I battle to have a look at some other Samsung smartphone now that I’ve been dwelling with its foldables. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has successfully modified how I take advantage of Android. More often than not, I’ll solely trouble with my Google Pixel 7 if somebody is looking the quantity linked to that cellphone. In any other case, you’ll see me totally on the foldable. It’s simply a lot extra versatile for the life I lead.

That’s to not say I didn’t get pleasure from my time with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely, however I missed the Fold whereas reviewing this one. Samsung’s final new flagship system is all the pieces you possibly can need in a smartphone, however there’s additionally quite a bit right here that looks like overkill now that we’re within the second iteration of the Extremely and its stylus-wielding methods. Actually, I forgot to make use of the stylus till about two days in the past (I don’t draw). And whereas 4 cameras are a fantastic back-of-the-box brag, I nonetheless don’t perceive push them to the extent they’ve been marketed as being able to, and I understand I most likely by no means will. And I like excessive spec telephones!

Regardless, the Extremely nonetheless has a lot going for it, together with a greater design than the final technology. These rear-facing cameras will not be sufficient to justify the worth to informal customers, however their put up processing algorithms are simply pretty much as good as Google’s—higher in some circumstances. The Extremely even has just a few options I believe foldables are nonetheless lacking—like that stowable stylus.

However when it involves focusing on real innovation versus area of interest specialty options, the Extremely may miss the mark in comparison with each the competitors and Samsung’s different telephones.

The most effective Extremely but

When you like massive telephones, you’ll love the Galaxy S23 Extremely (I don’t—it’s not foldable). It has a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED show, categorized as such as a result of it’s based mostly on tech that permits the show to dynamically change refresh charges with out killing the battery. The jury continues to be out on how a lot battery that show tech saves, and I’ll get extra into that once we speak in regards to the battery rundown outcomes later. Nonetheless, the show that Samsung has going right here is like carrying a tiny model of its TVs in your pocket.

You may need gotten into the Galaxy line since you love Samsung’s shows. I can’t blame you. Like on the S22 Extremely, the display screen on the S23 Extremely is a 1440p decision with a 120Hz refresh fee. I like watching TV on this factor, even the 720p classics like Taxi and One Day at a Time. What I particularly admire about Samsung is how low the brightness can go in order that I can go to sleep to these exhibits on the finish of the evening with out lighting up the room. Samsung allows the usage of Android 12’s further dim mode, and with that turned on, the cellphone doesn’t go any greater than about 350 nits—the usual fee is round 430 nits, or a whopping 1,750 nits if you happen to’re out in direct daylight and utilizing the adaptive brightness characteristic.

The most effective half in regards to the new Galaxy S23 Extremely is that Samsung mounted a few of what I didn’t like with the Galaxy S22 Extremely’s design. Primarily, it squared off the sides as a substitute of rounding them, so it’s straightforward to cradle the cellphone one-handed. I lastly felt assured that I wasn’t going to drop it. I’m glad Samsung stopped with the overtly rounded edges, that are additionally annoying to make use of if you’re tapping on the sting of the display screen.

That is nonetheless a huge smartphone. I hope you’ve massive palms if you happen to plan to play video games on this factor. My small palms and lengthy claws had problem cradling the Extremely to play with on-screen controls in video games like Dreamlight Valley by way of Xbox Sport Move, and my wrists bought weary holding the cellphone to manage my character in Riptide GP: Renegade. The primary-gen Razer Kishi controller that I take advantage of for Android gaming additionally feels as if it’s stretched to capability on this cellphone, as if the Galaxy S23 Extremely will come out at any minute. Until it’s a point-and-tap recreation, I take advantage of a Bluetooth controller to play video games on the S23 Extremely. The OnePlus 11’s equally sizeable 6.7-inch show, comparatively, feels much less ginormous as a result of it doesn’t have the Extremely’s squared-off corners and the chassis is narrower.

The Galaxy S23 Extremely makes use of an in-display fingerprint sensor and face unlock for added lock display screen safety. It’s greatest that Samsung didn’t carry over the ability button fingerprint sensor like on the Z Fold 4, as a result of I’m consistently by accident urgent that one and locking myself out of it. Scanning in a fingerprint or smiling on the Extremely felt quick and responsive until I wore a masks or sun shades.

