Samsung Galaxy S23 series has been launched with a similar design and incremental updates.
There is a new custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip for Galaxy phones.
The Galaxy S23 has been launched at a Rs 2,000 higher price, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra is now Rs 15,000 more expensive.
Samsung finally launched its Samsung Galaxy S23 series of flagship smartphones in India during the company's Galaxy Unpacked event in Bengaluru. The lineup includes the Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+ and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra sporting the same old designs with minor tweaks, but with many under-the-hood performance improvements, mainly in the camera department.
With new hardware, there’s also a hefty price increase. The Samsung Galaxy S23 gets a Rs 2,000 price hike, Galaxy S23 Plus gets a Rs 6,000 price hike for the respective variant (no 128GB variant for S23 Plus), and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra gets a pretty big ₹15,000 price hike as compared to the Galaxy S22 series. Given the success of the Samsung Galaxy S22 series from last year, Samsung's Galaxy S23 series has been one of the most sought-after Android devices ahead of its launch. Team Digit got some hands-on time with the Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra and here's what we think about the new Samsung Galaxy S23 series of smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – First Impressions
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, the ultra flagship from the brand has been launched with minor tweaks in its design and several major changes in the smartphone's camera and overall performance. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with a new custom Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset for Galaxy phones, which claims to offer a 35% increase in CPU performance and a 41% increase in GPU performance. Now, while these numbers are subject to testing, we are looking at performance upgrades across the board on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Display on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra remains the same as last year’s 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,750 nits of peak brightness. Like last year, this display also looks and feels very premium. The colours are accurate, the details are sharp and of course, it feels super responsive and slick with the 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate. In terms of size, however, the 6.8-inch screen may be a bit too big for some users and single-handed usage isn’t quite possible unless you have huge hands.
Another welcome upgrade here is a 2.7x larger vapour cooling chamber for keeping the thermals in check. Since last year’s Galaxy S22 smartphones had heating issues, this upgrade is much appreciated. How much of a difference it actually makes, we’ll get to know after using the smartphone extensively. The battery and charging on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra remain the same 5,000mAh and 45W as the predecessor, the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
With respect to camera improvements, this is where the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra promises a lot. There is a new 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP2 sensor on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which has been bumped up from last year's 108-megapixel shooter on the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Furthermore, Samsung has also added several new features like a 2x wider Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), a new quad-pixel autofocus feature that focuses on all pixels at the same time for faster autofocus. There is also a new astrophotography mode on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra along with an Astro Hyperlapse feature that enables users to capture stars and their movements in hyperlapse. Very cool. Other cameras include a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle lens, a 10-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 10-megapixel Periscope lens that enable 10X optical zoom and 100X digital zoom. Up front, Samsung has used a 12-megapixel selfie shooter on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. All of this should keep shutterbugs and smartphone camera enthusiasts quite busy, no doubt.
Design-wise, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra looks pretty much the same as its predecessor. The smartphone has the same design, but with the sides of the frame now flatter, which improves the overall in-hand feel and makes holding the phone easier as compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Further, Samsung has also focused on sustainability this time around, with components of the back panel, glass, and the S Pen now made of sustainable and organic materials. The build quality, however, remains as solid as last year’s smartphone and the S23 Ultra feels nicely dense and premium in your hands. While the smartphone looks pretty much the same, the design tweaks made by Samsung enhance the in-hand feel of the rather large Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra making it easier to hold.
Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus – First Impressions
The Samsung Galaxy S23 and the Galaxy S23 Plus have also been introduced with several upgrades and incremental updates overall. Again, the smartphones look and feel pretty much the same as their predecessors, but we are looking at improvements in several areas. With respect to performance, the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus sport a new custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, which is claimed to enhance their performance by a healthy margin. With the vanilla models, Samsung has increased the battery capacity by a bit, with the Galaxy S23 having a 3,900mAh battery and the Galaxy S23 Plus has a 4,700mAh battery, an increase of 200mAh as compared to the Galaxy S22’s 3,700mAh battery and the S22 Plus' 4,500mAh battery, respectively. There is no upgrade in the charging speeds, with both the Galaxy S23 vanilla models having the same 25W fast charging as their predecessors.
Design-wise, there are only minor tweaks. Both the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus now have a design that brings the whole S23 series lineup more in line. Samsung has revamped the camera modules, as their camera rings now protrude out of the back panel, similar to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Apart from this, the S23 and S23 Plus’ designs remain the same as last year's Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus. The display also remains the same as last year but is now brighter. There is a 6.1-inch FHD+ flat display on the Galaxy S23 and a 6.6-inch FHD+ flat display on the Galaxy S23 Plus. Both come with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,750 nits of peak brightness, which is a bump up from the 1,300 nits peak brightness of the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus. The look and feel of the displays remain as good as Samsung flagships are known for.
In terms of the camera, there is no change on the hardware side. The Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus both use the same 50MP + 12MP + 10MP triple camera setup that we also saw on the Galaxy S22 series. While there is no improvement on the hardware side, we are waiting to test the devices to see how Samsung has tuned these cameras and how much of an upgrade (or downgrade) it ends up being. With the front camera, however, the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus see a bump-up in the megapixel count and we get a 12-megapixel selfie snapper, as against the 10-megapixel selfie snapper of the Galaxy S22 series.
Samsung Galaxy S23 series: Promising incremental upgrade
It appears that the Samsung Galaxy S23 series has been an incremental upgrade over last year's successful lineup of Galaxy S22 series devices from Samsung. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, as usual, gets the most attention from the brand and gets the most significant upgrades in the camera and performance. The biggest change on the Galaxy S23 and the Galaxy S23 Plus here is the new chip and a better heat management system along with bigger batteries. The design change is also minor, but now the whole lineup looks more streamlined and the huge Galaxy S23 Ultra, with its flat frames, is now much easier to hold.
So those were our first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy S23 series after spending some time with the devices during Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event. We will put these devices to the test very soon in our full review of the Samsung Galaxy S23 series. Overall, we are looking at minor design tweaks, performance upgrades across the board, and a huge leap in the camera department for the ultra flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. But does that make it worth the ₹15,000 price hike? Stay tuned to find out our answer to that question very soon.
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