and 40% by 9 p.m., especially after a long day in the office.

With the Galaxy S23, the battery was down to 46% by 9:45 p.m. after a day of heavy usage (running benchmark performance tests, taking lots of photos and videos, etc.). With light usage after a day that started at 10 a.m, I had 64% left by the time I went to sleep just past 12:30 a.m. The Galaxy S23 Plus had 73% of its battery left by bedtime (around 11 p.m.) after a full day in the office.

Of course, battery life will vary depending on how you use your device. Tasks like making video calls and recording video will drain the battery faster, and settings such as screen brightness typically impact battery life. During my tests, I usually had the screen set between 25% and 50% of the phone’s maximum brightness; since Samsung’s phones have fairly bright screens, there’s usually no need to set it any higher.

I also tested the battery life by putting each phone through a 45-minute endurance test to see how quickly the battery drains after routine tasks like scrolling through social media, watching YouTube videos, playing games and making a video call. The Galaxy S23 dipped to 91% after that test, while the Galaxy S23 Plus decreased to 95%. Both scores represent a mild improvement over the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus, which reached 89% and 92%, respectively.

To get a more thorough sense of the Galaxy S23’s battery life, I also ran a three-hour YouTube streaming test in which I cranked the display brightness all the way up while watching a video and measured the battery level at every hour. As you can see in the table below, the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus fared better than their predecessors during these tests, especially by the end of the third hour. Both phones also beat the Galaxy S22 Ultra in this test, and the Galaxy S23 matched the performance of the $599 Pixel 7.

While battery life improved, the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus have the same charging speeds as last year. The Galaxy S23 supports 25-watt fast-charging and 45-watt fast-charging for the Galaxy S23 Plus. But in practice, those charging speeds didn’t feel that different. The Galaxy S23 went from 47% to 86% after 30 minutes, while the Galaxy S23 Plus went from 59% to 94%.

While charging speed isn’t a deal-breaker when buying a new phone, it would have been nice to see Samsung push forward in this area. That’s especially true considering rivals like Xiaomi and OnePlus continue to shorten the time it takes to replenish their respective phones’ batteries.

Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus’ new processor is fast

The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus feel snappy and fast in everyday use, as phones in their price range should. Playing games with the graphics and frame rate at the highest settings felt smooth, and apps launched instantly. All three new phones have an adaptive refresh rate that reaches up to 120Hz for smoother scrolling and animations, which also contributes to the devices’ peppiness.

The one area where the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor seems to make a difference in everyday use is exporting video. The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus both exported a 30-second 4K video to 1080p faster than the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Pixel 7 Pro. The iPhone 14, however, was the fastest of the bunch. The Galaxy S23 lineup runs on a special customized version of Qualcomm’s latest mobile chip that’s been optimized for these phones, meaning it’s different from the version inside the OnePlus 11.

Benchmarks meant to test general computing (Geekbench 5) and how a processor handles high performance in short bursts (3DMark) told a similar story. The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus performed well compared to the Galaxy S22 and Pixel 7 Pro, and even outperformed the iPhone 14 on most tests. The OnePlus 11 was their closest competitor, which isn’t surprising considering it has a similar processor. But the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus did outpace the OnePlus 11 in the test meant to evaluate a processor’s single-core performance, which makes sense considering Samsung overclocked one of the CPU cores.

That said, real-world usage matters more than benchmarks. Other than the faster video export speeds, I didn’t experience anything on the Galaxy S23 lineup that felt unusually fast compared to most other phones in the same price range.

Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus camera is similar to the S22

The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus each have a triple rear camera that consists of a 50-megapixel main camera, 12-megapixel ultra wide and a 10-megapixel telephoto. Thanks to a technique called pixel binning, you can choose to shoot photos at the full 50-megapixel resolution or 12 megapixels depending on the scenario. The 12-megapixel option, for example, is usually better for poorly lit circumstances since it groups multiple pixels together to serve as a larger pixel for gathering more light. Samsung also integrates the controls from its Expert Raw app right into the main camera, making it more convenient for those who want easy access to the full, uncompressed version of an image.

This camera system is largely the same as the one on the S22, although Samsung has made some processing improvements, particularly when it comes to low light photography. That’s the biggest difference I noticed during my time testing the new phones against the Galaxy S22.

