We analyzed 134 verified owner reviews for the Samsung Galaxy A23 to understand how the phone performs in the real world. Our process involved a detailed examination of user sentiment across key areas, including performance speed, screen responsiveness, camera usability, battery endurance, and overall software stability.
To provide a complete picture, we compared these findings against both its predecessor, the Galaxy A13, and key market rivals. The goal is to move beyond expert opinions and technical specifications, offering a clear, data-driven report on what actual owners think about the A23’s strengths and weaknesses.
💰 Value for Money: Great First, Bad Upgrade
The Samsung Galaxy A23’s value for money proposition is a tale of two vastly different user experiences. For buyers on a strict budget seeking their first smartphone or a simple, functional device, the A23 largely satisfies. This is reflected in its most positive hidden metric, overall satisfaction relative to cost, where 75% of users felt they got a fair deal.
These buyers see it as a “great first phone for the cost of it,” with one parent calling it “a great buy, responsible price and good quality for my son’s first phone.” For this specific audience, the phone meets its primary goal. As one person put it bluntly, their “husband is always breaking his phones, so we buy cheaper ones and this one is great and does everything that he needs.”
A Disappointing Upgrade
However, a far more critical story emerges when looking at the phone as an upgrade. Users considering a move from an older device express significant disappointment, reflected in a dismal 29% positive score for Upgrade Justification—a full 30 points below the category average of 59%. This isn’t just a minor shortfall; it’s a profound failure to convince users that the A23 is a step forward.
The frustration is palpable, with one user stating:
I had the A51 which was an older model and from the first moment I used it, I realized it was much worse than my previous and older one.
This sentiment of regression explains why so few feel the upgrade is worth it.
Competitive Weakness
This weakness becomes even more stark when placed in a competitive context. The A23’s predecessor, the Galaxy A13, scored significantly higher (47%) on upgrade justification, suggesting that users felt the previous generation offered a more compelling reason to buy.
The gap widens against rivals like the Nothing Phone (2a), which boasts a 67% positive score for the same factor. Users feel the regression acutely, especially those accustomed to a higher standard from Samsung. One customer who moved from a broken premium model said:
I bought it because my old S21 broke and I literally went from 100 to 0… I thought that being a more updated cell phone than my old one would serve me better, but I was completely mistaken.
Trade-Off: As a no-frills first phone for the extremely price-conscious, the A23 delivers just enough, but for existing Samsung users or those seeking competitive features, it represents a frustrating step backward rather than a compelling upgrade.
📸 Camera: Good Shots, Annoying Usage
For a budget-conscious smartphone, the camera on the Samsung Galaxy A23 presents a divided experience. Its ability to capture fundamentally good images keeps many users satisfied, but this is sharply contrasted by a suite of frustrating limitations and missing features that leave a significant number of people feeling let down.
Image and Video Quality
On the positive side, the core Image and Video Quality earns a respectable 65% positive sentiment. For many users, this translates to a camera that is perfectly capable for everyday moments. They feel the hardware is solid, with one person noting:
The main 48-megapixel camera… makes incredibly sharp and bright shots.
This sentiment is echoed by others who are pleased with the final product, stating the photos have vibrant colors and high quality. For these users, the camera simply works, delivering pleasing results without much fuss.
Frustrating Features and Usability
However, this satisfaction is severely undercut by deep-seated issues with the camera’s features and overall usability. This factor scores a dismal 31% in positive sentiment, a massive 30-point drop below the category average of 61%. This isn’t just a minor inconvenience; it’s a source of genuine frustration stemming from missing capabilities.
Users feel the phone is stuck in the past, with one complaining:
The camera does not have basic features like time-lapse or video stabilizer.
The problems extend to fundamental operations, creating a clunky and annoying experience. One user shared their irritation that it’s:
so slow to click it gets on my nerves,
Another discovered a baffling limitation:
To use the camera to film, there is no option to flip the camera… I have to start the video again, a big step backwards.
Competitive Comparison
The competitive landscape reveals a troubling trend. The Galaxy A23’s image quality score of 65% is not just lower than direct competitors like the Nothing Phone (2a) (75%), it’s also a significant step backward from its own predecessor, the Galaxy A13, which scored 12 points higher at 77%.
