Release date, rumors, specs, price, feature wishlist

Update: September 122022 (4:34 AM ET): We have updated the Samsung Galaxy S23 hub below with a few new rumors related to the cameras and displays on the upcoming phones.

Original article: Samsung continues to be the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer. A huge reason for its astonishing success is the popularity of its Galaxy S line. Over the years, the Galaxy S line has become synonymous with Android, being some of the most well-known and most revered devices in the market. In 2023, we expect that to continue with the Samsung Galaxy S23 series.

What could Samsung have in store for the Galaxy S23 line? There are a lot of unknown details as of right now, but we can make plenty of assumptions based on what Samsung has done in the past. Meanwhile, we also can make a wishlist of features we hope Samsung brings around for the Galaxy S23 phones. Continue on for what we know and what we hope to see!

Will there be a Samsung Galaxy S23 series?

The Galaxy S line is Samsung’s most popular premium smartphone series. It is inevitable that the company would launch a new entry in the series, just as it has done every year since 2010.

History lesson: The Samsung Galaxy S series

Of course, Samsung has thrown curveballs in the past in relation to the names of the phones. For instance, we skipped from the Galaxy S10 series to the Galaxy S20 series. However, Samsung did this mainly to align the name of the phone with the year in which it was released. Therefore, it’s nearly certain the new Galaxy S line would be known as the Samsung Galaxy S23 series.

• Galaxy S10 series — February 20, 2019
• Galaxy S20 series — February 11, 2020
• Galaxy S21 series — January 14, 2021
• Galaxy S22 series — February 9, 2022

Historically, Samsung has launched Galaxy S phones within the first three months of the year. In recent years, Samsung has launched them in February, with only the Galaxy S21 series as an exception. This was likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It stands to reason that Samsung would launch the Galaxy S23 series in February 2023. However, don’t rule out a January or even March launch. Samsung has launched the phones in those months in the past. There’s also no telling how the ongoing global chip shortage could change the company’s plans.

We usually get substantial leaks related to the next Galaxy S release starting in the late summer. Here’s what we can gather from the rumors at present.

Design

One of the biggest-ever shifts for the Galaxy S line happened in 2022. That’s when Samsung remodeled the Galaxy S22 Ultra to make it look and function more like a Galaxy Note phone. This included it being a boxy design with an S Pen slot.

However, the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus remained largely the same when compared to the previous models. It’s very likely Samsung could repeat this strategy in 2023. If that happened, the Galaxy S23 Ultra would look a lot like the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus wouldn’t change much either.

This is the same strategy Apple employs for iPhones. It’s not often that Apple wildly revamps the looks of the phones, instead opting to subtly refine the design each year. Our money is on Samsung using the same strategy going forward for the Galaxy S line.

Specs and features

Samsung Galaxy S phones are almost always the first globally available devices with the latest flagship silicon from Qualcomm. We don’t expect 2023 to be any different in this regard. As such, you can expect all three Samsung Galaxy S23 phones to have the as-yet-unannounced Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside. That would certainly be for devices in North America, Korea, and India, while other countries might get the unannounced Exynos 2300. It is possible Samsung could abandon Exynos-powered Galaxy S phones in 2023, though. If that happened, all (or at least almost all) Galaxy S23 devices would have Qualcomm chips. This is not assured, however.

Our 2022 reviews: Galaxy S22 | Galaxy S22 Plus | Galaxy S22 Ultra

Samsung also very rarely downgrades specs across the years. We expect the Galaxy S23 Ultra to have similar or better specs across the board when compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra. That would mean at least 8GB of RAM, at least 128GB of internal storage, a 1440p display with at least a 120Hz refresh rate, a battery capacity of at least 5,000mAh, and a wired charging speed of at least 45W. It would also mean a similar quad-sensor rear camera with two telephoto lenses and the main sensor to meet or exceed 108MP in quality.

Samsung apparently confirmed with camera partners that it will bring a 200MP camera sensor to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Leaker Ice Universe also suggested that Samsung would use the unreleased HP2 camera sensor instead of the previously released HP1 and HP3 sensors. According to himthe new 200MP camera is “100% confirmed” and would have 0.6µm pixels on a 1/1.3 inch sensor. That said, we’d take any claims like this with a heavy pinch of salt until more reliable reports arise.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus should carry a lot of specs over from the Galaxy S22 series. That would mean at least 8GB of RAM, at least 128GB of internal storage, and displays with 120Hz refresh rates.

