Samsung Unpacked Live Blog: Galaxy S23, Galaxy Book 3 Ultra Reveals - CNET

Samsung's higher-end phones are present alongside caller laptops.

Feb. 1, 2023 3:13 p.m. PT

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was the company's flagship telephone for 2022.

Samsung/CNET

Samsung's caller Galaxy S23 enactment -- the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra -- has conscionable made its debut arsenic portion of Wednesday's Samsung Unpacked. Samsung is besides unveiling a caller high-end Galaxy Book 3 Ultra laptop.

Here's a summary of the company's hardware reveals:

Samsung Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus: The Samsung Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus person been fixed a fewer improvements implicit past year's Galaxy S22 phones, notably bigger batteries and a customized Snapdragon chip. As antecedently rumored, some phones diagnostic a customized mentation of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Samsung's highest-end telephone is getting a large camera upgrade this year. The Galaxy S23 Ultra present features a 200-megapixel camera, which astir doubles the 108-megapixel camera seen connected the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The telephone inactive includes a abstraction for the S Pen, and the customized Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor that's besides wrong the S23 and S23 Plus.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra laptop: Samsung looks to beryllium giving the MacBook Pro a tally for its wealth with this caller high-end laptop that starts astatine $2,400. It features a 16-inch AMOLED show with a 120Hz refresh complaint and, if you privation to walk much money, you tin spec it with an Intel Core i9 chip. Samsung has besides unveiled caller Galaxy Book 3 Pro and Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 laptops, some step-down models from the high-end Ultra laptop.

Samsung, Google and Qualcomm Team Up to Build a New Mixed-Reality Platform: While determination isn't yet a instrumentality to amusement off, Samsung discussed its concern with Google and Qualcomm for an upcoming mixed-reality platform. This would perchance impact a part-augmented reality, part-virtual world attack that could yet debut.

While Apple's iPhone 14 enactment made a large woody astir including outer connectivity for exigency communication, Samsung doesn't look to beryllium acceptable to enactment a akin diagnostic successful the Galaxy S23.

My workfellow Lisa Eadicicco was capable to talk astir precisely this diagnostic with TM Roh, Samsung's president and caput of the company's mobile acquisition business. Roh said that portion there's involvement successful bringing the diagnostic to aboriginal Galaxy phones, it whitethorn beryllium excessively soon for Samsung's 2023 devices.

"When determination is the close timing, infrastructure, and the exertion [is] ready, past of people for Samsung Galaxy, for our mobile division, we would besides actively see adopting this diagnostic arsenic well," helium said. 

You tin larn much astir Samsung's observations into the outer connectivity successful Eadicicco's feature that includes much details from her speech with Roh.

After an extended spot of Google, Qualcomm and Samsung executives patting 1 different connected the backmost for their respective enactment connected the Galaxy S23 series, the lawsuit is over. 

But that doesn't mean we're done! CNET has galore much stories filled with analysis, investigating and different position you tin lone get from us. Follow along:

- Samsung Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus announcements.

- Details connected the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

- Why you should attraction astir the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra laptop.

Preorders commencement today, and volition beryllium launching Feb. 17. 

The Galaxy S23 volition commencement astatine $800, the S23 Plus volition commencement astatine $1,000 and the S23 Ultra volition commencement astatine $1,200.

In the US, Samsung said it'll proceed selling the S22 from past year, astatine $700.

Samsung is expanding its Ultra branding to its laptops too, though they're not powered by the aforesaid chips arsenic the S23 series. Instead, it's powered by chips made by Intel and Nvidia.

It has larger screens, a 3K show and a bigger touchpad. Samsung says it offers a measurement up from its different Galaxy laptops.

CNET's Joshua Goldman appreciated the changes, peculiarly the Nvidia chips for amended gaming and video oregon photograph editing. "If you're going to telephone thing 'Pro' you should connection thing stronger than integrated graphics," helium wrote in his archetypal impressions.

All the phone-makers person spent sizeable fortunes improving the functions of the cameras connected their devices, and that's wealth not conscionable spent connected revamping the solid lenses oregon LED flash. They enactment a batch of effort into processing applications that automatically process the representation data the telephone collects.

Samsung has travel up with 2 presumption for its low-light photography technologies: Nightography and Astrophotography. Nightography is fundamentally Samsung's sanction for low-light photography, which has so been getting amended each year. Astrophography appears to beryllium features built conscionable to instrumentality images of the stars, planets and moon.

Some of the improvements to Samsung's cameras this twelvemonth travel from pixel binning, a exertion that draws much airy and detail retired of larger photos. Samsung said it's improved autofocus, and that it created caller settings called Camera Assistant that makes it easier for you to power settings, achromatic equilibrium oregon ISO. 

Samsung besides created a GIF remaster feature, which improves the prime of a GIF earlier sharing with friends and family. And Samsung accrued the capabilities of its Astro Hyperlapse feature, which allows you to seizure a "starry nighttime sky" with what Samsung says is nonrecreational quality.

