The days when the phrase “Chinese smartphone” was synonymous with something of low quality are long gone. Manufacturers from the Celestial Empire produce devices to suit any taste and budget, which are not much inferior to, and sometimes even surpass, renowned competitors. Today we will talk about one of the newest smartphones from Itel – the S23 Plus. The model offers users a good balance between price and quality. The first thing that catches the eye is the waterfall screen and the smartphone’s design. Not long ago, such screens were the prerogative of flagships, but now they are actively conquering the budget segment as well. In this review, we will examine the features and specifications of the Itel S23 Plus, and see what the device priced at around $200 (now available for as low as $137 on Aliexpress due to a discount) has to offer.
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Itel S23 Plus Specifications
- Display: AMOLED 6.78″, 2400×1080 (20:9), 388 ppi, brightness up to 500 nits, 60 Hz
- Processor: Unisoc Tiger T616, 12nm, 8 cores: 2×2.0GHz ARM Cortex-A75, 6×1.8GHz ARM Cortex-A55
- GPU: ARM Mali-G57 MP1
- MEMORY: 128/256GB UFS 2.0
- RAM: 4/8GB LPDDR4X expandable ROM (up to +8GB)
- SIM cards: 2 nanoSIMs
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Bluetooth v 5.0, NFC, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS
- Sensors: fingerprint scanner
- Main camera: 50MP, f/1.6, photo resolution 8120×6180, video 1920×1080
- Front camera: 32MP, photo resolution 6560×4928
- Battery: 5000 mAh, 9V/2A, 18W fast charging support
- OS: Itel OS based on Android 13
- Weight: 178 g
- Dimensions: 165.0×75.0×7.9 mm
- Case/Cover Material: Plastic
- Colours: Elemental Blue (blue) and Lake Cyan (cyan)
Packaging and completion
The packaging looks premium. The smartphone is placed in a light gray box of unusual shape, which inside is designed in black and red colors. What we see next: a plastic transparent bumper, wired headphones, a SIM card tray extraction tool, a charging cable, technical documentation, and the smartphone itself, which already has a protective film with an oleophobic coating. It’s worth noting that each component comes separately in sturdy cardboard boxes. As for the case, it’s basic, with rounded corners to protect the screen. As they say, it’s the little things that matter..
The package includes everything for use, except for one thing – the power adapter, which needs to be purchased separately. You can use any adapter with a power output of at least 18 watts or purchase the original charger from the manufacturer. By the way, I was sent the original charger for testing. This decision surprised me a little, as typically budget devices come with a power adapter included.
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Design and materials
Despite the low cost of the smartphone, it looks quite presentable and interesting. The first thing you pay attention to is the waterfall screen. In my opinion, it is the streamlined shape and soft corners that make it look more expensive. The display is covered with Gorilla Glass of the fifth generation.
The back panel is made of matte plastic. We received the device in the Lake Cyan color – it’s a beautiful shade of blue that shimmers under the sunlight.
There’s also an option in the blue color called Elemental Blue. Personally, I find the camera module to look quite bulky, and this seems to be a common trend.
On the bottom edge, you’ll find slots for 2 nanoSIM cards, a speaker, and a microphone. The control buttons are located on the right side. Here, you’ll find the volume adjustment key and the power button. The left side is empty.
Ergonomics
With dimensions of 165.0×75.0×7.9 mm, the Itel S23 Plus may seem bulky, but thanks to its slim body, it doesn’t feel that way in everyday use. The rounded corners provide additional comfort during operation, nothing digs into your palm. However, there is a downside to this design – if you hold the smartphone without a case, it feels like it could slip out of your hands. This issue is solved by using a case, so I recommend putting one on right away.
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Itel S23 Plus Display
The display is indeed the highlight of this smartphone. Curved at the edges and equipped with an AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2400×1080, it stands out. However, the refresh rate is only 60 Hz, which is quite low by modern standards. The screen brightness is 500 nits. Overall, it’s very impressive for this price segment.
