Samsung’s One UI 6.1 is one of the biggest software updates that the company has released in a while. While it’s not a big visual update, it will be bringing Galaxy AI to older devices albeit in a more limited fashion. That said, it’s taken the smartphone manufacturer a little bit longer than it usually does to roll out the update. That ends on March 28, 2024, with the initial rollout of One UI 6.1 to some of the company’s older devices.
The devices that are slated to get the update so far are the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23 FE, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, the Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+ and the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. Yes, these are basically Samsung’s 2023 devices. These devices will be receiving the full Galaxy AI suite including circle to search, live translate and interpreter, generative editing, and Chat Assist.
The update will bring these devices on par with the Galaxy S24 series when it comes to software features. In fact, the Galaxy Tab S9 series will be the first tablets in Samsung’s lineup to get the update. It will be interesting to see how the software changes the experience on the Tab series moving forward.
Samsung’s Galaxy A series has always been about marrying flagship features with affordability. Over the past few years, Samsung has worked hard to bring camera features and more from its flagship smartphones to the Galaxy A series. Last year, it was Nightography, this year, the focus is on security with Samsung’s Knox Vault and a brand new feature called Auto Blocker. Both the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G and the Galaxy A35 5G will be coming with these enhancements.
Knox Your Average Midrange Device
The Galaxy A55 and A35 will be breaking new ground as the first Galaxy A device to come with Samsung Knox Vault. Samsung’s Knox Vault provides hardware-level encryption and security to the smartphone. It even has measures to resist physical and temperature tampering to keep data secure.
With Knox Vault, sensitive data like Samsung Pay, your PIN, passwords and biometric data are physically isolated from the operating system. In addition, Samsung’s Knox security software will also bring added protection. The multilayered security solution has always been included in Samsung’s devices but is now enhanced on the Galaxy A55 5G and the Galaxy A35 5G with Knox Vault.
Together with Knox Vault, the Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 will be able to take advantage of Samsung’s Auto Blocker. This feature will allow you to opt-in to prevent things like app sideloading, malware and malicious commands by scanning app packages and even prevent unauthorised codes from running when you plug in USB cables or devices. This can be enabled through the Security and Privacy dashboard on the devices.
Midrange with a Difference
Speaking of devices, Samsung midrange devices have been head-turners when it comes to performance over the past few years. This year is no different. The Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 both come with Exynos systems on a chip. The A55 comes with the Exynos 1480 SoC which comes with the AMD RDNA2-based Xclipse GPU. The A35, on the other hand, comes with an Exynos 1380 SoC with a Mali-G68 GPU. Both come with a 6.6-inch SuperAMOLED display with FHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass Victus+. Both have IP67 water and dust resistance and are powered by a 5,000mAh battery.
The differences continue when it comes to the camera setups of the A55 and A35. The A55 comes with a triple camera setup with a 50-megapixel main camera supported by a 5-megapixel macro camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. Upfront is a 32-megapixel front camera. The main sensor of the A55 comes with autofocus and OIS. The A35 come with the same 50-megapixel sensor but is supported by an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 5-megapixel macro camera. On the front is a 13-megapixel selfie camera. Both setups support Samsung’s Nightography technology with the A55 having a little bit of an edge thanks to its advanced AI Image Signal Processing (ISP).
Samsung continues to offer one of the best software support in the mobile industry. The Galaxy A series will be receiving four generations of Android OS and One UI upgrades and five years of security updates.
Pricing & Availability
There is no official Malaysian pricing or availability just yet. However, in the Philippines, the Galaxy A55 will be retailing for PHP24,990 (RM2,110.74) while the A35 will be retailing at PHP20,990 (RM1,772.88). These are variants with 8GB RAM and 256GB of internal storage that will be available starting on 18, March 2024.
In Europe, prices for the A55 start at €479 (RM2,446.35) while the A35 starts at €379 (RM1,935.59).
Both the A55 and A35 will be available in Awesome Ice Blue, Awesome Lilac, Awesome Lemon, and Awesome Navy colourways.
Samsung seems to be taking user feedback seriously with the Galaxy S24 series. The company is rolling out a significant software update to address user concerns and enhance the overall user experience. The first major update comes with a range of improvements, focusing on display customization, camera enhancements, and other user-centric optimizations.
Display Customization with the “Vividness” Slider
One notable addition in the update is the introduction of a “Vividness” slider under advanced display settings. Samsung recognizes that users have diverse preferences when it comes to their device’s display, and this new feature allows users to fine-tune the vibrancy of the screen. Whether you prefer a more natural tone or a punchier, vibrant display. The “Vividness” slider gives users the flexibility to tailor their viewing experience according to their preferences.
This particular update directly addresses feedback from early users who expressed concerns about the Galaxy S24 series’ display appearing “dull” or “washed-out” compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 series.
Camera Optimizations for Better Imaging
In addition, the update also brings improvements to the camera. With the update, Samsung acknowledges user feedback and aims to address concerns related to inconsistent shots and certain camera modes.
Specifically, the update targets improvements in the device’s zoom functions, Portrait Mode, Nightography, rear camera video shooting capabilities, and more. While the official release does not delve into specific details, it hints at a comprehensive enhancement of the camera system, promising users an elevated imaging experience.