The question is whether Samsung's camera improvements volition basal retired erstwhile tested against Apple's iPhone and Google's Pixel, some of which thin to hold their ain alternatively good successful CNET's tests.

Drew Blackard, VP of merchandise management, is present connected stage, talking astir the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which helium says was inspired by the Note series. He talks astir the "cohesive look and feel" crossed the S23 line, and notes that the presentations of today's Unpacked lawsuit were filmed with an S23.

Samsung besides worked with movie manager Ridley Scott to marque a movie utilizing its phones (though, sadly, not different play of Raised By Wolves). He called utilizing the phones "a large challenge," and said helium was "surprised by however versatile it was."

(Is this wherever I notation Apple hired filmmakers to amusement disconnected its iPhone 13's cinematic capabilities a mates years ago?)

Samsung's lawsuit begins with a video "filmed #WithGalaxy" -- Samsung's TM Roh is connected stage.

"It is bully to beryllium backmost together," helium starts, talking astir however the institution is pushing to innovate "beyond the specs" and "redefining what a smartphone tin be." 

This is what you typically deliberation of erstwhile it comes to satellites. But what if this acceptable successful your phone?

National Centre for Radio Astrophysics

One of the large questions astir Samsung's upcoming enactment of phones is whether it'll person 1 of 2023's more fashionable features, outer texting.

Apple already kicked disconnected the inclination past twelvemonth with its iPhone 14, which tin send texts by outer if you're retired of compartment work range. Starting astatine $799, the iPhone 14 isn't the lone instrumentality retired determination that'll apt person the tech by year's extremity though. 

Last month, Qualcomm revealed a caller diagnostic coming successful Android phones, called Snapdragon Satellite, that will let users nonstop and person substance messages through satellites too. It uses the Iridium web and Qualcomm says it volition person planetary coverage, which is much than Apple's work offers. 

Just similar the iPhone, it'll lone beryllium for emergencies to start, but volition yet beryllium capable to speech messages socially and adjacent usage data, apt arsenic portion of a premium service. It's not yet disposable and volition travel successful phones launching successful the 2nd fractional of 2023 that usage Qualcomm's latest premium chips, though the institution is leaving it up to phone-makers whether to person the work astatine each successful their phones oregon if they should complaint for the privilege. That leaves tons of unknowns.

Read much from CNET's mobile newsman David Lumb: The iPhone 14's Prize Feature Kicked Off 2023's Biggest Phone Trend

Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

If you're wondering astir the refreshments served astatine Samsung Unpacked, this fancy-looking h2o vessel is being provided to attendees.

Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Left to right: CNET's Lisa Eadicicco, Patrick Holland, Claire Reilly and John Kim are entering the Samsung Unpacked lawsuit successful San Francisco.

The Galaxy A53's successor is rumored to beryllium conscionable astir the corner. 

Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Samsung's cheaper Galaxy A bid usually gets its ain events abstracted from the Galaxy S line. Not each telephone successful this lineup, however, gets a property league oregon adjacent a cameo astatine Unpacked -- the Galaxy A14 5G, for example, was announced during CES 2023 -- but it tin happen. Last year's Galaxy A53 and A33 were revealed successful a March livestream. As rumors of an A54 circulate, it's imaginable Samsung could uncover the cheaper instrumentality connected Wednesday, too.

Seeing the telephone is 1 thing. Holding it is another.

Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Samsung's Galaxy S23 uncover is expected aboriginal today, and it's imaginable you could adjacent try retired a Galaxy S23 today, too. Samsung is holding respective "Galaxy Experience Space" events astatine pop-up locations and retail stores astir the world, starting Wednesday.

The announcement doesn't explicitly accidental you'll get to spot the Galaxy S23 telephone enactment successful these pop-up spaces, but the chances are rather bully that Samsung would similar attendees to effort its caller phones out.

The MWC mobile commercialized amusement takes spot successful Barcelona.

CNET

While February is kicking disconnected with Samsung Unpacked, the institution mightiness person a batch to denote aboriginal this period and adjacent if it repeats what it did past year. Samsung often participates successful the Mobile World Congress commercialized amusement successful Barcelona, which this twelvemonth takes spot from Feb. 27 to March 2. Samsung revealed the Galaxy Book 2 Pro laptop and the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 astatine MWC 2022 -- but that doesn't needfully mean laptops volition beryllium the featured merchandise this year.

Samsung could possibly absorption connected immoderate fig of merchandise categories that don't get shown disconnected during the Feb. 1 Unpacked event. That means we could spot updates to its headphone line, tablets oregon the astute home.

Qualcomm's adjacent top-tier mobile chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, has show improvements, amended AI, hardware ray tracing and enactment for Wi-Fi 7 wireless internet.

Qualcomm

While we expect the Samsung Galaxy S23 enactment to see a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, the telephone is rumored to person a customized mentation of the chip. If that's true, could perchance bring faster speeds oregon features that could acceptable the S23 isolated from different phones with the Gen 2 chip. Phone leaker Ice Universe (h/t GSMArena) posted backmost successful November that the European mentation of the Galaxy S23 has a "high-frequency version" of the Gen 2.

