Samsung Galaxy S23, S23 Plus and S23 Ultra smartphones represent the beginning of a new generation of mobile devices. This article will tell you everything you need to know about the three smartphones in terms of design, screen, features, camera, performance, autonomy, and software.
The Galaxy S22 series will be replaced by the Galaxy S23 and its Plus and Ultra variants. We are still eagerly awaiting these newcomers to the most popular premium range in the Android ecosystem. Will we qualify for modest development or significant changes and innovations? In this detailed Galaxy S23 article, you can find an answer to this question.
Galaxy S23 release date
When it comes to releasing its flagship series smartphones, Samsung sticks to a very strict schedule. The South Korean manufacturer usually launches its Galaxy S phone in February. Because it is no longer shown at MWC in Barcelona, where it previously revealed its new models at the end of February for marketing in March. Remember that on February 9 at the Unpacked conference, the Galaxy S22, S22 +, and S22 Ultra were revealed before they went on sale on February 25.
However, Samsung has a good chance of launching the Galaxy S23 earlier than expected. The three new models could well be launched in early 2023, in January. This would be consistent with Qualcomm’s announcements that its upcoming Snapdragon Summit will take place in mid-November instead of early December. Samsung will likely be able to access chips earlier than in previous years, just like other manufacturers.
A poster from Korean carrier KT states that the smartphones will be revealed starting December 23 (or even the day before). With general availability in stores starting January 6, 2023. It will be interesting to see if this leak is verified.
Galaxy S23 prices
To get an idea of who might be charged for this new generation, we’ll have to settle the Galaxy S22 prices, pending the officialization of prices by Samsung or a reliable leak from a distributor:
Galaxy S22:
- 8GB + 128GB: $799 / £769 / €879
- 8GB + 256GB: $849 / £819 / €929
Galaxy S22+:
- 8GB + 128GB: $999 / £949 / €1,079
- 8GB + 256GB: $1,049 / £999 / €1,129
Galaxy S22 Ultra:
- 8GB + 128GB: $1,199 / £1,149 / €1,279
- 12GB + 256GB: $1,299 / £1,249 / €1,379
- 12GB + 512GB: $1,399 / £1329 / €1,489
- 12GB + 1TB: $1,599 / £1,499 / €1,689
Galaxy S23 design
Samsung is somewhat conservative with its Galaxy S line-up of smartphones, similar to Apple with its iPhones. The Galaxy S22 Ultra, which replaced the Galaxy Note by including a slot for the S Pen and adopting a less curved and more square design, was the latest significant change. The Galaxy S23 Ultra will likely have a more angular body than the S22 Ultra, according to an insider from Ice Universe. The curved effect of the screen will also be less noticeable.
Interestingly, OnLeaks, who was involved in rendering all the models, confirmed this. The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s two rear sensors are integrated into the phone’s body, giving it an edge over the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s slightly thicker chin. Furthermore, we know that the Galaxy S23 Ultra will be smaller than the S22 Ultra, measuring 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.8mm versus 163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9mm.
The design of the Galaxy S23 series will be very similar to what we already know for the most part. The punch will return because there won’t be a selfie camera under the screen like on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. This generation confirms that cameras are often the components that change frequently between the two. The three cameras on the Galaxy S23 and S23+ protrude from the back cover of the smartphone, forming three distinct islands as a result.
There will also be a slight difference in dimensions. According to OnLeaks, the Galaxy S23 will be 146.3 x 70.8 x 7.6mm in size compared to the Galaxy S22’s dimensions of 146.0 x 70.6 x 7.6mm. Samsung will enlarge its smartphone a bit while keeping the thickness the same. As a result, contrary to all expectations, the borders of the screen will expand. The dimensions of the Galaxy S23+ should be 157.7 x 76.1 x 7.6mm compared to the Galaxy S22+ 157.4 x 75.8 x 7.64mm. Thus, the smartphone is 0.3 mm longer than the smaller variant, but it is also 0.3 mm wider. Therefore, the border can become 0.15 mm thicker on each side.
Unsurprisingly, all three smartphones will have IP68 certification, making them dust and water resistant.
Galaxy S23 screens
For the S23 series, Samsung uses high-level Super AMOLED display technologies. Thus, as has been the case since the Galaxy S21, Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays are HDR10+ compatible and offer a refresh rate of up to 120Hz on all models. The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a screen resolution of 3088 x 1440 pixels (Quad HD+). While the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus screens have 2340 x 1080 pixels (Full HD+). They are also classic in terms of sizes:
- Galaxy S23: 6.1 inch
- Galaxy S23 +: 6.6 inch
- Galaxy S23 Ultra: 6.8 inches
The Galaxy S23 Ultra should once again be the only model with an LTPO 2.0 display, which will enable it to change the refresh rate dynamically from 1 to 120 Hz in order to adapt to the content displayed and thus save some battery.
Samsung should install Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic Max, which is already on the Vivo X80 Pro, under the S23 Ultra’s display. This sensor can register your fingerprint with a single tap and is faster and wider than other sensors. In addition, it supports security mode that uses two fingerprints simultaneously.