This regression is felt keenly by longtime Samsung users, who expect an upgrade, not a downgrade. One disappointed buyer captured this feeling perfectly:
It’s such a disappointment, my old Samsung phone had much better camera results, I wasted my money.
Trade-Off: While the Galaxy A23 can produce acceptable daily photos, buyers must accept a frustrating lack of modern software features and a noticeable step down in quality from its own predecessor.
📱 Screen: Beautiful Visuals, Frustrating Touch
The experience of using the Samsung Galaxy A23’s screen is a story of two fundamentally conflicting realities. While users are often impressed by what they see, their satisfaction is frequently soured by how they interact with it.
The core of the positive sentiment is rooted in its visual appeal, with display quality and vibrancy earning a solid 79% positive rating. Owners describe it as an “excellent HD display for pics & vids,” with one user noting how the “colors are vibrant and stands out easily.”
For some, the impact is profound; one owner who recently had cataract surgery shared:
This monitor makes my new eye experience even better. I never knew things could look this good.
A Frustrating Touch Experience
However, this visual enjoyment is sharply contrasted by a deep-seated frustration with the phone’s basic usability. Touchscreen responsiveness is a significant pain point, scoring a dismal 36% in positive mentions, well below the category average of 43%.
This isn’t just a minor lag; it’s a consistent source of irritation that disrupts daily tasks. Users report a “lag time in touch screen response,” with one noting there are “many seconds of delay with every touch, whether for opening an application, for a call, or for photos.”
This erratic behavior creates unpredictable and annoying outcomes, as one user explained:
sometimes when making phone calls my cheek will open things I didn’t intend to open… it’s definitely sensitive to touch.
Competitive Context
This weakness becomes a crucial consideration when viewed against the competition. Both the Nothing Phone (2a) and the Motorola Moto G24 achieve a perfect 100% positive score for touchscreen responsiveness, offering a flawlessly smooth experience that makes the A23’s sluggishness feel unacceptable in comparison.
Interestingly, while the A23 has improved dramatically from its predecessor, the Galaxy A13, which scored a nearly unusable 19% on touch responsiveness, it has actually taken a step backward in display quality, falling from the A13’s 86% positive score.
This suggests Samsung addressed the A13’s biggest flaw but at the cost of its primary strength, failing to deliver a holistically satisfying screen experience.
Trade-Off: The Samsung Galaxy A23 offers a visually pleasing and vibrant display that is unfortunately undermined by a laggy and unpredictable touchscreen, forcing a compromise between what you see and how you interact with it.
✨ Design: Looks Great, Less Durable
When evaluating the design of the Samsung Galaxy A23, users tell a story of powerful first impressions met with lingering doubts. The phone’s strongest asset is its visual appeal, with aesthetics earning an 84% positive rating.
This isn’t just a number; it’s the emotional hook that pulls customers in. People are genuinely captivated by its appearance, with one buyer stating:
The look of the phone and camera is what attracted me back to Samsung.
This sentiment is echoed by others who feel it “looks very expensive” or, as one user who gifted the phone noted, “My mother found it beautiful and chic.” The comfortable ergonomics add to this positive initial experience, as it’s described as “light, compact and pleasant to hold in the hand.”
However, the experience begins to fray when users look past the initial beauty and focus on the materials and construction. The phone’s build quality is a clear point of weakness, scoring 67% in user satisfaction—a full 9 points below the category average of 76%.
This gap translates into a tangible sense of disappointment for some owners, who feel the materials don’t live up to the visual promise. As one user aptly put it:
I just expected it to have a more resistant finishing material.
This can manifest in more serious functional issues, with one person reporting that “the volume buttons don’t always work,” while another suffered a critical hardware failure where the “motherboard needed to be replaced.”
This mixed experience is thrown into sharp relief when placed in the context of the market. Compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy A13, the A23 represents a significant functional upgrade, especially in its design features, which are rated 20 percentage points higher.
