Samsung unveiled at its latest Unpacked event in San Francisco the new line of smartphones in their flagship Galaxy S series. Here’s a quick rundown on what’s new.
New Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
The biggest upgrade for this generation is that all S23 phones sold around the world will exclusively use a bespoke Qualcomm chipset, officially known as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy.
According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy gets a higher-clocked Qualcomm Kryo CPU core with up to 3.36GHz peak speeds. It also gets an “upgraded” Qualcomm Adreno GPU which is said to be significantly improved in both performance and power efficiency to enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
New 200MP camera for Galaxy S23 Ultra
Besides the processor, the next upgrade is the new 200MP f/1.7 main camera on the top-of-the-line Galaxy S23 Ultra. A huge upgrade over last year's 108MP on the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Using Samsung’s ISOCELL HP2 sensor, it boasts the highest megapixel count for a Samsung smartphone and it has a Tetra pixel binning technology to produce brighter 50MP and 12.5MP images.
The new 200MP camera promises to offer improved low-light “Nightopgraphy” with the inclusion of Super Quad Phase Detection (Super QPD) which uses all 200 million pixels for focusing. For those who take lots of videos with their phones, the S23 Ultra also boasts double optical image stabilization (OIS) for a steadier recording of action scenes.
The rest of the camera setup remains pretty much unchanged from last year’s Galaxy S22 Ultra. It still gets a 12MP ultra-wide angle camera and two additional 10MP cameras for telephoto (3X and 10X optical zoom). When pushed digitally, the Galaxy S23 Ultra also has 100x Space Zoom.
The smaller S23 and S23+ feature a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide-angle shooter and a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. All three models are getting a 12MP selfie camera which supports autofocus and Super HDR. The camera bump Samsung called the “Contour Cut” from last year’s models is also no longer present in the S23 and S23+ and now features a design similar to that of the Ultra model.
Brighter AMOLED screens and Vision Booster
The screen sizes across the Galaxy S23 series remain unchanged with the base S23 having a 6.1″ Full HD+ screen while the S23+ is slightly bigger at 6.6″. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S23 Ultra gets a 6.8″ QuadHD+ screen which is slightly curved at the edges. For better visibility under harsh sunlight, both the S23 and S23+ now support a higher maximum screen brightness of 1,750nits, which is similar to last year's Galaxy S22 Ultra and S23 Ultra.
The trio also supports a fluid 120Hz refresh rate with the S23 and S23+ having the capability to dynamically switch between 48-120Hz, while the S23 Ultra has a wider variance of 1-120Hz. Samsung has also introduced a new Vision Booster feature which optimises screen contrast for better outdoor visibility for the entire Galaxy S23 series.
The Galaxy S23 series is also the first smartphone lineup to get Corning’s latest Gorilla Glass Victus 2 which is said to offer improved drop performance on rough surfaces such as concrete while preserving the scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass Victus.
Enhanced S Pen features for S23 Ultra
The Galaxy S23 Ultra still retains a built-in S Pen but it seems that Samsung has not made any significant hardware changes. However, Samsung has revealed a new collaboration feature with Google where you can use the stylus to simultaneously co-edit a document when it’s paired to Samsung Notes and Google Meet. This is an added feature on top of the Samsung Multi Control feature which lets you sync up your Galaxy smartphone with your Galaxy Tablet and computer.
Larger batteries for Galaxy S23 and S23+
Samsung has bumped up the capacity for both the S23 and S23+. The Galaxy S23 now gets a 3,900mAh battery which boasts video playback of up to 22 hours, while the S23+ gets a 4,700mAh battery with up to 27 hours of video playback. The S23 Ultra retains the same 5,000mAh battery from the S22 Ultra.
All three model supports wireless and reverse wireless charging with wireless charging speeds up to10 watts, which is actually a bit slower than the 15 watts found in the S22 and S21 series.
More recycled materials are used to produce each Galaxy S23
Samsung is doubling down on its sustainability ambition by increasing the usage of recycled materials. Besides using 100% recycled paper for its packaging, they have increased the presence of recycled materials in the Galaxy S23 series by doubling the number of internal components made from sustainable materials.
For example, the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 uses an average of 22% recycled content while recycled aluminium is used for the power button and volume rockers, as well as the SIM tray. The back glass and front case of the Galaxy S23 Ultra are using plastics that are sourced from discarded PET bottles.
To ensure prolonged use, Samsung is promising four generations of OS upgrades and five years of security updates for the Galaxy S23 series. Out of the box, these devices run on Android 13 with One UI 5.1.
How much do they cost?
The Galaxy S23 series will costs more than last year's Galaxy S22 series and Samsung is now offering a wider range of storage options from 128GB to 1TB to cater to different users.
Here's how much the Galaxy S23 series will start in Malaysia:
Model | Storage | Price |
Samsung Galaxy S23 | 128GB | RM3,899 |
Samsung Galaxy S23 | 256GB | RM4,199 |
Samsung Galaxy S23+ | 256GB | RM4,699 |
Samsung Galaxy S23+ | 512GB | RM5,199 |
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra | 256GB | RM5,699 |
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra | 512GB | RM6,199 |
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra | 1TB | RM7,199 |
Pre-orders for the devices are open from now till Feb 23 at Samsung Experience Stores and the Samsung Malaysia Online Store. The pre-orders come with a “double storage upgrade” worth up to RM500, allowing customers to snag higher capacity models at lower prices.
Other pre-order bonuses include an RM400 voucher, when ordered from the Samsung Malaysia website, or free accessories worth up to RM458 when purchased from the Samsung Experience Store.