User-Centric Approach and Future Possibilities
Samsung’s acknowledgement of user feedback and swift action in delivering updates indicates a shift in the company’s software approach. The S24 series seems to be adopting a more user-centric approach. The change seems aligned with the ethos of Galaxy AI as a whole. Catering to users with features that help make life simpler.
Rollout and Future Expectations
The updates began rolling out in February. However, the rollout schedule may vary based on regional variants, and you can manually check for updates in the device’s settings.
Samsung is introducing yet another device to its exhaustive lineup of Galaxy devices. The new Galaxy M14 brings most of Samsung’s now signature design and software to a more affordable price point. The new Galaxy M smartphone will be available as part of the government’s Pakej 5G Rahmah initiative to spur the adoption of 5G through the offering of affordable 5G packages complete with 5G-enabled devices.
Source: Samsung
The Samsung Galaxy M14 comes with Samsung’s own Exynos 1330 processor with 128GB of internal storage and 6GB of RAM. You will be able to get an additional 6GB of RAM through RAM expansion on OneUI. The Exynos processor promises to provide enough performance capacity for gaming and even being productive on the go. Samsung also boasts that the Exynos 1330 comes with an improved GPU with 4.7x the performance compared to its predecessor. The 5G-enabled processor also allows access to high-speed mobile internet enabled by 5G technology.
Source: Samsung
The M14 comes with a 6.6-inch FHD+ LCD screen with a 90Hz refresh rate. This screen has the Infinity-V design which has its front-facing camera in a V-shaped cutout. It also supports memory expansion with a microSD card slot.
On the camera front, the Galaxy M14 comes with a 50-megapixel main sensor with an f/1.8 aperture. This is complemented with a 2-megapixel macro sensor with an f/2.4 aperture and a 2-megapixel depth sensor with an f/2.4 aperture. On the front is a 13-megapixel camera with an f/2.0 aperture. Samsung hasn’t mentioned if the cameras come with optical to electronic image stabilization. According to GSM Arena, the setup comes with Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF).
Source: Samsung
The smartphone comes with a 6,000mAh battery that supports 25W Fast Charging. It also has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
Pricing & Availability
Samsung’s Galaxy M14 5G will be available as part of the Pakej 5G Rahmah initiative by the Malaysian Government. As such, it will be part of packages offered by a number of carriers including CelcomDigi, U Mobile and Yes 5G.
Every purchase of the Galaxy M14 5G will be entitled to a complimentary 3-month subscription to Viu. This is redeemable through the Samsung Members app.
Samsung’s foldable devices were one of the first devices to make it on the scene. This year, the company is working on refining the smartphone experience with new software enhancements and features as well as fine-tuning the design with meaningful updates. The new Galaxy Z Flip5 is leading the charge with an even bigger cover display – now known as the FlexWindow and a refined hinge.
The cover display of the Galaxy Z Flip5 has been supersized and replaced with a 3.4-inch display which covers the whole top cover of the smartphone. The new FlexWindow comes with a totally revamped experience with more functional widgets and a whole new user experience. Like its predecessors, the FlexWindow will still support features like using it for epic selfies with FlexCam and glancing notifications. Using gestures, you’ll be able to access features like Samsung Wallet to access IDs, boarding passes and payment cards as well as widgets from your favourite apps.
The second biggest change is the hinge that the Galaxy Z Flip5 uses. Samsung has reduced the number of moving parts in the new Flex hinge. This has not only reduced the thickness of the Flip5 by about 2mm but has also eliminated the gap on the smartphone when closed. Yes – there is no gap in the hinge when closed.
Under the hood, the Galaxy Z Flip5 comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. This is complemented by up to 512GB of internal storage and up to 12GB of RAM. The Z Flip5 comes with a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The cover display is a Super AMOLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate.
The main camera of the Flip5 is a dual camera setup with a 12-megapixel wide sensor and a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor. On the front, is a 10-megapixel selfie camera. The new foldable’s cameras come with Nightography which Samsung has been pushing with their flagship Galaxy S23 series and Galaxy A series. It also comes with auto-framing to help enhance the hands-free camera experience with Flex Mode.
This year’s Galaxy Z Flip5 will also be foregoing the BESPOKE edition we’ve come to expect from the Flip line up. Instead, Samsung is introducing the FlipSuit Case which allows you to customise your Flip5 without the hefty price of a new phone. All you have to do is pop on the case and use one of the NFC enabled plates and it will seamlessly synchronise your FlexWindow with the design of the case. Samsung informs us that there will be new designs and exclusive partnerships coming at a later date.
Pricing & Availability
The Galaxy Z Flip5 will be available in Mint, Graphite, Lavender and Cream at launch. Additional colours like Yellow, Green, Gray and Blue are available exclusively on Samsung.com.
In Malaysia, the Flip5 will be retailing at MYR4,499 for the 256GB version and MYR4,999 for the 512GB version. Internationally, it will be available starting at USD$999.
Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 start today and end on August 17 2023. Pre-orders will be entitled to a free double storage upgrade worth MYR500 and up to 40% off purchase-with-purchase on Samsung accessories, Samsung Care+, Galaxy Tablets, Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Buds series. If you pre-order from the Samsung Online Store, you’ll be able to get an e-voucher worth up to MYR600 on your next purchase.
