Discussion
AmitG said:
To turn it off it's Power and Volume Down, the Note 9 was just the power button, on the S23 just pressing the Power button brings up Bixby which I have no use for, that's a bit annoying. Need to find out if that can be changed. But that is the level of annoyance we are at so far. Overall it's great.
R1gtr said:
What cases are people using? I bought the Spigen Liquid air ans and it looks great and fits like a glove but it's just way too slippy, only a matter of time before I drop it. I had a silicone type one on my S21 Ultra and it was super grippy. Anyone seen anything like that for the S23? I know I should use some big chunky thing but I hate those.
Oh yeah, phone is awesome by the way, really happy with it, camera is outstanding.
I got myself a Spigen Spigen Ultra Hybrid Case: https://amzn.eu/d/7RL0BvUOh yeah, phone is awesome by the way, really happy with it, camera is outstanding.
It's got a black bezel and clear back so I can show off (to my self) the Exclusive colour.
Edited by drdino on Saturday 18th February 17:54
drdino said:
AmitG said:
To turn it off it's Power and Volume Down, the Note 9 was just the power button, on the S23 just pressing the Power button brings up Bixby which I have no use for, that's a bit annoying. Need to find out if that can be changed. But that is the level of annoyance we are at so far. Overall it's great.
Thank you!
R1gtr said:
What cases are people using? I bought the Spigen Liquid air ans and it looks great and fits like a glove but it's just way too slippy, only a matter of time before I drop it. I had a silicone type one on my S21 Ultra and it was super grippy. Anyone seen anything like that for the S23? I know I should use some big chunky thing but I hate those.
I bought the same case, agree it is a bit slippy and also I'm not sure how much protection it really offers.Spigen do an Armor case which appears indestructible but it also seems to be quite bulky, not sure I want to go for that.
I've got my eye on one of these
https://torro.co.uk/products/galaxy-s23-ultra-leat...
snuffy said:
If amazing that the utter s
te of Bixby is still there. They just wont let it go, will they ?
TBH for a lot of on device functions it is actuality very good when you use routines. te of Bixby is still there. They just wont let it go, will they ?I'd recommend that anyone who has a Samsung device should download goodlock and all its plugins as you can customise your device quite comprehensively.
simonwhite2000 said:
HammyHamster said:
BlueJazz said:
Sadly delayed until the 28th due to 'unforseen circumstances.'
Mine was due today, now I get a last minute email that it's delayed until 3rd March due to unforseen circumstances. WTF.I went S8, S10 to S22. Aside from camera and battery life, I don't find there any other benefits to upgrading.
The biggest loss to phones is the lack of a replaceable battery. If there was a clear choice, I'd go for one with as it means I could keep it much longer before having to switch phones. From an environmental point of view, that has to be much more sustainable than the constant churn of the next best thing...
The biggest loss to phones is the lack of a replaceable battery. If there was a clear choice, I'd go for one with as it means I could keep it much longer before having to switch phones. From an environmental point of view, that has to be much more sustainable than the constant churn of the next best thing...
Chicken Chaser said:
I went S8, S10 to S22. Aside from camera and battery life, I don't find there any other benefits to upgrading.
The biggest loss to phones is the lack of a replaceable battery. If there was a clear choice, I'd go for one with as it means I could keep it much longer before having to switch phones. From an environmental point of view, that has to be much more sustainable than the constant churn of the next best thing...
Yes, quite. I know you can get batteries replaced with modern phones, but I can't even seem to find genuine batteries for mine. So you could easily spend your money and get a counterfeit battery which will be worse than the one you're replacing.The biggest loss to phones is the lack of a replaceable battery. If there was a clear choice, I'd go for one with as it means I could keep it much longer before having to switch phones. From an environmental point of view, that has to be much more sustainable than the constant churn of the next best thing...
bunchofkeys said:
Could anyone with a S23 Ultra please confirm that this does or does not support adpx adaptive?
The settings for Bluetooth are in the development menu.
TIA
Not sure exactly which bit to look in, but in the 'Bluetooth audio codec' menu, the options are:The settings for Bluetooth are in the development menu.
TIA
SBC, AAC, aptX, LDAC, SSC
So I'm guessing no.
JagYouAre said:
bunchofkeys said:
Could anyone with a S23 Ultra please confirm that this does or does not support adpx adaptive?
The settings for Bluetooth are in the development menu.
TIA
Not sure exactly which bit to look in, but in the 'Bluetooth audio codec' menu, the options are:The settings for Bluetooth are in the development menu.
TIA
SBC, AAC, aptX, LDAC, SSC
So I'm guessing no.
My graphite s23 has just turned up 2 weeks earlier than expected, luckily i was having an office day so was home to sign for it.
Letting it transfer data over from the s21 now but straight off its noticeably a much brighter screen when the two are side by side and the s23 is actually a touch smaller and the squared edges do feel nice in the hand, reminds me of my apple 5s back in the apple era.
Be interesting to see what else has made progress in the 2 years since i got the s21 and wether it was worth the cost to change.
Letting it transfer data over from the s21 now but straight off its noticeably a much brighter screen when the two are side by side and the s23 is actually a touch smaller and the squared edges do feel nice in the hand, reminds me of my apple 5s back in the apple era.
Be interesting to see what else has made progress in the 2 years since i got the s21 and wether it was worth the cost to change.
