Well, it looks like Samsung has learned from Apple’s mistake. I recalled there was a leak last year of the S23 design. It looked the same as the S22. Then came the news of Apple’s less-than-ideal sales for the iPhone 14. That, plus the countless criticisms about now-stale design (of the 14). Thereafter, there were leaks again, this time. A design change and brings us to today (or yesterday, to be precise) when the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Series was officially revealed.
As far as the top-of-the-line Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra goes, Samsung has retained last year’s design. However, both the S23+ and S23 adopted the Ultra’s individual camera module design. Another major change is the processor. In the past, the chip is listed as the number of cores and clock speed but never the specific SoC because that is region dependent. This year, however, it is listed as Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy (yes, it is a bespoke SD8 G2) which signifies that the same chip will be used on the new Galaxy S series across all regions.
The snappy chip is only fast but it also boasts “groundbreaking AI, future-ready mobile gaming feature, and powerfully sustained gameplay with the world’s fastest mobile graphics.” The bespoke SoC reportedly features a Cortex-X3 core with a max clock speed of 3.36 GHz and the Adreno 740 GPU has been overclocked too, pushing the original clock speed of 680 MHz to 719 MHz. As of February 01, the SD8 G2 found on the Galaxy S23 is the fastest Snapdragon available today.
In the imaging department, the new Ultra has the most radical upgrade with a 200 MP camera system working alongside 3 other cameras which include a 12 MP ultra-wide, a 10 MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and another 10 MP telephoto with 10x optical zoom. But the front’s hole punch camera seems to have downgraded to a 12 MP sensor.
The camera system on the Samsung Galaxy S23/S23+ though did get a lot of bumps. It is a tri-camera setup featuring a 50 MP wide, a 12 MP ultra-wide, and a 10 MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom. Over the front, it has a 12 MP hole-punch camera.
However, the battery gets a slight bump in capacity with the S23 outfitted with a 3,900 mAh battery and the S23+, a 4,700 mAh battery.
The Galaxy S23 series comes in four nature-inspired matte hues: Phantom Black, Cream, Green, and Lavender. They will go on sale on February 17, 2023.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra starts at US$1,199.99 while the Galaxy S23+ and S23 start at US$799.99 and US$1,049, respectively. Skip ahead for the infographics of the specifications.
All images courtesy of Samsung.
