Samsung’s first Unpacked event for 2023 has just ended today as Samsung officially unveils its latest flagship phone with the Galaxy S23 Series.
Just like its predecessor, the new Samsung Galaxy S23 series will come in three variants the regular Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and the top-end Galaxy S23 Ultra.
We’ve had some quality time with all three devices during Samsung’s NDA event last January 26 and we would like to share some initial thoughts plus what are the new features sporting the Galaxy S23 series.
So, let’s dive in and check out the new Samsung Galaxy S23 series.
Galaxy S23 Ultra and S23 Plus
Minimalist yet Sleek and Durable Design
The Galaxy S23 Series will have four available colorways to choose from in Phantom Black, Green, Cream and Lavender.
As part of its sustainability efforts, Samsung has doubled up its commitment to the environment by using recycled plastic materials for the production of the Galaxy S23 series like recycled aluminum for the case or other parts made of repurposed plastics of discarded fish nets.
The Galaxy S23 series feels solid and durable as it is more fortified with an armor aluminum frame and an upgraded Gorilla Glass Victus 2 at the back. They are still comfortable to hold.
The genral design of the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus are identical except for the display size
The Samsung Galaxy S23 series sports the same design from its predecessors which is simple but stunning at the same time. It has slim bezels on the front and a tiny punch-hole design for the front-facing camera found at the top center.
The S23 Ultra sports an edge display which is gently curved, adding some aesthetic appeal and helps the bezels of the phone feel smaller and thinner than it actually is. Both the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus have rounded corners and flat front and back.
Galaxy S23 Ultra sports a much bigger display
All Galaxy S23 series models will all have a unified floating camera design taking out the contoured camera housing which is found on its last Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus models.
The rear panels of the Galaxy S23 series are all getting a matte finish and it’s better that can help keep smudges away and it appears better too.
In general, the look of all three models of the new Samsung Galaxy S23 series is by far minimalist, sleek and elegant.
No more contoured camera housing on the S23 and S23 Plus
Vibrant and Clear AMOLED Displays
The display size for the Galaxy S23 series is similar to last year’s model with the S22 measuring at 6.1-inches, while the S22 Plus at 6.6-inches with both phones having Full HD AMOLED 2X screen.
As for the Galaxy S23 Ultra it has a bigger screen at 6.8-inches with QHD+ AMOLED 2X display.
They all have 120 refresh rate for a smooth scrolling experience and an impressive 1750 peak brightness allowing more details when used outdoors in direct sunlight.
All three phones are also equipped with Adaptive Vision Booster making sure that the display’s brightness is uniform at every lighting conditions and delivers users with the best viewing experience always.
Performance
All three models of the Galaxy S23 series is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 octa-core processors that can deliver up to 33 percent CPU performance and more GPU power at 45 percent.
It sports a new and bigger vapour cooling chamber to offer better thermal operation and less prone to overheating especially when playing those heavy graphic-rich games on the phone.
The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus will both have 8GB RAM. As for the storage, the regular S23 will be available in 128GB and 256GB while the S23 Plus offers a bigger storage capacities in 256GB and 512GB.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S23 Ultra will have a bigger RAM at 12GB and three storage options starting with 256GB, 512GB and massive 1TB.
S Pen
The Galaxy S23 Ultra still has the S Pen with a thin, flat body and a button on one side when pressed functions as a remote. The top of the pen has a clickable button that helps you remove the pen from the phone but accidentally I found out how satisfying the clicks are acting as a fidget toy.
The S Pen hosts some other features to look forward to aside from taking notes or drawing on the S23 Ultra. The S Pen supports handwriting-to-text input when using Google apps, a mini remote control for the camera app, edit photos, text extraction and smart select that can convert the selected image as a sticker adding it to your gallery.
Great Camera Setups
For the cameras on the new Galaxy S23 series, the S23 and S23 Plus gets a triple camera setup comprising of a 50MP wide-angle lens, 12MP ultra-wide and 10MP telephoto camera.
The S23 Ultra has a quad-camera setup which gets the new 200MP Samsung-made ISOCELL sensor to take better photos or video at night with a more accurate and faster autofocus, as well as higher resolution images. You also get 12MP ultra-wide lens, 10MP telephoto camera up to 10X optical zoom and a secondary 10MP 3X telephoto camera.
S23 series models has an array of shooting modes available in the camera app
S23 Ultra still has a space zoom up to 100x
For your selfies, all models has a 12MP front facing camera.
For video, you can now record with resolutions up to 8K at 30 frames per seconds as well as 4K and 1080p videos at 30 or 60 frames per seconds. It also has an improved optical image stabilization as panning from left to right will be much clear and more stable.
Galaxy S23 Plus and S23
New One UI 5 Software
The phone ships in with its latest One UI 5.1 skin based on Android 13 plus all Galaxy S23 series phone will have up to 4 major Android OS versions upgrades and 5 years of security updates.
With the One UI 5 you have some new features to customize the S23 series. You can easily trim a video clip to create a lively wallpaper on your lock screen. It has more color palette options up to 16 color themes and greater number of wallpaper choices.
To protect important sensitive data, it has its very own proprietary security and management software with the Samsung Knox. It also has some privacy care and maintenance mode settings for additional security on the S23 series.
Videos can now be used on the Lock screen
All Galaxy S23 series are 5G ready which can accommodate two Nano SIMs and one eSIM with no provision for a MicroSD
Battery Life
Some models of the Galaxy S23 series will have a slight battery upgrade with the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus featuring 3,900mAh and 4,700mAh battery, respectively.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra will retain its previous battery at 5,000mAh.
All models will have fast wired charging capability and wireless charging support.
Samsung offers its original protective case for the S23 models either in rugged, silicone, leather and clear cases
Conclusion
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S23 series gets a few enhancement in terms of its appearance and design. I like the overall look its simple, more durable, sleek yet elegant. The display on the S23 series are bright, vivid and full of detail without no worry of using the screen under direct sunlight.
But with some improvements under its hood such as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, newer One UI 5 software and better camera. We anticipate that the overall performance of the S23 series will be much better especially in terms of battery life.
Samsung is now accepting pre-orders via online starting February 2 till February 23. The Samsung Galaxy S23 series will be available on all Samsung stores nationwide by February 24.
Here are the official prices for the Samsung Galaxy S23 series:
- Galaxy S23 – Php53,990 8GB+128GB / Php57,990 8GB+256GB
- Galaxy S23 Plus – Php68,990 8GB+256GB / Php76,990 8GB+512GB
- Galaxy S23 Ultra – Php81,990 12GB+256GB / Php89,990 12GB+512GB / Php103,990 12GB+1TB
For more information and full specs of the Galaxy S23 models you may visit: https://www.samsung.com/us/smartphones/galaxy-s23/specs/
