It's that time of year again. Samsung has announced its latest flagship series of phones for the year, and as always, these set the benchmark for a flagship Android phone for the upcoming year.
Samsung has deviated from previous trends this year. This is the first time that phones will be using a Qualcomm chipset for all regions, rather than the weird mixture of Exynos and Qualcomm they have done in previous years.
Qualcomm has been under pressure from both Samsung and MediaTek in recent years, but it is looking like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will be hard to beat this year.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G Dual SIM Android Mobile Phone,... |
£1,399.00 |
Buy on Amazon | |
|
Samsung Galaxy S23+ 5G Dual SIM Android Mobile Phone, 512GB,... |
£1,149.00 |
Buy on Amazon | |
|
Samsung Galaxy S23 5G Dual SIM Android Mobile Phone, 256GB,... |
£899.00 |
Buy on Amazon |
Models
As always, the S23 includes multiple models, and it follows the same trend as previous generations. You have:
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (6.8-inch edge display)
- Samsung Galaxy S23 + (6.6-inch flat display)
- Samsung Galaxy S23 (6.1-inch flat display)
Specification
| Samsung Galaxy S23 | S23 Ultra | Galaxy S23+ | Galaxy S23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Octa-core (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) Adreno 740 |
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| Display | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1750 nits (peak) 6.8 inches, 114.3 cm2 (~89.5% screen-to-body ratio) 1440 x 3088 pixels (~501 ppi density) Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+ 6.6 inches, 106.9 cm2 (~88.9% screen-to-body ratio) 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~390 ppi density) Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+ 6.1 inches, 91.3 cm2 (~88.1% screen-to-body ratio) 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~422 ppi density) Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
| RAM | 8GB / 12GB | 8GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 256GB / 512GB / 1TB UF4 | 256GB | 128GB/256GB |
| Rear Camera | 200 MP, f/1.7, 23mm (wide), 1/1.3", 0.6µm, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS 10 MP, f/4.9, 230mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.52", 1.12µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.52", 1.12µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF | 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.94", 1.0µm, PDAF, 3x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55" 1.4µm, Super Steady video | 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.94", 1.0µm, PDAF, 3x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55" 1.4µm, Super Steady video |
| Video | [email protected]/30fps, [email protected]/60fps, [email protected]/60/240fps, [email protected], HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS | [email protected]/30fps, [email protected]/60fps, [email protected]/60/240fps, [email protected], HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS | [email protected]/30fps, [email protected]/60fps, [email protected]/60/240fps, [email protected], HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS |
| Front Camera | 12 MP, f/2.2, 25mm (wide), PDAF | ||
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth: 5.3, A2DP, LE USB: USB Type-C 3.2, OTG |
||
| Battery | 5000 mAh | 4700 mAh | 3900 mAh |
| Charging | 45W wired, PD3.0 10W wireless (Qi/PMA) 4.5W reverse wireless | 45W wired, PD3.0 10W wireless (Qi/PMA) 4.5W reverse wireless | 25W wired, PD3.0 10W wireless (Qi/PMA) 4.5W reverse wireless |
| OS | Android 13, One UI 5.1 | ||
Features
For the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, you have a newly shaped curvature on the display edge, creating a new larger surface area compared to previous generations, which should improve usability. The other two smaller models retain a flat display.
All three models come in four colours:
- Phantom Black
- Cream
- Green
- Lavender
Samsung claims the new phones use an eco-friendly design that minimises the impact on the environment by using more recycled materials than the previous generation.
Of course, one of the most eco-friendly designs would be a phone that is easily repairable, but Samsung made no mention of this. The best they could offer was stating that this phone is designed to be reliable for years to come.
This is the first phone to use Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which offers more durability for long-term use while also containing 22% pre-consumer recycled material.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 & Ultimate Gaming
The Samsung Galaxy S23 series will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for all phones across all regions. This new flagship chipset is built on the TSMC 4nm fabrication process, and it should have less thermal throttling and efficiency issues compared to last year's Samsung-made Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Camera
As always, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the best-specced camera phones on the market.
