Among the most recent updates to the Galaxy S lineup, the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus felt a lot more iterative than innovative — but the Galaxy S22 Ultra had no such problem, bringing the Galaxy Note back to life. With the likely launch of Samsung’s next batch of phones a month away, rumors about the Galaxy S23 are now in full swing. So we wanted to share what’s out there plus what we want to see from the upcoming handsets. Here’s what you need to know about the Galaxy S23 ahead of its arrival.
Samsung Galaxy S23 latest news (updated December 31)
The Galaxy S23 launch figures to kick off a busy year for Samsung’s smartphones.The signature colors for the Galaxy S23 range may have just appeared.A new leak further tips an overclocked chip for the Samsung Galaxy S23 range.
Samsung Galaxy S23 possible release date
The launch date and subsequent release date for the Samsung Galaxy S23 range has ebbed and flowed with various rumors. But according to reliable tech tipster Ice Universe, the Galaxy S23 range will appear on February 1 at a Galaxy Unpacked event. We feel this is a fairly robust tip and tracks with Samsung’s previous launch windows for its Galaxy S-series phones. Invitations for such an event would likely arrive in mid-January. As for release date, we posit Samsung Galaxy S23 pre-orders could begin as soon as Feb. 1, and the Galaxy S23 release date could be February 17. That’s going by the pattern established with previous Galaxy phone launches, whereby the handsets were released some two weeks after the Unpacked showcase.
Samsung Galaxy S23 design
In terms of design, the Galaxy S23 lineup looks likely to largely keep the Galaxy S22’s look, with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in particular looking very similar to its predecessor. A tip from leaker Ice Universe has the smartphone set to measure 6.43 x 3.07 x 0.35 inches, which is a minor increase over the 6.42 x 3.06 x 0.35 inches of the Galaxy S22 Ultra. That’s all in spite of a new camera rumored, which has been theorized as one way we could end up with a larger camera module and thus a thicker overall phone. Since this original rumor, Ice Universe has taken a closer look and thinks that the reason the phone is getting thicker is that Samsung could be increasing the bezel thickness of the Galaxy S23. We still don’t know why the bezel thickness would possibly increase — could be a move to increase durability — so that is something we will want to keep an eye on as the phone gets closer to launch. Wondering what these rumors might mean for the S23 Ultra’s actual look? Leaked Galaxy S23 Ultra renders show off the potential design for the upcoming flagship. We see a black phone that bears a strong resemblance to the Galaxy S22 Ultra that came before it, although Ice Universe (opens in new tab) has commented that there could be some differences between these renders and the final product, including more prominent metal rings around the cameras and a flatter display and sides. We’ve also since seen leaked images of possible dummy units. While these dummy units could be created from CAD images that were used to design the leaked cases we’ve seen, those could still be largely accurate, as case makers want to only manufacture units based on designs they are confident will be accurate. If these dummy units are accurate, don’t expect massive changes in the design of the S23 and S23 Plus compared to their S22 counterparts. But that’s not to say there will be no changes. In these leaks, the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus seem to have lost the rear Contour Cut camera housing that their predecessors had, and instead are laid out as individual lenses like on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. A largely similar design for the S23 models isn’t a shock, based on another leak from Ice Universe (opens in new tab), which contends that the Samsung Galaxy S23 series will feel very similar to the previous S22 series. Right from the phones’ dimensions to the screen size, are all nearly identical to their predecessor models. According to the leak, the Galaxy S23 will feature a 6.1-inch 1080x2340 display, the Galaxy S23 Plus has a 6.6-inch 1080x2340 display, and the S23 Ultra will have a 6.8-inch 1440x3088 screen. For comparison, this is exactly what the Galaxy S22, S22 Plus and S22 Ultra currently offer. One potential alteration for the Ultra is its weight, which may increase due to extra metal parts. However, Ice Universe did identify the display as one of the only things that would be upgraded on the Galaxy S23 Ultra compared to the S22 Ultra. He didn’t say how though, but we’d assume it’ll be something minor like power efficiency or brightness, rather than a new resolution or higher refresh rate. We do have a hint at one feature upgrade the S23 display could get. According to Twitter leaker RGcloudS, the entire S23 lineup could get an upgraded fingerprint reader. This would be the latest Qualcomm 3D Sonic Max fingerprint reader, which has a footprint 17 times larger than the current in-display fingerprint readers used by Samsung. It can even allow for scanning multiple fingerprints at once. The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus may look different when you flip them over. New renders based on leaks from OnLeaks show the phones with individually-embedded camera sensors, which mirrors the look of the S22 Ultra. Plus, newly leaked cases designed for all three Galaxy S23 models seem to back the renders up. For color choices, it seems like we’ll have at least four on our hands. Those will apparently be beige, black, green and light pink, which will be available on all three models in the S23 family. While we have yet to confirm these colors for the S23 and the 23 Plus, a recent S Pen color leak suggests that these will be the color options for the S23 Ultra. More recently, the so-called “signature colors” that Samsung will use to market the Galaxy S23 phones were leaked. These will supposedly be gold for the S23, pink for the S23 Plus and green for the S23 Ultra. Check out our guide to all the rumored Galaxy S23 colors so far.