During the pre-order period, trade-ins of older devices will be entitled to an additional rebate of up to MYR600 under the Enhanced Trade-in Program.
The state of apps on tablets and foldables on Android has left users with a lot to be desired. That said, with Android 12L and the upcoming Android 14, these app experiences are becoming easier to optimize. In fact, it wouldn’t be to farfetched to say that they’ve been one of – if not the main – focus of Google’s Android. One of the pioneering heroes of these experiences has been Samsung with their Galaxy Z series.
Samsung has been actively app optimization globally hand in hand with Google. It’s no different in Malaysia. Over the past few years, they have been actively collaborating with partners from various industries to create new and optimized app experiences when it comes to foldables – in particular for the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold smartphones.
Samsung and their pioneering cohort of partners showcased their apps and experiences for the first time this week. These partners include one of Malaysia’s banks, Ambank, global convenience store chain, FamilyMart, Malaysian telecommunications company, Maxis, Malaysian payment platform, Pay4U and Malaysian Coffee chain, ZUS Coffee. These partners have been developing and optimizing their app experiences in partnership with Samsung and Google.
Each of these apps take advantage of the unique form factors of the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold as well as the additional display real estate on the latter. Each experience advances the customer and user experience of the apps allowing these partners to deliver more meaningful for users and catered uniquely to the Malaysian public. These new, optimized apps are rolling out to the Google Play and Samsung Galaxy Stores.
It’s worth noting that these apps are just the beginning of Samsung’s efforts in Malaysia. The company has already begun working with new partners such as Malaysian cinema chains, Golden Screen Cinemas and TGV Cinemas; Gigi Coffee and Zapp. These partners are expecting to roll their optimized apps in the second half of 2023. They are open to working with even more partners. In the words of Luke Au, Head of Product Marketing, Mobile experience at Samsung Malaysia, “We are passionate about making mobile innovation relevant to consumers… We invite local organisations to be part of this industry collaboration and deliver better experiences to their customers.”
In addition, the company also announced an upcoming hackathon catered for students of local universities and institutions of higher learning to develop new, unique experiences for foldable devices. Stay tuned to techENT as we will share more details on the hackathon as they become available.
Samsung’s back at it again with the new Galaxy S23 series. A new flagship experience which sees the S23 Ultra outshine the S23 and S23+. The plus variant of the Galaxy S series has always been that perfect bowl of porridge that packs the right updates, has the right features and is priced to win. That’s the legacy of the plus variant when it comes to Galaxy S.
That said, with Samsung’s immense emphasis on the S23 Ultra, why are we looking at the S23+? The simple answer is that we’re interested to see whether Samsung’s iterative approach to their flagship series has paid off. Is the S23+ THE PHONE to get when it comes to that fine balance between features and budget? Or has it left the S23+ with a case of middle child syndrome; being left to fend for itself?
Design
Samsung’s new Galaxy S23+ continues the company’s iterative formula when it comes to smartphones. As such, when it comes to design, the company has done little to change the overall look and feel of the smartphone. The big difference you’ll notice off the bat is the lack of the sleek, iconic camera cut-out we saw on the S22+. Instead, Samsung has decided to streamline the design by removing it. The S23+ comes with a completely flush and flat back. Even the camera modules are only just raised to protect the lenses. Aside from the camera modules, the only other thing of note on the back of the smartphone is the Samsung brand emblazoned on the lower portion of it.
On the front, the AMOLED 2X display covers nearly the whole face of the smartphone. It’s near edge to edge with little to no interruptions. The S23+ continues to have rounded corners but, this year, Samsung has opted to do away with the rounded edges on the phone itself. While the display does melt into the sides, the frame itself is angular. It may seem a little less ergonomic at first, but the sharp edges do provide a more sturdy grip. But be careful when you’re using it lying down, it can be painful when it comes for a close-up with your face. (Yes, the phone did meet my face a few times during the review period).
Hardware
Samsung’s approach to the new Galaxy S23+ brings most of the same specifications to the S22+. There are some notable changes, however, it looks like the company believes that a focus on the user experience will benefit them more than bumping the actual specifications of the smartphone – and truth be told, they may be one step closer to getting a solid user experience with their approach, but we’ll expand more on that in User Experience section.
Accelerometer Proximity Fingerprint (Ultrasonic, under display) Gyroscope Compass Barometer
Miscellaneous
Dual SIM/eSIM
Retail Price (Malaysia)
MYR 4,699 (256GB) MYR 5,199 (512GB)
Retail Price (US)
USD$ 999.99 (128GB) USD$ 1,199.99 (256GB)
User Experience
You will realise that we’ll be talking a lot about the user experience when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S23+. That’s simply because when it comes down to it, the smartphone remains nearly identical to the S22+ when it comes to hardware. However, the lack of an improvement in the hardware itself has translated into one of the best experiences we’ve had with a Samsung flagship since the Galaxy Note5; and we don’t say that lightly.
Samsung’s focus on optimising One UI 5.1 for the Galaxy S23 series pays off in droves when it comes to the vanilla S23 and the S23+. While it comes with the same interface and overall experience we expect from a Samsung device, the S23+ feels better thought out from a software perspective than even the S22+. The software brings features that complement the overall experience.
