Officially unveiled on February 1 in San Francisco, Samsung’s Galaxy S23s may not come as a surprise once again as they are the target of multiple leaks and rumors. We take stock.
Every year, the same refrain for Samsung. Even before the official enthronement of its standard bearer, the South Korean manufacturer has to deal with multiple well-supported rumors and numerous information leaks, sometimes even internally.
We take stock of what we can expect from the next Galaxy S23 and its acolytes, which will be unveiled on February 1 in San Francisco (7 p.m. Paris time).
One, two or three Samsung Galaxy S23?
Samsung should unveil three smartphones from its new range as in previous years. The Galaxy S23 would be accompanied by the Galaxy S23+. A very high-end version called Ultra is again whispered.
Design: back change
Change to expect for the look of the next Galaxy S23. The set would have a more immersive screen, without returning to the curved edges which were for a long time the prerogative of the Samsung Galaxy S Edge. The Galaxy S23 would have a 6.1-inch Amoled FHD + flat screen with a punch for the camera, the S23 + with a 6.6-inch Amoled panel when the S23 Ultra would display 6.8 inches of screen diagonal QHD+.
The first two would support an image refresh rate of 120Hz, dynamically adjusting as needed (48-120Hz). The latter would benefit from a variable refresh rate of 1 to 120 Hz. The fingerprint reader would still be positioned under the screen and everything would offer Dolby Atmos speakers.
But it’s on the back that we can expect the biggest change, widely announced in the video invitation to the conference. Forget the black domino, the back of the device would simply bring out the three photo sensors individually, accompanied by the flash on the top.
Everything will be partly designed from recycled materials, but equipped with extremely shock and scratch resistant glass (Gorilla Glass Victus 2).
Camera: the ultimate for the Ultra
Thanks to Roland Quandt, a very well-informed German technophile who seems to have had access to the press renderings before the hour, we know what the camera will most certainly look like. On the Galaxy S23 as on the Galaxy S23 +, we would find the same module configuration on the back: a main sensor of 50 Mpex, an ultra wide-angle of 12 Mpex, all accompanied by a telephoto lens of 10 Mpex with a 3x optical zoom.
But that wouldn’t prevent all high-end 2023 Samsung smartphones from promising mountains and wonders in photo and video (8K/30 fps, HDR 10+), especially with notable improvements in night photography.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra would be based on a main sensor of 200 Mpex, the very last designed by Samsung, with an ultra wide-angle of 12 Mpex and two telephoto lenses: a first of 10 Mpex identical to that of its acolytes, a second telephoto 10 Mpex periscope with 10x optical zoom.
At the front, the selfie camera would be 12 Mpx for all while it was 40 Mpx previously. But Samsung’s technology could compensate.
Processor: goodbye Exynos, hello Snapdragon
The new high-end smartphones from South Korea should this year abandon the famous Exynos processor designed in-house to be equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the most powerful system available on Android. And this for all markets. This will allow devices to be more efficient, to take advantage of many new functions in terms of audio, mobile games, photos, but also possibly satellite messages.
Functions: a full array
Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy S23 range will be able to count on Bluetooth 5.3 connections and Wifi 6E. The Galaxy S23+ and S23 Ultra would benefit from the UWB (Ultra Wideband) function for faster direct connections, especially with Samsung’s connected beacons. All smartphones would be IP68 certified to resist dust and long immersion. The Galaxy 23 Ultra would support the use of the touch pen.
Autonomy: promises of endurance
The Galaxy S23 should benefit from a slightly larger battery than the S22 (3900 mAh against 3700 mAh). It will support a wired charge of 25 W (charger not supplied most likely like previous smartphones). But it is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 which should be the most profitable for the autonomy of the device. The S23 + could boast a larger battery to support its larger screen (4700 mAh), with a supported charge of 45 W. The whole range would offer 10 W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra would see further with a 5000 mAh battery supporting 45 W and promising to make it last a very long time, a shortcoming of the latest models that Samsung promised to fill.
Storage
The Galaxy S23 should make do with two configurations: 128 or 256 GB of storage. The S23 + would offer 256 GB or 512 GB of storage. Both models would come with 8 or 12 GB of memory, depending on the model.
The S23 Ultra would go bigger with the option of opting for 1TB storage with 12GB of RAM.
Prices and colors
According to leaker RGClouds, the Galaxy S23 would start at 799 dollars (about 740 euros HT), which would make it cheaper than the Galaxy S22 at launch (859 euros). The Galaxy S23 + would keep its price (999 dollars / 1059 euros at the launch of the S22 +). The Galaxy S23 Ultra would once again hit the peaks starting at $1,249, slightly less than the $1,299 Galaxy S22 Ultra in its also 256 GB version (there was a 128 GB version last year).
On the other hand, in France, the prices revealed on Twitter this Wednesday suggest a higher billing to be expected.
The colors announced for the Samsung Galaxy S23 would be black, green, cotton white and lavender.
