Last month, I’d reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S23, and since then I’ve been trying out its upgraded sibling the Galaxy S23+. Yes, I know they look the exact same, and I can tell you the feel and work pretty much the exact same too! So, what’s really the difference? And which one is a better bang for your buck? 

Samsung Galaxy S23 versus Galaxy S23+ - Which one’s better for you?
With only a handful of differences between these high-end smartphones, let’s have a look at which one is better bang for the buck. Video Credit: Mahananda Bohidar, Bijoy Ghosh, Siddharth Mathew Cherian & Darshan Sanghvi
Aesthetics 

Design-wise, there are no major departures from last year’s Galaxy S22+. Only the camera’s contour housing has been done away with. The smartphone is reasonably protected with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, both on the front screen and back cover. 

If you’re someone who loves having more screen space without a bulky form, then S23+ is the one for you with its 6.6-inch AMOLED display and a compact grip. The super AMOLED display - the same one as the Galaxy S23 - is obviously quite nice, bright, vivid. And, an absolute joy to watch content on. 

Also read: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review: Truly out of this world?

Camera

Both the phones have the exact same camera setup - 50 MP main + 10 MP telephoto lens +12 MP ultra-wide - and the photographs taken with it look spectacular. Pictures taken at night, although not the sharpest, still look nice and bright. The selfie camera is also the same 12 megapixel, which renders decent selfies with pretty accurate skin tones.

Performance

It shares a processor with the Samsung Galaxy S23 - the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform customised for Samsung, which is blazing fast. The processor and the RAM capacity on both are the same. There is a difference in storage variants though. Unlike the Galaxy S23, you get a 512 GB variant in the Galaxy S23+.

Like the other Galaxy S23 phones, this one also supports real-time ray tracing, on the games that currently support this feature. The device comes with four generations of OS upgrades and five years of security updates. 

Battery

You do get a larger 4,700 mAh battery, and faster charging on the Galaxy S23+. This easily kept me company for 1.5 working days. However, the S23 also easily lasts for more than a working day, with hotspot on. So, either way, you wouldn’t have to really worry about the phone dying on you on both models. 

Also read: Mid-range marvel: Samsung A34 5G review

Verdict

There’s a fair bit that the Samsung Galaxy S23+ has in common with the Galaxy S23 - a fast processor, a vivid AMOLED display, the entire camera setup, as well as the RAM capacity. The difference in battery capacity, charging speed and a bigger screen also, in my view, doesn’t justify the 20k price difference between the two models. 

Say I wasn’t comparing it to the base model, the Samsung Galaxy S23+ as a standalone device looks elegant, performs flawlessly, and takes some stunning photos. However, the common consumer might still find themselves shying away from this option just because of the price tag.

Samsung Galaxy S23+
Price
₹94,999 (256 GB) 
₹1,04,999 (512GB) 
Pros: Great camera, longer battery life, bright display
Cons: Expensive, no major design upgrades