The default sorage house on the S23 Extremely has fortunately been bumped as much as 256GB. It begins there and goes all the best way as much as 1TB, if you happen to can abdomen paying for it (doing so will add $420 on prime of the bottom storage’s price). The Extremely can also be IP68 rated for water and dirt resistance.

Qualcomm with Samsung flavoring

One thing to notice about this yr’s Galaxy S23 lineup is that it runs a novel taste of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. Fairly than use the one which got here proper out of the field, Samsung infused a few of its AI smarts to tune digital camera and efficiency algorithms to its liking. The corporate already does this to some impact with its Exynos chips abroad, and it’s bringing that experience to the telephones bought within the states to one-up Google’s home made Tensor processor. Typically it really works.

The Galaxy S23 Extremely is offered with 8GB and 12GB of RAM, which appears absurd. The Extremely ought to have 12GB of reminiscence as the usual, because it’s technically the final word Samsung cellphone. Even with the 12GB of RAM, you’ll be able to’t inform that the chip contained in the Galaxy S23 Extremely is any beefier than what’s contained in the similarly-specced OnePlus 11. On paper, and in Geekbench 5 (which will likely be Geekbench 6 in our opinions going ahead), the Galaxy S23 Extremely carried out higher than OnePlus 11 by solely about 300 factors on the single-core rating and 400 factors on the multi-core one. However that proves little about whether or not Samsung’s infused chip is quicker or extra in a position than OnePlus’s vanilla one in precise use. Contemplating the Google Pixel 7 Professional is a laughing inventory on the benchmark charts however not in real-world use—it ranks with 400 factors lower than the Galaxy S23 Extremely—it’s arduous to make use of these benchmarks as the only real take a look at for what’s doable. Anyway, neither of those Android gadgets can maintain a candle to the numbers that Apple’s A16 Bionic spits out.

The upside to having such a robust smartphone is that it might do all the pieces: play video games regionally and from the cloud, create and edit paperwork, shortly export edited movies, course of RAW pictures, and chat with whoever. The Extremely can deal with every of those circumstances with absolute ease, however that’s anticipated from a cellphone that I’ve been operating for about three weeks. The actual take a look at for these gadgets is how they do after a yr within the hand.

I echo the feelings of some different opinions: the Galaxy S23 Extremely doesn’t get as sizzling as earlier variations of the system and even different Android telephones. I fell asleep subsequent to it just a few nights in a row whereas it was charging and taking part in Pluto TV, and I didn’t really feel the standard warmth emanating because the battery fueled up for the subsequent day. It did get toasty as soon as whereas I used to be mindlessly scrolling by way of TikTok (as I typically do), and it was important sufficient that I keep in mind saying, “I ought to most likely point out this within the evaluate.”

Apple’s iPhone 14 Professional Max lasts longer

I’m sorry to incorporate Apple within the subhead of a Samsung Galaxy evaluate. However I stay impressed by the battery take a look at on Apple’s newest flagship, and it’s now the benchmark for each different flagship cellphone evaluate.

Samsung’s 5,000 mAh battery is big whereas remaining the identical dimension as in final yr’s Extremely. No matter Samsung did on the backend to increase battery life has labored to date—the S23 Extremely beat out the S22 Extremely by about two hours, lasting 18 hours and 33 minutes. However that’s nothing to Apple’s practically 24-hour battery life on its giant iPhone 14 Professional Max. I need a few of no matter magic Apple has happening with its software program to return to Android land.

These outcomes translated to utilizing the cellphone every day, too. As I discussed, I’m a TikTok freak, and I used to be stunned to see that the Extremely chewed by way of solely 23% of its battery life in 5 hours after mixed-use, which included tuning into my Disney streamer.

Transfer over, Pixel digital camera

As a result of the Galaxy S23 Extremely is being dubbed as “final,” its cameras are appropriately excessive. They’re additionally the important thing improve level right here, and took up the vast majority of Samsung’s announcement occasion for this cellphone. The first digital camera is a 200-MP normal wide-angle lens with optical picture stabilization (OIS) and an f/1.7 aperture. The ultra-wide digital camera is a 12-MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. And the 2 telephoto lenses on the again even have OIS, although one has an f/2.4 aperture with a most 3x optical zoom, and the opposite is f/4.9 with a 10x optical zoom. The utmost digital zoom for this digital camera is 100x, identical to the S22 Extremely.

