True to form, Samsung will be the first to kick off the year of smartphones with its “Unpacked” conference on the 1st February 2023. The Galaxy S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra, in evolution rather than revolution, promise to be innovative in a few aspects.
In the high-end mobile market, Apple has only one real competitor. Samsung, the world number 1 in smartphones, is the only Android manufacturer able to sell millions of devices above 1,000 euros. A question of image? Yes, but not only. The Galaxy S range has proven time and time again that it is technologically flawless. Truth be told, in terms of screen quality, camera versatility, and software features, Samsung has arguably the best devices on the planet.
On February 1, 2023, Samsung is organizing its traditional Unpacked event at the start of the year. In addition to new laptops and accessories, the real stars of the event will be the Galaxy S23, its “flagships” for the year 2023. Pending their announcement, Numerama takes stock of the rumors.
Galaxy S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra: three more formats
The Galaxy S of 2023 should look like those of 2022. There should be slight aesthetic changes (like their camera module which would no longer be a block, but just three slightly protruding cameras), but the essentials should be retained. Logic would suggest that Samsung offers:
- One Galaxy S23 with a 6.1 inch screen.
- One Galaxy S23+ with a 6.6 inch screen.
- One Galaxy S23 Ultra with a 6.8-inch screen, but also several exclusive features (LTPO screen, S-Pen stylus, periscopic zoom, etc.)
Thanks to official images obtained by the site WinFuture, we know the design of the Galaxy S23 and their 4 colors. The very sober look of these devices should succeed in seducing the majority of users.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip in France, finally
However, the Galaxy S23 could be much more interesting Android devices than their predecessors. Why ? Because Samsung might be shedding its Exynos chips for the first time, in favor of Qualcomm chips. Do you not understand this sentence? Let us explain it to you.
In the high-end Android universe, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips are the most popular. Oppo, Xiaomi… All use American chips, known for their performance and good energy consumption. Samsung is an exception.
For several years, Samsung has launched two versions of its high-end smartphones:
- One with a processor Snapdragonnormally reserved for the North American market (these models have expanded to Asia recently).
- One with a processor Exynosa range developed directly by Samsung, historically always launched in Europe.
Problem, for 2-3 years, Exynos chips have been highly criticized. Less efficient than the Snapdragon, their main defect is to melt the autonomy quickly. Aware of this situation, Samsung has decided not to launch Exynos versions of some of its flagship mobiles, such as the S21 FE or the Z Fold 4. But, the high-end Galaxy S22s still use Exynos chips, which makes them less recommendable than competitors like the Oppo Find X5 Pro. Barring a huge turnaround, this problem will stop in 2023.
According to rumors (and economic predictions from Qualcomm), Samsung is going to use Snapdragon chips in all markets with its Galaxy S23 line. What anticipate an increase in autonomy and better performance.
200 Mpix, a first for a high-end smartphone
Photographically speaking (this is a complicated start to the sentence), the Galaxy S23 and S23+ should not evolve. Samsung should continue to offer a triple camera module with an ultra wide-angle (12 Mpix), a main sensor of 50 Mpix and an optical zoom x3 (10 Mpix sensor). Expect algorithmic improvements, though, something Samsung already excels at.
On the other hand, the Galaxy S23 Ultra could ramp up. If the ultra wide-angle and zoom part should not be turned upside down (there should always be x3 and x10), the main sensor of Samsung’s “flagship” should improve in quality. We are talking about a passage of a 108 Mpix sensor to a 200 Mpix sensora technology announced by Samsung several months ago.
What is the interest of a 200 Mpix sensor on a smartphone? According to rumors, the size of the sensor would change little (the pixels would therefore be smaller). We must therefore expect a slight evolution, especially dedicated to algorithm improvements (more information captured = better processing). The zoom in the image should also be better. Finally, 8K video could benefit from this change.
Samsung, king of features
If the Galaxy S23 should not be revolutionary smartphones, logic would dictate that they are still among the best devices on the market. We are talking in particular about ultra-bright OLED screens (it’s normal, Samsung makes the best screens in the industry). But, also, a Gorilla Glass Victus 2 glass never used until today, an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the screen, faster UFS 4.0 storage, from 256 GB to 1 TB of storage… As usual, the Korean should not skimp on the material. The S23 Ultra should retain a few advantages such as support for the S-Pen stylus and an LTPO panel with an adaptive refresh rate screen of 1-120 Hz.
In terms of autonomy, Samsung would also make some efforts. We are talking about batteries with capacities of 3900 mAh for the S23 (against 3700 on the S22) and 4700 mAh for the S23+ (4500 on the S22+). The S23 Ultra is expected to retain its predecessor’s very large 5000mAh battery. On paper, Samsung has no serious competition.
What price and release date for the Galaxy S23?
Unveiled on February 1, 2023 at 7 p.m., the Galaxy S23 range should be marketed in the following days. Regarding prices, France can be worried. Inflation and the euro/dollar conversion rate could play tricks on French consumers, especially since the minimum storage would increase from 128 to 256 GB. It is therefore better to be prepared for tariffs higher than the 859, 1,059 and 1 259 euros from last year’s models, which might sting.
