Samsung Galaxy S23 FE vs. Galaxy S23: Which one to get?

The Galaxy S23 FE comes to market at a time when the Galaxy S23 has already seen significant price reductions. If you are wondering which one is worth getting, check out this HEAD-TO-HEAD for the COMPLETE BREAKDOWN of how these two phones compare in terms of build and screen quality, battery life and charging speed, chipset performance, and camera image quality, all based on our extensive reviews of the two devices.

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▶ Read our detailed text comparison

▶ Check out the full Samsung Galaxy S23 FE specs

▶ Check out the full Samsung Galaxy S23 specs
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:38 - Design differences
01:31 - Screen specs, quality and features
02:34 - Stereo speakers quality
02:48 - User interface
03:09 - Chipset & Hardware
03:56 - Battery life and charging test
04:32 - Camera specs
04:50 - Photo and video quality
06:27 - Conclusion

[Fusion]

Great video besides the Camera comparison. Taking the shots at different times really messes up our ability to actually compare them.

[pcarlson]

We have both phones. Not the right comparison. First things first: The s23 FE should only be compared to the S23+. I got the s23 because I prefer compact phones, my wife got the FE (Snapdragon version in the U.S.) because she prefers larger screens. Unlike myself, most folks want the larger form factor. In normal day-to-day use I notice little difference between the two. Pics may be a tiny bit better on the s23, but not a game-changer. I'm not familiar with the battery life on the s23+, but my wife's s23 FE gets slightly longer run time than my s23, at any rate, both go well over a day and a half. The price difference between the s23+ and the s23 FE is considerably more. The s23+ and s23 FE are the same size and design, the only obvious difference is the smaller 6.4" screen on the FE and its larger bezels vs, the s23+ 6.6" screen...but the price difference clearly aims the s23 FE at buyers in a different niche. My wife had no burning desire to buy a state-of-the-art phone, yet she wanted a high-quality phone about the size of the s23+.

[pixelgaming]

3:03 The regular S23 already has the One UI 6/Android 14 update.

[KennethKyeremeh-dmog]

The price for s23 fe is good but putting the exynos 2200 inside is not a good plan at all

[dubberkoala]

vanilla versions of S series have always been better than FE versions. FE are just for people who don't abuse their phones but still want some of the flagship figures. If you're not one of those kids that game, it's good enough. It's for older people tbh since A54 is kinda lacking

[GFourGadget]

Not even a comparison, the S23 is miles ahead better from display, processor, and camera. The S23 FE is just a lazy cashgrab from Samsung.

[Giardintek]

We have both phones and I do prefer the Fe, as it's bigger, The only thing I am not a big fan of is the thick bezzels and weight. It's a heavy phone. My S23 fe also has the Snapdragon 8/1 cpu and there is plenty of performance for what I need it. What I really like about is is the camera. My brother's S23 has the same camera I believe. Had a poco F4 before this and the poco produced substandard images in low light, it also lacked an optical zoom lens.

My S23 Fe is already running on Android-14 and upgraded to One-UI 6.1 with A.I. The regular S23 has the SD 8, gen-2, so it's a lill faster. It also has a smaller battery! but if you are not a gamer, like me. I'd recommend the "fe. I picked up mine for below $500- Cdn which is about $380- USD, so it's a bargain, if you ask me..

[NatariMirumura]

Thank you so much for this insightful video!! This video was covered so thoroughly and definitely made my decision a lot easier!

[Butterflysoul]

I have the s23 and I ❤ it. I love the small size and that it fits in my pocket I also love that it is fast with the 8 Gen 2 Snapdragon chip processor & I also like the performance as well. I had switched from the S20 FE 5G I had from before and it wasn't too bad of a phone, but it has 6.5' too big. I made a great choice and I'm happy with the S23.

[justinw]

I just got s23 fe a hundred dollars off on Amazon due to black Fridays sales. Since my pixel 7 pro broke and shattered on the ground. The performance on samsung always seemed better. Never again with Google.

[oluwa_saucekid]

If I had a budget that could contain either of them, I'll go for the S23.

[shaunjackson]

I just want a better phone that can take great pictures and has great video quality. Im not much of a social media person or care to game on my phone. Pictures and videos are worth thousands of words.

[PuffyAmiYumiMLBB]

S23 base model because of the chipset. Goods for heavy gaming. SD 8 Gen 2 Supremacy

[riddheshzaveri]

For me the major actual differences are

- Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (S23) vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (S23 FE)
- 6.1" (S23) vs 6.4" (S23)
- Thicker bezels (S23 FE)
- 3900 mAh (S23) vs 4500 mAh(S23 FE)
- Price difference

[Prizm]

You can't even hold them both in the same frame to compare sizes?

[Pawcio]

I bought the S23 256 GB for 63% of the MSRP and I'm very satisfied. The S23 FE is the worst FE ever, it has terrible chip and it looks very cheap with these thick bezels.

[Emertat_Studio]

I got S23fe few days ago
Fantastic Display
Very good in hand
Disappointing camera
Pretty good chip
Not bad battery
slow as turtle charging speed

For 95 percent of people A54 is a better deal but S23fe is not that bad

[Yoedi]

Planning to buy s23 FE but the Exynos 2200 make me avoid it like a plague and choose asus zenfone 10, so far despite Zenfone 10 camera is meh but overall usability is great especially the battery

[danmart]

Im broke so S23fe is probably a good start. Hopefully i can get the s26 ultra when it launches😂

[flarethefox]

I bought the 256gb model of the S23 FE for 370 usd, with that much of a price gap with the vanilla S23 (which usally sits around 600usd for the 128gb model) I think it was a good buy