ASUS ZenFone 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S23

The ASUS ZenFone 10 landed recently, to offer a great option for people looking for a compact smartphone. Well, in this article, we’ll compare the ASUS ZenFone 10 vs. the Samsung Galaxy S23. These two phones are some of the best compact smartphones you’ll find on the market these days. They’re both quite compact compared to almost every other high-end smartphone out there. They are also quite different at the same time.

We’ll first list their specifications, and will then compare them across a number of other categories. We’ll compare their designs, displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio performance. There’s a lot to talk about here, so let’s get started, shall we?

Specs

ASUS ZenFone 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S23: Design

Both smartphones come with a frame made out of aluminum. Their backplates are different, though. The ZenFone 10 has soft-touch plastic on the back, which actually adds plenty of grip to the equation. The Galaxy S23 features a glass back. There is a flat display on the front of both phones, and both phones have very thin bezels. Display camera holes are included on both, but they’re placed in different spots.

The ASUS ZenFone 10 has flat sides all around, while the ones on the Galaxy S23 are a bit curved. You will notice separate camera islands on each of the two devices. The ZenFone 10 has two of them, while the Galaxy S23 includes three.

Each of those camera islands hosts one camera, so the Galaxy S23 has one more on the back. These two phones are about the same height, but the ZenFone 10 is narrower, and a bit thicker. They also weigh about the same, the difference is only 4 grams. Neither phone is too heavy, not at all, they’re actually quite light.

The backplate on the ZenFone 10 is a bit raised, and then curved under the 90-degree angle, but with tapered edges. That actually makes the phone a real treat to hold, especially considering the soft-touch material. The Galaxy S23 feels a lot more slippery in the hand, and quite frankly not as pleasant to hold in comparison. Both phones are not a problem to use with one hand, though the grip factor on the ZenFone 10 makes things a bit easier.

ASUS ZenFone 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S23: Display

The ZenFone 10 includes a 5.9-inch fullHD+ (2400 x 1080) Super AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate (only available in some games). That panel is flat, and it also supports HDR10+ content. Its brightness goes up to 1,100 nits, and we’re looking at a 20:9 aspect ratio here. The Gorilla Glass Victus protects this display.

The Galaxy S23, on the other hand, has a 6.1-inch fullHD+ (2340 x 1080) Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel. That display is also flat, and it supports a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. HDR10+ content is supported here, and the panel goes all the way up to 1,750 nits when brightness is concerned. This display has a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects it.

Both of these displays are really good. They’re not only vivid, but also have great viewing angles, and the blacks are deep. They’re well-optimized, and the scrolling is very smooth too. The touch response is also really good on both phones. The Galaxy S23 does have one major advantage, and that is its brightness. Don’t get me wrong, the ZenFone 10’s display is not dim or anything, not at all, but you’ll definitely notice the difference under direct sunlight.

ASUS ZenFone 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S23: Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 fuels the ASUS ZenFone 10. The phone also includes up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and UFS 4.0 flash storage. The Galaxy S23, on the flip side, is fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. That is basically an overclocked version of the chip. The phone also comes with 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and UFS 3.1 or 4.0 storage. The 3.1 version is only included in a 128GB storage model.

The performance provided by both phones is great. What we did notice is that the ZenFone 10 is a bit smoother overall, after using both phones for a while. The Galaxy S23 does have an occasional stutter that you may or may not notice, but that is mostly gone on the ZenFone 10. That’s just a small difference, but it is what we’ve noticed. In the gaming department, both phones do a great job. They do heat up to a degree, but we never had issues because of that, nor did either phone get too hot. The performance is basically great on both devices.

ASUS ZenFone 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S23: Battery

The ASUS ZenFone 10 includes a 4,300mAh battery, while the Galaxy S23 has a 3,900mAh battery on the inside. That is quite a difference, and on top of that, the ZenFone 10 also has a smaller display. The end battery life results are vastly different, actually. The ZenFone 10 simply blows the Galaxy S23 out of the water in the battery life department, it’s not even close.

We’ve been able to cross the 10-hour screen-on-time mark with the ZenFone 10, a number of times. A couple of times the phone even lasted 11 hours of screen-on-time before shutting down. The Galaxy S23 provided closer to 6, actually. Which is, once again, a massive difference. Do note that gaming was not a part of our usage most days. Your mileage may vary, however, so keep that in mind. Still, the fact that the ZenFone 10 offers much better battery life remains.

When it comes to charging, the ZenFone 10 supports 30W wired, 15W wireless, and 5W reverse wired charging. The Galaxy S23, on the flip side, supports 25W wired, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. So neither phone offers blazing-fast charging, basically. The thing is, the ZenFone 10 does ship with a charger in the box, unlike the Galaxy S23.

ASUS ZenFone 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S23: Cameras

The ZenFone 10 has a 50-megapixel main camera, and a 13-megapixel ultrawide unit (120-degree FoV). The Galaxy S23, on the flip side, includes a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide unit (120-degree FoV), and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera (3x optical zoom).

Now, the Galaxy S23 does like to tune up the saturation more than the ZenFone 10. That makes the images pop, though in certain situations, it can seem like a bit much. Sharpening can be a bit visible on both, but the images provided by both phones are rather good, during the day. The performance in low light is not bad, per se, but if you’ve used some of the phones with outstanding low light performance, you’ll see the difference. There’s not as much detail in low light, compared to some other flagship-grade phones. Other than that, they perform well in such conditions too.

Their ultrawide cameras are good, but nothing to write home about, and are a level under the main cameras, at least. The ZenFone 10’s ultrawide camera also lacks autofocus, which affects macro shots. When it comes to telephoto shots, the Galaxy S23 is a clear winner here, as the ZenFone 10 doesn’t even have a telephoto camera. The video recording is good on both, though the footage is more stable on the ZenFone 10 thanks to gimbal OIS.

Audio

There is a set of stereo speakers included on both devices. Those speakers are loud enough, but not to the level of larger flagship devices. The loudness levels are similar in comparison, and the sound output is good. It’s well-balanced, and you’ll even notice some bass.

If you need an audio jack on your phone, the ZenFone 10 is the way to go. The Galaxy S23 does not include one. It does have a Type-C port at the bottom, however, which you can use for wired audio connections. If you decide to go wireless, do note that both devices support Bluetooth 5.3.