Samsung Galaxy S23: All we know so far about Samsung's next flagship series

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra with the S Pen out Samsung is rumoured to reveal the new Samsung Galaxy S23 range in the coming weeks, but what improvements could we see? Here’s all we know about the future device at this stage. Every year since 2010, Samsung has released a new entry in its popular Galaxy S flagship series – and that’s expected to continue […] The post Samsung Galaxy S23: All we know so far about Samsung's next flagship series appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

Jan 27, 2023 - 01:00

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Samsung Galaxy S23: All we know so far about Samsung's next flagship series

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra with the S Pen out

Samsung is rumoured to reveal the new Samsung Galaxy S23 range in the coming weeks, but what improvements could we see? Here’s all we know about the future device at this stage.

Every year since 2010, Samsung has released a new entry in its popular Galaxy S flagship series – and that’s expected to continue in 2023. The good news is that there have been plenty of leaks of late, providing a decent early look at Samsung’s 2023 flagship line. Here’s all you need to know right now.

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 2019
Samsung Galaxy S20: February 2020
Samsung Galaxy S21: January 2021
Samsung Galaxy S22: February 2022

With that in mind, and the fact that Samsung has been teasing an event due to take place on 1 February 2023, it seems likely that we’re not too far from the reveal of the next-gen smartphone range.

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’re yet to see this happen yet for the S22.

We expect a similar range of products to make up the Galaxy S23 series, though it could be the last year for the S23 Plus if rumours are to be believed.

Price

For the price, we’ll also 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/£769
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus: $999/£949
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: $1199/£1149

And here are the starting prices for models in the Galaxy S22 series:

Samsung Galaxy S22: $799/£769
Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus: $999/£949
Samsung 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 given the state of the world – and rumours do suggest that we could see a price hike in Europe at the very least.

S23 pricing from a Spanish retailer:

S23 8/128 959 Euro
S23 8/256 1019 Euro
S23+ 8/256 1209 Euro
S23+ 8/512 1329 Euro
S23 Ultra 8/256 1409 Euro
S23 Ultra 12/512 1589 Euro
— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) January 24, 2023

Reporter Roland Quandt has revealed a pricing list for the S23 line, supposedly taken from a Spanish retailer. Given the Samsung Galaxy S22 retailed at €879 at launch, the new €959 price tag represents quite a jump, and it’s a similar story with the Plus and Ultra models.

It’s unconfirmed whether we’ll see a similar hike in the UK, US and other territories, but it’s looking increasingly likely.

Interestingly, you can already reserve the latest Galaxy smartphone from the Samsung Store despite the phones not being official just yet.

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 back in September 2022, 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.

The biggest change of the S23 Ultra is the increase in the width of the middle frame, which means that the curved part of the glass will be reduced. pic.twitter.com/Gahw0MzL1D
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) August 28, 2022

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, bringing synchronicity back to the line-up that was missing in 2022. We remain to be convinced by this style, but hopefully the execution will be better this year.

Camera

While rumours suggest a similar design across the S23 range, the same can’t be said with the camera setup, with both unofficial leaks and official teasers painting an interesting picture.

The reliable tipster Yogesh Brar claimed they 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.

So

200MP + 10MP (10X, Periscope Tele) + 10MP (3x Tele) + 12MP (UW)

On the S23 Ultra should be fun?
— Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh) November 3, 2022

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.

S23 Ultra camera sensor changes:
Front camera (40MP GH1→12MP 3LU),
Ultra Wide Angle (12MP IMX563→12MP IMX564),
Main camera (108MP HM3→200MP HP2)
The 3x and 10x telephoto sensors have not changed (IMX754→IMX754)
P 1 is S23 Ultra, P 2 is S22 Ultra
Thanks @edwards_uh pic.twitter.com/QuefuFlB0f
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) January 23, 2023

Months later, Ice Universe provided a complete breakdown of the S23 Ultra’s camera chops, aligning perfectly with Brar’s predictions. Key specs allegedly include the use of the new HP2 sensor for the 200-megapixel snapper and the fact that both the 3x and 10x sensors have not changed compared to the previous gen.

Samsung has recently lifted the lid on the new ISOCELL HP2 200-megapixel image sensor, and with the above in mind, it’s almost a given that we’ll be seeing that exact sensor within the Ultra model.

What kind of photo do you think this is?
5x zoom? 10x zoom?
No, it's a Galaxy S23 Ultra 200MP HP2 photo enlarged by 12x!
Use one word to describe your feelings! pic.twitter.com/m5rS0kZrQG
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) January 19, 2023

Leaked photos have already appeared online, allegedly showcasing the digital zoom capabilities of the S23 Ultra’s 200-megapixel snapper and not the standard 3.5x or 10x zooms. We’d usually expect pixelation when cropping in to such a high level, but the leaked image shows a relatively clear snap free of artifacting.

Interestingly, the Ultra model may see a downgrade in the selfie camera department, with the 40-megapixel snapper from last year allegedly replaced by a 12-megapixel sensor. However, Ice Universe suggests this could be used to enable 4K selfie video, up from the 1080p video of the previous-gen device, so it could actually be an upgrade.

But what about the S23 and S23 Plus? 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.

However, official teasers from Samsung suggest we could be in store for more significant upgrades on the base models. While leaked specs suggest we’ll get the same combination of a 50-megapixel main, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x zoom, official teasers from Samsung suggest it could boast significant low-light enhancements.

Per the teaser, which shows an emerging moon eventually overlayed by the stylised word ‘Mooon’ with the Os replaced by (what’s expected to be) the Galaxy S23’s three rear camera modules, and ends with the words ‘Epic nights are coming’.

It’s likely the same upgrades will come to the S23 Ultra and its main snapper too – no need to get jealous of the base models!

Performance

There could be some significant changes going on under the hood of the Galaxy S23 series. For one thing, rumours suggest 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.”

With that said, it’s likely that the Galaxy S23 range will sport the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 no matter where you are in the world – and it might not be a bog-standard 8 Gen 2 either.

According to reports, the Galaxy S23 range may use an exclusive version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, allegedly dubbed “Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy” with the publication suggesting the chipset could be overclocked to the tune of 3.36GHz, up from 3.2GHz.

The report also claims that the chipset will feature optimisations specific to Samsung smartphones, though it doesn’t go into much detail about what to expect. With other reports suggesting the range will sport improved cooling systems, we could be seeing some seriously powerful smartphones.

Battery

While there were early whispers that suggested the S23 range could see a significant boost to battery life, more recent rumours paint a picture of a more modest upgrade – or in the case of the S23 Ultra, no upgrade at all.

According to Dutch website GalaxyClub, the Galaxy S23 Plus will receive a small 200mAh bump to 4,700mAh while the S23 Ultra will stay at the same 5,000mAh as last year’s model. While that is a decent capacity, we did note that “battery life should be better” in our Galaxy S22 Ultra review.

Nothing was said about the base Galaxy S23 in the report, but given the minimal changes elsewhere, you shouldn’t expect significant gains from the smallest phone in the collection.