If you've got a Samsung Galaxy S23, pay attention – you could be using accessories that are causing damage to your expensive piece of kit.
When buying a phone like the Samsung Galaxy S23, getting yourself one of the best protective cases for your device is usually the next step – followed by a screen protector, too, if you're extra cautious. We've all likely experienced the gut-wrenching panic of dropping an expensive smartphone screen-down onto a hard surface, and never want to go through the pain of getting a replacement ever again.
However, the manufacturer has warned that there are some third-party accessories that should be avoided entirely, to ensure the functionality of your S23. This might be a cheeky way of Samsung wanting its customers to only purchase its own branded accessories, but in reality, there are more affordable options out there.
According to a post on the Samsung Community Forum, the company is suggesting that purchasing non-genuine and third-party branded accessories for the Galaxy S23 series could have some repercussions on your new smartphone's functionality, especially relating to the camera.
The latest trend in smartphone accessories seems to be camera lens protectors, a small pane of glass that you can attach to your phone's camera unit (similarly to how you might apply a screen protector) that covers the entire area, or alternatively as individual lens ring covers that wrap around each camera. The purpose of a camera lens protector is to avoid scratches or developing cracks in your actual lenses.
It's the latter type of lens protector that Samsung is warning against, as it claims that moisture and foreign matter can build up or become trapped around the camera rings. Also, supposedly when removing individual camera lens rings from your device, there's the potential to damage or scratch the side of the camera unit.
Additionally, Samsung is essentially saying that it fears customers will be a bit stupid and mistake damage to the camera lens protector (such as cracks and scratches) as damage to the real lenses on the smartphone – and proceed to make "unnecessary visits to service centers" to get the lens protectors repaired. Surely this would never be the case? (Pun intended).
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The company lastly warns that camera focus and image quality are affected when using a camera lens protector – but to be honest, we're unsure of how true this is. A lot of the lens protectors from trustworthy case manufacturers specifically state that the products do not result in any glare, reflection, obstruction, or otherwise interference with your smartphone camera, having been tested thoroughly and with reviews praising the quality.
The other issue that Samsung mentions involves the positioning of the microphone on the new Samsung S23 series of devices. The base model, along with the Samsung Galaxy S23+ and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra models each have a microphone hole at the bottom of the camera, which Samsung advises could be covered up when using non-genuine accessories, resulting in poor transmission and sound.
While this could certainly be an issue when using a cheaply made case, many of the most popular and renowned phone case manufacturers – such as OtterBox, Spigen, Casetify, and Mous – have undoubtedly done the homework correctly and offer the precise cutouts for the device models to ensure compatibility.
This alert from Samsung honestly seems a bit silly and unnecessary. And while it recommends using only genuine or Samsung-certified accessories, that's not always an option for consumers who wish to use specific magnetic accessories, either to mount them onto bikes or for driving safely with a compatible car phone mount.
Our advice: Buy a Samsung official case if you like the design and can afford to do so, otherwise shop around using our guides to the best Samsung Galaxy S23 cases for top recommendations that you can trust, and are budget-friendly too.
• You might also be interested in our comparison of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro vs Google Pixel 7 Pro, as well as this Samsung S23 blurry photo warning! And see our review of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Camera.
• Samsung phones have also been accused of faking images of the moon, and have recently fallen behind Apple in 2023 smartphone sales.
