Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Samsung Galaxy S26
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| SamsungGalaxy S23 | SamsungGalaxy S26 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | February 2023 | March 2026 |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 6.1″ | 6.3″ |
| Resolution | 2340 × 1080 | 2340 × 1080 |
| Sharpness | 422 pixels per inch (better) | 409 pixels per inch |
| Panel | OLED | LTPO OLED |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Peak brightness | 1,750 nits | 2,600 nits (better) |
| Display type | FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (2,340 × 1,080); Super Smooth 120 Hz (48–120 Hz); 240 Hz touch sampling in Game Mode; 6.1 inches as a full rectangle, 5.9 inches with rounded corners | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, FHD+, 16M colours; 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate (1–120 Hz) |
| Pixel density | 425 ppi (Samsung) | – |
| Brightness detail | 1,750 nits peak | – |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front and back | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
| Display features | Vision booster; Enhanced comfort | Vision booster; mDNIe image processing |
| Performance | ||
| Chip | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy | Exynos 2600 |
| Memory | 8 GB | 12 GB (better) |
| Storage | 128 GB, 256 GB | 256 GB, 512 GB (better) |
| CPU | Octa-core, 3.36 GHz + 2.8 GHz + 2 GHz; 8 GB of RAM | Deca-core (3.8 GHz, 3.26 GHz, 2.76 GHz) |
| Cooling | – | Redesigned Vapor Chamber with tailored thermal interface material; Samsung claims 29% better thermal performance than the Galaxy S25 series |
| Storage type | 128 GB (99 GB available, UFS 3.1 per Notebookcheck) or 256 GB (217.4 GB available, UFS 4.0 per Notebookcheck); no microSD slot | – |
| Cameras | ||
| Main camera | 50 MP | 50 MP |
| Ultra wide camera | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Telephoto camera | 10 MP | 10 MP |
| Optical zoom | 3× | 3× |
| Front camera | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Main camera | 50 MP wide, F1.8, 85° | 50 MP wide, F1.8 |
| Ultra wide camera | 12 MP, F2.2, 120° | 12 MP, F2.2 |
| Telephoto camera | 10 MP, F2.4, 36°, 3x optical zoom | 10 MP, F2.4, 3x optical zoom |
| Front camera | 12 MP, F2.2, 80° | 12 MP, F2.2, autofocus |
| Zoom | 3x optical zoom | 3x optical zoom; 2x optical-quality zoom (Adaptive Pixel sensor); digital zoom up to 30x |
| Video recording | 8K at 30 fps | Up to 8K (7680 × 4320) at 30 fps; slow motion at 240 fps (FHD) and 120 fps (FHD and UHD) |
| Camera features | Nightography; Expert RAW (free download); 360 Audio Recording with Galaxy Buds2 Pro | Nightography video; Super Steady with Horizontal Lock |
| Battery and charging | ||
| Battery | 3,900 mAh | 4,300 mAh (better) |
| Video playback (maker's claim) | Up to 22 hours | Up to 30 hours |
| Wired charging | Up to 25 W | Up to 25 W |
| Wireless charging | Yes (wattage not published) | Yes (wattage not published) |
| Battery life detail | 3,900 mAh typical, 3,785 mAh rated; video playback (streaming) up to 22 hours; internet use up to 20 hours (LTE or Wi-Fi); talk time up to 35 hours (4G) | Rated (minimum) capacity 4,175 mAh; at least 1,200 charge cycles; EU energy class A |
| Wired charging | Up to 50% in around 30 minutes with a 25 W adapter (sold separately) and 3 A USB-C cable | Up to 55% in around 30 minutes with a 25 W adapter and 3 A USB-C cable (adapter sold separately); QC2.0 and AFC PD compatible |
| Wireless charging | Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 | Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 (WPC); Samsung doesn't state the wattage |
| Charges other devices | Wireless PowerShare | Wireless PowerShare |
| Design | ||
| Type | Standard | Standard |
| Weight | 168 g | 167 g (better) |
| Thickness | 7.6 mm | 7.2 mm (better) |
| Height × width | 146.3 × 70.9 mm | 149.6 × 71.7 mm |
| Water and dust resistance | IP68 | IP68 |
| Materials | Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front and back with an aluminium frame; recycled plastic, glass and aluminium in some components | Armor Aluminum frame; Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 back |
| Colours | Phantom Black, Cream, Green, Lavender; Graphite, Lime on Samsung.com | Cobalt Violet, White, Black, Sky Blue; Pink Gold and Silver Shadow (Samsung.com only) |
| Water resistance detail | IP68, up to 1.5 m of fresh water for up to 30 minutes; not advised for beach or pool use | IP68, dust-tight and tested for submersion in up to 1.5 m of fresh water for up to 30 minutes |
| Biometrics | In-screen fingerprint sensor, face recognition | Fingerprint sensor |
| Sensors | – | Accelerometer, barometer, fingerprint sensor, gyro sensor, geomagnetic sensor, Hall sensor, light sensor, proximity sensor |
| Speakers | – | Stereo speakers |
| Software | ||
| Operating system | Android | Android |
| Software at launch | Android 13, One UI 5.1 | One UI 8.5 (Android 16) |
| Software updates | Four generations of Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates | Security updates until 28 February 2033 (UK) |
| AI features | – | Galaxy AI, including Now Nudge, Now Brief, Photo Assist and Creative Studio; a choice of agents including Bixby, Gemini and Perplexity |
| Connectivity | ||
| Satellite messaging | – | Yes |
| Mobile network | 5G, LTE | 5G Sub6 (FDD, TDD, SDL); 4G LTE (FDD, TDD); 3G WCDMA; 2G GSM |
| SIM | Nano-SIM plus a second nano-SIM or eSIM | Two nano-SIMs, nano-SIM and eSIM, or dual eSIM |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi Direct | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be), 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz, EHT320, MIMO, 4096-QAM |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.3 | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Satellite features | – | Works with O2 Satellite in the UK (texts, supported apps, maps and location sharing where O2 has no signal; not emergency calls); satellite texting and emergency SOS with Verizon in the US |
| USB | USB Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1 | USB Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1 |
| Positioning | – | GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
More comparisons
- Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
- Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
- Google Pixel 11 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S26
- Google Pixel 11 vs Samsung Galaxy S26
- OPPO Reno16 Pro 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S26
- Honor HONOR 600 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S26
- Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Xiaomi POCO F8 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy S26 vs vivo X300 FE
- Samsung Galaxy S26 vs vivo X300
- Motorola motorola razr 60 ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S26
- OPPO Reno14 Pro 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S26
- Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Xiaomi Xiaomi 17
- Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Samsung Galaxy S26+
- Samsung Galaxy S25 FE vs Samsung Galaxy S26
- Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs Samsung Galaxy S26

