Welcome to the party! Itel officially breaks into the market with its latest product, the Itel S23+. There are a few points to note about the Itel S23+ that arose from the first impressions video I made. It seems that several viewers took offense with the chosen name for the Itel S23+, arguing that it encroaches too closely to Samsung's trademark style of naming their devices.

The Itel S23+ is very light and thin to the touch, making even the Google Pixel 6 feel chunky by comparison. The back design is now more understated and sophisticated, leaving behind gaudy patterns or obnoxious branding. However, one questionable addition to the design is the 'Super' label.

On the back, there is a dual-camera system accompanied by a dual LED flash, while the SIM tray is found at the bottom. Notably, there is no memory card slot this time, leaving only space for a dual SIM setup. The front panel houses a stunning 6.78-inch FullHD AMOLED display that curves beautifully at the edges, truly the crowning glory of this budget device costing below $200.

Diving into the features of the Itel S23+, it comes equipped with useful enhancements for your social media experience, notably for WhatsApp. A menu dedicated to 'Social Turbo' contains a variety of valuable features such as Video Retouching, Peak mode, and a voice recorder that, for the first time, allows recording of WhatsApp voice calls.

In addition, the Itel S23+ also comes with memory fusion technology that allows borrowing of internal storage to boost the phone's RAM. The introduction of the AI assistant, Aivana, based on custom tweaks to ChatGPT, allows for more natural and effective interactions, outperforming Itel's previous Ella device assistant.

Shedding some light on the specifications, the Itel S23+ has 8GB of RAM with 256GB of storage and runs on a Unisoc T616 CPU. It appears Itel chose to make some budgetary cutbacks in this area. Unfortunately, a memory card slot and headphone jack are noticeably missing. The camera features, while impressive under perfect conditions, underperform when conditions become less than ideal.

The robust 5000mAh battery coupled with 18W charging is commendable, providing decent battery life that could last up to two days. The overall verdict is that the Itel S23+ offers excellent value for money and is a brilliant choice given its sub $200 price tag, particularly with its impressive AMOLED display.