The first place you will notice this improvement is with the booting up of the smartphone. It takes less time for the Galaxy S23+ to boot than the S22+ and even the Fold 4. After the initial setup, a reboot took less than 2 minutes. In addition, Samsung has found a way to make loading up widgets on your home screen more seamless and fluid. You don’t have the flickering and stuttering of widgets like before, instead, they load one after the other.
Aside from this, Samsung has made Android 13’s their own. Their personalization interface is more streamlined and easier to use. Everything is accessible on just one screen and you have more control over colours and accents that will appear on your Galaxy smartphone. However, when it comes to customisations, you’ll need Samsung’s Good Lock app to unlock more possibilities.
Personalisation & Good Lock
Personalisation is getting a huge upgrade with the rollout of Samsung’s Good Lock app. The app brings modules that supercharge personalization options beyond some of the most customizable experiences on Android. The app brings features like an even more customisable One UI Home Screen, Lock screen and even notifications.
Samsung’s level of customization in the Good Lock app is impressive. We were able to create home screens with widgets that looked like seamless wallpapers. You could even create more actionable notifications on your lock screen. Every detail from the notification shade, the sidebar activation and even the grid layout of your home and app screens can be customized with Good Lock.
That said, the extensive customisation is only available after navigating what can be a daunting list of modules to enable it. What’s more, once you’ve downloaded the modules, you’ll have to navigate another extensive menu of options. This will more than likely put off regular users. Power users, on the other hand, will welcome these menus and appreciate the level of personalisation that they offer. In our honest opinion, the overall experience can be streamlined with more streamlined menus and a more graphical interface within the Good Lock modules.
Performance
It goes without saying that we are expecting best-in-class performance when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S23+. The processor alone comes with a near 30% performance bump from last year’s on paper. However, as we all already know, improvements on paper don’t necessarily translate to user experience but that isn’t really the case with this particular smartphone. Samsung has instead only upgraded the phone’s processor to the more capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and also the selfie camera with a larger 12-megapixel sensor. Somehow, just the bump in the processor has led to an exponentially improved battery life and also smoother performance overall.
Multitasking, Productivity & Day-to-Day Use
Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones have more or less become synonymous with productivity machines thanks to features like DeX and Link to Windows becoming more natively integrated into One UI. It’s no different when it comes to Samsung’s new Galaxy S flagship. The S23+ continues this legacy with more of a focus on remaining productive for longer stretches of time. All the features including DeX are still part of the package.
However, the S23+, when it comes to performance, the smartphone has a leg up on its predecessor. It can handle more apps at one go and has more capacity to multitask than ever before. The new TMSC-based Snapdragon 8 gen 2 brings a whole new level of power and power efficiency. We were able to handle apps like Microsoft Excel and Acrobat running in split-screen without much issue. Using other apps like WhatsApp, Telegram and even Chrome in the background or in split-screen wasn’t much of an issue. In fact, it was uninterrupted and fluid. Even with the split screen and pop-up window working in tandem, the experience continued to be top-notch.
The DeX experience on the S23+ is much improved with better stability and transfer speeds over wireless connections. Typically, we use DeX to copy large files like videos to our computers for editing. The wireless connectivity for DeX has long been an issue for us which made us default to using a USB connection. However, on the S23+, this wasn’t the case. We were able to transfer files that were between 2GB and 4GB quickly. It only took us about 10 minutes! Transferring smaller files like photos was nearly instantaneous.
That said, the Samsung Galaxy S23+ became a go-to phone for a daily driver not just cause of the multitasking ability. It was also a sold performer in day-to-day usage. We were able to use the smartphone reliably for work and communication for over 24 hours consistently. This puts Samsung’s flagship on par with, if not ahead of their competition simply for the productivity feature set which is bolstered by the impressive battery life on the Galaxy S23+.
In addition, Samsung’s Bixby Rouines adds another level of productivity to the smartphone. Creating “If this… then that…” operator sets allows you to automate a whole lot of features including turning on and off features like WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth and more according to location or even network. This allowed for even more power efficiency and also customization of your device behaviour to fit your routines. It also works when you use devices that you can control via Smart Things which now includes any device compatible with the Matter network. If you’re like us, this made for some of the most fun with optimising and automating of tech on our networks to fit our daily routines.
Call Quality & Connectivity
Samsung’s Galaxy S23+ comes with the usual connectivity features including WiFi 6, GPS, GLONASS and 5G. Of course, these features are expected in any 2023 flagship. Samsung has included a slew of software features which allow for better connectivity features including smart WiFi and smart detection of 5G connectivity. These features allowed us to have better battery optimisations and also better, more stable connectivity overall.
The WiFi connectivity on the S23+ is a marked improvement of Galaxy devices of the past including the recent Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Z series. We credit the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for this. It seems like Qualcomm’s new antennae and processor is able to create a more stable connection with a larger bandwidth. This resulted in faster, more stable connections over things like DeX and Link to Windows.