I think i'm coming to the conclusion that with the £200 offer + 10% discount I can get it's worth picking up the S23.
Has anyone had any negative experiences so far with it? It's a toss up between the green and graphite for me and i'm hoping to see it in the metal before deciding.
Is it worth paying more for the 256gb storage? I saw some review comment that the phone runs a bit faster with the 256gb. I probably don't need the extra storage, but considering there's no option to add an SD card and I intend to use the phone for 3+ years then maybe it can't hurt to pay for it?
Has anyone had any negative experiences so far with it? It's a toss up between the green and graphite for me and i'm hoping to see it in the metal before deciding.
Is it worth paying more for the 256gb storage? I saw some review comment that the phone runs a bit faster with the 256gb. I probably don't need the extra storage, but considering there's no option to add an SD card and I intend to use the phone for 3+ years then maybe it can't hurt to pay for it?
g4ry13 said:
I think i'm coming to the conclusion that with the £200 offer + 10% discount I can get it's worth picking up the S23.
Has anyone had any negative experiences so far with it? It's a toss up between the green and graphite for me and i'm hoping to see it in the metal before deciding.
Is it worth paying more for the 256gb storage? I saw some review comment that the phone runs a bit faster with the 256gb. I probably don't need the extra storage, but considering there's no option to add an SD card and I intend to use the phone for 3+ years then maybe it can't hurt to pay for it?
Looks like the S23 doesn't get a RAM upgrade on the higher capacity, so I'm not sure it would make much that much difference to performance (S23 Ultra 512GB has 12GB RAM compared to 8GB on the 256GB by comparison).Has anyone had any negative experiences so far with it? It's a toss up between the green and graphite for me and i'm hoping to see it in the metal before deciding.
Is it worth paying more for the 256gb storage? I saw some review comment that the phone runs a bit faster with the 256gb. I probably don't need the extra storage, but considering there's no option to add an SD card and I intend to use the phone for 3+ years then maybe it can't hurt to pay for it?
I would say given the upgrade is £50, it seems pretty reasonable these days (same bump on iPhone 14 Pro for example is £110) so for the sake of 50 quid over three years plus, I'd say go for the 256 and future proof yourself; files only ever get bigger and bigger after all!
Luke. said:
BlueJazz said:
That would be me, I'll post a mini review once I've had chance to use it for a week or so.
Good man. Thanks 
There’s no drama when unboxing the S23U, just the phone, USB-C and SIM ejector tool in the box along with a few useless pieces of paper. My old phone, an S21 Ultra (S21U) transferred the files across very easily, with only the banking apps understandably making a little fuss. The S21U went to my wife to replace her out of support Note 10+. However, the Note wasn’t running the same version of android software as the S21U and this transfer wasn’t as smooth. I can conclude that having the safe software (both android 13 and Touch UI 5.1 on both ultras) makes for a much better experience.
Once up and running, it’s very clear that this phone is much better than the S21U on battery drain. With light use, only 20% of the battery drops in a day, normal use it’s around 50%. I would say you only need to charge on the second day.
The screen seems brighter under normal use and very clear (perhaps a different coating?) with no response issues. Speakers are equally good, loud and without distortion. Software wise, it’s mostly the same as any other android 13 and Touch UI 5.1 Samsung with some extra options to accommodate the new camera.
The main objective difference between the S23U and the S21U is the primary camera, a shift from 108 megapixel to 200 megapixel. There’s the usually change in photo processing due to newer chipsets but this is subjective, rather than objective. I’ll concentrate on the primary camera as the wide angle, 3x and 10x are already known quantities.
Firstly, it’s much quicker to take a photo with no shutter lag. The app is much the same except for the new capture resolutions (12, 50 and 200 megapixel). By default, 12 megapixel is used, and the images are bright and vibrant. They seem a little more balanced than the S21U with more detail in the shadows. Photos taken in bright light are clearer with less washout and objects are less likely to merge into each other. I’m not a professional photographer so please forgive the descriptions.
50 and 200 megapixel modes give more detail with a slightly dialled-down look from the 12 megapixel, probably because it’s expected you’ll edit the files yourself due to the size being impractical for use for most purposes outside a professional setup.
I’ve yet to try night and video mode but to be fair, I didn’t really use them save on my S21U as I’m not a fan. I did try the cropped zoom on the primary camera and up to 30x, it’s useable. A bit clearer than the S21U.
To briefly summarise, the S23U is a setup from the S21U however it’s not a generational leap. If you’ve got an S21U then most of improvements are subjective and I wouldn’t change my phone just for the joy of an unboxing experience. However, if you do purchase this phone then it won’t disappoint, you’ll get brilliant photos and a good all-round experience. As this is Pistonheads, think of it as facelift version rather than a whole new car.
Anyone tried to buy the S23 with a 10% discount (either through work or some student discount) and been able to apply the £200 trade-in discount?
I could get the 10% discount, but neither the S23BOOST / S23SAVE codes which Samsung have on their site could be applied. The Apple phone I was going to trade in they would only give £50 for (when getting 10% off) but I can get £100 for the Apple phone when not using the 10% discount.
I could get the 10% discount, but neither the S23BOOST / S23SAVE codes which Samsung have on their site could be applied. The Apple phone I was going to trade in they would only give £50 for (when getting 10% off) but I can get £100 for the Apple phone when not using the 10% discount.
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff