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  Samsung Galaxy S23+

  Top-notch performance

  $800 $1000 Save $200

  The sweet spot in Samsung's flagship smartphone lineup for folks who want bleeding-edge performance with a larger screen and a solid camera system, but don't need all the bells and whistles of the pricier S23 Ultra.

  Pros

  • Excellent screen with improved brightness
  • Outstanding performance
  • Four years of software updates

  Cons

  • Only modest camera improvements over last year's model
  • Battery life may still be a problem

  $800 at Amazon

• 

  Samsung Galaxy S21+

  Great staying power

  Samsung's Galaxy S21+ remains a fast, feature-packed phone that offers a great display and solid battery life. While the camera configuration is a bit unusual, it takes decent photos, and sports an attractive design. It's also up-to-date with Android 13 and One UI 5.1 on board and Android 14 coming later.

  Pros

  • Impressive AMOLED display with 120Hz support
  • Four years of Android updates means updates are still coming
  • Capable camera system

  Cons

  • Lacks true optical zoom
  • 12MP primary camera
  • Much slower 25W wired charging

  $464 at Samsung

The Galaxy S23+ fits in the same sensible box as its predecessor, with some minor upgrades over the base S23 that could be very much worth it to the right customer. You not only get a larger screen, but a larger battery and faster charging too. it's a well-rounded smartphone and one of the best Android phones for folks who want a larger screen but don't need everything the more expensive S23 Ultra offers. However, does it pack in enough of a punch to make it worth the upgrade for folks toting the 2021 Galaxy S21+?

Price, availability, and specs

The Galaxy S23+ is launching with the same $1,000 price tag as Samsung's prior two plus models. It's available for pre-order from Samsung now in Phantom Black, cream, green, lavender, mint, and graphite in your choice of 256GB and 512GB models. The S23 series is still Samsung's latest, so there are plenty of trade-in deals and carrier deals available that can bring the price down quite a bit if you don't mind sticking with your carrier for a few years.

Samsung still ostensibly sells the Galaxy S21+, although it's not easy to get your hands on one in new condition these days. Similarly, you likely won't be able to find all the original colors available. Samsung sells the phone in refurbished condition with a one-year warranty unlocked. You also get the option to save with a trade-in and pay with a payment plan if you're on a budget. There are also some prepaid carriers that still offer the Galaxy S21+, like Mint Mobile's S21+ bundle with a plan.

• 	Samsung Galaxy S23+	Samsung Galaxy S21+
  SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 (US), Samsung Exynos 2100 (International)
  RAM	8GB	8GB
  Storage	256GB or 512GB	128GB, 256GB
  Battery	4,700mAh	4,800mAh
  Ports	USB-C	USB-C
  Operating System	Android 13 with OneUI 5.1.1	Android 13 and One UI 5
  Front camera	12MP f/2.2	10MP, f/2.2
  Rear camera	50MP f/1.8 OIS main; 12MP f2.2 ultrawide; 10MP f/2.4 OIS telephoto (3x)	12MP, f/1.8 OIS main; 64MP, f/2.0 1.1x telephoto; 12MP, f/2.2 ultrawide
  Dimensions	163.3 × 78 × 8.9mm	161.5 x 75.6 x 7.8mm
  Display type	AMOLED, 48~120Hz	AMOLED, 120Hz
  Weight	196g	202g
  Charge speed	45W wired, 15W wireless	25W wired, 15W wireless
  IP Rating	IP68	IP68
  Display dimensions	6.6"	6.7"
  Display resolution	1080 x 2340	1080 x 2400
  Charge options	Wired, Wireless	Wired, Wireless
  Wi-Fi connectivity	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi-Fi 6
  Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.0

Design

While the design of the new Galaxy S23+ still unmistakably identifies it as a Galaxy phone, Samsung has made one big change this year to unify the look of the entire S23 lineup. Gone is the camera bump from the prior models; instead, you're getting the cleaner and more stylish look of the S23 Ultra, where the three lenses are set against a uniform backdrop.

Granted, it's not a look that will appeal to everyone — many folks were fans of the distinctive camera bump design. However, it's a nice change for those who prefer the look of Samsung's S-series Ultra but weren't willing to drop an extra $200 to get it.

Naturally, Samsung has also changed its color selection this year. The company has been reducing its assortment of "Phantom" colorways over the past couple of years, and this year the S23+ limits that to Phantom Black, which is joined by cream, green, and lavender. The S23+ also has a few exclusive colors if you buy directly through Samsung: Graphite and Lime. In practical terms, the S23+ offers more color options, as many of the S21+ options were exclusive to online orders from Samsung or specific markets like South Korea. That being said, color options for the aging S21+ will be much more limited.

Regarding overall durability, the S23+ is pretty evenly matched with the S21+; both phones offer IP68 water resistance and Gorilla Glass Victus, although the S23+ gets a slight edge thanks to the cutting-edge Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Glassmaker Corning promises that it will survive better against drops on rough surfaces such as concrete, but it remains to be seen how much that will pan out in practical terms. Nevertheless, even if it's only incremental, it's still great to have better protection.

When it comes to getting your phone repaired, parts for the older model will be harder to find as availability starts to wane, though you can still get genuine Galaxy S21+ parts at iFixit, for now. If you're looking to DIY repair a busted S21+, make sure you can get the part you need before buying the phone. The Galaxy S23+, on the other hand, will be supported for longer by first and third party service centers, though parts may come at more of a premium.