A tipster recently asserted that the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus will have 6.1-inch and 6.6-inch screen sizes, respectively. Unfortunately, if you were hoping for a return to QHD+ resolutions, the tipster claims that both phones will have FHD+ screens (2,340 × 1,080).

The camera setup on the back would likely remain similar with a wide, ultrawide, and telephoto lens. One rumor suggests the telephoto lens would not see an update in 2023, so the phones could have the same setup as the Galaxy S22 series in that regard.

One of the biggest overall criticisms of the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus was battery life. Therefore, it would make a lot of sense for Samsung to increase the battery capacity of both models in 2023. We don’t have any evidence to support this yet, however.

In 2021, Samsung made the right move and significantly lowered the prices of the Galaxy S21 series compared to the Galaxy S20 family. In 2022, Samsung again made the right move by offering the Galaxy S22 series at the same prices as the Galaxy S21 family.

Hopefully, Samsung carries this strategy through to 2023. If it does, the Samsung Galaxy S23 prices would be $799, $999, and $1,199 for the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus, and Galaxy S23 Ultra, respectively. The fact that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 carried over 2021 prices adds more credibility to this idea.

If Samsung does change the prices, it seems very unlikely it would reduce them at this point. Judging by prices for Samsung’s lower-end Galaxy A series, the company can’t really go much lower with the Galaxy S line without cheapening the brand. However, there is still a little room there, so it wouldn’t be out of the question for Samsung to drop the Galaxy S23 prices by a small amount — say $50 or so. It’s far more likely, though, that Samsung would increase the prices if it doesn’t leave them the same.

Regardless, until we hear differently, we’re going to assume Samsung won’t be changing Galaxy S pricing in 2023.

Samsung Galaxy S23 series: What we want to see

The Galaxy S23 series will likely end up being some of the best phones of 2023. Even if Samsung changes little from the Galaxy S22 family, they’ll probably be terrific. However, the phones could always be better. Below, we have a wishlist of a few things we hope Samsung does change in 2023 when compared to the 2022 models.

Samsung inexplicably reduced the sizes of the batteries inside the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus. Obviously, this resulted in weaker battery life for both phones when compared to their Galaxy S21 counterparts. The results weren’t as drastic on the Plus model, but the vanilla S22 definitely suffered. We’re not sure why Samsung expected any other outcome.

See also: Here are the Android phones with the best battery life

In 2023, we hope Samsung rectifies this mistake. The Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus need to have batteries that are at least the same size as the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus. That would be 4,000mAh and 4,800 mAh respectively. If the company can go bigger, that would be even better. Even the Galaxy S22 Ultra doesn’t have the very best battery longevity, despite retaining the same cell as its direct predecessor, so perhaps there’s some room for software optimization here too.

Outside of battery life problems, our second-biggest complaint related to the Galaxy S22 series was speaker quality. On all models — even the Galaxy S22 Ultra — the speakers left a little to be desired considering the pedigree of the Galaxy S name. They weren’t bad by any means, but they lacked punch across the board. Let’s hope Samsung invests a bit more money into higher-quality speakers in 2023.

Check out: The best Samsung phones

If you decide to grab a Galaxy S22 Ultra, you have the option of a 128, 256, or 512GB model. You can even go all the way up to 1TB. That’s nice and all, but what if you want a Galaxy S22 or Galaxy S22 Plus? Unfortunately, you’re stuck with either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage.

Depending on your needs, that might not be enough. We’d love to see 512GB and 1TB options for the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus.

Of course, we’d also love to see the return of the microSD card slot, which would pretty much solve all storage problems for everyone. We’re not holding our breath on that one, though.

Samsung’s update promise is the absolute best in the world of Android. For its flagship phones — and even some of its mid-rangers — Samsung offers four Android upgrades and five years of security patches. Even Google itself can’t match that.

However, this is just one upgrade short of what Apple offers iPhones. It would be terrific to see Samsung finally match Apple and offer five years of full support, including five Android upgrades.

This would not only be a boon for Samsung users, but also the entire Android ecosystem. If Samsung matches Apple, other Android OEMs would, inevitably, need to follow suit. It might take a while, but it would happen. What better way to start the trend than with the Samsung Galaxy S23 series?

See also: Every Samsung device eligible for four major Android updates

That’s everything we want to see from the Samsung Galaxy S23 series. Which features do you hope for most? Be sure to vote in our poll below.