Our hands on look at the Samsung Galaxy S23 smartphone range

Tech Guide has taken a hands-on first look at the new Samsung Galaxy S23 smartphones which all pack a punch with even more power, improved performance and a camera that will knock your socks off.

Design-wise there are major changes to the S23 and S23+ apart from the removal of the large camera bump in the top left-hand corner of the rear panel.

Now the lenses wrist directly on the back just like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and look even sleeker.

The S23 Ultra has squarer edges which reduces the curves on either side of the display resulting in more screen real estate for the power user who would be attracted to this product.

The screen sizes of the S23 range are the same as last year’s S22 at 6.1 inch (S23), 6.6 inch (S23+) and 6.8 inch (S23 Ultra).

What’s going to attract customers to the devices is the improved camera systems.

At the top of the line the S 23 Ultra has a whopping 200-megapixel wide camera that means you can take enormous images to either print in large formats or crop into a part of the image while still retaining clarity and sharpness.

A feature shared across the S23 range is the Adaptive Pixel technology which can combine up to 16 pixels into one which allows the lens to draw in even more light so that your night-time images will look brighter than ever.

Samsung set up an area which looked like a dark alley but the S23 managed to draw out light from the scene like a sponge soaks up water.

The resulting image from a near dark area was stunning.

Another camera feature that has got us excited is the new astrophotography mode which can actually offer between four- and 10-minute exposures to photograph the night sky.

What it actually does is take hundreds of images during that exposure and stacks them together for an even sharper and brighter image.

And to compensate for the rotation of the earth and prevent star trails, the S23 camera uses an algorithm and notes your location on the globe via GPS and compensates for this slow movement so that your images still turn out sharp and clear.

There’s no denying the power of the S23 which offers excellent efficiency so users will get even longer battery life no matter which model they choose.

But the sheer power was illustrated remarkably with the S23 connected directly to Samsung’s Odyssey Ark 55-inch curved gaming display.

The resolution and quality of the image on the screen from the smartphone looked incredible and performance was also at a remarkably high level.

We were able to play the Asphalt 9 driving game and it looked as smooth as it would on a console.

Having this sort of power at your fingertips also means you have more than enough performance to multitask and stay productive on the go.

Although it might not look like much of a change from the outside, the S23 has plenty of improvements under the hood that will excite customers to upgrade and enjoy the uncompromised productivity and creativity the device offers.

The new Samsung S23 smartphones are priced about $100 more than last year’s models but there have been memory increases to the entire range which almost brings it up to par with last year’s pricing.

PRICING

Galaxy S23 Ultra

12GB + 1TB: $ 2,649

12GB + 512GB: $2,249

8GB + 256GB: $1,949

Galaxy S23+

8GB + 512GB: $1,849

8GB + 256GB: $1,649

Galaxy S23

8GB + 256GB: $1,449

8GB + 128GB: $1,349

The Galaxy S23 series is available in four colours: Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender. Our favourite was Green.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 range goes on sale on February 17.

Stay tuned to Tech Guide for a complete review of the Samsung Galaxy S23 in the coming weeks.

* Stephen Fenech travelled to San Francisco as a guest of Samsung