In addition, the cellular connectivity was also more stable compared to the S22+. We tested this over the Maxis 4G network and DNB 5G network via Yes 5G. In places where the S22+ saw limited connectivity of 1-2 bars, the S23+ was able to squeeze another bar or two. This also translated to the data stability of the device as well. The S23+ was able to load videos on YouTube, website content on techent.tv and content on Instagram more consistently than the S22+. Even when the S22+ was having issues loading content, the S23+ was able to load content albeit a little slower. We’re not sure if this is a software limitation on the S22+ but it’s worth noting that both devices were running One UI 5.1 with the February 2023 security patch.
Call quality on the S23+ was what we expected from a Samsung device. The voice quality on Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) were crisp and clear. It was also warmer than similar smartphones in the category. Over normal network voice (i.e. without VoWiFi or VoLTE), it was more of the same. The voice quality was consistent and didn’t drop without cause.
Gaming
Samsung has upped the ante when it comes to talking about its flagship as a gaming phone when it comes to the S23 series. This comes as no surprise given the chipset inside the smartphone. The increased power and power efficiency of the chipset allow for more gaming to be done at higher frame rates and with some ray tracing.
During our time with the S23+, we tested the smartphone with Diablo Immortal, Pokemon Unite, Pokemon GO, and Power Rangers Legacy Wars. Yes. It’s an eclectic selection of games but each was chosen for a reason which we will go into. That said, we don’t benchmark with synthetic benchmarks when we do the reviews on the smartphone. Instead, we’re looking at practical aspects of whether it was comfortable to do so, whether there was noticeable lag or frame rate drops and the like.
Diablo Immortal is one of the more complex games when it comes to on-screen events. At any given time, there can be over 20 events in a single occurrence. Enemies can swarm in packs and overwhelm players. Sometimes these enemies can be just off-screen but still land an attack. It’s precisely because of that that we’re using it to test out the S23+’s gaming performance. The Galaxy S23+ performed rather commendably when put to the Diablo Immortal task. The smartphone was able to render enemies, players, attacks, and events in the surroundings without much hassle on default settings. Pushing it up to maximum settings, the Galaxy S23+ still was able to perform quite well. However, the phone did get a little warm. That said, it didn’t heat up to the point where you couldn’t play the game. It never got to the point where the screen, back or frame of the phone got too hot to hold. This was actually the case when playing for more than 40 minutes on the S22+. On the S23+, we could game for about 5 hours on a full charge.
For games like Pokemon Unite and Power Rangers Legacy Wars, we were looking at the responsiveness of the on-screen controls and also performance when there were combos or multiple players on screen attacking at the same time. Similar to the performance on Diablo Immortal, the Galaxy S23+ was able to handle the games rather well. Given that Power Rangers Legacy Wars has been out for six years while Pokemon Unite has been available for two, the games still provide two different experiences for gameplay. One is a simple tap to battle game while the other is a full-on MOBA. Both provide different challenges for the smartphone when playing. Power Rangers Legacy War is a game which depends heavily on network performance in addition to graphical rendering. The S23+ was able to pull this off without much problem. In fact, it wouldn’t be too farfetched to say that it might have given us the upper hand when battling others on lower specced smartphones. Gameplay was responsive and had little lag when battling. The smartphone also remained cool and didn’t really heat up throughout our hour-long session. On Pokemon Unite, however, we have enemy NPCs and player enemies. The more current development of the game means that the game required more power to render graphics which the S23+ did without a problem. It was also able to handle rendering instances where team battles occurred. There was little stuttering or lag even on mobile connectivity. The phone also remained cool throughout the two hours of gameplay.
Pokemon GO is a unique game which needs both rendering and location services. This usually leads to immense battery drain and heating up on smartphones. This was the case for most smartphones even in 2022 including the S22+. However, with the S23+ the phone remained rather cool but did eventually get a little bit warm as we progressed into our hour long session. Aside from that, there wasn’t much of a hiccup.
Overall, the Galaxy S23+ was able to handle top-of-the-line games that are currently on mobile without much hassle. While it doesn’t come with gimmicks and features that make it more of a “gaming phone”, Samsung’s focus on performance does pay off when it comes to generational improvements from the S22. The optimizations for the phone’s cooling system and also processing and graphics have paid off in droves when it comes to gaming.
Battery Life
If you’ve not picked it up from the previous sections just yet, let’s just put it out there – the Galaxy S23+ has the best battery life we’ve seen in a Samsung flagship to date. We’re not saying this lightly either. Typically, we expect that a Samsung flagship smartphone will last anywhere between 5 to 9 hours. In recent years, this went up to about 10 hours maximum. However, with the Galaxy S23+, we were able to get up to 3 days of battery life. We typically measure this as the time taken to get to 5% of battery.
In our time with the smartphone, we saw a range of between 5 to 72 hours of battery life from the smartphone. Even with a mix of gaming and regular use, we were able to get about 2 days of battery. This, of course, depended on a few factors particularly processor and display usage. When we used the smartphone for gaming the maximum we go was about 5 hours on a single charge. With mixed usage and always on display (AOD) turned off, this capped out at about 3 days. However, when we turned on AOD, we saw a marked reduction in battery life to about 2 days.
When it comes down to it, this was the most significant improvement to the overall package of the Samsung Galaxy S23+. Comparatively, the S22+ capped out at slightly over 1 day of battery life even with low usage.
