On top of all the S23 preorder deals and bonuses like free storage upgrade to 512GB and earbuds, Samsung’s February Unpacked event, where the Galaxy S23 will be announced, is on Wednesday. The S23 line preorder reservations are already live, so you can save even more by ordering with an upcoming Galaxy Book 3 device.
All of the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s specifications as well as those of the Galaxy S23 and S23+ leaked out immediately after Samsung’s 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HP2 sensor was revealed. The smaller phones’ LTPO panels have finally arrived as promised, but the S23 and S23+ prices are unchanged. Additionally, it appears that the base storage capacity for the entry-level Galaxy S23 Ultra and S23+ will be 256GB, while the S23+ will get a 512GB model that will be offered even on carriers like Verizon.
The Botanic Green, Misty Lilac, Phantom Black, and Cotton Flower hues of Samsung’s 2023 flagship will appear as shown in press photographs of all the Galaxy S23 Ultra colours that have already surfaced. Even a brief hands-on from a retailer that may have it as a dummy unit revealed the S23 Ultra.
Galaxy S23 Ultra in Green. pic.twitter.com/OEMkAEaKiG
— Alvin (@sondesix) January 21, 2023
Samsung ceased offering bargains on the Galaxy S22 series after accepting presale reservations since the February 1 deals and preorder bonuses for the Galaxy S23 are just a few weeks away. The Galaxy S23 series will undoubtedly top lists of the finest Samsung phones thanks to these exciting new features!
Galaxy S23 release date
| Model | Announcement date | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S23 series | February 1, 2023 (est.) | February 17, 2023 (est.) |
| Galaxy S22 series | February 9, 2022 | February 25, 2022 |
| Galaxy S21 series | January 14, 2021 | January 29, 2021 |
| Galaxy S20 series | February 11, 2020 | March 6, 2020 |
| Galaxy S10 series | February 20, 2019 | March 8, 2019 |
Samsung Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra price
| Model | Price |
|---|---|
| Galaxy S23 Ultra | $1199 (256GB) |
| Galaxy S22 Ultra | $1199 |
| Galaxy S20 Ultra | $1399 |
| Galaxy S23+ | $999 (256 GB) |
| Galaxy S23 | $799 (128 GB) |
The leaked prices for the Galaxy S23 line on Verizon indicate that Samsung will maintain the same pricing but double the base storage of the Galaxy S23+ and add a 512GB tier to better differentiate it from the S23 and its starting price of $799 for the 128GB version. The Galaxy S23 Ultra will cost $1,199.99 at Verizon, before trade-in incentives, or $33.33 per month for 36 months for subscribers.
Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Galaxy S23+ vs Galaxy S23 specs
| Galaxy S23 Ultra | Galaxy S23 Plus | Galaxy S23 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.8-inch, 3080 x 1440 pixels, 500ppi, 1-120Hz Dynamic AMOLED, 1750 nits, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | 6.6-inch, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 2340 x 1080 pixels, Infinity-O-Display, 1 – 120 Hertz, 1750 nits, Gorilla Glass Victus 2, HDR10+, 393 ppi | 6.1-inch, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 2340 x 1080 pixels, Infinity-O-Display, 1 – 120 Hertz, 1750 nits, Gorilla Glass Victus 2, HDR10+, 425 ppi |
| Dimensions | 163.4 × 78.1 × 8.9 mm, 233g. weight | 6.21 x 3 x 0.3 inches (157.8 x 76.2 x 7.6mm) 6.88 oz (195 g) | 5.76 x 2.79 x 0.3 inches (146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6mm) 5.89 oz (167 g) |
| Main camera | Custom 200MP 1/1.13″ ISOCELL HP2 sensor, f/1.7 aperture, 23mm, OIS, 85-degree field of view, Quad PD | 50MP, F1.8 aperture, 23mm, 1/1.56″ sensor size, OIS, PDAF, 85-degree field of view | 50MP, F1.8 aperture, 23mm, 1/1.56″ sensor size, OIS, PDAF, 85-degree field of view |
| Telephoto camera | 10MP, 3.0X optical zoom, F2.4 aperture, 69mm, 1/3.52″ sensor size, OIS, 36-degree field of view | 10MP, 3.0X optical zoom, F2.4 aperture, 69mm, 1/3.94″ sensor size | 10MP, 3.0X optical zoom, F2.4 aperture, 69mm, 1/3.94″ sensor size |