Each time somebody exterior of the Android bubble realizes the Galaxy S23 Extremely has 4 cameras on the again, they typically ask me, “why?” The reply is so it has digital camera lenses for each foreseeable state of affairs. As an example, if you happen to’re chasing your child across the park, you need that fast 3x optical zoom to seize them within the body and up shut. The result’s a background bokeh impact that helps make the picture immediately shareable on Instagram with out utilizing Portrait mode. Or if you happen to occur to be mendacity down on the park, solely to listen to the roar of a jet engine approaching overhead, you should utilize the 10x optical zoom to get a better look and possibly even put up it to TikTok. For epic sky days, when the clouds appear to be cruising by way of as in the event that they’re recent cotton sweet spun proper out of the bin, the extremely wide-angle digital camera helps enhance the drama when shared in your secret Slack channel of mates obsessive about sunsets.

These days, most smartphone cameras are able to all the pieces I simply described, however Samsung purports a better decision and higher coloration and distance element. These are the cameras we have now on us each day, and Samsung argues that these are the digital recollections we’ll be pulling from as we battle to recollect our lives sometime sooner or later.

That’s to not say that each picture the Galaxy S23 Extremely produces is ideal. Zooming previous the 10x optical restrict requires praying that the picture received’t be jaggy or over-sharpened. There have been so many cases on the night of my daughter’s third birthday that the photographs of her punching round a balloon got here out wanting blurry—an actual bummer for me as I used to be looking for a cute one to share inside group chats. I additionally tried staying up one evening to seize the Air Pressure flying their planes within the sky above, and I couldn’t produce something value sharing.

Because it stands, the 200-MP sensor on the Galaxy S23 Extremely isn’t taking pictures in its full decision always. Like most flagship smartphones, together with the iPhone 14 Professional and Google Pixel 7, Samsung makes use of pixel-binning, so the cellphone shoots like a 12-MP digital camera with 16 pixels inside every megapixel. The result’s brighter pictures all through with higher element. I most well-liked the 12-MP photographs labored over by the algorithm over the complete 200-MP uncooked ones, which often require some post-editing, anyway. I need to keep away from modifying a photograph whereas simply attempting to share it on social media.

You’ll be able to see extra clearly how the Galayx S23 Extremely’s post-processing stacks up in comparison with the iPhone 14 Professional Max and Pixel 7 Professional within the slideshow I put collectively right here. For essentially the most half, I discovered Samsung’s algorithms to veer in the direction of being saturated, although it was spectacular at tempering the ultimate product to keep up element the place it mattered. The obvious instance is a photograph the place I shot the Santa Ynez Mountains in Santa Barbara; the S23 Extremely held on to the delicate element of the sundown, lighting up the ridges with out over-contrasting them.

I wrote extra about Skilled RAW within the different piece, together with Samsung’s improved astrophotography characteristic. I want that Samsung would have extracted this characteristic by itself moderately than buried it inside one other obtain that needs to be enabled within the digital camera app earlier than anybody is aware of it’s even there. Samsung contains all these distinctive digital camera options as if we’re imagined to know use them proper out of the field. However as with the improved nighttime video recording capabilities teased throughout the Extremely’s debut at Galaxy Unpacked earlier this month, I had no thought the place to start out. Simply because a smartphone can do all these fancy issues doesn’t imply that the final inhabitants will aspire to that. And after ten years of reviewing smartphones, I may additionally surrender.

That’s an enormous downside, because the digital camera system here’s a main promoting level and a significant justification for the worth tag. Evaluate that to Apple, which on account of making each the iPhone and iOS, is ready to bundle its telephones with tons of on a regular basis usability conveniences.

Earlier than we transfer on from the cameras, there are just a few different issues to notice: video recording on this smartphone is aces, even with no tripod. However for stability’s sake, I’ve been propping the Extremely up on a handheld tripod and following my child round at 60 fps. The video is so easy! The Extremely maxes out at 30 frames per second in 8K decision for video recording, and there’s a Professional Video mode if you happen to’re snug with tweaking digital camera settings. The front-facing digital camera is a 12-MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture; annoyingly, it doesn’t zoom in or out.