Display
Samsung continues to have Dynamic AMOLED 2X panels in its flagships. These panels have impressive colour reproduction and brightness peaking at 1,200 nits in the Galaxy S23+. That said, the S23+ is also equipped with a lower-resolution FHD+ panel, unlike the S23 Ultra which comes with a QHD+ display. However, the S23+ doesn’t miss out on much when it comes to the resolution. It still manages to produce crisp images with high contrast and even HDR content.
Samsung has done some minor improvements when it comes to display performance – possibly on the software end as videos and games on the S23+ seem to have better quality. The images are more crisp and have better contrast and saturation.
When we tested the display we used content on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube. HDR content was one of the main content we were looking at. On the S23+, HDR content was of marked better quality. There was more detail in the dark areas of the images while blacks appeared deeper and closer to true black while the whites were more pure. The colours on HDR content were vibrant and punchy.
Cameras
Samsung’s big push continues to be camera performance – particularly when it comes to the Galaxy S23 and S23+. Their approach of sticking to the same camera setup with a triple sensor setup complemented with by a 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10-megapixel telephoto sensor gives them the opportunity to further improve the software implementation for the camera. Improve they did.
The Samsung Galaxy S23+’s camera comes with a better implementation of Samsung’s Galaxy AI when it comes to the camera. It would seem – like many other things – Samsung is also following Google’s lead when it comes to smartphone photography. This year’s focus on the post-processing of shots taken with the camera setup integrates a new level of AI that results in sharper, more detailed images. Of course, you’d be hard-pressed to realise that this has been done as the pictures are taken near instantaneously with little time between touching the shutter button and the picture being saved.
The pictures taken with cameras on the Samsung Galaxy S23+ are crisp, detailed and sharp. The photos have little blur even when taken by someone like me with rather shaky hands. The photos also have pretty accurate colour reproduction albeit on the slightly more saturated side of things. However, with the implementation of the High-Efficiency Image Code (HEIC), you’ll be able to touch up and adjust the images with all the sensor information with programs like Adobe Lightroom. This is one of the best improvements year-on-year. The implementation and widespread usage of the HEIC standard allows a new level of customization and post-processing which brings the smartphone one step closer to being “pro-grade”.
In addition to the improvements on the photo side of things, Samsung’s new flagship also comes with improvements on the video side of things. The S23+ is able to shoot in higher resolution for longer and also supports higher resolutions with super steady mode. The higher resolutions allow for more detailed content to be captured with the smartphone. However, the most important thing – at least to us – is the ability to shoot video at a moment’s notice. Samsung has made it easy to kick into video with the long press of the shutter button. They’ve also made it so that your settings are saved into the camera app and are set until you change it. The resulting video, on the other hand, is pretty high quality. Thanks to the gyro EIS, it’s also more stable than before.
Of course, these experiences are all done with the camera set in auto. If you want more control, you’ll be able to use Pro and Pro video modes. These modes give more control to things like ISO, aperture and shutter speed which allows you to capture your pictures and video with settings that are the most natural looking for you. It also allows you to play director and cameraman when you shoot content. This was really useful when we were looking for places for a personal project. The granular settings allowed us to replicate settings that would have been similar to our camera for better shot visualisation.
When it comes to Samsung’s big push for Nightography, the S23+ is a marked improvement from its predecessor. Shots are better in low light with a little bit more detail. Even with extremely limited light, the camera was able to capture video and pictures which were detailed enough to see what was happening. That said, the resultant photos and videos aren’t the best. Then again, we don’t expect the same quality as the pictures under amazing lighting but as a hallmark feature, it left a little bit to be desired.
Overall, while the hardware remained the same, Samsung has bolstered camera performance with minor tweaks to the features and a heavy hand with Galaxy AI. That said, they’re able to produce more natural-looking photos and videos and also give more granular camera control to users to capture their vision. However, it feels like the S23+ still has some work to do to be on par with the S23 Ultra when it comes to its hallmark Nightography feature. While it is much improved on the S23+, it still lacks the crispness and detail they tout in their ads.
Samsung’s Best User Experience Yet but With Drawbacks that Affect its Value Proposition
Overall, the Galaxy S23+ is proof that software and optimizations can revamp a device’s performance and user experience. It launched with a user experience that’s both refined and comes with extensive personalization options. However, these options are behind an additional app and its extensions requiring more memory and RAM to run. This weighs on the already limited 8GB of RAM which comes on the S23+.
That said, when it comes to performance, the S23+ is a marked improvement to its predecessor. This is mainly thanks to the improved architecture of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 which comes with a more power-efficient configuration. While Samsung’s new One UI does bring its own optimisations of Android 13, the extensive features it brings eat away at valuable storage.
The plus variant of the Galaxy S series has always been that Goldilocks device when it comes to Samsung’s Galaxy S series. However, Samsung’s decision to be iterative in their design and approach to the S23+ proves that the approach is a double-edged sword. The S23+ comes with a winning formula when it comes to hardware – we even praised it in our review of the S22+ – but therein lies the problem. They’ve made meaningful improvements including design choices that make the device feel more premium, but it’s overshadowed by a price point that makes their mid-range and competition look more appealing.
