Does the Samsung Galaxy F23 with a 6.6-inch display, triple camera setup, 5000mAh battery, and a Snapdragon 750G make for a good deal? Read our Samsung Galaxy F23 review now.
The affordable smartphones segment seems to carry ‘A LOT’ on its back! To attract a wider audience, these smartphones try to hold almost everything from good cameras, fast processors, to greater displays. And the new addition to this affordable smartphone segment family is the Samsung Galaxy F23. With almost three thousand more bucks than its previous iteration Galaxy F22, it brings the FHD+ TFT display instead of an AMOLED and has dropped its battery size by 1000mAh. Though, there are still some notable upgrades such as the Snapdragon 750G processor, 120Hz refresh rate, and now with 5G connectivity.
The Samsung Galaxy F23 5G competes with several other budget smartphone rivals such as Xiaomi, Realme, Vivo, Moto G71, and many more. So, is the Samsung Galaxy F23 just a part of the large budget smartphone rush? Or does it bring something new to the table? Well, I can’t say that based on just numbers and specs on paper! Clearly, there are a lot of questions around it. And to know the answers, I have used it for almost two weeks, and here is what I found..
Samsung Galaxy F23 Design
Instead of going with the basic colour options, the Samsung Galaxy F23 comes in two fresh tones – Forest green and Aqua Blue, while flaunting a minimalistic design at the back. The rear cameras are placed vertically along with the flashlight on a rectangular module that bulges out from the main panel. While its plastic body at the back has a dull matte finish with a glossy frame on the sides. Despite being a large smartphone and weighing around 198 grams, it feels comfortable to hold with a curved frame at the sides. The back panel doesn’t get scratches but fade smudges can be seen without hampering its overall look. While on the front, it comes with an Infinity-U display design at the top (that’s what Samsung likes to call it !).
Samsung Galaxy F23 Display
Last years’ Galaxy F22 was launched with a Super AMOLED display while the Samsung Galaxy F23 turned towards a 6.6-inches FHD+ TFT Display. Whatever the reason be behind this downgrade, the truth is you won’t miss out much on the viewing experience. It brings bright and vivid colours, but yes, you will not experience the same under the bright sunlight! The display struggles to bring an ample amount of brightness and colours which makes it a bit difficult to read and check the smartphone. Well, 120Hz of refresh rate along with the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 is a major boost from the previous F-series smartphone that gets only 90Hz of refresh rate. This makes the Galaxy F23’s display worth playing games with ease.
Samsung Galaxy F23 Performance
This is the first F-series smartphone from Samsung which uses a Snapdragon 750G processor with 5G connectivity. It combines with two memory options of 4GB and 6GB RAM along with 128GB storage, which can be expanded up to 1TB via memory card. Here, I have used the 6GB RAM variant for the review, which didn’t show any stutters or lags while moving from one app to another, using it for day-to-day usage or even for casual gaming. But if you prefer to go ahead with long hours of gaming with high-definition games such as Call of Duty, BGMI, or Asphalt 9 then the phone starts getting tired and even heats up.
On the software side, the Galaxy F23 runs on One UI 4.1 based on Android 12 which has a clean and easy-to-use interface loaded with a number of customisable options – from texts, themes, to colour palettes for app icons. Though it comes with some pre-installed applications of Samsung and third parties, they stay there silently without pushing unnecessary notifications. Also, if you don’t want to keep them, then you have the easy option to uninstall them whenever you want. For sound, it comes with a 3.5mm audio jack and speakers which are loud enough for a room. Well for security, it features face recognition as well as a fingerprint sensor-enabled in the unlock button that sometimes struggled to recognise the fingerprint quickly.
This comes with the 5G connectivity which is still on paper in India and when we will be actually making use of it is still unknown. Though, I have used the 4G network of Vodafone, which made the calling experience as well as internet connectivity trouble-free.
Samsung Galaxy F23 Battery
One of the impressive features of the Galaxy F23 includes its battery power. For normal usage, including calling, texting, social media scrolling, and listening to music, the 5000mAh battery can allow the phone to go on for more than a day. While, if you will bring the binge-watching or long gaming hours into play, then, of course, you’ll need to charge it by the end of the day. But that has been a rare case for me as I didn’t play games for long hours.
But here comes another setback from Samsung, you won’t even get the charging adapter inside the box of a budget smartphone now! Sadly, either you need to buy a supporting 25W Samsung charger or else have to settle with any other existing one from the other smartphones. I tried to charge it up with a 30W charging adapter which could juice it up from 0 to 100 percent in almost 1.5 hours.
Samsung Galaxy F23 Cameras
The camera performance output with the Galaxy F23 was a surprise considering the price of the smartphone! With its triple camera setup at the back on a rectangular module featuring a 50MP primary sensor, an 8MP wide-angle camera, and a 2MP depth sensor, it was able to deliver more than expected. The pictures turned out to be bright, sharp and true to their colour in daylight. Well, in indoor photography the images naturally appeared to have more soft details but without hampering the colour tones. Even in low-light situations, the camera was able to capture enough light to bring the images with details and colours. Similarly, macro mode is of not great use unless you show your full dedication to keep the focus on one element! Hence, I preferred to take close-up shots with a primary camera only.
While the portrait mode couldn’t define the edges well in the photos. Though the bokeh effect is decent, that even comes with the after photo customisation option. Not just that, Samsung incorporated a ‘Fun’ mode to the camera that takes filters directly from Snapchat – which may surely interest social media enthusiasts. Having said that, the 8MP selfie camera also manages to bring selfies with evenly distributed light on the face as well as the background without altering the skin tone colours – in daylight as well as artificial lights.
To have a clearer picture, check the camera samples here…
Talking about the video recording, the Galaxy F23 supports super steady mode which was even able to shoot moving subjects with stability but auto-focus caused flutters in the video. Well, not much to complain about the Galaxy F23 camera while considering the price, it’s neither awesome nor bad! Just decent.
Verdict
Priced at Rs. 15,999 for the 6GB variant, the Samsung Galaxy F23 offers almost everything in a balanced way. From minimalistic yet fresh design, display of 120Hz refresh rate, long battery life, clean software, 5G connectivity, and decent camera performance – the Galaxy F23 is easy to recommend to anyone who is finding a budget smartphone for casual usage while keeping everything on board. But the missing charging adaptor from a budget smartphone is something that disappoints me the most. In that case, buying a new Samsung 25W charger will eventually jump the price of the phone.
Though, there is a wave of smartphones under Rs. 20,000 price segment which you can choose from. As for gamers, the Vivo T1 is there to be considered, while Redmi Note 11S offers AMOLED display and better charging, but consider only if you do not care much about 5G connectivity. Otherwise, Realme 9 Pro with design quotient and 33W charging can also be a considerable option.
Product Name
Galaxy F23 5G
Pros
- Great battery life
- Decent camera performance
- Clean software experience
Cons
- Missing charging adapter
- Screen visibility under sunlight
- Slow charging
Specifications
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Display
6.6-inches FHD+ TFT Display
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Battery
5000mAh, 25W wired charging
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Rear Cameras
50MP + 8MP + 2MP
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Front Camera
8MP
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OS
Android 12, One UI 4.1