Display

At a glance, the screen specs between the Galaxy S23+ and the S21+ appear nearly identical. Both models boast a Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O edge-to-edge display, and you'll likely have a hard time telling them apart with the naked eye. Samsung offers some of the best AMOLED screens out there, and it naturally puts its best displays forward on its flagship phones.

On paper, the Galaxy S23+ has a slightly smaller screen, at 6.6 inches rather than the 6.7 inches of the S21+, but that's a fairly insignificant difference that you'd hardly notice unless you compare the two side-by-side. Both models offer a 120Hz refresh rate with similar FHD+ resolutions and pixel density.

The biggest improvement the S23+ offers this year is in overall brightness, which now peaks out at 1,750 nits, which should make it much easier to see when using your phone outdoors on a sunny day. That said, the 1,300-nit peak brightness on the Galaxy S21+ wasn't anything to scoff at.

Software

The Galaxy S23+ shipped with Android 13 with Samsung's One UI 5, and has already been updated with Android 14 and One UI 6 which should be available as soon as you finish setting up your phone. While the S21+ shipped with Android 11 and OneUI 3.1, Samsung pushed out its Android 13 and OneUI 5.1 with the Android 14 update still on the way.

This means both phones are on par for now and will likely remain so for the next couple of years. Samsung promises four years of major updates for its phones (and five years of security updates), which means the S21+ should be good until at least Android 15. However, the Galaxy S23+ will continue beyond that, likely making it to at least Android 17.

Performance

Perhaps the biggest place where the Galaxy S23+ pulls ahead of the S21+ is also the least surprising. Thanks to the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform, the Galaxy S23+ is going to be one of the most powerful smartphones on the market. In fact, Samsung is using a custom souped-up version of this chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy. It will likely widen the performance gap even more between the Galaxy S23+ and its predecessors.

That said, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 in the Galaxy S21+ is certainly no slouch and can keep up easily with the vast majority of apps. Gamers will see better performance overall on the S23+ thanks to its increase in GPU power moving from the Adreno 660 to the Adreno 740. The Galaxy S21+ is plenty snappy and responsive in normal day-to-day use, and both the S23+ and S21+ offer the same 8GB of RAM.

Where the more powerful Snapdragon chip is going to make the biggest difference is not in how fast your Galaxy smartphone operates but in powering all the other things that it can do. Computational photography is the way ahead to making the best use of your smartphone's camera, and the Galaxy S23+ promises a whole assortment of newer and more powerful features such as Super HDR, Nightography, Auto Framing, and more. Granted, the S21+ has most of these, but it's a safe bet that the S23+ will improve on them to produce even better pictures.

Battery and charging

The Galaxy S23+ packs in a slightly smaller 4,700mAh battery compared to the 4,800mAh cell found in the S21+, but thanks to the slightly smaller screen and the improvements to power management that nearly always come with newer chips, this shouldn't make much practical difference. Both of these phones should have no trouble making it to the end of the day on a single charge.

Where the Galaxy S23+ gets an edge is in offering support for 45W Super Fast Charging 2.0. That's a notable improvement over the 25W Super Fast Charging of the Galaxy S21+, although you still don't get a charger in the box. However, if wireless charging is more your style, you won't notice much difference as both support the same 15W Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 standard. You also get Wireless PowerShare 4.5W reverse wireless charging to juice up your Galaxy Watch 5, Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, or just about any other device that supports Qi wireless charging.

Camera

The camera system on the Galaxy S23+ differs significantly from the one found on the Galaxy S21+, ditching the 64MP telephoto lens in favor of one that actually offers a true optical zoom. While the replacement of the 64MP shooter on the Galaxy S21+ with a 10MP one may seem like a step backward, Samsung's choice to put its highest-resolution sensor on an alternate camera was an odd move in the first place. The method behind this seeming madness was to create a telephoto focal length without the need to put in telephoto optics.

By comparison, the Galaxy S21+ only featured a paltry 12MP primary wide camera. The Galaxy S23+ replaces that with a much more respectable 50MP sensor and uses proper glass on the telephoto lens to get a true 3X optical zoom. Both models feature the same 12MP ultra-wide camera, while the Galaxy S23+ bumps the front camera up slightly to 12MP.

Should you upgrade?

On the surface, there's not much that the Galaxy S23+ offers that would make it a "must buy" over the Galaxy S21+, and that's not a bad thing — it proves that Samsung's Galaxy lineup has matured and that its phones have some pretty solid staying power. Two years after its release, the Galaxy S21+ remains a great smartphone, with power to spare and support for the latest Android and OneUI versions that will last for another two years.

Of course, that doesn't mean the Galaxy S23+ isn't a better phone. However, those improvements are a collection of smaller things rather than any single "wow" factor. The Galaxy S23+ will give you better performance, faster wired charging, and undoubtedly take better pictures than its predecessors. Still, none of these things make it a compelling upgrade for anybody who is already happy with their Galaxy S21+.

While the Galaxy S21+ isn't the best choice for those looking for years of usage, it's a good option for those looking to save some money while still getting significant upgrades over the Galaxy S9 or S10 series. The display is still among the best fit to a smartphone, with plenty of resolution, vibrant Super AMOLED colors, and enough brightness to use outdoors. Most importantly, however, is Samsung's commitment to providing years of software updates for its phones. Despite being released back in 2021, the Galaxy S21+ is still receiving full Android and One UI updates, so you've got Samsung's latest features, apps, and security on tap.