Updated 24 March 2023 with pricing and retail availability. Pre-order details are available in the pre-order announcement article.
Samsung’s Galaxy A series has been one of Samsung’s most popular smartphone line up. The Galaxy A series underwent a reinvention in 2018 and began to take shape into the value-for-money offering that it is known to be now. This year, it looks like Samsung is scaling back the lineup – for now – with the omission of the follow-up to the Galaxy A73, the Galaxy A74. The new lineup is now spearheaded by the Galaxy A54 5G and the Galaxy A34 5G which continue to bring flagship user experiences to the midrange.
Source: Samsung
The new Galaxy A54 and Galaxy A34 come with Samsung’s Nightography and Au capabilities that we’ve seen in the Galaxy Z and Galaxy S lineups. Both the Galaxy A54 and Galaxy A34 come with triple camera setups. The A54 comes with a 50-megapixel main sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and optical image stabilization (OIS). The setup is completed with a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and a 5-megapixel macro sensor. On the A34, the main sensor is a 48-megapixel sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, PDAF and OIS. An 8-megapixel, f2.2 ultrawide sensor and 5-megapixel macro sensor complete the setup. On the front, the A54 5G comes with a 32-megapixel, f/2.2 selfie camera while the A34 5G comes with a 13-megapixel, f/2.2 sensor.
Together with optimisations that empower better low-light Nightography photos, these smartphones also come with video digital image stabilization (VDIS) which has delivered better, more stable videos in the flagship Galaxy S series. The camera experiences are also enhanced with the ability to remove unwanted reflections and shadows – a first for the Galaxy A series. Speaking of firsts, the new Galaxy A54 and A34 both come Continuity now. The feature, which has been available on Samsung flagships, allows users to seamlessly move between Samsung mobile devices while keeping their work and data on-screen.
The new Galaxy A series devices also come with long-lasting battery life and better performance thanks to the newer processors. The A34 comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 while the A54 comes with the newly announced Exynos 1380. Both come with Super AMOLED screens with FHD+ resolutions. The A54 comes with a smaller 6.4-inch display while the A34 comes with a larger 6.6-inch display. Both have Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and have 120Hz refresh rates.
Samsung has also guaranteed 4 generations of OS upgrades and 5 years of security updates for the new A34 and A54. The devices also come with a 2-year warranty.
Pricing & Availability
The Galaxy A54 5G will be available in stores starting on 7 April 2023 for MYR1,899. It will be available in Awesome Lime, Awesome Graphite, Awesome Violet and Awesome White.
The Galaxy A34 5G will be available at the same time for MYR1,599. It will be available in Awesome Lime, Awesome Graphite, Awesome Violet and Awesome Silver.
Official Specifications
Galaxy A54 5G
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G in Awesome Lime
Display
6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Display 120Hz refresh rate Vision booster
Dimensions & Weight
158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2mm, 202g
Camera
12MP Ultra-Wide Camera – F2.2 50MP Main Camera – F1.8 – AF – OIS 5MP Macro Camera – F2.4
32MP Front Camera – F2.2
AP
Octa-core
Memory
8GB Memory + 256GB Storage Expandable storage by up to 1 TB with an optional microSD card
Battery
5,000mAh (typical)
OS
Android 13 One UI 5.1
Security
Samsung Knox
Galaxy A34 5G
Samsung Galaxy A34 5G in Awesome Silver
Display
6.6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Display 120Hz refresh rate Vision Booster
Dimensions & Weight
161.3 x 78.1 x 8.2mm, 199g
Camera
8MP Ultra-Wide Camera – F2.2 48MP Main Camera – F1.8, – AF, – OIS 5MP Macro Camera – F2.4
13MP Front Camera -F2.2
AP
Octa-Core
Memory
8GB Memory + 256GB Storage Expandable storage by up to 1 TB with an optional microSD card
It’s that time again, Samsung has just unveiled their new lineup of flagships – the Galaxy S23 series. The new S23 series follows its predecessor in more than just the design – there are also three devices in the lineup. You’re going to quickly realise that that’s a theme that will be recurring throughout the series.
Like previous years, the Galaxy S23 series will come with a vanilla Galaxy S23, the S23+ and the Note-successor Galaxy S23 Ultra. This year, however, it seems like Samsung has chosen to focus on the Galaxy S23 Ultra rather than its two siblings. The vanilla Galaxy S23 and the S23+ seem to have a lot more in common with the S22 than we’re used to.
Let’s start off with what’s changing across the board, the first and biggest update coming to the series is its new processor. This time, Samsung hasn’t been coy about it. Instead, globally, the S23 series will be coming with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for GALAXY. This is a customised processor built specifically for Galaxy smartphones. Prepare to see more of the “Snapdragon for GALAXY” in this year’s Galaxy lineup. In addition to this, the Galaxy S23 series will be coming with a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with increased colour accuracy, a 120Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. This comes in a 6.1-inch size on the S23, 6.3-inch in the plus and 6.8-inch in the Ultra.
Is the Galaxy S23 Series Continuing an Iconic Design?
