Budget phones have been value packed in the past few months, but nothing can beat what itel has to offer with the S23+. A brand known for its budget offerings, itel took a big leap with the S23+ by adding features that are unheard of in a budget phone in the Philippines. 

Based on our initial impressions, the itel S23+ sets the new benchmark for king of value in the budget segment. Here are the things that make us think the S23+ is the new budget king:

Curved AMOLED display. No one has ever imagined seeing a curved AMOLED display on a budget smartphone, yet itel pulled it off with the S23+. They went all-in with their display of choice: it’s a large 6.78-inch panel with a Full HD+ resolution, crisp and vibrant colors, and a serviceable brightness range that’s usable even under broad daylight. You even get Gorilla Glass 5 protection, which is also a rare feature to find on a budget phone. 

An in-display fingerprint scanner!? itel even pushes it further with the S23+ by equipping it with a modern in-display fingerprint scanner that’s just as accurate as the usual side-mounted fingerprint scanner used by the competition. It’s very impressive to see a budget phone with this feature, and this should set a benchmark to brands that intend to use AMOLED displays on their budget offerings. Having an in-display fingerprint scanner also makes the S23+ more stylish, having a design that reminds you of mid-range phones at a much lower price point. 

Stacked cameras. While budget phones nowadays have a 50-megapixel rear camera as a standard feature, itel makes things even better with a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. It is the highest resolution we’ve seen on a budget phone, and the selfies we took with it are better than the competition’s 8-megapixel selfie cameras. The same can be said about the main camera, which performs better than the competition. 

Cool software features. Despite being a budget phone, the S23+ has a few novel software features like Aivana AI assistant that makes use of ChatGPT to answer your queries and a Dynamic Bar that lets you conveniently view your notifications at a glance. itel will be updating the S23+ to include the Dynamic Bar, so stay tuned for that update!

Insane pricing. Would you believe that you get those features for only Php 7,499? Not only that, the variant that itel is bringing to the Philippines comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage, making the S23+ one of the most affordable phones in the market with a 256GB internal storage! Pair that with its class-leading curved AMOLED display, and the S23+ is the new budget king for 2023 hands down. It’s hard to find any budget phone that looks this gorgeous, and itel definitely wins with the S23+.

You can buy the S23+ at itel’s official Shopee store .