Samsung has updated the flagship family with some changes focused on making the user experience better, while maintaining other features present in the previous generation. And that didn’t exclude the most compact and base model of the line.

When placing the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S22 side by side, were the advances for this year consistent, or is the set of the past still superior? That’s what we’re going to check now, here at TechSmart.

• Design
• Multimedia and resources
• Performance
• Battery
• Camera
• Price
• Conclusion

Samsung Galaxy S23

We started with the design with some important modifications. The Korean decided to dispense with the camera block present in the S22 to leave the lenses separate on the lid. Namely, the S23 sports a more modern look here, which comes close to the Ultra variant in the range.

At least, the aluminum construction with a glass back has been retained. But now the Gorilla Glass Victus Plus protection has evolved into the Victus 2 version, to provide greater protection from impacts and scratches. The IP68 certification, which guarantees resistance to dust and liquids, is also present in both.

Samsung Galaxy S22

The size remains practically the same, as well as their weight. Samsung has not changed the notch in the form of a hole in the display and still has the ultrasonic biometric reader, located under the screen.

Like the old Galaxy, the newer one doesn’t come with a microSD card slot. The previous year’s Bluetooth 5.2 has given way to the 5.3 edition in the recent smartphone. Sixth-generation Wi-Fi and NFC technology are built into both.

We noticed a good evolution from one generation to the next in the look. Therefore, S23 opens the scoring.

Screen

The screen of both is 6.1 inches, Full HD + resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate, for high fluidity in games and system animations. In addition to Dynamic AMOLED 2X type being in the duo here. Does this mean the display remains the same? It’s not like that.

The Korean has improved the brightness level by 35% from the S22 to the S23, which helps with visibility outside the home and when it is time to better explore the HDR10+ technology in streams. Colors have also seen improvements, both in reproduction and calibration.

As in the rear, the panel of the newer Galaxy comes with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, more resistant than the Victus Plus of the old model. The only return was in the frontal use, by the slightly smaller edges of the predecessor.

Thus, we have one more point for the 2023 mobile.

Sound

The sound part of them is composed of a stereo audio system, which takes advantage of the call speaker as a secondary channel. In practice, this allows you to deliver a greater immersive experience to the user.

Their sound power does not disappoint, although they still lag behind the more expensive variant. At least, the manufacturer has put a good balance between bass, mids and highs in them. It is worth remembering that Samsung does not send headphones in the box, nor does it put a P2 connector on these tops of the line.

Without major changes in this regard, we give a draw.

System

As we are talking here about releases in different years, we have different native systems. The S23 already comes with Android 13 pre-installed, against version 12 of the “little robot” on the S22. Both are graced with four software updates and five years worth of security patches, which makes the newer Galaxy’s lifespan slightly longer.

Fast mobile network won’t be a problem here, thanks to compatibility with 5G technology. Fluidity is also pleasing, further boosted by the screen’s high refresh rate.

When we come to the features, One UI provides the same experience in them. We see as examples the Edge Screen shortcuts, Good Lock customizations and the possibility of turning the cell phone into a portable PC with Samsung DeX.

For greater longevity, the Galaxy S23 scores the point.

The S23 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform, in a custom Galaxy edition. On the other side is the S22’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. Both with 8GB of RAM, which one performs better? Our tests showed a large advantage for the recent device. He closed both rounds with almost 17 seconds less than his predecessor.

Benchmarks confirm superiority and give Galaxy 2023 a comfortable victory in both Geekbench and AnTuTu. Games won’t be a problem on them, as all the games we’ve tested run at maximum quality, with good fluidity and all filters enabled. However, the newer model does not heat up in the same way as the old one.

It’s one more point for the S23.

Samsung has increased the battery by 200 mAh from one generation to another. This means that the 3,700 mAh of the S22 jumped to 3,900 mAh in the S23. Does this greater capacity make a difference in practice? We saw that yes, even more allied to the hardware that consumes less energy. This gave a gain of more than 7 hours in total for the newest Galaxy, reaching almost 25 hours of total autonomy, against just over 17 hours for the predecessor.

We move on to loading without distinctions. The Korean maintained compatibility with a 25 W adapter. And in both cases, we had a time of 1 hour and 11 minutes plugged in.

This is an easy point for the 2023 device.

The duo has the same triple set of rear cameras, led by a 50 MP main sensor. What will change is in the software. As a result, the recent model reduces shadow detail less, but leaves more grain in darker parts of photos. At night, the S23 offers a superior night mode that takes less time during processing.

Their ultrawide doesn’t change and provides great images overall, despite having a little softness around the edges. The telephoto lens has also not changed from one generation to the next, which results in good quality records from afar, mainly due to the three times optical zoom.

In details, the point is with the newest Galaxy.

Photos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S23

All cameras on these devices support 4K recording at 60 fps. The main one also reaches 8K, but only the videos of the S23 reach 30 fps in this resolution, while those of the S22 do not go beyond 24 fps. Overall, both provide efficient optical stabilization to deal with shake, but we get more responsive focusing and cleaner sound capture in the recent model.

In other words, the 2023 Galaxy scores once again.

Photos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S22

The front camera evolved from one year to the next and jumped from 10 to 12 megapixels. In addition to resolution, the newer Galaxy also has improved HDR, to generate more vibrant colors and better light control than the S22. In low-light settings, the S23’s selfies also feature less noise than its predecessor. Front-facing footage goes up to 4K at 60 fps.

The recent model scores again.

The duo was officially launched by Samsung in the national market, with the same suggested price of R$ 6,000. As the Galaxy S22 has been in retail for a year longer than its successor, it can be found at lower prices, close to BRL 3,000. On the other hand, the Galaxy S23 has not yet dropped from R$ 4,000 so far.

Therefore, the 2022 device closes the duel with the last point.

In this clash between generations of Samsung’s most compact tops of the line, the Galaxy S23 showed that the evolutions were consistent from one year to the next. It has the most modern design, the brightest screen and best colors, the fastest performance and the longest battery life. Not to mention superior system longevity and cameras that excel in rear shots, videos and selfies.

On the other hand, it remains for the Galaxy S22 to boast similar quality sound compared to its successor. The great advantage of this is its current price, since you can still have top quality Korean, but without having to pay the same charged for the newer cell phone.

RESULT

Samsung Galaxy S23: 9 POINTS

• More modern and resistant design
• Screen with more colors and contrast
• High quality stereo sound
• Longer lasting system
• Faster multitasking performance
• Battery with greater autonomy
• Rear cameras with better photos at night
• Videos with faster focus, cleaner sound and 8K at 30 fps
• Improved HDR selfies and better colors

Samsung Galaxy S22: 2 POINTS

• High quality stereo sound
• Lowest price in the current Europeian market

Do you believe that the evolutions of the S23 compensate for its purchase, or do you still prefer to pay less for the S22? You can tell us everything in the space below.

• The Samsung Galaxy S23 is available at Magazine Luiza for BRL 3,999.
• The Samsung Galaxy S22 is available at Extra for BRL 2,999. The cost-benefit is average and this is the best model in this price range.