I’m currently using my S9 and got a new battery put in it a few months ago. The S23 has a lower resolution, fewer PPI, removed the headphone jack, removed the SD card, removed easy on gesture, removed the LED notification light, and I think they removed edge lighting (I may have just missed it as they may have moved where it’s at on the new ones) The only new thing the S23 brings is a new camera (i’m not a photographer like 90% of users and those who are have a real camera anyways) and a faster processor - which I’ve never had issues with the speed of my device. It’s unfortunate, but I have yet to find a phone from any manufacturer who can compete with my S9. Every “upgrade” would be a loss of features and nothing to gain. I could see replacing features for other features, but it’s only a net loss. It’s pathetic.
depending on the phone, it might actually be an upgrade when you start looking at resolution and PPI. For example, I have an S9 and if I “upgrade” to an S23, it’s actually a worse visual experience. The S23 has a lower resolution and on top of that, they increased screen size which doubles down on reducing the PPI. Kinda sad that I could physically see text looking worse on a phone 5 years newer than mine.