Samsung Galaxy S23 cameras
Several rumors have claimed the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will get a 200MP camera, which would be a notable increase over the 108MP camera on the Galaxy S22 Ultra. This camera rumor has been gaining a lot of momentum in the recent past, however, another leak says it may not be the second-generation ISOCELL HP3 sensor Samsung goes for after all, but the older ISOCELL HP1. But a more recent tip has the Galaxy S23 Ultra poised to get a 200MP camera in the form of an unreleased sensor from Samsung, later claimed to be the ISOCELL HP2, which will beat both the existing HP1 and HP3 200MP sensors that the company makes. This could be good news for the next Samsung flagship phone. Samsung’s HP3 is a mid-range sensor and the HP1 is the larger and more refined sensor that is expected to debut on Motorola’s X30 Pro or the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra. In a bid to be better than its competition, Samsung could well have another sensor planned for its own flagship. If you’re curious as to what this sensor may be capable of, Samsung has shown off a video of the 200MP HP1 camera sensor in action by snapping a photo of a cat and then blowing up that image to fit a 28 x 22-meter canvas that was hung off the side of a building. It’s hard to tell for sure in a YouTube video and not in person, but the image looked impressive. Details appear to be very crisp, with individual cat hairs picked out. This is something even cameras on some of the best phones can struggle with due to their lower megapixel counts. Samsung’s video definitely suggests that a 200MP main camera could be the key to unlocking more out of its Galaxy phone photography. One leak has spilled more details on the rumored 200MP camera on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and indicated the phone could take on the iPhone 14 Pro. Ice Universe has tweeted that it is “100% confirmed” that the phone will get a 200MP camera with 0.6μm sized pixels, along with a larger aperture of f/1.7 for capturing more light. This indicates an almost insignificant increase in camera sensor size from the S22 Ultra but it is apparently slightly bigger than the 48MP camera sensor that the iPhone 14 Pro sports. Ice Universe previous claimed that this camera will be able to take shots at 12.5MP and at its full 200MP resolution, but not 50MP. Fortunately, he’s since revised this thanks to what appears to be a screen cap of a 50MP button in the Samsung camera app. IU has also said that the S23 Ultra’s 200MP main camera could be much better at taking low-light photos than expected. In fact Ice Universe claims that the Galaxy S23 Ultra 200MP camera will be the biggest leap in photography in 5 years. The high praise comes specifically for the night mode which can apparently “in an environment with almost no light, the S23 Ultra’s 5 seconds shooting is much better than the S22 Ultra’s 6 seconds, not only brighter, but also significantly improved in image quality”. Ice Universe claims to have seen the 200MP camera in action himself and says it is better than other 200MP cameras around. However, it may still pale in comparison to the Google Pixel 7 Pro, which apparently has better HDR performance to enhance its highlights and shadows. Another rumor, from GalaxyClub, claims that the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus will both come with a 12MP front camera, with a later rumor saying this camera would also be on the S23 Ultra. (GalaxyClub has since corroborated this.)That would mark the first time either model has had a selfie resolution upgrade since the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S10 in 2019. It’s not clear what other upgrades might be involved, or if this rumor has any validity. Still, when the Galaxy S22 Ultra packs in a 40MP front camera, it’s about time Samsung added some shooting power to the two cheaper models. As for the telephoto and ultrawide cameras, prepare for no changes. GalaxyClub’s sources say that the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus will use a 10MP telephoto camera, like the S22 and S22 Plus, and that the Galaxy S23 Ultra will also keep its 10MP 10x optical zoom camera too. We’ve also heard that these two telephotos could be 12MP in resolution, but that could be because Samsung will upscale the images from its existing 10MP sensors. As for ultrawide, GalaxyClub again claims the S23 and S23 Plus will stay with 12MP sensors. There’s no news about the S23 Ultra’s ultrawide camera, although we’d expect it won’t change either. With the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s rumored 200MP main camera upgrade, a lot of people are excited to see what it can do. Luckily, we just might have an idea. Renowned Samsung leaker Ice Universe took to Weibo to show off a comparison image between two cameras, one with a 200MP sensor and one with 108MP one. While the leak does not explicitly say these are the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy S22 Ultra, respectively, it is heavily implied. The image is zoomed to 16x magnification with AI enhancement disabled. You can clearly see the differences in the photo above. The 200MP shot is cleaner with less fuzziness and sharper focus. On the video side, the Galaxy S23 range has been tipped to get a new 30 frames per second mode for 8K video capture. While 8K video recording might seem like overkill for most, for content creators it could enable more flexibility when editing videos and a 30 fps mode offers a new frame rate option without pushing to 60 fps, which some might see as a little odd when on screen.