Users appreciate this, praising that the “fingerprint scanner on side is much easier to use.” Yet, when squared up against a direct competitor like the Motorola Moto G24, the A23’s shortcomings in construction become apparent, with the Moto boasting a much higher build quality score of 81%.
This shows that while the A23 looks the part and improves on its past self, buyers are aware that more robust-feeling alternatives exist at a similar price point.
Trade-Off: Users receive a phone with a visually stunning and expensive-looking design but must accept a build quality that feels less premium than it appears and lags behind key competitors.
💨 Performance: Slow for Some, Fine for Others
The performance of the Samsung Galaxy A23 is a deeply polarizing issue, creating a clear divide between patient, basic users and those expecting modern smartphone agility.
While it meets the needs of some, a significant portion of owners are left grappling with a device that feels sluggish and underpowered for everyday tasks.
A Tale of Two Experiences
For a core group of users, the phone’s processing power and speed, which garners a 64% positive sentiment, is perfectly adequate. These owners describe a device that handles fundamental tasks without issue, feeling satisfied with their purchase for day-to-day use.
As one user puts it, for their needs, the device is a perfect match:
it works flawlessly, apps open in an instant.
Another confirms they can multitask without issue:
can run several applications at the same time without any delays or freezes.
For this segment, who view the phone as a tool for simple communication and browsing, the performance is a non-issue and happily described as “nice and very responsive.”
The Performance Deficit
However, this satisfaction is not universal. The phone’s 64% positive rating for processing power significantly trails the category average of 83%, a massive 19-point deficit that highlights a widespread source of frustration.
When the device is pushed even slightly beyond basic operations, its limitations become glaringly obvious. Users express deep disappointment with lag and unresponsiveness, with one stating:
The processor is a bit slow and it gets stuck doing some quick tasks with several applications open.
This irritation is keenly felt by another owner who reports being “very dissatisfied with the speed and the general response to touches and commands,” calling it “terribly slow.”
The practical consequence is a compromised experience where, as one user explains, the phone struggles significantly with multitasking.
freezes if you have more than two applications open, you have to constantly close and delete things just for it to function normally.
How It Stacks Against Competitors
This performance gap is thrown into sharp relief when compared to other models. Competing devices like the Nothing Phone (2a) and Motorola Moto G24 score higher at 71% and 70% respectively, showing that a smoother experience is achievable in the same price bracket.
Furthermore, the A23’s 64% score is only a marginal 3-point improvement over its predecessor, the Galaxy A13 (61%), a barely noticeable bump that fails to deliver the generational leap many users expect.
The chasm between the A23 and Samsung’s step-up S23 FE, which boasts an 88% positive rating, starkly illustrates what buyers are sacrificing for the lower price: a fluid, dependable user experience.
Trade-Off: The A23 demands a significant compromise in speed and responsiveness for its budget-friendly price, a trade that will satisfy only the most basic users while frustrating those who multitask.
📱 Software: Smooth UI, Fatal Flaws
The Software and Operating System on the Samsung Galaxy A23 presents a tale of two starkly different user experiences. On one hand, the device delivers a highly-praised user interface that feels comfortable and capable.
This is driven by an impressive 81% positive sentiment score for User Experience and UI Smoothness, a figure that surpasses the category average of 74%. Users feel this immediately, describing it as an interface that is “easy to understand and use.”
For many, especially those familiar with the brand, the software is the main draw. One user explained:
What counts with Samsung is its software. The most beautiful and organized, with many possibilities compared to other brands.
This ease of use extends to all demographics, with another owner noting the phone “is not too complicated for older people.”
A Foundation of Instability
However, beneath this polished surface lies a deeply troubling foundation of instability. The phone’s software stability receives a mere 30% positive rating, barely above the category average of 27%.
For users who encounter issues, the problems are not minor inconveniences but catastrophic failures that render the device useless. Frustrations range from persistent bugs to complete hardware failure following an update. One user shared a harrowing experience:
The phone has a defect that causes a failed update. It is constant, annoying, and impossible to use… I had to reinstall all of my apps and it took me all day. I hate this phone.
