Every year since 2010, Samsung has released a new entry in its popular Galaxy S flagship series – and we’re expecting 2023 to continue that fine tradition. Plenty of rumours are already circulating regarding what we can expect to see from the new line of smartphones.
Release Date
The release dates for the Galaxy S series have been fairly consistent over the past few years – just check out the dates for when previous models in the series were announced:
Samsung Galaxy S10: February 2019Samsung Galaxy S20: February 2020Samsung Galaxy S21: January 2021Samsung Galaxy S22: February 2022
Going by this, it’s fair to assume that the S23 series will be released in (or around) February 2023. The last three entries in the series have all stuck to a consistent range of three devices; namely the standard model, the Plus version (which has a bigger screen), and finally the Ultra which packs all the most advanced specifications. The S20 and S21 also later saw the addition of an ‘FE’ or ‘Fan Edition’ version that launched several months later, but we’ve yet to see this happen yet for the S22. We expect a similar range of products to make up the Galaxy S23 series too, though it’s yet to be confirmed.
Price
For the price, we’re also going to check out the trends from previous Galaxy S phones. These are the starting prices for models in the Galaxy S21 series:
Samsung Galaxy S21: $799/£769Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus: $999/£949Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: $1199/£1149
And here are the starting prices for models in the Galaxy S22 series:
Samsung Galaxy S22: $799/£769Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus: $999/£949Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: $1199/£1149
As you can see, prices actually stayed the same over the past two years. There’s no guarantee that this will happen for a third year in a row – actually, that seems pretty unlikely – but we anticipate that prices will stay at a similar point, since this pricing model seems to have worked well for Samsung thus far.
Design
Looks may not be everything, but it’s still important to know what your potential future phone will look like. However, the information we’ve got right now doesn’t seem to be that positive if you were hoping for a change. OnLeaks, whose renders are usually early and accurate, provided us with a potential first look at the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in the above tweet, however it is very difficult to actually see any changes from the S22 Ultra. It looks more or less identical, even down to the lack of a proper camera module which was a design feature we bemoaned last time around. Ice Universe, a reliable Samsung source, seems to have identified the biggest design change (above), but it’s just the fact that the screen might not be quite as curved as previously. Hardly enough to get excited about. Perhaps change is in store for the other models in the series though, with OnLeaks once again giving us a sneak preview: As you can see, the module-less camera is apparently going to be rolled out across the range. We remain to be convinced by this style, but hopefully the execution will be better this year.
Camera
The reliable tipster Yogesh Brar claimed the have seen the camera hardware specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and it’s rather impressive. The main camera is said to have a 200-megapixel resolution, there will be a periscope lens with 10x zoom that will have a 10-megapixel resolution, another telephoto with 3x zoom will have an optical zoom of 3x, and finally there will be an ultrawide sensor of 12-megapixel resolution. The biggest change in this set of rumoured specifications would be the massive jump from the 108-megapixel main sensor of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra to this new 200-megapixel snapper. Otherwise, the sensors seem rather familiar to its predecessor. According to GalaxyClub, there will at least be some improvements to the base-level S series phones, with the S23 and S23 Plus apparently qualifying for new 12-megapixel selfie cameras rather than the 10-megapixel snappers or previous generations.
Performance
There could be some significant changes going on under the hood of the Galaxy S23 series. For one thing, we might not see any variants with Samsung’s own Exynos chip. Of the last generation it was only European handsets that ran on this silicon, but according to SamMobile the new policy may be to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips across the board for the next two years, during which time Samsung will work to significantly improve its own processors. These intense rumours were given more weight by none other than the CEO of Qualcomm, Cristiano Amon, who was quoted as saying: “The way you should think about it is Snapdragon will power their Galaxy product line, their Galaxy flagship products. “And what I can say at this point is we were 75% on Galaxy S22 before the agreement. You should be thinking about we’re going to be much better than that on Galaxy S23 and beyond. “Our relationship with Samsung has never been stronger. For more than two decades we’ve worked together to lead the industry and we are pleased to continue this strategic partnership to develop innovative technologies and products using Snapdragon platforms to power more Samsung premium devices globally.”
Battery
Fortunately, there’s also good news when it comes to the battery. According to @TheGalox_ (a noted Twitter tipster) it seems that each and every model in the series is due for a significant battery upgrade, thanks to new stacking tech that allows for greater capacities. The same source foresees that the S23 will be upgraded to 4500mAh (from 3700mAh), the S23 Plus could be expanded to 5000mAh (from 4500mAh) while the S23 Ultra could host a massive 5500mAh cell (from 5000mAh). If true, this means we’d expect to see greatly improved endurance from all of these handsets.
What would we like to see in the Galaxy S23 series?
Battery Boost
From our experience using the S22 Plus and S22 Ultra, we think that the battery is the key area for improvement in the upcoming S23 series. While the other key features such as the screen, camera, and performance are among the best on any phones that you could buy, the middling battery life is a real weak spot, especially when compared to the likes of the iPhone 13. That’s why we’re encouraged to see rumours indicating some improvement on this front.
Ultra Update
The design of the S22 Ultra also needs a bit of a rethink. While the S22 and its Plus-size sibling both have an elegant camera module, on the Ultra we find that the lenses simply stick out, collecting dust and failing to sit flush on any surfaces. Given that this is the brand’s premium handset, there needs to be more thought going into both the appearance and its practicalities.
Bundled Brick
It used to be taken for granted that there would be a charging brick included in the box with any phone, let alone a flagship. Nowadays, you’ll be lucky to find one there. Yet, with phones boosting their fast-charging capabilities year on year, it means that you’re missing out on the benefit if you don’t get a bundled-in upgrade included, meaning you have to splash out yet more money on this key accessory.