Samsung Galaxy S23 chipset and performance
If Samsung sticks to its past way of doing things, the Galaxy S23 is going to be powered by Qualcomm’s latest silicon. And that would be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which the chip maker unveiled in November. In addition to performance and power improvements over last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, you can expect a more advanced AI engine and an image signal processor that introduces a bunch of intriguing camera capabilities. Past Galaxy S phones have used Exynos chips in markets outside the U.S. But Qualcomm has indicated that it’s going to exclusively provide Snapdragon silicon to the Galaxy S23 lineup. Still, that hasn’t silenced reports, Samsung is working on a new Exynos chip. However one rumor has the Galaxy S23 tipped to get a custom version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which lends further credence to the idea of one chip for all regions, as well as tip better performance for Samsung’s phones. And some early Geekbench 5 benchmarks have suggested that the entire Galaxy S23 range will get an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, which could make them serious Android powerhouses in 2023. We got the chance to run some Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 benchmarks, and Qualcomm’s new chipset impresses. In many tests, it outperformed the A15 Bionic chip powering the iPhone 14. That’s a pretty significant development, even if the A16 Bionic in the iPhone 14 Pro models still out-muscles the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in a number of tests. Our big impression: the gap between Snapdragon and Apple’s chip is closing, and that bodes well for the Galaxy S23. Looking at rumors beyond the chipset, it seems as if Samsung will only offer 8GB of RAM in the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus, as it did with the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus. That didn’t stop us liking the Galaxy S22 series, even when rivals appeared with more RAM by default. However it’s a bit stingy on Samsung’s part, plus less RAM means worse multitasking. All that performance means heat, which the Galaxy S23 will have to dissipate with internal cooling mechanisms. According to one source, the Galaxy S23 Ultra will get a full-fat vapor chamber cooling system like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, while the Galaxy S23 Plus gets an inferior heatpipe system. The Galaxy S22 meanwhile won’t have anything beyond the typical thermal paste and graphite tape that we see in all premium smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy S23 satellite communication
A reputable report claims the Samsung Galaxy S23 range could get satellite communication for handling emergency messaging when a phone is out of traditional cell signal. Sounds familiar? That’s because Apple introduced Emergency SOS via Satellite communications with the iPhone 14. And it look like Samsung will ape its smartphone rival as, according to Korean site ET News (opens in new tab), Samsung will be teaming up with Iridium Communications and its 66 low-orbit satellites to provide similar last-resort contact in an emergency. As with the iPhone 14, using satellite communications won’t be like connecting via your regular network. Just as Apple only allows emergency SOS text messages and location sharing via the Find My app, Samsung’s implementation will reportedly be limited to SMS and low-resolution image sharing. The latter, presumably, to help pinpoint your exact location by sharing images of what identifiable sights you can see nearby.
