Should I upgrade my Galaxy S23?
The Samsung Galaxy S23 went on sale on 17 February 2023, launched at £849 (Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy S23 series). It has a 6.1-inch display, a weight of 168 g, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy chip, a 50 MP main camera and 128 GB of storage to start. Samsung claims up to 22 hours of video playback. Security updates are committed until 17 February 2028. Every figure in the Samsung Galaxy S23 specifications below links the page it came from and the date it was read.
3.6 years oldPatched until 2028-02-17Read
Is it still supported?
Yes. Samsung has committed to security updates for the Galaxy S23 until 2028-02-17. A phone that is still patched is not a phone you have to replace.endoflife.date — Samsung mobile, retrieved 2026-09-06
What the Galaxy S26 changes
The newest Samsung phone in this line is the Galaxy S26 at £879, released 6 March 2026. Judged row by row against our published thresholds; the full table is at Galaxy S26 vs Galaxy S23.
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the Galaxy S26 wins on peak brightness (2,600 nits from GSMArena against 1,750 nits from the maker), storage (base) (256 GB against 128 GB) and claimed video playback (30 h against 22 h). 3 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: display size (6.3 in against 6.1 in) for the Galaxy S26, RAM (12 GB against 8 GB) for the Galaxy S26 and battery capacity (4,300 mAh against 3,900 mAh) for the Galaxy S26. The difference in weight is below the threshold you would notice. Both state the same refresh rate, fast charging and wireless charging. The other 37 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
- Peak brightness: 1,750 nits → 2,600 nits
- Storage (base): 128 GB → 256 GB
- Claimed video playback: 22 h → 30 h
- Display size: 6.1 in → 6.3 in borderline; marginal — most people won’t notice.
- RAM: 8 GB → 12 GB borderline; marginal — most people won’t notice.
- Battery capacity: 3,900 mAh → 4,300 mAh borderline; marginal — most people won’t notice.
Other makers at the price
Phones from other makers released within a year of the Galaxy S26 and priced within a quarter of its £879, nearest price first, each judged the same way against your Galaxy S23 — or, where that pair is not one this site indexes, against the Galaxy S26.
What yours is worth
Our reading of the figures
The Galaxy S23 is committed to security updates until 17 February 2028, so nothing forces a move yet.
The Galaxy S26 clears our noticeable threshold on 3 rows: peak brightness, storage (base), claimed video playback. 3 more gaps are borderline, which most people would not notice. Nothing goes backwards.
At £879 new, less the £217 CeX was paying for a grade A Galaxy S23 on 2026-08-14, the move costs about £662.
Every sentence above is built from the figures on this page by a rule, not written for this phone: a support date, the rows that clear a published threshold, a price and a trade-in. There is no score and no recommendation. The methodology page has the thresholds and where they come from. Every phone’s version of this page is listed at All upgrade questions.