Check out the photos of my husband in a dim restaurant below. His face is brighter and his beard is more detailed.

Still, I preferred the iPhone 14’s and Pixel 7 Pro’s images, mostly because they captured more accurate skin tones. The Galaxy S23’s photo is brighter and more detailed than the Pixel 7 Pro’s, but it also makes his face look a little washed out.

The Galaxy S23 performs well in dim conditions overall, which isn’t surprising considering low-light photography has been a big area of focus for Samsung in recent years. Even though the iPhone 14 and Pixel 7 Pro performed better in the examples above, the S23 easily challenges Apple and Google in other low-light photography scenarios, like taking photos of pets and still objects.

In the photos of a book stack below, for example, the Galaxy S23 did a great job at retaining detail and color. The iPhone 14’s photo isn’t as colorful and has some noise compared to Samsung’s, although the Pixel 7 Pro’s image was a close competitor.

Otherwise, there isn’t anything that feels new or surprising about the Galaxy S23’s camera. While the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus can both capture crisp and clear images, there were instances in which colors either looked exaggerated or blown out compared to the same photos taken on the iPhone 14 and Pixel 7.

You can see an example of the exaggeration in this photo of my husband below. The shade of blue in his denim jacket is brighter than it looked in real life, while the iPhone 14 and Pixel 7 Pro’s photos look more natural.

But as I said in my review of the S23 Ultra, this isn’t always a bad thing. It can make certain photos pop and look more attractive overall, as is the case with the photo below. The pink flowers look more colorful and vibrant in the S23’s photo compared to the rest.

Samsung also upgraded the Galaxy S23’s selfie camera with a 12-megapixel sensor compared to the S22’s 10-megapixel front camera. However, I didn’t notice much of a difference under normal circumstances.

But Samsung’s phones easily took better selfies in low light compared to the iPhone 14 and Pixel 7 Pro. The photos from Google and Apple’s phones are both noisier and grainier than Samsung’s, which I noticed when comparing the photos on a large monitor. The Galaxy S23’s selfie is also a bit clearer than the S22’s, but the difference isn’t as dramatic.

The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus have a 3x optical zoom and 30x digital zoom, just like the S22 and S22 Plus. You’ll need to splurge on the $1,200 Galaxy S23 Ultra to get the 10x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom.

But the S23 and S23 Plus still have more to offer than the $799 iPhone 14, which has a 1x optical zoom and a 5x digital zoom.

Samsung is usually the king of zoom, but in this scenario Google takes the cake. The Pixel 7 Pro has a 5x optical zoom and a 30x digital zoom that looks far crisper than Samsung’s, as shown below.

As far as video recording is concerned, the S23 and S23 Plus can record at 8K resolution up to 30 frames per second. When recording video at the highest supported resolution and frame rate for each phone (4K at 60 frames per second for the iPhone 14 and Pixel 7 Pro), I noticed the Galaxy S23’s footage had more accurate color tones compared to the Pixel 7 Pro. The iPhone’s video, however, looked a bit crisper.

I also noticed that video stabilization improved slightly on the Galaxy S23 compared to the Galaxy S22, enabling it to better compete with Apple’s Action Mode.

The Galaxy S23’s camera isn’t a leap forward, but it’ll feel significant to those upgrading from a phone that’s several years old.

Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus have a slightly new design

The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus have largely the same appearance and feel as the Galaxy S22. And that’s a good thing in my opinion, because I loved the Galaxy S22’s sleek and colorful look.

The main difference is that Samsung did away with the camera island on the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus, instead opting for standalone lenses that sit arranged in a vertical column on the back of the device. It’s the same aesthetic as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and it makes the S23’s design feel more consistent. Otherwise, the phones are available in new color options that include lavender, black, cream and green.

All three phones come in the same size options as the S22 lineup. There’s the 6.1-inch Galaxy S23, 6.6-inch Galaxy S23 Plus and 6.8-inch Galaxy S23 Ultra. Samsung does a better job than most at squeezing spacious screens into small devices. The Galaxy S23 Ultra still feels massive, but the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus feel surprisingly petite for their size.

The Galaxy S23 Plus, for example, only feels slightly larger than the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 despite the amount of extra screen space it provides. The Galaxy S23 is also one of the few Android phones with a 6.1-inch screen other than the Pixel 6A, making it a compelling choice for those who prefer compact devices.

