Samsung Galaxy S23 vs S20 (3 Generations Worth the Upgrade?)

Is it worth upgrading from the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G to the Galaxy S23 (base 6.1 inch model)? I go into the details from form factor, screen sizes, battery and SoC (CPU) improvements, power efficiency, benchmarks, camera performance in photo and videos and more!

00:00 Stagnating smartphone market?
00:55 If you have S10 or less and disclaimer
01:30 Physical design differences
02:24 Curve vs straight edge, edge gestures pros and cons
03:49 Size differences 6.1 inch vs 6.2 inch
05:20 Poor camera placement
07:08 Resolution and refresh rate
09:06 SoC, power efficiency improvements
09:55 Previous generations for S21 and S22 were downgrades
11:44 Benchmarks
12:22 Downgrade in RAM?
14:21 Who cares about an SD card slot?
15:39 Software updates are actually helpful
17:06 One hand gesture app is amazing
18:00 Substantial battery upgrade or placebo?
20:19 Better fingerprint unlock
21:32 Speaker bass improvement
22:19 E-sim for Canadian users!
23:08 Misc upgrades Wifi, bluetooth, haptics, call quality etc
24:13 Camera upgrades
24:42 Shutter lag
25:27 Camera assistant optional add-on app
25:54 Confusing settings with multiple apps and settings
27:35 Camera comparison overview
30:44 Pricing and how to avoid retail pricing
32:14 Conclusion - should you upgrade?

This video is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something I'll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

[simon]

Agree with most points except for not having 120 hz. That's one of the best and most satisfying new tech and experience on the newer phones

[guy_]

I've made the decision to get the s20 over the newer phones because it has more features than the newer phones in some areas. Overall the s20 is still a very competent phone.

[BrucifyMe]

thank you for giving this much in-depth attention to the base S23. I'm not interested in the Plus or Ultra, but it kinda feels like that's all that ever gets reviewed, whether because it's the top-of-the-top or because that's all Samsung will send out to reviewers.

[kertik]

"120 hz is just a marketing gimmick" bruh moment

[corey]

Having a s20 fe, with the sd865 processor, on it's original firmware, is such a blessing for me. It still runs as fast as the day I bought it, after a screen and battery replacement. I can confidently say, I don't see any phones that will tempt me to upgrade for at least another 2 years

[TruthAdv]

Still got the S20 FE and honestly it's great. I was looking to get a backup phone for traveling and that was the only reason I was thinking about upgrading.

[Autonimaatio]

Honestly your bit about being thankful for not having a SD card slot was not a smart segment. SD cards that are fast enough for recording 4K footage are not expensive or hard to come by. It is simply a downgrade not to have a SD card slot.

Paying 40 euros for 256 gigs on 4K capable SD card vs paying hundreds of euros more for the same extra capacity of internal space is not something to be thankful for.

[Ray-ucij]

They took away people's choice when they removed the SD card slot and that was only to charge more for bigger rom space on the phone. Yes the SD card is slower then system rom, but they should have left that choice to the consumer.

[CPhillips]

I went from a S9+ 2018 to a S23 Ultra. Drastic upgrade. Probably won't upgrade for at least another 4 yrs. And anytime a reviewer compares a Android to iPhone they lose my attention immediately. If I wanted a iPhone, I'd invest in one. Love my S23 Ultra

[tyjantefinn]

This was absolutely an amazing video! Especially for me because I have an S20 and I’ve been debating on upgrading instead of fixing my motherboard’s sim card reader. I thought I would’ve liked the slightly smaller screen. Thank you for such an amazingly well produced video by quality picture, sound, and information! 🎉❤

[marije]

I had the S10 for 3 years and a half. I absolutely loved it. It has soooo many features and it felt to new and slim. Only reson I bought a new phone was bc it froze 10 times a day, the screen had black blobs and battery life was horrible. I bought an S23 a week and a half ago and it is great but I still need to fall in love with it. It has less features (no headphone jack, no heartrate sensor) but I hope to enjoy it for years coming. Still very happy tho, I'm staying an S-line user

[udim]

Great video!!! bravo both for the effort and the detailed review. I'll hang on to my S20 for at least another year, still an overall great phone despite mediocre battery life.

[mscargill]

Great to see you back with a video review! You’ve been too long away! Looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the new Samsung phone.

[luluismo]

s20+ still very perfectly usable in 2023.
dont really want to give up the SD card expandable storage and i dislike the boxy design in recent iterations....

[mjn]

Gonna wait for the S24 lineup as my S9, S9+, and Note 9 are still fantastic. Thanks for the video....Cheers!

[joeshow]

Finally upgrading to the S23 from my S7 after 6 years (and it was old when I got it), only because many of my apps have stopped, or will stop soon, supporting my operating system...

Thanks for the informative S23 review, helped my decide!

[emmaokereke]

Thanks for this video. You just answered a question that's been bugging me for a few days.

[jejunamja]

Hey great job on the video! Really enjoyed it and can meet some good points

[markg]

Yeah I just got the S20 plus and I love It just updated to android 13 which has so many nice options. I bought it renewed off amazon Very pleased

[spike]

damn you're good at your job dude, this is the most thorough phone review I've ever seen. Keep it up man!