Itel S23 Plus (S681LN) Price, Review And Specifications.

Itel S23 Plus (S681LN) Quick Specs:

Display: 6.78" Full-HD+ (2400×1080) 120hz AMOLED Curved Display..

Software: Android 13 OS.

CPU: Unisoc Tiger 616.

RAM: 4GB/8GB (Plus up to 8GB of Virtual RAM).

Storage: 128GB/256GB (Non expandable).

Rear Camera: Dual-lens (50MP+AI).

Front Camera: Single-lens (32MP).

Security: Face Unlock, In-Display Fingerprint Scanner.

Port: USB Type-C.

3.5mm Audio Jack: Not available.

Network: 4G.

Battery: 5,000mAh.

Charging Speed: 18W.

Starting Price:

₦212,000 (8GB/256GB).

KSh 22,499 (4GB/128GB), KSh 26,299 (8GB/256GB).

Among the competitions, Itel S23 Plus (s681ln) is distinguished by its flagship design, superior display, and impressive camera. Like a flagship (or more expensive) phone, S23 Plus sports an edge-to-edge AMOLED display and features In-display fingerprint reader. The AMOLED screen is also protected with Corning Gorilla Glass. Also, despite having the same camera set-up as its contenders, Itel S23 Plus was able to take a more clearer and better looking photos. 

Yet, in spite of those unique features, Itel S23 Plus still offers the same amount of RAM, storage capacity and Android version as the competitions. However, unlike most of them, S23 Plus does't have 3.5mm audio jack and microSD card slot. Also despite having the same processing power as others, its graphics performance falls a little behind (though only when it comes to graphics demanding tasks).

Since internal attributes of the Itel S23 Plus are similar to those of the competitions, therefore, and as i mentioned, the selling features of this phone are its outstanding visible attributes, i.e, its design, display and camera.

Speaking of its design. Itel S23 Plus wears the same looks as the Tecno Mobile's Phantom X2 (AD8). Besides having the same edge-to-edge AMOLED display as the Tecno's flagship phone, Itel S23 Plus also comes in the same form factor. However, the build quality of the Itel phone is of a little lower standard. Also despite that having the same amount of RAM and storage capacity as the Phantom X2, the CPU and other internal components of this Itel phone are of lower grades. Besides, Tecno Phantom X2 is a 5G-enabled phone. Therefore, and despite that S23 Plus is an Itel Mobile's flagship phone, it can also be regarded as a low budget or cheaper variant of the Tecno Phantom X2.

Still on its design, especially in comparison to that of the Phantom X2. The edge-to-edge AMOLED display of the Itel S23 Plus is 6.78-inch; which means it's approximately the same as the 6.8-inch of the Tecno flagship phone. The screen of the Itel phone also features the same 1080p resolution (in addition to its In-display fingerprint reader). However, unlike that of the Phantom X2, the screen of the Itel S23 Plus does not support high refresh rate.

Also while the chassis or frame of the Tecno phone is made of metallic material, the frame of the Itel S23 Plus, like most of others in this segment, is made of plastic. Yet, the frame of the S23 Plus is flatter, (79mm) compared to the 89mm thickness of the Tecno phone. Still, as i said earlier, and like that of the Phantom X2, the front of the S23 Plus is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass. Also, like that of the Tecno phone, the back cover of the Itel phone is made of plastic. Though the plastic back cover of the Phantom X2 feels and looks more premium. Furthermore, and as i also mentioned earlier, the microSD card slot and 3.5mm audio jack, which were missing on the Itel S23 Plus, are also missing on the Phantom X2.

Meanwhile, in addition to its design and AMOLED display, the third selling point of the Itel S23 Plus is camera. Though the camera set-up (and the type of sensors used) is what you often get at this price point. In other words, the phone has the usual 50-megapixel dual rear camera and a 32-megapixel front-facing camera. Yet surprisingly, photos taken with this Itel phone's rear camera are more vivid, clearer and have better colour representation than those of the competitions. Though, selfies from the phone also look nice, but the picture quality is similar to those of the main contenders.

Under the hood, Itel S23 Plus packs the usual components. Because like most of the competitions, the phone comes with 8GB of RAM (though it's available in 4GB of RAM in some region) and it's running on the Android 13 OS. The phone is also available in internal storage options of either 128GB or 256GB.

However, while the main contenders are fitted with either Helio G85 or Helio G88 MediaTek CPUs, Itel S23 Plus is powered by Unisoc Tiger T616 CPU. Still, the Unisoc CPU has the same processing power as the two MediaTek CPUs. And it was able to deliver the same performance. That is, when it comes to quick multitasking, heavy internet browsing and related demanding tasks, Itel S23 Plus is swift and responsive. And to further ensure consistence smooth performance, this Itel phone also support up to 8GB of Virtual RAM (like most others). Making the total number of RAM, available on this phone, to be 16GB.

Furthermore, in spite of its lacks microSD card slot and 3.5mm jack, other features that are expected of a phone in this segment, are still present on the Itel S23 Plus. The phone comes with a 5,000mAh battery and USB Type-C port, and it also supports 18W fast charging. Itel S23 Plus also comes with a few other up-to-date features such as NFC. Unfortunately, There's no charger inside the Box of the Itel S23 Plus. So, you have to buy one separately.