All three new Galaxy phones launch with Android 13 and the One UI 5.1 overlay. Samsung also provides four generations of Android OS version upgrades, which is noteworthy considering Google only commits to three generations of updates on its Pixel phones. That means your Galaxy S23 will last for at least four years from a software perspective, so it shouldn’t feel outdated anytime soon.

Consistent with Samsung’s theme of making practical changes this year, the Galaxy S23 Plus and S23 Ultra now start at 256GB of storage rather than 128GB. That means you get double the storage capacity for the same price as last year’s devices. While it’s a great value for Samsung’s pricier phones, I’m disappointed Samsung didn’t do the same for its entry-level Galaxy S23. It would have been a good way for Samsung to further justify the Galaxy S23’s higher price compared to the $599 Pixel 7 while also giving potential Pixel 7 Pro shoppers another reason to consider Samsung instead.

Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus: Buy or skip?

The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus are moderate improvements over the Galaxy S22, bringing quality-of-life improvements like longer battery life, more base storage for the Plus and faster performance. Since this isn’t a major update, I don’t recommend upgrading unless you have a phone that’s more than two years old at the very least. Those who have an older phone will get the benefits that came with last year’s camera upgrade and redesign, along with the S23’s better battery life.

If you’re shopping in the $900 price range, the Pixel 7 Pro is also worth considering. The camera generally captures more accurate colors and crisper zoom shots than Samsung’s and you get a slightly larger screen for a cheaper price than the Galaxy S23 Plus. However, just remember that Google only offers three generations of Android OS updates for the Pixel 7 line, so you might want to upgrade sooner. Both Samsung and Google provide five years of security updates for their higher-end devices, so you’ll still have years before the phones may be susceptible to vulnerabilities.

The Galaxy S22 is also a tempting option at its new price of $700. But if you can afford it, I’d recommend going for the Galaxy S23 because of its longer battery life and newer processor. Let’s face it, your phone’s battery isn’t going to get any better over time, so you might as well invest in a device that will last longer.

How we test phones

Every phone tested by CNET’s reviews team was actually used in the real world. We test a phone’s features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it’s bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP-rating for water resistance. We push the processor’s performance to the extremes using both standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.

All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using it daily as well as running a series of battery drain tests.

We take into account additional features like support for 5G, satellite connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus support, fast charging speeds, foldable displays among others that can be useful. And we of course balance all of this against the price to give you the verdict on whether that phone, whatever price it is, actually represents good value.

Technologies

OpenAI, Microsoft and Anthropic Pony Up $23M to Teach Teachers About AI

Educators will learn about AI in a program created by the American Federation of Teachers.

The American Federation of Teachers is using $23 million in funds from three tech companies to launch a program to train educators on artificial intelligence.

On Tuesday, the country’s second-largest teachers’ union announced $12.5 million from Microsoft, $10 million in funding and technical resources from OpenAI and $500,000 from Anthropic will be used for a New York-based hub to teach AI. The AFT is working in partnership with the United Federation of Teachers, a union representing New York school workers.

The hub will be called the National Academy for AI Instruction, and according to OpenAI, will serve 400,000 educators to develop AI fluency by 2030 through workshops, online courses and hands-on training sessions. The plan, according to the company, is to start in New York and scale nationwide, including additional hubs elsewhere in the country. The effort will begin with a focus on K-12 educators.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)  

In a post on X, AFT President Randi Weingarten wrote, «This will be an innovative new training space where educators will learn not just about how A.I. works, but how to use it wisely, safely and ethically.It will be a place where tech developers and educators can talk with each other, not past each other.»

The announcement was not met with unanimous praise. On a post on the UFT’s Facebook page, commenters were not happy. «AI use has been proven to reduce brain activity but sure, why not,» one commenter wrote.

Another wrote, «This is absolutely a horrible decision by the Union. It is undermining our work and also doesn’t take in consideration the ramifications of AI in education.»

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The HBO Max Name Change Is Here. Here’s What to Know

The streaming service is getting a rebrand. Again.

Summer is usually a time for blockbusters, but Warner Bros. Discovery is giving us more than Superman this year. Max brought back its former name, HBO Max, on Wednesday, according to a press release.

