Everything You Need to Know About the Samsung Galaxy S23
Samsung officially unveiled the next generation of the Galaxy S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra during the Unpacked 2023 event on February 1st. However, as you may have learned from social media, the company was not the first to reveal these phones. Leaks have already spoiled the fun, and banned previews were posted shortly before the release of Unpacked.
However, phones are already here, so let’s see what’s new.
Comparison of S23 devices
The S23 and S23+ are essentially the same phone except for a few details. The S23 features a 6.1-inch 1080p OLED display with a 3900mAh battery, while the S23+ features a 6.6-inch 1080p OLED display with a 4700mAh battery. The S23+ also has a peak power of 45W when charging fast, and the S23 has a peak power of 25W so the S23+ can charge faster. Both displays have a peak brightness of 1750 nits (1200 nits for HDR) and an adaptive refresh rate of 48 to 120 Hz. Both phones come with 8GB of RAM across all storage levels, including 128GB (S23 only), 256GB, and 512GB.
On the other hand, the S23 Ultra has a larger 6.8-inch 1440p OLED display. While its brightness specifications are the same, it has an adaptive refresh rate of 1 to 120Hz. It packs a 5,000mAh battery, but that doesn’t mean it has the longest battery life. Samsung is giving that crown to the S23+, with the company rating the S23+ at 27 hours of video playback and the S23 Ultra at 26 hours (S23 at 22). It has 12 GB of RAM with 1 TB of storage, 12 GB of RAM with 512 GB of storage, and 8 GB of RAM with 256 GB. It also supports up to 45W fast charging.
It’s all about the cameras
All three phones now use a 12MP front camera (which can especially help capture better nighttime selfies and selfie videos), a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 10MP telephoto lens, but only the S23 Ultra has up to 10x digital zoom. others only have digital zoom up to 3x). The S23 and S23+ have a 50MP wide-angle camera, but the big news is the S23 Ultra, which now has a 200MP wide-angle sensor, the largest Samsung has ever offered.
No matter which phone you choose, you’ll be able to shoot in 4K Super HDR at 60fps with both the rear and front cameras. The rear cameras can shoot 8K at 30fps if you have an 8K TV or monitor to watch those videos.
Samsung took the time to talk about the new camera technology and software features. For example, in low light, 16 pixels can combine into four or one larger pixel to capture more detail. There’s also Clean View, which removes the user interface when recording video. Photo Remaster can save low quality snapshot and GIF Remaster will beautify low quality GIFs, making you the favorite in group chat. The company is especially proud of its Astro Hyperlapse technology, which helps it capture better quality Expert RAW night sky shots.
The camera is also smart enough to separate different objects from each other. For example, when shooting a portrait, the phone must distinguish between your face and your glasses in order to get the right details in the final product.
Other details S23
All Galaxy S23 devices use the same new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. All three devices come in the same four standard colors: phantom black, green, lavender and cream. If you buy online, you can get the S23, S23+, or S23 Ultra in Lime and Graphite, and Red and Sky Blue on the S23 Ultra.
Samsung is promising four years of OS updates for these devices and five years of security updates. Anyone who buys it this year can expect to receive software updates through 2027 and security patches through 2028.
The phones are available for purchase from February 17th. The S23 starts at $799.99, the S23+ starts at $999, and the Ultra starts at $1,199.99.
The essence of the Galaxy S23s
The S23 line is basically an iterative update. The S22 lineup has been impressive and the S23 simply tops all that praise. The 200-megapixel camera in the S23 Ultra is certainly impressive and will likely take some great shots, but it might not be enough to justify upgrading from last year’s phones (although yearly upgrades aren’t usually necessary).
If you’ve been wanting to upgrade your old Android or iPhone to a new Galaxy, either of the S23s seems like a good choice. We’ll have to wait for the full reviews to know for sure, but based on the stats, Samsung likely has another set of rugged smartphones to offer.