Does a smartphone want a stylus?

Samsung’s S Pen has been round for a protracted whereas. It’s as iconic as Paris Hilton’s chihuahuas within the 2000s (RIP to all of them). Final yr’s Extremely was the primary time it appeared within the common Galaxy lineup after the sunsetting of the Galaxy Observe sequence of yore. However functionally, it’s just like what the S Pen might do earlier than it. You’ll be able to pop it out for drawing and cropping when the state of affairs on display screen requires it—accommodating for enterprise folks doing exact issues, like needing to maneuver a cursor inside a doc or having to log out on a contract whereas in line someplace. However I’m beginning to understand this display screen is simply too restricted for something artwork pushed. Granted, I’m not an artist, but when I think about myself as a university scholar (once more), the S Pen would really feel way more applicable docked inside a gadget just like the Z Fold 4, with can open up into a bigger show that’s match for highlighting and making digital notes. That’s a type issue that lends itself to a stylus moderately than the cramped display screen on the S23 Extremely.

The opposite downside with the S Pen is that it requires its personal house contained in the chassis to dock. That’s the tradeoff for a cellphone barely too massive to your pocket or these straddling gaming controllers. As a lot because the S Pen is an iconic instrument, I don’t know that it belongs on a smartphone anymore, even when you should utilize it as a Bluetooth controller.

Samsung’s model of Android

The Galaxy S23 Extremely ships with One UI 5, based mostly on the newest model of Android 13. The One UI 5.1 replace is the one that everybody’s ready for proper now, because it contains options like Bixby Textual content Calling, which works equally to the Pixel’s Display screen Calling. This characteristic is now stay in English (it was accessible solely in Korea till now), however I couldn’t get it to work throughout my testing interval. I hope to revisit this and a few of Bixby’s different options later, as I’m curious to know the advantages of sticking with it over the tried-and-true (even when typically irritating) Google Assistant.

I don’t thoughts Samsung’s model of Android, particularly not since adopting the foldable. I spotted it comes with the good thing about Samsung tweaking what Google gave it to its gadgets, even when it doesn’t have any semblance of Android’s interface framework, known as Materials You. Samsung presents some neat integration with Microsoft’s Your Telephone app on Home windows PCs that’s past the default expertise, together with the flexibility to manage your system from the desktop remotely. There’s additionally the flexibility to snap a photograph in Skilled RAW and have it instantly populate in Adobe Lightroom. These talents are good to have, however just like the Galaxy S22 Extremely final yr, I rarely thought-about utilizing them after the evaluate interval was over. They’re not a purpose to exit and purchase a cellphone.

Nonetheless an excessive amount of cellphone

I do know there are folks on the market salivating over the Galaxy S23 Extremely. They need the most effective that Samsung has to supply in its lineup, whether or not it’s for bragging rights or as a result of they need all these lenses and that is the solely digital camera they’ll personal. I get all that, however I nonetheless assume the Extremely is a little bit of overkill in a market the place we’re all screaming for a deal. There are nonetheless two different fashions of the Galaxy S23 that I’ve but to evaluate, and although they’re smaller gadgets with barely totally different chassis, they roughly ship the identical Samsung expertise throughout the board for much less. They’re priced a little bit over the Pixel 7 lineup, beginning at $800 and $1,000 for the S23 and S23+, respectively.

When you’re going to spend a beginning value of $1,200 on any Android smartphone, I’m pleading with you to get a foldable as a substitute. Sure, it’s a brand new type of type issue with doubtful longevity, nevertheless it’s not going away any time quickly. For a lot of, even those that need the most effective, digital camera constancy will attain some extent diminishing returns. However a foldable drastically modifications each person’s expertise. There may be extra competitors cropping up abroad and the rumor mill is getting louder as extra manfacturers are hopping on board this new smartphone fad. On the very least, if you happen to’re spending a whopping sum of money on a smartphone, get one thing that’s a bonafide cellphone and a pill for the worth.

Higher and higher cameras are maybe not what every new technology of a cellphone must be focusing on, at the very least anymore.