Smartphone launches are often described by one word that is: iterative. It’s not uncommon for a new, shiny phone doesn’t add anything interesting in the way of new features that we have seen in previous models. If there’s an innovative technique, it’s just gimmicky If not then there’s no reason to upgrade, is there?
As usual, Samsung has unveiled its new flagship phones The Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+ and the Galaxy S23 Ultra. There’s no gimmicks in this phone, but to say the phones iterative is an exaggeration. The latest Android phones appear to be in no way different from their predecessors.
Its Galaxy S23 series isn’t the only hardware announcement by Samsung. In its major media event in San Francisco, the first live Galaxy Unpacked since the pandemic–Samsung also announced five laptops that are new that are all equipped with the latest Galaxy Book3 name. This is everything Samsung has announced at the event.
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 smartphones follow closely to the same model as their S22 series. The S23 Ultra is, in particular has a design that is similar with that of the S22 Ultra. But both the S23 along with the S23+ are missing the housing around the camera on the rear, and they’ve received an “floating” camera look which is similar to the style of their more expensive sister. The phones look more plain and, from an extended distance, they don’t look like Samsung’s lower-end phones. (I do not think this is something that’s good.) The new Galaxy S-series phones come for purchase in Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender however, Samsung offers exclusive online-only colors as well (Lime, Graphite, Sky Blue along with Red).
The S23 is the smallest of the three with the 6.1-inch AMOLED display. The S23+ is in the middle , with the 6.6-inch screen. This Ultra’s 6.8-inch screen is just larger than previous Ultras, but one notable improvement can be seen in the fact that Samsung has decreased its curvature around the edges of glass surrounding the screen. (Google also made the same change with its Pixel 7 Pro by sharpening the edges.) It’s not a totally flat display like those that’s on the S23 and S23+, but the modification makes the Ultra more comfortable to grip. The Ultra also gets the built-in S Pen. The stylus is back with this year’s most powerful Galaxy phone. It is positioned on the bottom of the phone. Since it’s edges on the screen of Ultra are more rounded it gives you a bigger surface to draw on. It’s not yet an S Pen for the other two phones.
To make the screen more resistant to break or scratch, Samsung is employing Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 A material which is said to be more durable than Corning’s earlier formulas and has more post-consumer recycled materials. Also, while Apple has been using stainless steel in the iPhone Pro models, a choice that increases the phones’ scratch resistance and durability Samsung’s phones are constructed from aluminum. The S23 line has more recycled components than the last year’s model, but Samsung claims to have more than doubled the amount of parts that have been recycled of the S23 Ultra to 12 including the speaker module to volume keys.
Similar to the models of last year as well, all S23 devices have 120-Hz screen refresh rates The Ultra offering a higher adaptable refresh rate. This feature boosts the frame rate of the screen per second from 1 to 120, based on the amount required and makes the phone more energy-efficient. When it comes to efficiency The Ultra retains its 5,000-mAh capacity battery, but Samsung claims that its improvements to the hardware of the phone allow it to last 20 percent more in comparison to its predecessor the S22 Ultra. The batteries of both the S23 as well as the S23+ get 200-mAh increases, taking their capacity up to 3,900 and 4,700mAh respectively. The phones will be able to last longer than a day without having to recharge.
The entire new Samsung mobile line comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, which is Qualcomm’s most advanced flagship chip along having 8 gigabytes of memory. Its “for Galaxy” moniker is unique and refers to something specific Samsung claims it will provide increased clock speeds and the capability to reach 3.3 GHz (a 0.1-GHz bump from the basic Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset) in the main core. It’s basically more efficient than the standard Snapdragon chip. (One important thing to keep in mind is that the worldwide variants of the S23 series typically run through Samsung’s own Exynos chipsets and will be powered by the identical Snapdragon chip made by Qualcomm.) It’s also an upgraded cooling chamber that’s 2x larger to allow for better thermal management, which will let you play for longer durations until the phone is too hot and automatically will begin to throttle the performance of the phone to cool itself.
The most notable change made to the S23 Ultra is the camera’s primary. The 108-megapixel sensor running it has now been replaced with 200-megapixel sensor. It is possible to select the 200-megapixel option to receive super-detailed high-resolution images that look good enough to create large-format prints. You can also capture images that you are able to cut into a tight crop without going below the print-ready resolution. This means that you can be prepared for huge file sizes when you shoot using the 200-megapixel setting. By default, however, the camera employs a technique called Pixel Binning, a technique that blends pixels on the sensor, allowing them to absorb more light and produce photos that are brighter at either 50 and 12 megapixels. These file sizes are easier to manage. When it comes to video shooting with the S23 Ultra features twice the correction angles required for optical image stabilization which means it produces smoother results as compared to its older model.
There isn’t much that has changed in the cameras that are available in the handset. The main camera is joined by two distinct 10-megapixel telephoto cameras that have three times and 10x optical zoom along with the ultrawide 12-megapixel camera. While the technology isn’t drastically different, Samsung claims you’ll get improved photo quality thanks to the advancements in the algorithm for image processing. In particular, all of the S23 S23 phones have the “advanced machine-learning” scene analyzer that is able to instantly alter the lighting of scenes, decrease noise, and also identify other weaknesses that require fixing.
The S23 and S23+ feature a new main camera that is 50 megapixels that is said to offer four times the dynamic colors than the previous camera. The S23 and S23+ also come with a brand new selfie camera that is 12 megapixels (up from 10 millimeters) with better autofocus , too.
Two of the most interesting photos are available, oddly the Samsung Expert RAW application. The app allows for precise control of the camera’s settings, and utilizes Samsung’s processing tools for images. It’s now available directly from the camera app–Expert RAW used to be a separate application. There are two new modes available: Multiple exposures as well as Astrophoto. The first lets you take multiple photos and layer the images over one another for an artistic and fun effect. You can also alter the camera’s settings when looking to get the best shots such as extended exposure times up to 10 minutes. The process of working with RAW photos requires more robust software. Samsung is partnering with Adobe to provide the professional application Lightroom to be the primary editing program for smartphones.
All three phones will get four Android OS updates (they start using Android 13.3) and receive regular security updates every month for five years. This is among the most effective software policies available within Android land. Prices for the handsets haven’t changed. It’s the same for both models. Galaxy S23 Ultra starts at $1200, while the S23+ starts at $1000, while the S23 costs $800. Both Galaxy S23+ and S23 Ultra come with the option of 256 gigabytes of internal storage in the basic models, but only the S23 sticks will be 128 GB. The phones are available for preorder and will go on sale February 17.