The company first announced the change to the streaming service during its Upfront presentation in May, and judging by this meme it shared, the media giant has a sense of humor about it.

The streaming service was originally rebranded as Max in May of 2023 when it merged content from HBO Max and Discovery brands. During the past two years, we’ve seen the logo change from purple to blue and then black, along with the name flip. What’s the reasoning behind the revamp this time around? 

«The powerful growth we have seen in our global streaming service is built around the quality of our programming,» said Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, according to a May press release. «Today, we are bringing back HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate that growth in the years ahead.»

Your home screen will change to reflect the streamer’s updated name and logo, but it’s unclear whether HBO Max’s library will change. The platform is home to content for HBO, Max Originals, Warner Bros., the DC universe, HGTV, B/R Sports, Adult Swim and more. 

During the event, J.B. Perrette, CEO of streaming, explained how the move aligns with the platform’s programming. «We will continue to focus on what makes us unique — not everything for everyone in a household, but something distinct and great for adults and families,» he said. «It’s really notsubjective, not even controversial — our programming just hits different.»

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Technologies

Prime Day Deal: The AirFly Pro Is 25% Off Right Now. Here’s Why I Never Fly Without It

Today’s Prime Day deal drops the AirFly Pro Bluetooth dongle to just $41, making it even easier to ditch those awful airline earbuds.

Amazon Prime Day deal: Right now you can grab the Twelve South AirFly Pro for $41 at Amazon, one of the lowest prices I’ve seen all year. That’s 25% off its usual $55 and an easy yes if you’ve ever been annoyed by those crackly in-flight headphones. The Prime Day sale ends on July 11, but that doesn’t mean it’ll stay in stock, so don’t wait.


If you fly often, you already know the routine. You settle into your seat, start messing with the in-flight entertainment screen, then remember that your AirPods won’t connect. That means reaching for the airline’s wired headphones that feel flimsy, let in every engine roar and make everything sound muffled. Just the worst.

This is one of the most frustrating parts of flying, especially on long trips when decent audio can make all the difference. Between the engine noise, crying babies and that one guy snoring in 14C, you need a better option. The good news is there’s a simple device that fixes the problem completely and makes flying feel a lot more like streaming at home.

The AirFly Pro has become a must-pack item in my travel bag. It’s a simple Bluetooth dongle that lets you connect your wireless earbuds (like my AirPods Pro) directly to the airplane’s entertainment system, no adapters or wired workarounds required. Since I started using it, I’ve stopped dreading in-flight audio and finally get to enjoy movies the way they were meant to be heard. If you fly often, this little gadget could completely change how you travel.

The AirFly Pro lets me enjoy in-flight entertainment

The AirFly Pro from Twelve South is a minimally designed dongle that lets me connect to the 3.5mm headphone jack in my airplane seat to listen to in-flight entertainment on my noise-canceling earbuds. All I have to do is pair the AirFly Pro with whichever Bluetooth headphones I’m using, like my AirPods Pro, plug the AirFly Pro into the display in front of me, and I’m all set. I don’t even need to use my phone to connect the two devices.

There are four versions of the AirFly: the AirFly SE, which sells for $35 on Amazon and connects to just one set of headphones, the AirFly Pro at $41, the Pro V2 at $60, which is the newest version of the AirFly Pro, and the Pro Deluxe at $70, which comes with an international headphone adapter and a suede travel case.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

I use the AirFly Pro, which has been a game-changer for me on flights. I’ve never had to worry about battery life since the AirFly Pro lasts for more than 25 hours and can fully charge in 3 hours. I can also pair two separate pairs of headphones to a single AirFly Pro, in case I’m with someone else on a flight and want to watch the same movie or show. And if that’s not enough, the AirFly Pro also doubles as an audio transmitter, so I can turn any speaker with a headphone jack, like my old car stereo, into a Bluetooth speaker.

The AirFly Pro makes a great gift for any traveler

The AirFly Pro is the perfect present to give to someone who’s planning to travel this year. Besides my Anker MagSafe battery pack, the AirFly Pro really has become my most treasured travel accessory when I fly, which is why I consider it to be one of those can’t-go-wrong gifts. For more travel gear, here are our favorite tech essentials to travel with and our favorite travel pillows.

Impulse Buys Under $25 on Amazon That Make Surprisingly Great Gifts

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