| Telephoto camera #2 | 10MP, 10x optical zoom, F4.9 aperture, 230mm, 1/3.52″ sensor size, 11-degree field of view, 100x Space Zoom; | n/a | n/a |
| Ultra-wide camera | 12MP, F2.2 aperture, 13mm, 1/2.55″ sensor size, 120-degree field of view Dual PDAF, Macro | 12MP, F2.2 aperture, 13mm, 1/2.55″ sensor size, 120-degree field of view, Dual PDAF, Macro | 12MP, F2.2 aperture, 13mm, 1/2.55″ sensor size, 120-degree field of view, Dual PDAF, Macro |
| Selfie-camera | 12MP, f/2.2 aperture, 25mm, 80-degree field of view, HDR10+ | 10MP, f/2.2, 80-degree field of view, 25mm, HDR10+ | 10MP, f/2.2, 80-degree field of view, 25mm, HDR10+ |
| Hardware | 3.36GHz Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 ‘for Galaxy’ chipset, 8GB RAM + 256GB, 12GB RAM + 512GB, 12GB RAM + 1TB | 3.36GHz Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 8GB RAM + 256GB, 8GB + 512GB storage | 3.36GHz Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 8GB RAM + 128GB, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage |
| Battery | 5,000mAh, 45W wired, 15W wireless charging | 4,700mAh, 45W wired, 15W wireless charging | 3,900mAh, 25 wired, 15W wireless charging |
Galaxy S23 camera
The recently revealed 200MP ISOCELL HP2 from Samsung will be the biggest hardware boost for the Galaxy S23 series, and the S23 and S23+ will also receive the dual PDAF 12MP Ultrawide camera with macro mode capabilities from the Ultra.
The 1/1.3-inch optical size of the 200MP sensor contains 200 million 0.6-micrometer (m) pixels. This sensor size is used in the primary 108MP smartphone cameras, giving high-end smartphone consumers access to a high-resolution camera without having to contend with noticeable camera bumps.
Tetra2pixel is a cutting-edge pixel-binning technique used by the sensor. This enables the sensor to alter pixel sizes in response to ambient light levels. The sensor can record 50MP photos at 1.2m (4:1 pixel binning) or 12.5MP photographs at 2.4m in low light (16:1 pixel binning).
Dual Vertical Transfer Gate (D-VTG) technology from Samsung’s latest products will improve colour reproduction and lessen overexposure. There will be fewer photos taken in bright lighting that are washed out as a result.
The HP2’s Super QPD function, which employs all 200 million pixels of the sensor as focusing agents, will significantly improve focusing in low-light conditions. As a result, even in dimly lit environments, auto-focusing is quicker and more precise. The sufficient number of focusing agents are clustered by four neighbouring pixels, according to Samsung, “to recognise both horizontal and vertical pattern alterations.”
Samsung claims that “the new sensor is capable of quick auto-focusing, even in a dimly illuminated environment” by “utilising the rich pattern data as well as the sheer quantity of reference points.” In 50MP mode, the HP2 will utilise DSG (Dual Signal Gain) for the first time to enhance HDR (High Dynamic Range) images. The camera’s Smart-ISO Pro function enables
Galaxy S23 Ultra camera specs to expect
- Main camera: 200MP custom Samsung ISOCELL HP2 1/1.13″ sensor with 0.60 micron pixel size
- Front camera: 12MP with large pixels and AF
- 3x telephoto camera: 10MP, Sensor size: 1/3.52″; Pixel size: 1.12 μm
- 10x periscope zoom camera: 10MP, Sensor size: 1/3.52″; Pixel size: 1.12 μm
- Ultrawide camera: 12MP sensor size: 1/2.55″; Pixel size: 1.4 μm., with Dual PDAF and macro mode
Galaxy S23 storage
| Model | Storage |
|---|---|
| Galaxy S23 Ultra | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Galaxy S22 Ultra | 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB |
| Galaxy S23+ | 256GB/512GB |
| Galaxy S23 | 128GB/256GB |
As a producer of its own internal flash storage chips and RAM memory, Samsung can afford to be stingy with the gigabytes allocated to each of its smartphones. Samsung may have finally broken the cycle of starting storage with 128GB with the Galaxy S23 series, at least for the S23+ and Ultra models.
