Every year we can expect two big phone launches. As the new year draws near, February is not far away, and we will see the Galaxy S23 soon.
Although the Samsung flagship is not as popular as the iPhone, the Galaxy S23 rumors have been circulating all over the tech media.
Today, we’ll talk about what we can expect from the new Galaxy S series and make some prediction.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Release Date
We once saw the Samsung Unpacked event in January and February. Last year, the Galaxy S22 was unveiled on February 25.
By far, nine out of ten believe that the Galaxy S23 will see the light of day in this February. As for the specific date, some say that it will fall on the first week of February.
And we predict February 14 will be the big day.
Update: Oops! Seems we got it wrong. Samsung has announced that the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked will happen on Feb 1, 10AM PST.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Design
According to leaked pictures of dummy units, the Galaxy S23 looks identical to the S22 series with a similar camera arrangement and similar dimensions. In these leaks, the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus seem to have lost the raised camera platform. Instead, they have a cleaner look like the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
If there’s any noticeable change, it will be on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. News about smartphones with a display that’s curved on all four sides started to circulate last year. That kind of phone looks stunning based on the rendered concept photos. This might be the year we will see such a phone with a water display.
As for colors, the Galaxy S23 lineup comes in four colors: Lavender, Cream, Green, and Phantom Black. The Lavender looks like light pink as it turns lighter this year. The Green impresses us with the dark frame giving off the low-key vibe. And the Phantom Black appears in a restrained feel with hazy back panel and a bit bright dark frame. Speaking of the Cream, its frame comes in goldish like a part of jewllery.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Cameras
The Korean giant introduced its 200MP camera sensor ISOCELL HP1 last year, and it’s said that the Galaxy S23 Ultra will use the 200MP camera sensor but with the upgraded and unreleased ISOCELL HP2. If this is true, it will be the most significant camera hardware update in years. A higher-resolution camera means you can record more detail and take cleaner photos with sharper focus.
Another upgrade we might see is the 12MP front camera. The Galaxy S series has been equipped with a 10MP selfie camera for years. An upgrade is welcomed.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Display
The three Galaxy S23 models will be 6.1-inch, 6.6-inch, and 6.8-inch, the same as last year. All of them will be AMOLED screens with 120Hz refresh rates. Galaxy S23 Ultra's resolution comes in 3088*1440(Edge Quad HD+), and Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ are both with 2340*1080(Flat FHD+).
It’s comfirmed that the S23 Ultra display could feature a max brightness of up to 1,750 nits, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s 2,000 nits. Galaxy S23 will have new Gorilla Glass Victus 2 glass. Besides, Samsung will put the M11 screen on the Galaxy S23.
Additionally, we might expect the Galaxy S23 lineup to get an upgraded fingerprint reader, the latest Qualcomm 3D Sonic Max fingerprint reader. It’s much larger than the current in-display fingerprint reader and can scan multiple fingers simultaneously for added security.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Chip & Performance
Previously, Samsung Galaxy S phones adopted different chipsets. This year, we can expect an all-Snapdragon lineup of Galaxy S23 series phones. And if they stick to their tradition, the new flagship will be powered by Qualcomm’s latest silicon, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. And latest news is Galaxy S23 series will use an exclusive chip named " Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy."
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 uses a mix of ARM cores, of which the Cortex-X3 is the primary core. According to official data from ARM, the Cortex-X3 is 25% faster than the Cortex-X2 used in the Gen 1 chips in the S22 series. Also, some leaked Galaxy S23 benchmarks show that the Snapdragon chipset performs very close to the Apple A16 Bionic.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Battery
Battery life or capacity is a big concern for many people. Unfortunately, we don’t see much improvement in battery life in recent years, whether it’s the iPhone, Galaxy S series, or other phones, because there’s no great progress in terms of phone battery technology, and it’s difficult nor wise to make larger or thicker smartphones nowadays.
Therefore, we don’t expect the Galaxy S23 series will have much bigger batteries this year. That said, the Galaxy S23 and the Galaxy S23+ might get a minor battery size increase. The Galaxy S23 will get a 3,900mAh battery, and the S23 plus will run on a 4,700mAh power pack, while the S23 Ultra will use the same 5,000mAh battery as its predecessor.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Features
Frequent leaker Ice universe said that the Galaxy S23 series would get a lower power mode that “can moderately reduce performance while greatly reducing power consumption without affecting refresh rates”.
We’ve also heard that Samsung will follow Apple by offering satellite SOS services for emergencies, like the iPhone 14. ET news claims that Samsung is working with Iridium Communications and its low-orbit satellites to provide emergency messaging when a phone is out of traditional cell signal. But it didn’t indicate which model will get the capability or how it will be charged.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Price
There isn’t much word on the price yet. But if Samsung goes with its pricing structure, the Galaxy S23 could start at $799.99, the Galaxy S23+ $999.99, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra 1199.99.
Honestly, we don’t expect all the new features discussed above to come true if Samsung doesn’t increase Galaxy S23 prices, given that supply and shipping costs are rising.
Conclusion
The rumored features or designs we found interesting are the four-sided curved display and the 200MP camera sensor. Those would make a huge difference from last year’s Galaxy S22 phones.