Price And Colour Design:

Itel S23 Plu is available in two colour options of Elemental Blue and Lake Cyan. And currently, the price of the phone is about 212,000 Naira.

Other Contenders:

While the S23 Plus lacks microSD card slot, 3.5mm audio jack and charger in the box, Tecno Spark 10 Pro (ki7) and Infinix Hot 30 (x6831) offer all those features, and they still retain virtually all the rest of the Itel S23 Plus. Even the screens of the Infinix and Tecno phones support 90Hz refresh rate, However, their screens have IPS-LCD panels (compared to the AMOLED panel of the S23 Plus). Also, compared to the flagship design and Under-display fingerprint reader of the Itel phone, both Spark 10 Pro and Hot 30 features side-mounted fingerprint readers and they wear regular looks (but sleek). Even, despite that these two phones have the same camera system as the S23 Plus, i prefer the shots from the Itel phone.

Another set of contenders are Tecno Camon 20 (ck6) and Infinix Note 30 (x6716b). Despite that the two more expensive phones packed the same components and have AMOLED panels  as the Itel S23 Plus, it's only the Camon 20 that features Under-display fingerprint reader like the Itel phone. Even, dspite that Note 30 and Camon 20 are fitted with a little higher megapixel rear sensors, the picture qualities of the photos taken with the S23 Plus still rivals those of the two phones. In addition to that, none of the two phones wear the flagship looks of the Itel S23 Plus. However, it seems the AMOLED panels of the Camon 20 and Note 30 are a slightly more brighter than that of the S23 Plus. Still like that of the Itel phone, none of the their displays support high refresh rate.

Itel S23 Plus Design:

Due to its curved (or edge-to-edge) display, Itel S23 Plus has an higher screen-to-body ratio (a little over 90 percent) than most of the competitions. Also in addition to its slim frame, it's also one of the lightest around, about 178g. So, apart from the fact that Itel S23 Plus wears a more premium and elegant looks than most of its peers, it's also more comfortable to hold with on hand (in spite of its big size).

Like the front, the plastic back cover of the Itel S23 Plus is also an edge-to-edge one. And on the upper left side of the back cover is a large and square shaped camera bump. The bump houses the phone's dual rear camera and LED flash in an iPhone style manner. Personally though, i think the camera bump and the camera rings (inside the bump) are rather too big. Regardless of that, the phone still maintain its classic looks. Itel S23 Plus sport a semi-glossy finish, and it looks good on it. Also except for a tiny "Design by Itel" inscription on the top edge of the phone, there's no any other branding or design pattern on the Itel S23 Plus.

Virtually all the ports and slots on the Itel S23 Plus are concentrated on its bottom edge. In other words, the phone's dual 4G nano-SIM slot (and tray), mouthpiece, USB Type-C port and its single speaker are all placed on the bottom edge. The only thing placed on the right edge of the phone is power button and volume rockers. There's nothing on the left edge, neither on the top edge of the phone (except for the inscription mentioned above). It should be noted that Itel S23 Plus doesn't have any IP rating, i.e., it's neither splash nor dust resistance certified.

Nice-Looking Photos:

Compared to the shots from others with similar 50-megapixel main rear sensors, photos taken with the Itel S23 Plus are a little more brighter and have better colour representation. In fact, for a phone at this price point, photos from the Itel S23 Plus look quite impressive.

Even when you Zoom-In (which can go up to 10X like those of others), the shots from S23 Plus camera appear slightly clearer or more detailed than those of the competitions. Also despite that the shots are slightly on the vibrant side (which is also common to the photos of others at this price point), they are devoid of warm tinge and over-saturated colours. Dynamic range also looks good. However, as a result of its lack of dedicted Depth sensor (which can be found on a few contenders), the portrait shots from this Itel phone is not that remarkable.

As expected of a 32-megapixel selfie sensor, photos taken with the S23 Plus front-facing camera are sharp and moderately detailed. Although the selfies are not as vivid as the ones taken with the front-facing cameras of the Camon 20 and Spark 10 Pro, yet, they are clear and have nice colours. And the skin to also looks nice.

Unfortunately, while most of the competitions can shoot videos up to 2K resolution, both the front and rear cameras of the Itel S23 Plus can only go up to 1080p at 30fps (frame per second). Still, the video and audio quality of the recording are good.

Big And Stunning Display:

Apart from the fact that the size of the AMOLED curved display of this Itel phone is approximately the same as that of the Tecno Phantom X2, the 1080p resolution of the screen is also made up of the same pixels (2400-by-1080) as that of the Tecno phone. Also, as i mentioned earlier, other picture qualities (except for the lack support for refresh rate) of the Itel S23 Plus display such as Under-display fingerprint reader, also remain as those of the Phantom X2.

As a result of their identical attributes, the screen of the S23 Plus is as stunning as that of the Tecno flagship phone. In other words, and being an AMOLED panel, the screen of the Itel S23 Plus offers deeper blacks and richer colours, compared to your average IPS-LCD displays. Even despite that the peak brightness (500nit) of the screen is a little lower than that of the Phantom X2 (and Tecno Camon 20), it is still more brighter than those of the competitions that have IPS-LCD panels; especially the ones that claim to have the same peak brightness. As a result of its decent brightness level, the screen of the Itel S23 Plus is more visible under direct sunlight, in addition to its better colour reproduction.

Another unique thing about the Itel S23 Plus display is that the camera area (or cut-out section) of the screen can be made to look like (or mimic) the "Dynamic Island" of the recent iPhones'. And Itel calls this feature "Dynamic Bar". This feature can be activated in the phone's Display Settings. But you need to update the pre-installed software of the phone before you can access (and activate) the Dynamic Bar.

Software And Hardware:

And speaking of its processing power and software. Itel S23 Plus is running on the Android 13 OS. And it comes with a few necessary apps and some bloatware. As usual, some of the bloatware can be uninstalled while others can be disabled. Furthermore, in addition to the Dynamic Bar (mentioned earlier), Itel S23 Plus also features Itel Mobile's in-house Virtual Assistance called Aivana. Though, the functionality of Aivana is similar to that of the Google Assistance or Samsung Bixby, but it has a little touch of ChatGPT.

The Unisoc (Spreadtrum) T616 CPU that powered Itel S23 Plus is in the league of the Helio G85 and Helio G88 CPUs that are inside Camon 20 and Spark 10 Pro. The CPU is also a 12nm 2.0GHz octa-core processor like the MediaTek chipsets. Even when it comes to single-core and multi-core tests, this Unisoc CPU outshined Helio G85 and G88 a little. In other words, and talking about day-to-day usage and multitasking, the performance of the Itel S23 Plus, if not a little smoother, is as smooth and as swift as that of the Camon 20 and Spark 10 Pro.

However, because the GPU (Mali-G57 MP1) of the Unisoc T616 has a lower frequency, compared to that (Mali-G52 MP2) of the Helio G85 and Helio G88, the gaming performance of the Itel S23 Plus falls a little behind of those of the Infinix and Tecno phones. Though this is only noticeable during graphics demanding gaming. Otherwise, the graphics performance of the S23 Plus is as smooth as those of the two phones.

BATTERY:

Like the competitions, and most of others in this segment, Itel S23 Plus comes with a 5,000mAh battery and it supports 18W fast charging. However, if such average fast charging is a deal breaker for you, you can still find some phones that offers 25W (even 33W) fast charging.

Meanwhile, despite that it was reported that the Unisoc T616 CPU that powered this Itel phone is not as energy sipping as the Helio G88 and G88 that come with the main contenders. Yet, in real life usage, S23 Plus is as power conscious as the competitions with MediaTek chipsets. And lastly, with an 18W fast charger, which you'll have to buy separately, it will take you almost two hours to fully charge Itel S23 Plus from zero percent.

Full Specifications Of Itel S23 Plus (S681LN):

GENERAL

Maker: Itel Mobile.

Name: S23 Plus (AD8).

Year Released: Sept, 2023.

Thickness: 7.9mm

Weight: 178g.   

Colour: Elemental Blue & Lake Cyan.

DISPLAY
Screen Type: AMOLED capacitive edge-to-edge display.

Size and Resolution: 6.78-inch, Full-HD+, 2400-by-1080 pixels, 240Hz Touch Sampling Rate (But No High Refresh Rate).

Aspect ratio & Pixel Densities: 20:9, 387PPI.

Protection Corning Gorilla Glass.

PORTS:

3.5mm Audio Jack: No.

USB Type-C Port: Yes.

MicroUSB port: No.

Lightning Connector: No.

Google Assistant Button: No

PERFORMANCE

Chipset: Unisoc (Spreadtrum) Tiger 616 octa-core Processor, 2.0GHz.

GPU: Mali-G57 MP1.

RAM: 4GB/8GB (can be increased, up to 16GB).

Operating System: Android 13.

STORAGE

Internal Storage: 128GB/256GB.

Micro-SD card slot: No.

SIM AND NETWORK

SIM: Nano, Dual SIM slots.

Network:  GSM, HSPA+, & LTE.

CAMERA

Rear camera: Dual-lens; 50MP+AI, LED-Flash.

Front camera: Single-lens, 32MP+ Dual Front Flash.

VIDEO RECORDING:

Rear Cameras: 720p, 1080p @ 30 fps.

Front Camera: 720p, 1080p @ 30 fps.

CONNECTIVITY:

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, HotSpots, USB-OTG, NFC.

BIOMETRIC, SENSORS & LOCATION: 

Security: Face Unlock, Optical-in screen (Under-display) Fingerprint Reader.

Sensors: Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, G-sensor, Accelerometer And

Barometer sensor

Others: GPS, Location (Geo, Glonass), Radio.

BATTERY

Battery Capacity: 5,000mAh.

Qi Wireless-Charging: N/a.

Fast Charging: 18W (Wire).