The Samsung Galaxy A23 is the company’s latest entry-level device that comes with a flagship feature — the OIS camera. Apart from that, everything about the phone is pretty much more towards the entry-level segment, or is it? I had a couple of weeks to spend with the phone and here’s the full review.
Samsung Galaxy A23 Specs
- 6.6-inch Full HD+ PLS LCD screen with 90Hz refresh rate
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor
- 6GB RAM
- 128GB storage
- Camera
- Rear: 50MP main with OIS + 5MP ultra-wide + 2MP macro + 2MP depth
- Front: 8MP
- 5,000mAh battery with 25W fast charging
- One UI 4.1 on top of Android 12
- Colors: Awesome Blue, Awesome Black, Awesome White, Awesome Peach
Design
In terms of design, the Galaxy A23 looks pretty much like other entry-level phones. It has a 6.6-inch display on the front with a V-shaped notch, which Samsung used to call an Infinity-V display. It also has a thick chin below the screen, which is quite common for a phone at this price point.
The back of the phone is made of glossy plastic, which also has the same camera bump design as the Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A73. One advantage of having a plastic back is it doesn’t break easily like glass and it is lighter, but you are more likely to see scratches on the back.
Display
Unlike many other Samsung phones I reviewed this year, the Galaxy A23 sports a 6.6-inch Full HD+ PLS LCD screen with a 90Hz refresh rate. Yup, it is not an AMOLED display, which is why the phone has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor instead of an in-display one. The screen isn’t as good as an AMOLED screen, but I find it is still quite acceptable for normal day-to-day usage, the only thing that I’m not used to is the whole panel will light up when showing black content due to the nature of the LCD panel.
Performance
Powering the Galaxy A23 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G processor with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, which means the phone doesn’t support 5G connectivity. In terms of performance, the phone handles quite well and you can still play some games, though you will have to tune down the graphic settings.
Software
The Galaxy A23 runs on One UI 4.1 on top of Android 12, which is the same as its higher-end brothers. However, the phone doesn’t come with Samsung Pay and Bixby Routines. Other than that, the experience is pretty much the same.
Camera
In terms of camera, the Galaxy A23 has a quad-camera setup on the back — 50MP main with OIS + 5MP ultra-wide + 2MP macro + 2MP depth. You can ignore the macro and depth cameras since they are not useful. The headline is its main camera comes with OIS, which improves the overall image quality.
Image quality is surprisingly good for a phone at this price range, don’t expect it to have the flagship-class camera though. When it comes to low-light conditions, it is where you see the advantage to have OIS. Low-light photos generally are sharper thanks to night mode and OIS keeping the phone less shaky.
Battery Life
The Galaxy A23 packs a 5,000mAh battery with 25W fast charging. Based on my usage, the phone can last for 2 days with a single charge, you’ll get more than 7 hours of screen-on-time on moderate usage. The charging speed is pretty much the same as its bigger brothers, which took less than a football match to charge the phone from 15% to 100%.
Final Words
Retailing at RM999, the Samsung Galaxy A23 is currently the cheapest phone that comes with an OIS camera. It is an excellent phone priced below RM1k that can take great photos for your social media usage, yet at the same time having a long-lasting battery life. You get some compromises here and there, but I’m sure it is still good enough for most people. Overall, this is one of the best sub-RM1k smartphones!
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Yay
- OIS camera
- Decent image quality
- Great battery life
Nay
- No AMOLED panel
- No 5G connectivity
- No Samsung Pay
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