Galaxy S23 performance
It’s been debated for years that Samsung might stop using its own Exynos chips in its high-end smartphones in Europe, and now that might actually happen. Exynos SoCs will not be introduced by Samsung in 2023 or 2024. The manufacturer wants to take its time developing a new high-performance chip for the market in 2025, as Exynos has always struggled to compete with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon. The ultimate goal will be to compete with Apple, the industry leader and the great champion.
The South Korean company and Qualcomm have agreed on a multi-year strategic partnership to deliver the chips. In order to prevent heating and conserve battery, the S23 series will therefore ship with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, which has been announced to be more efficient than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, especially at the GPU level. This was also confirmed by Qualcomm’s Chief Financial Officer, Akash Palkhiwala.
This year, Qualcomm will choose a 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 base configuration, with a Cortex-X3 Prime core running at 3.36GHz, a Cortex-A715 core, a Cortex-A710 core, and three Cortex-A510 cores, all running at 2.0GHz. This information was also verified by the initial Geekbench benchmark for the Galaxy S23. Galaxy S23 scored 1524 points on a single core and 4597 points when using multiple cores.
In terms of connectivity, it’s clear that all Galaxy S23 devices are compatible with 5G and Wi-Fi 6E, but we may also be entitled to the new Wi-Fi 7 standard. The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus both have 8GB of RAM, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra has 8 or 12GB. The Galaxy S22 and S22+ also have a choice of 128 or 256 GB of internal storage. Unlike 256, 512GB or 1TB for the S23 Ultra.
Galaxy S23 battery life
We regret the somewhat limited autonomy of the Galaxy S22. With the Galaxy S23, Samsung has to get it right. The smartphones in the series are all slightly larger than the previous models, as mentioned earlier. The brand should be able to increase the size of the built-in battery in two of its products by about 5% due to space savings. The Galaxy S23’s battery will be around 3900 mAh compared to the 3,700 mAh in the Galaxy S22. In addition, the Galaxy S23 + battery capacity will be 4,700 mAh compared to the 4,500 mAh capacity of the Galaxy S22 +.
Despite this, only the Galaxy S23 Ultra will continue to have a 5,000mAh battery. In fact, we were able to see a photo of the battery before launch, confirming the same capacity. Additionally, on November 3, 2022, IceUniverse leaker revealed on Twitter that the Galaxy S23 will have a unique power-saving mode. In fact, it will extend battery life by lowering performance a bit. In addition, and most importantly, this option will not affect the refresh rate of the board. As a result, it will be possible to maintain 60 or 120 Hz with the benefit of additional autonomy.
Galaxy S23 camera
Every year, the Galaxy S Ultra ranks among the best smartphones available. And the Galaxy S23 Ultra should be no different. The 108MP sensor on the Ultra since the Galaxy S20 will be replaced by a new 200MP photo module by Samsung this year, an innovation. But it shouldn’t be the well-known Samsung ISOCELL HP1, which we’ve seen in action on Xiaomi and Motorola smartphones. Instead, Samsung will create ISOCELL HP2, a variant of HP1. With a smaller sensor (1/1.3 inch) but still effective.
Due to the more complex pixel fusion technology, this 200MP will not only enable you to take ultra-high resolution photos but also produce photos with more light. In fact, because this sensor has such a large number of pixels. It is now possible to combine several of them to create larger and brighter pixels while maintaining high resolution.
Due to its highly advanced night mode, some are already quick to announce that the Galaxy S32 Ultra will be the best photography smartphone in 2023. The Galaxy S23 Ultra should keep the optics of the S22 Ultra, which includes a 10-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, a 10-megapixel telephoto lens With optical image stabilization and optical zoom up to 3x, and a 10MP surround lens with 10x optical zoom.
Although at the moment it is unknown whether the hardware upgrade was intended or not. The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus will keep a joint technical sheet regarding the camera. ISOCELL GN5 50MP main sensor, 12MP ultra wide angle. And a 10MP telephoto lens with 3X optical zoom will be there if nothing changes.
Since the Ultra model debuted in the lineup, the front camera for selfies has always benefited from a 40MP unit. This should continue to be the case. In recent years, the 10MP lens on the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus could be replaced by a 12MP lens.
Galaxy S23 software
The Galaxy S23 series of smartphones will debut with One UI 5, Samsung’s custom interface built on Android 13. The latest version of the mobile operating system. In this version, the interface design has been changed. The notification panel has been redesigned, there are also new alert icons, and slightly tweaked transparency for quick settings. And change the location of the Manage User Permissions dialog.
The company has also improved the system’s animations and added new multitasking gestures. Optical character recognition, which recognizes text from images for simple copy-and-paste, is one of the new features. Evaluating the WiFi connection quality of OneUI 5.0’s Internet connection is another innovation. It enables you to access a wealth of data about your home network’s performance, identify dead spots throughout your property, and direct the proper installation of Wi-Fi repeaters.