The vibrant colors immediately catch your eye, the shades look natural, not overly saturated, and the black levels are sufficient. On the front side, below the screen, there’s a fingerprint scanner and a camera cutout, and later on, you can customize the Dynamic Bar (we’ll talk about it later). The top part of the screen has a wide window containing a list of functions that can be customized, displayed as icons with short names.
The screen features anti-glare properties, making it easy to use the Itel S23 Plus on a sunny day. Additionally, there’s an eye protection mode.
During testing, I noticed that due to the screen’s construction, the colors at the edges appear slightly paler and less vibrant. Overall, it’s not a major issue, but it is a minor drawback.
Performance
The Itel S23 Plus runs on the Unisoc Tiger T616 chipset, with a Mali-G57 MP1 GPU handling graphics. The RAM capacity of our test model is 8 GB, expandable up to 16 GB through virtual RAM. There’s also an option with 4 GB of RAM, which can be expanded to 8 GB. The internal storage capacity is 128/256 GB. There’s no memory card slot, so it’s not possible to increase the storage capacity, hence I would recommend considering the version with a larger capacity. There’s no 5G support, as is the case with most budget devices.
In the Antutu test, the gadget scores 295,000 points. Looking beyond the raw numbers, the smartphone is quite responsive, operates smoothly, and doesn’t lag, but don’t expect super high performance.
The basic processes, like using messaging apps, watching YouTube, and browsing the internet, are handled smoothly by the smartphone. Overall, this gadget isn’t designed for gamers, but it can run lightweight games on minimal settings. Even then, the graphics remain clear.
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Software
The smartphone runs on Android 13 with the proprietary Itel OS skin. It offers all the necessary settings, sufficient customization options, an app store, and several pre-installed programs for music listening and video viewing.
There’s also the Dynamic Bar, which provides animation display when unlocking via face recognition, backlighting during calls, charging animation, as well as reminders for the completion of the charging process and low battery levels.
Cameras and sound
When it comes to sound, Itel doesn’t offer anything new to users. The device has a single speaker, and at maximum volume, the sound quality decreases, with musical instruments in compositions sounding indistinctly. The speaker is moderately loud, but there’s no pairing for stereo sound. However, it does feature DTS technology and a five-band equalizer.
The Itel S23 Plus features a dual camera setup. The primary camera is 50 MP with an f/1.6 aperture, and there’s an auxiliary lens of 0.08 MP. The resolution of the front sensor is 32 MP. There’s no optical stabilizer, but it has phase detection autofocus and a 10x zoom. The manufacturer also claims the presence of special AI-based photo processing algorithms.
The camera is generally decent for its budget, but you won’t see a “wow” effect. During the day, with sufficient light, the photos come out decent with normal color reproduction, a decent dynamic range, and some noise, but it’s not critical. As seen in the photo samples, in cloudy weather, there are highlights in the sky. Therefore, the main condition for a good shot is excellent lighting or moderate sunlight outdoors.
Indoors, the photos have more saturated colors. The level of detail is quite good, especially with quality lighting.
Example photo at dusk:
Below is a photo of the Super Night effect:
The same perspective with the “Super Night” effect in the evening:
I also add an example of a video during the day and at dusk, the latter pleasantly surprised me, I expected worse quality:
Itel S23 Plus battery life
The Itel S23 Plus is equipped with a 5000 mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. As I mentioned earlier, there’s no power adapter included. The smartphone features intelligent battery management technology called “AI Power Master,” which optimizes battery consumption. In practice, with standard usage scenarios, the battery lasts for about a day to a day and a half. Results can be even better with reduced screen brightness.
Conclusions
The Itel S23 Plus is an interesting representative of the budget segment. It catches the eye with its vibrant AMOLED display, slim body, stylish and elegant design, user-friendly interface, and good battery life. Nighttime videos were a pleasant surprise, as they truly look good.
Undoubtedly, the smartphone doesn’t boast the most powerful hardware, but it operates quite smoothly, and let’s not forget, it’s a budget gadget after all. Among the drawbacks, we can also highlight the relatively low sound quality, the low screen refresh rate – only 60 Hz, and mediocre cameras for photography. However, if you’re looking for an affordable device without unnecessary frills, a simple workhorse, the Itel S23 Plus is worth considering.
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