The Samsung Galaxy S23 series is here, and it brings a fast new chipset, a 200MP camera with a new sensor for the Ultra, bigger batteries for the other two, and, at least for some regions, new prices.
Samsung Galaxy S23 series infographic
Pricing for most regions was announced on Wednesday, details for India came a day later. While North America has avoided price increases, the rest of the world has not. But everything is getting more expensive, and Samsung has compensated for the price hike by doubling the base storage for the S23+ and S23 Ultra. Is that right – or is it true?
In case you missed it, check out our hands-on review with the three phones and see Will’s report from the Unpacked event. Now let’s get into the details.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has changed the least on the outside but has the best updates on the inside. Yes, we are talking about Samsung’s first 200MP camera. A sister company made the ISOCELL HP2 sensor just for the Ultra, it’s different from the HP1 and HP3 we’ve seen on other phones. Super Quad Pixel autofocus should be a major improvement over the AF systems on previous 108MP and 200MP phones. Samsung has also updated the OIS system, so it can now correct angles up to 3.0° (twice the 1.5° the S22 Ultra OIS can handle).
All three phones use the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset for Galaxy, which runs its main core at 3.36GHz (up from 3.2GHz on other Gen 2 phones). The GPU is also faster, although Qualcomm doesn’t comment on the details (we’ll find out through benchmarks anyway). However, the Ultra is the only one with the option for 12GB of RAM. Considering phones with 16GB aren’t uncommon, 8GB seems limiting.
The S23 Ultra bids for the king of the smartphone camera. Whether it earns the crown is a subject that will have to wait for reviews. But based on what you’ve seen so far, will you book an Ultra today (and enjoy some of the early bird perks) or would you rather wait and see? Vote below or using this page.
The Samsung Galaxy S23+ and its smaller sibling still feature flat displays. We doubt we’ll hear any complaints about it. But they’re still FHD+ LTPS panels at a time when QHD+ and LTPO are expected as flagships. We can already hear the complaints.
These two also have the least to show for in the way of camera upgrades. The new selfie camera has a slightly higher 12MP resolution (this is an upgrade for S23 and S23+, downgrade for Ultra). Video recording has also been improved with support for 8K at 30fps for the rear and Super HDR at 60fps for the front cameras. However, there is still no autofocus for the ultra wide angle camera.
The Ultra missed a battery upgrade, but the S23 and S23+ got a 200mAh boost. Charging speed for the two largest phones is pegged at 45W like last year. While Samsung sells self-repair kits for its flagships, it doesn’t believe in pushing the battery to the max (and the kits don’t include new batteries anyway).
What do you think: Is this the year to go for the Plus model or maybe one of the other two models looks better? Vote below or using this page.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 is the only one stuck with 25W charging. And the only one to have a 128GB storage option (with UFS 3.1, though real-life impact is yet to be determined). Despite missing several updates, the little S23 hasn’t escaped the price hike.
However, there is a good chance that it will outsell its Plus brother: According to reports, this was the case with the S22 generation and the S23/S23+ have the same advantages and disadvantages compared to each other. It’s one of the smallest Android flagships (it’s roughly the same size as the Zenfone 9), and it’s the cheapest of the three.
And you: are you looking at the pre-order page with your finger over the “Buy” button? Vote below or using this page.
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