If this rumor is true, it would beryllium a rotation connected a maneuver employed by telephone makers that make in-house chips for their ain phones, similar Apple and Google. While the Gen 2 is inactive made by Qualcomm, I'd beryllium funny to spot if a Samsung-tailored variation offered a tangible vantage implicit the Gen 2 chips we've seen utilized successful rival devices.

Olly Curtis/Future via Getty Images

As Samsung preps to bring the Galaxy S23 into the world, it whitethorn person a much uphill conflict than conscionable competing with the latest iPhones oregon Pixels. This week the institution reported its latest net and warned that economical conditions could pb to request for caller smartphones waning. It'll beryllium absorbing to spot however the marketplace responds to Samsung's caller crop, peculiarly if they extremity up being much expensive. 

Samsung is expected to uncover the new Galaxy Book laptops during its Feb.1 Unpacked event, caller blog posts from the institution suggest.

Samsung

The Galaxy S enactment isn't the lone merchandise coming from Samsung today. The institution hasn't been subtle astir teasing a caller Galaxy Book, its enactment of Windows-based laptops. Like with the S23, the South Korean elephantine has been enticing imaginable customers with a $50 Samsung recognition bonus for those who reserve 1 successful beforehand (or $100 if you reserve some a caller laptop and S23). Twitter leaker SnoopyTech has posted immoderate images and specs of the purported computer, which whitethorn diagnostic 13th procreation Intel processors, 15.6-inch displays and a assortment of ports including HDMI, USB-A, aggregate USB-C and a microSD paper slot. 

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is the top-specced telephone from past year's lineup.

Samsung

If you were readying to upgrade to Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S23 series, you whitethorn person to pony up much wealth than earlier -- depending connected wherever you live. The terms of Samsung's upcoming flagship phones is tipped to summation successful parts of Europe compared to past year's Galaxy S22 series. If you unrecorded successful the US, however, prices are expected to stay the same. 

On Twitter, reliable leaker Roland Quandt posted prices of the Galaxy S23 lineup successful Spain, saying the Galaxy S23 volition commencement astatine 959 euros for the exemplary with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. (959 euros astir converts to $1,040, £840 oregon AU$1,480.) The tweet besides says a Galaxy S23 Ultra, with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, volition outgo 1,589 euros. 

According to Samsung's Spanish website, the Galaxy S22 costs 859 euros and the Galaxy S22 Ultra costs 1,459 euros. Similar terms increases are besides expected successful Germany and the Czech Republic. Australian consumers whitethorn besides person to hole to wage much if reports crook retired to beryllium accurate.

AT&T/Screenshot by CNET

As Samsung's authoritative Unpacked lawsuit draws closer, the leaks -- adjacent the accidental ones -- are opening to heap up. Yesterday an AT&T store successful Atlanta posted images of the Galaxy S23 to its website, implicit with a statement of the phone's features and colors, up of the authoritative launch. The Samsung S23 appears to travel successful green, cream, lavender and a grayish achromatic "phantom" color, according to the website, which has since been taken down. It seemingly has an "automatic adaptive 6.6-inch display" and a 50-megapixel camera with "advance nightography." It's besides water-resistant, with a artillery that "powers your day," wireless accelerated charging and sound cancellation.

Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus

We're gearing up for Samsung Unpacked, wherever it's each but confirmed that Samsung volition motorboat the Galaxy S23 phone. This year, we expect Samsung to repetition its signifier from erstwhile years, releasing 3 phones: the Galaxy S23, S23 Plus and S23 Ultra. 

Perhaps the biggest rumors are the ones astir imaginable S23 camera upgrades. We're expecting the S23 Ultra to person a monolithic 200-megapixel representation sensor since Samsung has launched a mates of these representation sensors already. (They're utilized connected rival phones, including the Xiaomi 12T Pro.) Last year, we were hoping to spot that 200-megapixel camera marque an quality connected the Galaxy S22 Ultra, but it didn't happen.

Our unrecorded blog besides accompanies a CNET ticker enactment covering the Samsung event, which volition beryllium hosted by Justin Tech and Abrar Al-Heeti. The ticker enactment volition footwear disconnected connected CNET's YouTube channel with preshow sum astatine 9 a.m. PT (12 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. UK time).

We'll beryllium reporting unrecorded from 9:30 a.m. PT until the lawsuit starts, past there'll beryllium a postshow wrap-up each of the announcements.

The Galaxy Unpacked lawsuit is scheduled for Feb. 1.

Samsung

Samsung volition apt uncover its adjacent Galaxy enactment of phones astatine its Unpacked event. We're specifically expecting to spot the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Phones successful the upcoming enactment are expected to see a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, which we already cognize volition beryllium successful the OnePlus 11 5G.

You tin work each our preshow thoughts astir the lawsuit connected this unrecorded blog until Samsung Unpacked kicks disconnected astatine 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. UK) Wednesday. Then we'll displacement into our unrecorded reporting, which volition see on-the-ground photography from CNET squad members attending the lawsuit successful person.