Galaxy S23 revealed with new look, bigger battery and impressive power

After months of rumours, leaks and endless speculation, Samsung has finally lifted the lid on its shiny new Galaxy S23 and S23+ smartphones. There’s also a premium model which includes an S Pen stylus – more details on the Galaxy S23 Ultra here. Although that Ultra version gets the biggest upgrades, there’s still plenty that’s new on the standard 6.1-inch S23 and bigger 6.6-inch Plus model.

Firstly, Samsung has refreshed the design with these phones ditching the contour-cut camera bump with the trio of lenses now popping straight out of the rear case for a more streamlined look.

These devices are also now much more eco-friendly with Samsung producing some of the parts using discarded fishing nets and plastic bottles. The firm hopes it will actually rid the oceans of 15 tonnes of plastic this year by taking this approach when building its devices.

Head under the hood and there’s a huge boost to performance thanks to an exclusive Qualcomm processor.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy has been specially designed for these devices with Qualcomm boasting that this is “the fastest Snapdragon ever.”

Owners should see big performance gains, especially for anyone who loves to game on their smartphone.

The 8 Gen 2 looks set to offer a console-style experience thanks to hardware-accelerated ray tracing that can deliver graphics with life-like reflections, better lighting and more immersive illuminations.

Other features powered by Qualcomm’s processor include faster 5G data speeds, smarter AI plus improved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Unlike previous years, Samsung and Qualcomm have confirmed that every model of S23 will get this chip no matter which country you buy it in. Last year’s Galaxy S22 was split between regions with some owners getting a Snapdragon processor whilst others – including the UK – finding Exynos brains inside their phones.

Another thing that’s been boosted this year is the battery with Samsung squeezing bigger batteries into both the standard S23 and larger S23 Plus.

This means you find a 3,900mAH battery in S23 and a 4,700mAh in the S23 Plus.

Along with the improved efficiency of the Gen 2 Processor and those bigger power packs we should expect to see much longer life and less time charging.

Selfie lovers haven’t been forgotten in this update with the S23 Ultra also getting a 12-megapixel front-facing camera – that’s up from 10-megapixels on the S22 Ultra.

This updated lens offers improved bokeh effects and Super HDR (High Dynamic Range) to help add some style to those images of your face.

There’s no big upgrade to the screens this year although Samsung is promising that its displays will be better at reducing eye strain thanks to an improved Comfort Mode. These phones should also survive being dropped thanks to the inclusion of Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

The S23 and S23+ will be available in Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender. Prices start from £849 for the 128GB version with the S23+ coming with 256GB as standard and starting from £1,049.