The Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus looks similar to how we expect the S23 to be
(Picture: Samsung)As Samsung gears up to launch its Galaxy S23 phones on February 1, a new leak reveals how much they could cost.
An online tipster has outed the prices for almost the entire flagship series, including two of the standard S23 models, two of the bigger S23 Plus models, and three of the top-of-the-range S23 Ultra models, which boast the largest screen, battery, and memory options.
Fortunately, it appears that most of the devices will cost the same as they did the past couple of years, though the premium S23 Ultra’s starting price will be more, according to the leak. Nevertheless, these are all high-end phones that won’t come cheap.
How much will the Samsung Galaxy S23 cost?
According to Samsung leaker @RGcloudS on Twitter, this is how much the Galaxy S23 phones will set you back. We’ve also included the UK pound estimate based on last year’s prices, with increases to reflect the S23 Ultra change.
Last year, the S22 Ultra range started with 128GB of storage for $1,199 (£1,149) - that model could be history based on its absence from the latest leak.
Samsung Galaxy S23 price:
Samsung Galaxy S23 (8GB RAM/128GB storage): $799/£769
Samsung Galaxy S23 (8GB/256GB): $849/ £819
Samsung Galaxy S23+ price:
Samsung Galaxy S23+ (8GB/128GB): $999/£949
Samsung Galaxy S23+ (8GB/256GB): $1,049/£999
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra price:
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (8GB/256GB) $1,249/£1,199
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (12GB/512GB) $1,349/£1,299
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (12GB/1TB) $1,499/£1,449
When is the Samsung Galaxy S23 release date?
Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event, where it debuts its latest flagship phones, takes place on February 1.
It’s worth remembering that a launch date isn’t the same as a release date, and there’s typically a pre-order window between a phone’s announcement and its arrival in early adopters’ pockets.
For Samsung, in recent years, this has been around two weeks. Yes, with the Galaxy S20, the gap was three-and-a-half, but that long lead-in may have had a lot to do with it arriving in March 2020 — just as the world was reckoning with the contagious nature of Covid-19.
TBC, obviously, but we would preliminarily mark Friday, February 17, in your calendar as upgrade day if you fancy a new Samsung handset.
What’s expected to change with the Samsung Galaxy S23?
For the regular Samsung Galaxy S23, we’re not expecting huge changes, barring the annual speed boost with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset.
This will not only give the phone around 35 per cent faster performance than the S22, but should give a 40 per cent boost to efficiency, too, meaning your battery goes further.
There’s also talk of iPhone 14-matching emergency satellite communications for contact when you’re off-grid, and an improved selfie camera.
Will there be an S23 Ultra?
Yes, Samsung is expected to bring back the Ultra version for another year. As with the previous two generations, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is essentially the latest incarnation of the now-forgotten Note series, right down to the giant screen and built-in S Pen for doodling and note-taking.
It’s always had a superior camera array to the regular Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus, with a 100x ‘Space Zoom’ allowing for impressive photographic range. This year, it will apparently get a 200MP main sensor — a big megapixel boost compared to the previous 108MP version.
While megapixel count only tells part of the photography story, Ice Universe claims to be extremely impressed with the S23 Ultra’s camera performance, especially in night mode, dubbing it “the biggest improvement of Samsung’s flagship mobile phone in five years”.
Samsung Galaxy S23 outlook
While the above predictions still need to be confirmed by Samsung, the leaks point to a product line that’s treading water a little — especially the regular S23 and S23 Plus.
That’s good news for bargain hunters, who may find that the suddenly cheaper S22 does everything they want, without needing to pay extra for the latest and greatest. Samsung has pledged four years of OS upgrades and five years of security patches to its Galaxy S handsets, so you can be confident that last year’s models have a decent life ahead of them.
Still, while Samsung still has the biggest smartphone market share around, it can’t get complacent. If the Galaxy S series loses its lustre, then rival Android handsets from Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, Google, and others could start eating into that pie.