The S22 Ultra was rumoured to have storage starting at 256GB, and this time the rumour may be true for its successor since it will have an upgraded camera sensor that can record breathtaking 8K video footage and large single RAW photo files that will take up a lot of space inside, so 128 gigs may not be enough this time. Similar reasoning applies to the S23+, which will have a 512GB storage option as well.
Galaxy S23 design
Galaxy S23 Ultra colors
- Botanic Green
- Misty Lilac
- Phantom Black
- Cotton Flower
The colours of the leaked S23 Ultra’s S Pen appear to confirm the colours at launch; however, Samsung typically spices things up and gives special colours that can only be gotten if one buys the phones from its own store.
Galaxy S23 display
While the LTPO panel on the Ultra models can cover the entire 1Hz-120Hz range, the dated hybrid LTPS display that Samsung managed to introduce variable refresh rate to can only go down to 48Hz, the Galaxy S23 and S23+ will instead get the Ultra panel technology that conserves battery while displaying static images. The screens of the Galaxy S23 and S23+ are anticipated to be brighter than those of its predecessors, with a brightness range of up to 1750 nits.
Regarding the high-end device in the series, a report of a quad-curved S23 Ultra display was debunked, and it does not make a whole lot of sense on a device with a S Pen stylus included, since you need as much screen real estate as possible to use the stylus.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra will use a 6.7″ 1440p panel of Samsung’s most recent 12th-gen OLED display generation, similar to the one that gave the Galaxy Z Fold 4 a considerable increase in peak brightness over the Z Fold 3 or the one that gave the iPhone 14 Pro Max a record peak brightness of 2000 nits.
The S23 Ultra display should be stunning as the S22 Ultra already has top brightness levels in the isolated scenarios that Samsung tests at. All of the phones in the series will receive Corning’s most recent, harder Gorilla Glass Victus 2 edition, which would mean that the free S23 screen protector will not be included in the package.
Galaxy S23 battery life
The use of a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor manufactured on the 4nm technology, as well as any new OLED panel generations they may introduce, is anticipated to result in an increase in battery life for the Galaxy S23 series. That would be a significant gain, though, as it is constructed on the second-gen optimised 4nm process and has an ingenious mix of older and newer ARM Cortex core generations that should make it very gentle on the battery with daily tasks, in contrast to the 3GHz Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 monster that heats up and throttles quite a bit. Given that the battery pack sizes will only be slightly larger, the only battery life boost possibility will have to come from the
Galaxy S23 features and performance
- 3.36 GHz Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy
- 256GB base S23+ and S23 Ultra storage
- Qualcomm X70 5G modem
- 200MP Galaxy S23 ultra camera
- 50MP Galaxy S23/S23+ camera sensor
- Boxier Ultra lends its rear camera area design to the S23/S23+
- Android 13 with One UI 5 on top
- Larger S23/S23+ batteries
Samsung couldn’t achieve the power draw synergies between the Exynos 2300 chipset and its 5G modem as Qualcomm can for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and the X70 5G modem created on the 4nm process of TSMC, therefore Samsung will only utilise a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU to power the S23 series.
Furthermore, the S23 edition could run at 3.36GHz instead of the standard 3.2GHz, and there are rumours that the special Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside may actually be produced at Samsung’s foundries.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 specs and features
| Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Process | 4nm TSMC 4NP (same as A16 Bionic) | 4nm Samsung 4LPX |
| CPU | Kryo CPU next-gen 35 percent faster 40 percent power savings | Kryo CPU |
| CPU cores | 1X prime core (Cortex-X3) running at up to 3.2GHz 4X performance cores at 2.8GHz 3X efficiency cores at 2.0GHz | 1X prime core (Cortex-X2) at up to 3.0GHz 3X performance cores (Cortex-A710) at 2.5GHz 4X efficiency cores (Cortex-A510) at 1.8GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 740 GPU 25 percent faster 45 percent better power efficiency Real-time hardware ray tracing | Adreno 730 GPU |
| ISP | Spectra ISP with real-time semantic segmentation for photos and videos* Supports new Sony and Samsung sensors of up to 200MP 8K, 4K at 120fps, 720p at 960fps video capture | Spectra ISP |
| AI | 4.35X faster | Hexagon DSP |
| Other features | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3 Dynamic Spatial Audio | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Modem | Snapdragon X70 with own AI processor for improved 5G coverage and speed Dual active SIM support | Snapdragon X65 |