In the most extreme cases, a software update can be fatal for the device. As one person reported, “The last UPDATE they sent last week left my A23 DEAD.” Another user experienced a cascade of failures within the first week:
The sound doesn’t work, only notifications. It doesn’t play any videos, nothing! I’m disappointed!
A Persistent Weakness
This software instability appears to be a persistent weakness in Samsung’s budget A-series lineup. While the A23’s User Experience score of 81% is a significant improvement over its predecessor, the Galaxy A13 (60%), its stability score of 30% is only marginally better than the A13’s 14%.
This suggests that while Samsung enhances the user-facing features, the underlying stability issues remain largely unaddressed in this price tier. For many users, this makes choosing the A23 a risky proposition. You gain Samsung’s well-regarded interface but face a lottery where you might either get a perfectly functional device or one plagued by crippling software defects.
Trade-Off: Users get a feature-rich, user-friendly interface at the cost of gambling against potentially catastrophic software instability and update-related failures.
🔋 Battery: Long Life, Slow Charge
The Samsung Galaxy A23‘s battery performance is built on a foundation of impressive endurance, a key factor that delights many of its owners. With a positive sentiment score of 72% for battery life, users frequently celebrate the freedom from “range anxiety,” praising the device’s ability to last well beyond a single day.
This isn’t just a minor convenience; for users, it translates into genuine peace of mind. One person shared their real-world experience, noting:
it’s a wonderful battery, I left for work with 64% at 6:40 am and only had to charge it at 9:00 pm when it was at 15%.
Others find the longevity even more substantial, with one user simply stating:
it lasts me two full days.
This multi-day capability removes the daily ritual of charging, making the phone a reliable companion for nonstop work and travel.
Charging Frustrations
However, this positive picture is clouded by frustrations that reveal why the A23’s battery life sentiment is 2 points below the category average of 74%. For a significant group of users, the charging experience is a particular point of contention, creating a starkly negative impression, especially for those upgrading from older devices.
One owner expressed their disappointment vividly:
I started charging half an hour ago, and it is only at 68%! My 6 year old Huawei Y7 charged much faster!
This sentiment is compounded by practical annoyances, such as the included accessories. As one reviewer pointed out:
The charger cable is very short and makes it difficult to leave the phone charging in some spaces.
This turns the simple act of plugging in the phone into a daily inconvenience.
Competitive Context
When placed in a competitive context, the A23’s battery performance appears even more compromised. The most telling comparison is against its own predecessor, the Galaxy A13, which earned a positive rating 10 points higher (82%). This significant drop suggests that users loyal to the brand and expecting a clear upgrade may feel let down.
The gap widens when compared to direct rivals; the Motorola Moto G24, for instance, sits 13 points higher at 85%. This numeric difference is reflected in user sentiment, with one user switching from Motorola lamenting:
The battery doesn’t last as long as my 2-year-old Moto G, which I could use all day without needing to charge.
This shows that while the A23 can deliver long life, competitors are setting a higher and more consistent standard, making it a less compelling choice for those who prioritize battery reliability above all else.
Trade-Off: The Samsung Galaxy A23 offers the potential for excellent multi-day battery life, but this is undermined by inconsistent performance and a notable step down in user satisfaction compared to both its predecessor and key competitors.
Bottom Line
- ✅ Great for first-time buyers: 75% of users felt they got a fair deal, calling it a “great first phone” for the cost.
- ⚠️ Crippling performance & software: A toxic combination of lag and instability, with software stability scoring a dismal 30% positive rating and users reporting catastrophic, device-killing update failures.
- 🔻 Feels like a downgrade: Upgrade justification is a profound failure, scoring just 29% as users feel it is a major step back from older, superior models.
- 📉 Worse than its predecessor: Battery life satisfaction is 10 points lower than the previous Galaxy A13, one of several areas where it represents a significant regression.
- 🏁 Destroyed by the competition: Rivals like the Moto G24 score a perfect 100% on touchscreen responsiveness, making the A23’s well-documented lag unacceptable in comparison.
- 💡 Final verdict: An acceptable phone for the extremely price-conscious first-time buyer, but a frustrating and risky downgrade for almost everyone else.