itel S23 is already a great budget phone in the PH market. The question is, is it worthy enough?
The extreme entry-level itel aims to provide even more value by providing decent offerings under the 5K pesos mark— a growing trend of budget phones getting better through time.
The newly introduced S23+ has a lot of promising features and value for money we all expect for less than a fraction of the price. Given that along the line, we may notice some cost-cutting decisions itel has in store for us, but the S23+ is surely a thing to behold.
You can safely say that you own an S23+ for under Php 7,000. While this isn’t an S23 from Samsung, this is still a bang-for-buck device.
Packaging
Upon inspecting the box and its packaging, we immediately observed a remarkable transformation in its color scheme and overall design. In contrast to its predecessor, the itel S23, the box now boasts a sleeker, flatter shape, symbolizing its premium and elegant nature in comparison to competing products. Additionally, the curved AMOLED screen and its storage, which are its highlighted features are accentuated with a striking silver hue, ensuring it catches your eye even from a distance.
The main specs are highlighted on the back with some usual technical stuff printed on the bottom.
Upon opening the package, you’re immediately enveloped in an unmistakable sense of premium flagship quality. The combination of sleek black tones and vibrant red accents creates an ambiance that makes it difficult to believe this is merely an entry-level smartphone. Every accessory is meticulously organized with dedicated dividers, and even the phone itself is elegantly presented with its specifications and features prominently displayed on its packaging.
There’s also an earphone jack included as well. Sure, this will not match the earphones included inside select vivo, LG, and Sony devices— it’s better than nothing though.
The jelly case and Type-A to Type-C cable are nothing special but will suffice. Where’s the charging brick you say? Well, it is sold separately. The itel S23+ has 18W wired charging support though, so keep that in mind.
One of the sleekest phone design in its price range
Moving on to the itel S23+, we quickly noticed the gorgeous back design resembling an Apple device. The Elemental Cyan colorway (that’s how they call it, according to itel) is easy on the eyes and creates a somewhat premium effect even though it’s entirely made of plastic.
The camera has a slight bump that houses the two camera modules(50 +0.08MP) and it’s safe to say that we are deeply impressed by the looks of this device.
The display is just absolutely beautiful
Beneath its pre-applied plastic screen protector, we are treated to a large 6.78” HD+ 1080P AMOLED display the colors are rich and there isn’t any visible pixelation, signaling that itel used a decent AMOLED panel for this one.
The bezels are also extremely thin, which is rare in this price range. This smartphone is arguably one of the most beautiful smartphones in this price range.
Camera
The itel S23+ has a dual rear camera setup with a 50MP main sensor and a 0.08MP depth sensor. The main sensor has a large f/1.6 aperture, which allows it to capture more light in low-light conditions. The depth sensor helps to create a bokeh effect in portrait photos, which blurs the background to make the subject stand out.
On the front, the itel S23+ has a 32MP selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture. This camera is capable of taking sharp and detailed selfies, even in low light.
Conclusion
The itel S23+ is a budget-friendly smartphone that offers a lot of value for the money. It has a sleek design, a stunning curved AMOLED display, and a premium feel. The phone’s performance might be good thanks to 8GB of RAM which is also expandable to 16GB, and the rear camera setup is certainly the best but let’s see in our full review. We expect its front camera to be good though, for it has a 32MP sensor.
This is one of the most interesting smartphone offering from itel.
Want the full review? You can proceed to this link.
itel S23+ Specs page:
