All Mobile Matters • 8 min read

The Galaxy S23 is Samsung’s return to the compact flagship formula after the S22 — same 6.1-inch size, same flat display, same triple-camera layout — but with one change that actually matters on our bench: for the first time, Samsung added a pull tab to the battery. If you’ve read our Galaxy S22 repair guide, you know that’s been our biggest complaint about Samsung’s flagships for years.

We still see plenty of Galaxy S23 phones come through our shops across Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, and Tucson. If yours has a cracked screen, a battery that’s stopped making it through the day, or a shattered back panel, here’s exactly what to expect when you bring it to All Mobile Matters.

The Phone at a Glance

The Samsung Galaxy S23 launched on February 17, 2023, alongside the S23 Plus and S23 Ultra, starting at $799. Here’s the quick-reference breakdown:

Display 6.1-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, adaptive 48–120Hz, flat panel, 1080 x 2340
Processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy — one chipset worldwide, no regional Exynos split
Battery 3,900mAh — 25W fast charge, 15W wireless, reverse wireless
Back Material Gorilla Glass Victus 2 — flat, redesigned camera housing
Frame Armor Aluminum
Front Glass Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Fingerprint Sensor Ultrasonic in-display
Water Resistance IP68 (30 min at 1.5m)
Cameras 50MP main + 10MP telephoto (3x) + 12MP ultra-wide
Storage / RAM 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB / 8GB RAM

The camera specs carried over from the S22 almost untouched, but Samsung dropped the raised camera island entirely — the S23’s three lenses sit in individual rings directly on the back glass instead. It’s a cleaner look, and on the bench it means less of a ledge to catch on a face-down drop. The chipset story changed too: every S23 worldwide runs the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, ending the Snapdragon-in-the-US, Exynos-everywhere-else split that shaped the S22 lineup. If you’re weighing this against last year’s model, our Galaxy S22 guide is worth a look for comparison, and if you need the larger screen instead, our Galaxy S22 Plus guide and Galaxy S22 Ultra guide cover the curved-screen siblings.

How We Rate This Phone

Repairability: 4/10

iFixit bumped the S23 up a full point over the S22 and S22 Ultra, and the reason is simple: Samsung finally added a pull tab to the battery. After years of gluing batteries down with no easy way to release them, that’s a genuine, meaningful improvement — the kind we’ve been hoping to see on a Samsung flagship for a while. The rest of the phone is still adhesive-heavy at the display and back glass, and iFixit noted Samsung would need to release official parts and repair manuals to climb any higher. Standard Phillips screws throughout and clear internal labeling for reassembly round out the improvements.

Durability: 4/10

Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back offers a modest improvement in drop resistance over the Victus+ glass on the S22, and the flat display and flat back both avoid the edge-impact vulnerability that curved panels carry. That said, it’s still glass on both sides, and a hard enough drop cracks the S23’s screen or back just as easily as its predecessor. Add in years of charge cycles and Arizona summer heat, and battery degradation is the other issue we see constantly on these phones. If your S23 is struggling to hold a charge, the battery is almost always why — and now it’s a much faster fix than it used to be.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Screen Repair in Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler & Tucson

Typical timeframe: 60–90 minutes | Parts: In stock at all locations | Pricing: Samsung repair page

Every repair at All Mobile Matters starts the same way: we log the device, run a full pretest to document what’s working and flag anything that isn’t, confirm the cost with you upfront, and give you an honest time estimate before anything gets opened. If you want the full rundown of that process, our post on How Does the Device Repair Process Work at All Mobile Matters is worth a read.

For the S23 screen specifically, here’s what happens on the bench:

  1. SIM tray out, bottom screws removed. The phone goes on our heating pad to soften the display adhesive around the full perimeter. The flat panel means there’s no curved geometry to fight — we heat evenly and work methodically from the bottom edge up.
  2. We apply a suction handle and slowly work the display free with picks sized for this chassis. Once the panel separates, the display connector comes off and the screen is set safely aside.
  3. The in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor components transfer to the new panel, followed by a full calibration sequence — touch response, fingerprint recognition, display uniformity, brightness. Skipping this step is how a repair shop hands back a phone with an unreliable fingerprint sensor. We don’t skip it.
  4. Fresh adhesive goes around the full frame perimeter. The replacement display seats into position, we apply even clamping pressure while it cures, and all screws go back in. Full function check before the phone goes back in your hand.

Not sure which display grade is right for your situation? Our guide on screen replacement grades explains the difference in plain language.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Battery Replacement in Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler & Tucson

Typical timeframe: 60–75 minutes | Parts: In stock at all locations | Pricing: Samsung repair page

This is the repair that actually got faster on the S23, and it’s worth explaining why. Getting to the battery still means getting the back glass off first, same as the S22 — but once we’re in, the pull tab replaces what used to be the slowest, most nerve-wracking part of the job. Here’s the full sequence:

  1. SIM tray out, bottom screws removed. The back glass goes on the heating pad to soften the perimeter adhesive. We heat slowly and evenly — glass doesn’t tolerate the shortcuts that plastic does, and rushing this step is how a back panel ends up shattering before we’ve even gotten inside the phone.
  2. Once the adhesive has released enough, we work the glass free with a suction handle and picks, protecting the wireless charging coil and its flex cable along the way. Mid-frame screws come out and the interconnect cables above the battery get disconnected.
  3. Here’s the difference: instead of applying isopropyl alcohol and waiting for old-style adhesive to slowly dissolve, we pull the battery’s stretch-release tab in one steady, controlled motion. It’s faster and it’s more predictable than the old process, but we still treat every lithium cell with the same caution — a punctured or deformed battery, even at zero charge, is a genuine fire risk. Every old cell we remove is recycled through our proper disposal process, never the trash.
  4. The new battery connects and secures, and we test charging and power-on before closing anything up.
  5. A fresh back glass panel reseats with new adhesive, all screws reinstall, and we run a full function check — charging, display, fingerprint sensor, cameras — before you get the phone back.

If your screen and battery both need attention, ask about our bundle pricing. Doing both in one visit is meaningfully more affordable than two separate trips.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Back Glass Repair in Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler & Tucson

Typical timeframe: Under 90 minutes | Parts: In stock at all locations | Pricing: Samsung repair page

A face-down drop or a bump on a hard corner is often all it takes to spiderweb the S23’s back glass. The redesigned camera rings actually help slightly here compared to the S22’s raised camera island — there’s less of a ledge to take the brunt of an impact — but the glass itself cracks just as easily once it takes a direct hit.

  1. Phone on the heating pad to soften the perimeter adhesive around the shattered back glass. We work slowly and methodically, since broken glass with weakened structural integrity is more prone to shifting or cracking further mid-removal than an intact panel.
  2. With the back fully released, we clean every trace of old adhesive and any remaining glass fragments from the frame. Leftover residue creates an uneven bond on the new panel — and potential gaps where moisture and dust can work their way inside over time. We don’t cut this step short.
  3. The replacement back panel installs with fresh adhesive applied evenly around the full perimeter. Consistent clamping pressure and proper cure time matter here just as much as they do on the screen side.
  4. Full function check — cameras, wireless charging, display, fingerprint sensor — before the device leaves our hands.

Come See Us

I started All Mobile Matters because people deserve a repair shop that’s straight with them: here’s what’s wrong, here’s what it costs, here’s when it’ll be done. That’s still what we do. And with the S23, the pull-tab battery is a small thing that makes a real difference — it means less time on our bench and, in some cases, a little less on the bill.

We keep Galaxy S23 parts in stock at all of our locations. Most repairs go same day. Whether you’re in Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, or Tucson, we’ve got you covered — and if you’re not local, our mail-in repair service handles customers across Arizona and beyond.

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