Comparison: Samsung Galaxy S23 series specifications

Samsung announced its new flagship smartphones today, the Galaxy S23 series. We’ve already talked about those phones at length, and are now here to compare them real quick. Do note that this is not our regular smartphone comparison, but more of an initial spec comparison to give you a better idea of what you’re dealing with here.

We’ll do another comparison after we use the phone for a little bit, so that we can properly compare them. In this article, we’re comparing the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra specifications. We’ll first list their specs in a table format, and will then break them down into categories. If you’d like to know more, read on.

Spec table

	Galaxy S23	Galaxy S23+	Galaxy S23 Ultra
Display	6.1-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz (adaptive) Flat	6.6-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz (adaptive) Flat	6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz (adaptive) Curved
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy
RAM	8GB	8GB	8GB/12GB
Storage	128GB/256GB	256GB/512GB	256GB/512GB/1TB
Battery Capacity	3,900mAh	4,700mAh	5,000mAh
Charging Speeds	25W fast wired charging 15W wireless charging Wireless PowerShare	45W fast wired charging 15W wireless charging Wireless PowerShare	45W fast wired charging 15W wireless charging Wireless PowerShare
Software	Android 13, OneUI 5.1	Android 13, OneUI 5.1	Android 13, OneUI 5.1
Rear Cameras	50MP wide 10MP telephoto 12MP ultrawide	50MP wide 10MP telephoto 12MP ultrawide	200MP wide 10MP telephoto1 10MP telephoto2 12MP ultrawide
Front Camera	12MP	12MP	12MP
Dimensions	146 x 70.9 x 7.6mm	157.7 x 76.2 x 7.6mm	163.3 x 78 x 8.9mm
Weight	168 grams	196 grams	233.9g
Price (starting)	$799.99	$999.99	$1,199.99
Colors	General: Cream Green Lavender Phantom Black Samsung Shop exclusive: Graphite Lime	General: Cream Green Lavender Phantom Black Samsung Shop exclusive: Graphite Lime	General: Cream Green Lavender Phantom Black Samsung Shop exclusive: Graphite Lime Sky Blue Red
Available	February 17	February 17	February 17

Size & build

Samsung, as per usual, is offering its flagship smartphones in three different sizes. The vanilla Galaxy S23 is the smallest one, by far. It comes with a 6.1-inch display, and it’s ideal for those of you who don’t like gigantic phones. The Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 Ultra are both quite large. The ‘Ultra’ model is a bit bigger, but the Galaxy S23 is not exactly compact either. So keep that in mind.

From the design perspective, the Galaxy S23 and S23+ are identical, they’re only different in the size department. The Galaxy S23 Ultra does utilize a different design, which is more similar to the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Unlike the Galaxy S23 and S23+, it has a flat top and bottom sides, and heavily curved left and right sides. It also comes with more cameras on the back, and an S Pen silo in the bottom-right corner.

All three phones are slippery, as you’d expect, while the Galaxy S23 is the easiest one to use with one hand. These phones are IP68 certified for water and dust resistance, so you don’t have to worry about rain and similar conditions. All three also include an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner.

Displays

We’ve mentioned display sizes briefly in the previous section, just to give you an idea of the size of these phones. Let’s dive a bit deeper, shall we? The Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ basically have identical displays. They both include flat Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O panels with fullHD+ resolution. Those panels measure 6.1 and 6.6 inches in size, and both offer a 120Hz refresh rate. Moreover, they offer ah adaptive refresh rate. These displays also get up to 1,750 nits of peak brightness. We’re looking at a 19.5:9 aspect ratio here.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra does stand out. It features a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display which is curved. This is also a QHD+ panel, not a fullHD+ one. It also offers an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and the same brightness at 1,750 nits at its peak. This panel does offer a different aspect ratio, though, an aspect ratio of 19.3:9. All three of these displays have a centered display camera hole, hence the ‘Infinity-O’ branding. The Galaxy S23 Ultra does have the sharpest display, but other than that, they all seem excellent, as expected. It’s up to you to decide what size and format fits you best.

SoC, RAM & storage

All three phones are fueled by the same SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. That chip, in the Galaxy S23’s case, is called the “Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy”. It’s essentially the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with slightly higher clock speeds. In addition to that, Samsung used the LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage in most models here. The only version that includes LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 flash storage is the 128GB variant of the Galaxy S23. So, the most affordable Galaxy S23 variant.

You do not get expandable storage here, but the SoC, RAM, and storage specs are truly powerful. LPDDR5X RAM is the latest one available in the market, and the same goes for the UFS 4.0 flash storage, actually. With the Galaxy S23, Samsung offers up to 256GB of storage. The Galaxy S23+ comes in 256GB and 512GB storage flavors, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra is on offer in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options. The Galaxy S23 and S23+ feature 8GB of RAM, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra is available in both 8GB and 12GB RAM options.

Cameras

We still didn’t get a chance to test the phones, so we can’t really share our opinion yet. Based on the specs, though, and the positioning of the ‘Ultra’ model, it will perform the best. The ‘Ultra’ does differ from the other two phones as far as camera setup is concerned. It comes with a 200-megapixel main camera, Samsung’s very own sensor, a brand new one. In addition to that, you’ll find a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, and two 10-megapixel units (telephoto and periscope telephoto). It remains to be seen how will that 200MP camera perform, but it looks great on paper. The ‘Ultra’ is also the only phone in the series that allows for those insane zoom shots (10x optical, 100x Space Zoom).

The Galaxy S23 and S23+, on the other hand, include the same camera setups. Both phones have three cameras on the back. A 50-megapixel main unit is backed by a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera. Both phones are lacking the periscope telephoto unit, and have a completely different main camera than the ‘Ultra’. It will be interesting to compare all those cameras.

Battery & charging

The Samsung Galaxy S23 includes a 3,900mAh battery, as it has the smallest display, by far. The Galaxy S23+ comes with a 4,700mAh unit, while the ‘Ultra’ model has a 5,000mAh battery. The Galaxy S22 actually didn’t offer good battery life, not at all. So it will be interesting to see whether an extra 200mAh of battery capacity, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 can make any difference. We’re expecting better numbers this time around.

We’re less worried about the Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 Ultra battery life, quite honestly. Those battery sizes seem to be sufficient for both phones, having everything in mind. It’s possible we’re wrong, though. We’ll just have to wait and see. Now, the charging speeds are not the same on all three phones, even though charging options are.

First and foremost, do note that the Galaxy S23 has the slowest charging. It supports 25W charging, compared to 45W charging on the other two models. All three phones do support 15W wireless charging, and Wireless PowerShare (reverse wireless charging) at 5W. One more thing to note is that neither phone ships with a charging brick, you’ll have to buy it separately, if you don’t own one already.

Colors

What about the colors? Well, all three models come in the same base color options. The Galaxy S23 series is available in Cream, Green, Lavender, and Phantom Black color variants. There are more colors available, but they are exclusive to the Samsung Store. The Galaxy S23 and S23+ will be available in Gray, Light Green, and Red colors from the Samsung Store. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, on the other hand, will be on offer in Gray, Light Blue, and Red colors exclusively from Samsung.