The primary camera has had a massive upgrade and is now using a 200MP 1/1.3″, and this is the most significant upgrade to the camera sensor since Samsung introduced the Ultra models.
Samsung claims to have “perfected nightography”. The new adaptive pixel 200MP sensor combines 16 pixels into one larger pixel. There is now also a night portrait mode that can be used on the selfie camera and improves performance using AI.
The new Adaptive VDIS technology is used to improve low-light video with greater stabilisation (with 2x wider OIS) by analysing and subdividing movements and recognising lighting conditions.
The phone also uses multi-frame processing to remove noise and enhance sharpness which is powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
The phone can also show at [email protected] with a wider angle and bigger pixel size for a more cinematic feel.
Interestingly, for the selfie camera, the S23 Ultra appears to have a downgraded selfie camera going from 40MP 1/2.82″ to 12MP. However, the S23 and S23+ have received an upgrade, going from a 10MP sensor to using the same selfie camera as the Ultra. The numbers don't always paint a clear picture of performance, and I would expect that the Ultra has at least a similar performance to its predecessor.
Battery
The S23 Ultra retains the same battery and charging specification as the previous Galaxy S22 Ultra, but the Qualcomm chipset should be more efficient and I would expect the overall screen on time to be significantly improved from last year. The two other phones have had a small 200mAh bump in battery capacity, with the S23+ having 4700mAh and the same charging features, while the S23 is 3900mAh and reduces the wired charging speeds to 25W.
Price and Release Date
Samsung has announced the price of the phones. You can pre-order today, and they will be launched on February 17th 2023. If you buy from Samsung, there are some decent pre-order deals including Trade in any broken phone to get £150 off. (Trade in phone must power on to access IMEI).
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G Dual SIM Android Mobile Phone,... |
£1,399.00 |
Buy on Amazon | |
|
|
Samsung Galaxy S23+ 5G Dual SIM Android Mobile Phone, 512GB,... |
£1,149.00 |
Buy on Amazon | |
|
|
Samsung Galaxy S23 5G Dual SIM Android Mobile Phone, 256GB,... |
£899.00 |
Buy on Amazon |
| US | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S23 | Galaxy S23+ | Galaxy S23 Ultra | |
| 8/128GB | $800 | – | – |
| 8/256GB | $860 | $1,000 | $1,200 |
| 8/512GB | – | $1,200 | $1,380 |
| 12/512GB | – | – | – |
| 12GB/1TB | – | – | TBA |
| Europe | |||
| Galaxy S23 | Galaxy S23+ | Galaxy S23 Ultra | |
| 8/128GB | €950 | – | – |
| 8/256GB | €1,010 | €1,200 | €1,400 |
| 8/512GB | – | €1,320 | – |
| 12/512GB | – | – | €1,580 |
| 12GB/1TB | – | – | €1,820 |
| UK | |||
| Galaxy S23 | Galaxy S23+ | Galaxy S23 Ultra | |
| 8/128GB | £850 | – | – |
| 8/256GB | £900 | £1,050 | £1,250 |
| 8/512GB | – | £1,150 | – |
| 12/512GB | – | – | £1,400 |
| 12GB/1TB | – | – | £1,600 |
| Canada | |||
| Galaxy S23 | Galaxy S23+ | Galaxy S23 Ultra | |
| 8/128GB | Coming soon | – | – |
| 8/256GB | C$1,100 | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| 8/512GB | – | C$1,400 | – |
| 12/512GB | – | – | C$1,650 |
| 12GB/1TB | – | – | C$2,210 |
| Australia | |||
| Galaxy S23 | Galaxy S23+ | Galaxy S23 Ultra | |
| 8/128GB | A$1,350 | – | – |
| 8/256GB | A$1,450 | A$1,650 | A$1,950 |
| 8/512GB | – | A$1,850 | – |
| 12/512GB | – | – | A$2,250 |
| 12GB/1TB | – | – | A$2,650 |
Last update on 2023-03-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API