When it comes to the design of the S23 series, the series drops the iconic contour cut design from the Galaxy S22 and S22+ in this year’s iterations. Samsung claims that it’s doing this for the uniformity of design across all three variants of the S23 series. To achieve this uniformity, they’ve opted to adopt the minimalistic design language of the S22 Ultra – which has more or less been recycled for the S23 Ultra.
However, there are some iterative changes that are being introduced. As mentioned, the contour cut camera cutout is no more. Instead, the back is totally uniform with each camera sensor being highlighted by a silver ring. The same design is used across the series. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is slightly more different with the design being flattened out to enlarge the flat surface of the 6.8-inch display to take advantage of the S Pen.
Galaxy S23 Ultra Focused Leaving the S23 & S23+ Behind – at least in Hardware
The new series is very heavily Ultra focused. The Galaxy S23 and S23+ are more or less the same devices we’ve seen in the S22 and S22+. The only difference aside from the new processor is the improved selfie camera which comes in at 12 megapixels and the larger batteries – 3,900mAh in the S23 and 4,700mAh in the S23+. Aside from that, they come with the same 10-megapixel telephoto and 12-megapixel ultrawide sensors we’ve seen in the S22 and S22+.
The Galaxy S23 Utlra, on the other hand, comes with a brand new 200-megapixel sensor complemented by a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 10x optical zoom. The new camera setup – particularly the 200-megapixel adaptive pixel sensor – comes with improved pixel binning. The new sensor combines 16 pixels into a single pixel when taking photos. Samsung is calling this “Super Quad Pixel”. This gives better light sensitivity and contrast while giving the AI more information for better bokeh and nightography. With the improved pixel binning, the AI is able to discern between features like skin, eyes and hair better and more accurately. It also allows for better autofocus as it allows the AI to use a larger 4×4 grid with more points of focus.
Stabilization on the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera has also been improved. The optical image stabilization (OIS) angles have been doubled from 1.5° to 3.0°. This is supposed to give the smartphone even better image and video stabilization. Keep in mind, this is a stabilization that comes from the hardware itself and not the software. Software-wise, the whole S23 series comes with improved VIDS. The improved VIDS is able to analyse and subdivide movement and recognise lighting conditions that allow for better software stabilization. The S23 series also comes with better multi-frame processing and AI.
A Focus on User Experience Starting with One UI 5.1
While the series is a little bit bland when it comes to hardware, Samsung promising a renewed focus starting with One UI 5.1. The new update to One UI will bring a new sense of personalisation which can be extended with apps like Good Lock.
One UI 5.1 brings a few new features including Modes and Routines. The new modes and routines feature allows users to string together settings, apps and even smart things devices into a “routine” or “mode”. This allows you to do things by simply saying “Hey Google” or “Hey Bixby” followed by the name of the routine or mode or even trigger it with an exercise or more.
Bixby Text Call is also coming for the ride. The new feature allows users to send text messages as replies to incoming calls. In addition to this feature, the S Pen functionality is extended to work in a series of Google Apps including Google Drive, Google Sheets and more. Users will also be able to collaborate more effectively with the Co-Edit feature in Samsung Notes over Google Meets.
Pricing & Availability
The Samsung Galaxy S23 series will be in Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender. Prices for the S23 and S23+ start at MYR3,899 in Malaysia while the Ultra starts at MYR5,699.
Samsung has been creating waves and making its mark with its tablets – notably, the Galaxy Tab S series which pushes the boundaries of multitasking and productivity. However, what happens if we want the portability and versatility of a tablet but don’t have the moolah for a Tab S7 or Tab S8? Well, you have the Galaxy Tab A series, which brings all the essentials that make up the core Galaxy Tab experience.
Source: Samsung
The Galaxy Tab A8 was released worldwide earlier this year in January. It comes with a UNISOC Tiger T618 Quadcore processor. While this may seem a bit out of sorts for Samsung, the SoC isn’t a slouch. According to reviews, it is comparable with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665. It has the Mali G52 MP2 graphics processor and is paired with up to 4GB RAM on the Tab A8. With up to 128GB of internal storage and support for microSD cards, the A8 is looking to be a contender for a top performing mid-range tablet.
The Tab A8 is equipped with a sizeable, 10.5-inch TFT LCD display which brings pretty good colour reproduction and accuracy. However, we’ll wait to make a judgement in our upcoming review. The WUXGA resolution of 1200×1920 pixels with a 16:10 aspect ratio promises a level of immersion that we once thought was reserved for flagships. Samsung completes the Tab A8’s media prowess with a quad speaker setup and Dolby Atmos sound.
It also comes with a conventional single camera setup with an 8-megapixel camera sensor on the back with autofocus capabilities. It can also shoot videos at 1080p Full HD resolution at 30 frames per second. On the front, there is a 5-megapixel selfie camera which can also shoot 1080p at 30 fps.
Connectivity on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 shouldn’t be an issue. It’s equipped with Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 6 and GPS connectivity. Don’t need to worry about battery life too as Samsung claims that the tablet can last for hours on end with its 7,040 mAh battery. This is also thanks to the tablet supporting 15W fast charging via USB-C. The tablet is also one of Samsung’s lightest coming in at only 508g.
These specifications are just the surface of what the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 can do. We’ll be giving it the techENT review treatment soon. So stay tuned!
