With the bleeding edge reserved for high-end big phones—smaller phones, including both Android and iOS sides of things, have suffered. Not only has it become increasingly difficult to find flagship phones that don’t compromise on specifications, user experience, and battery life, but over time, the few phones that do have gone up in price. Samsung, however, with the launch of the Galaxy S23 series, has hit a home run. Despite being smaller of the lot, compared to Galaxy S23 Plus and the top of the line Galaxy S23 Ultra, the smaller (compact by today’s standards) holds its own—in every way possible—be it cameras, display, or even battery life.
In this long-term review of the Galaxy S23, we will see if the latest compact flagship from Samsung deserves a place in your pocket and does it get the crown for the best compact flagship in 2023.
Adopting the design from last year’s Galaxy S22, the Galaxy S23 retains the boxy, squared-off look—while making enough changes to give the phone a new identity of its own—with the new minimalist camera bump. The frame of the phone is made out of polished aluminum, and as expected, the back is glass, with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front as well.
When it comes to durability, I’d rate the latest Samsung flagships highly. Over a couple of months of my testing, the phone has held up well—with little to no micro scratches and barely a mark on the frame. It still looks brand new.