Samsung is bringing its new $300 Galaxy A23 5G phone to the US, which adds another model into the company's A-series of cheaper phones. The phone is the latest to target budget-conscious customers amid growing competition in the affordable phone space from Google and Apple. It also comes as inflation has impacted smartphone shipments. The Galaxy A23 5G will be available on Sept. 1 through Samsung, AT&T, T-Mobile and other retailers.

Samsung previously announced the Galaxy A23 5G, but it's only just now bringing it to the US market. At $300, the A23 is cheaper than the $400 Galaxy A42 5G but slightly more expensive than the $250 Galaxy A13 5G. It's also priced in line with the OnePlus Nord N20 5G, which is also $300. 

The Galaxy A23 5G has a 6.6-inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, making it roughly the same size as many of Samsung's other A-series phones. Unlike Samsung's pricier devices, there's a V-shaped notch for the front camera rather than a more subtle hole-punch cutout. 

Although the Galaxy A23 5G technically has four rear cameras, it's really the 50-megapixel main camera that's worth paying attention to. The ultrawide camera has just a 5-megapixel sensor, which means the resolution may not be very sharp. Similarly, there's also a 2-megapixel macro lens for taking close up shots and a 2-megapixel depth lens. While those latter three cameras have a lower resolution, it's fairly common at this price for just the main camera to get the best specs. The front selfie camera has an 8-megapixel resolution. 

Like many of Samsung's A-series phones, the Galaxy A23 5G has a 5,000 mAh battery. When testing Samsung's under-$200 Galaxy A phones, my colleague Mike Sorrentino said he was able to get through about two days with that battery capacity. Keep in mind, however, that none of those phones support 5G while the A23 does. Boosting the A23 5G's refresh rate, which enables smoother scrolling, will also likely drain the battery faster. 

The Galaxy A23 5G runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 695 processor, the same chip found inside the similarly priced OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G and the N20 5G. There's 64GB of internal storage, which is a step up from the 32GB of storage found on Samsung's sub-$200 phones like the Galaxy A03S and matches the $250 Galaxy A13 5G. But like that phone, the Galaxy A23 5G also comes with a microSD card slot that allows for up to 1TB of expandable storage. 

Although Samsung's Galaxy S phones and foldable devices draw the most attention, its Galaxy A line has been successful. The Galaxy A series made up 58% of Samsung's overall smartphone sales in 2021, according to data from Counterpoint Research provided to CNET.

But Samsung is also facing more competition from rivals like Google and Apple. Google's $449 Pixel 6A, which directly competes with the $450 Galaxy A53 5G, was well received by critics. Apple also launched the third-generation $429 iPhone SE in March.

Still, consumers are craving even more affordable devices as inflation has impacted smartphone demand, reports market research firm Canalys Research. Brian Lynch, an analyst with Canalys Research, said in a recent report that devices that cost between $250 and $600 like the iPhone SE, Galaxy A53 5G and Galaxy A33 performed poorer than expected. Meanwhile, demand for lower-end devices is remaining solid, according to Lynch's report. The Galaxy A23 5G is part of Samsung's effort to further reach consumers in the US looking to spend well below $500 on a new 5G phone.