Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus – Last-minute leak reveals all the differences

Some of the potential Galaxy S23 vs. The Galaxy S23 Plus differences have been leaked, which is good news if you’re leaning towards the cheaper Galaxy S23, which is expected to debut at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event later this week.

Chances are you won’t have to wait for the February 1st product launch to figure out the main differences between the two Galaxy S models. Assuming Samsung sticks to the same design as last year’s phones – and that’s mostly what the rumors point to – the Galaxy S23 Plus will have bigger screen and bigger battery.

We expect the 6.6-inch Galaxy S23 Plus to work with the 6.1-inch Galaxy S23. Leaks report that the S23 Plus will have a 4700mAh battery compared to the 3900mAh power bank inside the S23.

But according to leader @Chunvn8888, there will be more than just that. (will open in a new tab), who took to Twitter to post some more Galaxy S23 vs. The differences between the Galaxy S23 Plus and these changes are summarized in a Sammobile report. (will open in a new tab).

Galaxy S23 vs S23 Plus: where the Plus wins

The leaker claims that the Galaxy S23 base model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage will have UFS 3.1 storage. All other models will use UFS 4.0 storage, which delivers twice the performance of UFS 3.1 while also consuming less power. This is certainly an advantage for the Galaxy S23 Plus, but will it be noticeable enough to justify a likely $200 price gap between the S23 and S23 Plus? Unless you’re also interested in the larger screen of the Galaxy S23 Plus, probably not.

However, other leaks point to the Galaxy S23 Plus starting at 256GB of storage. (will open in a new tab), compared to 128 GB for the regular Samsung S23. That’s a pretty big upgrade considering it currently costs $150 to go from 128GB to 256GB on a regular Galaxy S22.

Flash memory isn’t the only one detailed in @Chunvn8888’s tweet. The leaker also says that the Galaxy S23 will include Wi-Fi 6E support, while other models will work with Wi-Fi 7. The smaller S23 may also have slightly thicker bezels.

A Wi-Fi 7-enabled phone will certainly be well-equipped in the coming years, given the new wireless standard’s ability to quadruple overall wireless network bandwidth. But the key word here is “emerging” – Wi-Fi 7 network equipment will not appear until the end of this year. And with Wi-Fi 6E supporting speeds up to 2Gbps, Galaxy S23 owners won’t suffer from lag.

Sammobile’s report claims that the Galaxy S23 is expected to be stripped of ultra-wideband (UWB) connectivity, used for greater accuracy with tracking devices. But that feature is also missing from the Galaxy S22, so it’s hardly a worthy sacrifice. Similarly, the Galaxy S23 is expected to only support 25W charging, compared to the 45W wired charging for the Galaxy S23 Plus – another feature left over from the Galaxy S22 family.

The cheaper Galaxy S23 should be good enough for most

(Image credit: SnoopyTech via Twitter)

In other words, Galaxy S23 buyers won’t have to make huge sacrifices if they want to buy the cheaper S23. Yes, the screen will be smaller, and the memory may be less, but they are not as significant as the differences between the S23 Plus and the more expensive Galaxy S23 Ultra with the S Pen included and the rumored 200 MP main camera.

There are more similarities between the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus than there are differences. Both phones are expected to feature the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and both will likely come with 8GB of RAM. The camera settings are expected to be the same as those found on the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus. (Our comparison of the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus, and Galaxy S23 Ultra negates any expected differences between Samsung’s upcoming models.)

It’s also worth noting that both the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus offer bright displays with 1750 nits of brightness.

Not too long ago, I was wondering what the point of the Galaxy S23 Plus was, given the lack of distinguishing features from the Galaxy S23. Yes, some people will always want the biggest possible screen, but I’m not sure the extra display real estate and extra storage justify the Plus’ higher price.

Seeing the scale of the Galaxy S23 vs. What makes the Galaxy S23 Plus different, I would be more confident than ever that the Galaxy S23 will provide most users with an experience fully comparable to its larger sibling.

Of course, we won’t know for sure until we get new Samsung phones. Follow our Galaxy Unpacked news to see if the Galaxy S23 matches the Galaxy S23 Plus.