In the middle of the holiday season and a few weeks before their official presentation in early 2023, the Samsung Galaxy S23+ and S23 Ultra reveal their design through “official” promotional images.

In the middle of the holiday season and a few weeks before their official presentation in early 2023, the Samsung Galaxy S23+ and S23 Ultra reveal their design through “official” promotional images.

The closer the release of a new smartphone approaches, the more the leaks are numerous and, generally, reliable. For Christmas, the site 91Mobiles publishes promotional visuals of the Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 Ultra. This is hardly surprising, because it has become a habit: new smartphones almost always see their technical sheets and their visuals leaked before their official unveiling – when it is not by the manufacturer himself who discloses the information! VShas been the case again recently for the Xiaomi 13. As the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S23 range draws closer and closer – surely on the occasion of CES 2023 or during an Unpacked event in early February – we are entitled to a first glimpse.

We suspected it, but the new flagships of the Korean manufacturer will not benefit from radical changes compared to the previous generation. But we can still note some small differences. On the advertising posters, we can see the S23+ and the 23 Ultra accompanied by a Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. The S23+, in a discreet pink, sports slightly more rounded corners and abandons the rectangular photo island of the S22+ for three rear cameras in the form of individual islands. On the side of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, here in green, the only notable change are the rear cameras with a silver outline, and no longer black. In the end, since the visuals and technical sheets of the smartphones are already known, the only information expected in Samsung’s official presentation is their price, which may sting a little…

Samsung Galaxy S23: a design almost identical to the S22

During its last months, numerous leaks have made it possible to paint an almost complete portrait of the new flagship of the Korean manufacturer. Thus, as the site remarketed My Fix Guide, the Chinese mobile certification body TEENA has published the technical sheet of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Similarly, smartphone whistleblower OnLeaks released 3D renders of the Galaxy S23 and S23+ in partnership with SmartPrix and Digit – it also unveiled the appearance of the Galaxy S22 before they were officially presented – while Ice Universe was able to get some information about the camera device. Finally, it would seem that the Galaxy S23 range has nothing revolutionary – if not its price – and is satisfied with a few small improvements, in particular at the level of the processor and the photo module.

Based on smartphone manufacturing diagrams, OneLeaks’ digital sketches suggest that future phones will take up a mix of the design of the S22, with its rounded sides, and the S22 Ultra, for the positioning of the photo sensors, aligned vertically and directly integrated into the structure, which offers a more elegant appearance. For the rest, we can see a perforation in the middle for the selfie camera, as well as a classic USB-C port on the lower part. The Galaxy S23 would have a 6.1-inch AMOLED screen with FHD+ definition, and the S23+ a 6.6-inch AMOLED screen with Quad HD+ definition and both would have a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a maximum brightness of 1700nits. The Galaxy S23 is said to be a bit taller and wider than its predecessor, with dimensions of 146.3×70.8×7.6mm – compared to 146×70.6×7.6mm for the older model. As for the Galaxy S23 +, it would measure 157.7 × 76.1 × 7.6 mm – against 157.4 × 75.8 × 7.6 mm for the S22 + – with a 6.6 inch panel.

For the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the technical sheet revealed by TEENA speaks of a phone measuring 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9 mm for 233 g, with a 6.8-inch AMOLED screen and a definition of 1440 x 3088 pixels – nothing new under the sun then, since they are basically the same characteristics as the Galaxy S22 Ultra. According to Ice Universe, the only real change would be a more angular chassis, with the screen’s curved effect less pronounced. Finally, the selfie camera would return in the form of a punch, while the three cameras of the Galaxy S23 and S23+ would be aligned vertically and would come out directly from the back cover of the smartphone – in the form of three separate islands therefore. All three phones are, of course, IP68 certified for water and dust resistance – so they can be completely submerged for extended periods of time. Finally, the S23 Ultra would have a fingerprint reader with a larger and five times more precise reading area. It could even read fingerprints from two fingers simultaneously for added security.

Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23+: a new processor, but little innovation

The main novelty of the Galaxy S23 range undoubtedly seems to be its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor from Qualcomm – which can also be found on the future Xiaomi 13 –, which replaces the Exyn chips. The SoC incorporates an eight-core processor, consisting of a high-performance core clocked at 3.19 GHz, four secondary cores at 2.8 GHz and three efficient cores at 2.0 GHz. It should offer better energy capacity, but also better heat control – and therefore make the smartphone less prone to overheating.

It will have to be, since, according to information from Ice Universe – a recognized leaker for Samsung products – the battery would be a real disappointment. It would be only 3,700 mAh for the Galaxy S23, the same as that of the S22 and less efficient than that of the S22+ – 4,500 mAh. The S23+ should have a bigger 5000mAh battery. The S23 would benefit from a 25W charge, or “almost the slowest charging in the mobile phone industry”, according to Ice Universe – which the manufacturer has also been using since the Galaxy S10. This type of charger should recharge the 3,700mAh battery by 50% in 25 minutes – we expected better, given the range. Samsung would therefore bet only on hardware and software optimization to improve the autonomy of its smartphones. The S23 Ultra on the other hand would benefit from a 4,855 mAh battery – which is surprising, given that its predecessor had a 5,000 mAh battery – with 45 W charging. special energetic, capable of boosting battery life by reducing performance, without affecting the refresh rate.

Finally, it looks like the S23 Ultra will come with 8 or 12 GB of random access memory (RAM), as well as 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB of storage – last year the S22 Ultra started at 128 GB. the range will be launched under One UI 5, the latest version of its overlay for Android 13 which notably brings some changes to the notification panel, alerts, opacity, customization, animations.

Samsung Galaxy S23: photo sensors still mysterious

On the photo side, nothing new for the Galaxy S23 and S23+ since they should take over the sensors of the S22, which had already benefited from new cameras. We would therefore find a 50 MP Isocell GN5 main sensor, a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle sensor (megapixels) as well as a 10 MP telephoto lens offering 3X optical zoom – we will surely find the photo processing fed to artificial intelligence present in the S22. As for the S23 Ultra, hard to say. Some rumors argue that Samsung would replace the main 108 Mpx sensor – present since the S20 Ultra – with a new 200 Mpx photo module. This would provide a 25% faster frame rate for 8K video at 30 frames per second – a first, the maximum being so far at 24 frames per second. However, this is not what the Chinese certification body displays, which maintains a main sensor of 108 MpX accompanied by two others of 12 and 2 Mpx – which, again, would change from the configuration of the S22 Ultra to four sensors. Even more surprising: the front camera would be only 12 Mpx, against 40 Mpx for the previous model…

Samsung Galaxy S23: price and release date

The various leaks leave a mixed opinion. It looks like Samsung is using a similar strategy to Apple with its 14 iPhones, the only interesting addition of which is the Dynamic Island. Hopefully, unlike Apple’s phones, prices haven’t been bumped up for so little innovation. But it looks pretty off to a bad start, as several sources agree that the launch price of the Galaxy S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra will be higher than for their predecessors – from €859 for the S22, €1,059 for the S22+ and €1,259 – due to the macroeconomic context. We will be fixed in February 2023 if we rely on the usual calendar of the Korean manufacturer.