Samsung Galaxy S23: Other rumors
In terms of battery, the Samsung S23 Ultra is tipped to get the same battery as the S22 Ultra (from multiple sources) and the S21 Ultra — which is a 5,000 mAh one. The saving grace could be the rumored Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip that could be seen in the phone that could go a long way in helping, with a boost to power-management features. The base variant, the Galaxy S23 is tipped to get a slight battery increase. One report (opens in new tab) mentions that the phone could get a 5% battery capacity increase compared to the Galaxy S22. Meanwhile the S23 Plus may also get an increase, up to 4,700 mAh from the 4,500 mAh battery in the S22 Plus. FCC listings for devices matching the description of the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus echo these battery rumors. According to those listings, the S23 is getting a 3,900 mAh battery while the S23 Plus will run on a 4,700 mAh power pack. That same listing also confirms the presence of a Qualcomm chipset, which we assume to be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Speaking of battery life, a new “light” performance mode has been tipped for the Samsung Galaxy S23 range. This mode will reportedly reduce the performance of the processor to not only keep it from sucking up extra electrical juice, but also keep it cooler, and thus help to extend overall battery life. The new design of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset rumored for the S23 series may also help with efficiency, particularly when compared to Exynos Galaxy S22 models. As for charging speed, the Galaxy S23 may sport the same 25W charging speed as the Galaxy S22, and the Galaxy S23 Plus and S23 Ultra the same 45W charging speed as their predecessors, according to leaker Ice Universe. It looks like Samsung’s keeping charging as a distinction between the base model and the pricier versions in place. The only other thing we’ve heard is that Samsung might refer to the Galaxy S23 internally as “Project Diamond.” Previously, some thought this codename instead referred to a third foldable, but that’s apparently not the case, according to DSCC analyst Ross Young.
Samsung Galaxy S23: What we want to see
Let’s face it. Even if there are a few more remaining details about the Galaxy S23 to be revealed, Samsung’s plans for its new phones are likely in place. Nevertheless, we still have a wish list of features we hope to see when the phones launch in February. Better battery life The battery life on all three Galaxy S22 models is, in a word, disappointing. Even the Galaxy S22 Ultra with its 5,000 mAh power pack couldn’t last as long as phones like the OnePlus 10 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro Max in the Tom’s Guide battery life test. The mid-range Galaxy A53 doesn’t have stellar battery life, either. Samsung might be competing with the OnePlus 11 Pro, which is also arriving in February 2023, so the Galaxy S23 will need to do better with battery life. Shrinking the power packs from the Galaxy S21 to the Galaxy S22 (3,700 mAh versus 4,000 mAh) and Galaxy S22 (4,500 mAh versus 4,800 mAh) was not a wise decision and obviously hurt both phones in testing. Better cooling It’s no secret by now that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip runs hot. This causes it to hit throttling problems, especially in intense games. Samsung also got caught intentionally throttling some apps to preserve system performance. While the move ultimately ended up as shady, or downright heinous for some, it proved one point: the Galaxy S22 needed better cooling. The OnePlus 10 Pro features a new cooling system that makes the phone noticeably more comfortable after long gaming sessions than the Galaxy S22 Ultra in my experience. We’re not asking for something on the level of the best gaming phones, but the S22 can get really hot. We hope the rumored cooling system in the Galaxy S23 fixes this. Snapdragon or better Exynos Look, we’re all for breaking Qualcomm’s near monopoly on Android phones in some parts of the world. The strongest performers out of all of the best Android phones use Snapdragon chips. While Apple Silicon is still miles ahead in some ways, Samsung’s Exynos processors are inferior to Qualcomm in many others. We all had high hopes for the flagship Exynos 2200 with its AMD-powered graphics, but the chip ultimately proved lackluster at best. Samsung either needs to figure out why Exynos chips lag behind Snapdragons, or it needs to give up and use Snapdragons everywhere. Given what we’ve seen from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the latter option may be the wiser one. Continuous zoom One problem with telephoto lenses on smartphones is that you either use the full optical zoom or get stuck with digital that fills in the gaps. Rumors surrounding the Galaxy S22 Ultra suggested that Samsung was going to introduce continuous zoom, where the phone could go from 1x to 10x and all of the spots between smoothly. We want to see Samsung introduce this on all three Galaxy S23 models, though we have a feeling the feature might be an Ultra exclusive if it ever materializes. Better model differentiation Let’s face it, the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus are pretty boring. They look just like their predecessors, without many new features. The biggest change involved improved “nightography” for low-light photos, but all of Samsung’s efforts clearly went into the most expensive Galaxy. While understandable, we’d really like to see the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 get something that makes them more than iterative upgrades. Whether it’s a fresh design, stronger cameras, or display refresh rates that actually dip to 10Hz — since the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus did, in fact, feature a minimum of 48Hz instead of the 10Hz Samsung initially advertised. We just don’t want the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus to bore us. The Galaxy S23 Ultra though should be anything but boring.
