The launch date of the Samsung Galaxy S23 is just two weeks away and thanks to all the rumors we are starting to get a better idea of what to expect from Samsung’s flagship phones including how much they could potentially cost.
Recently it was rumored that Samsung could raise the prices for the S23 models by $100 or more. This was slightly questionable since it would be a bitter pill to swallow for consumers especially since Apple didn’t raise the prices of the iPhone 14 series. There's also the small matter of the economy being on the brink of recession.
But in some good news, one leak indicates that Samsung’s upcoming S23 series may not be headed for a price hike after all.
9to5Google has reported that a carrier leak posted on Reddit points to the fact that Samsung could retain the same Galaxy S22 pricing for its new series this year. An official looking spec-sheet from Verizon lists the leaked starting prices for all the S23 models as:
- Samsung Galaxy S23 — $799
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus — $999
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra — $1,199
These are exactly the same prices at which the Galaxy S22 series was launched last year.
Samsung seems to have learned from its Galaxy S20 pricing mistake, where it launched the base model of the phone for a whopping $999 in 2020. The following year, Samsung dropped its prices by $200 for all three variants of the Galaxy S21. Since then Samsung has not toyed too much with its pricing and hopefully won’t do so this year either with a possible recession looming over consumer spending.
Another initial rumor had said that only the Galaxy S23 Ultra could get a price jump, while the S23 and S23 Plus will stay the same. But with this new information, it seems likely that we may not see a bump in prices this year, even in lieu of additional storage, as some rumors had also mentioned.
With the same pricing as the S22 series, it will be easier for those eyeing the new Galaxy phones to make a decision.
Galaxy S23 specs confirmed
The leaked Verizon leaflet also confirms some of the other rumors on storage and different specs. It shows that all three models could start with 8GB of RAM and the Galaxy S23 could start with a 128GB base model. The S23 Plus tops that with 256GB of storage on the base model and even the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra could start with 256GB storage.
It is surprising that Samsung would give the 256GB with 8GB of RAM on the Ultra model, since the S22 Ultra came with 256GB of storage with a higher 12GB of RAM.
This list also mentions 512GB of storage for the top models of both the S23 Plus and the S23 Ultra. While the Plus model could get the increased storage with 8GB of RAM, Samsung could give the S23 Ultra 512GB storage with 12GB of RAM.
This leak doesn’t mention the 1TB of storage for the S23 Ultra that we have heard of before though.
The leaked image also talks about the S23 series' "unrivaled cameras" with improved night selfie and videos and powerful 100x Space Zoom for the S23 Ultra. Most of the other specs mentioned about the phones reiterate the leaked specs rumors we have come across before, including the color options the phones could come in.
Samsung Galaxy S23 lifestyle images leaked
Now that we have a fair idea of the price of the upcoming flagship, other than leaked specs, there’s not much left to the imagination. Leaker SnoopyTech has just revealed lifestyle images of the Galaxy S23 series on Twitter that show Samsung’s possible focus with the phones.
The most persistent rumor has been a huge megapixel jump for the Galaxy S23 Ultra with a 200MP camera sensor. In fact, Samsung’s own ISOCELL HP2 camera sensor could be the one powering the camera on the Ultra and that’s what Samsung seems to be focussing on this time, going by the leaked images.
The concert image shows the Ultra model’s telephoto capabilities. The S23 Ultra is expected to have dual 10MP telephoto cameras with 3x and 10x zoom on the back, just like the S22 Ultra, but we should get better low-light performance htis time around..
The phones are seen from every angle in the pictures and it seems like Samsung could also position the S23 series as an outdoorsy set of phones. There is also an image of the game Wreckfest on the S23 Ultra, that seems to show the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip's capabilities. Especially now that the phone could get a custom version of the processor.
There are also Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and Galaxy Watch 5 visible, which could hint at possible pre-order deals.
Galaxy Unpacked is scheduled to take place on February 1 where we will officially know all about the phones. Keep it locked to our Galaxy S23 hub and Galaxy S23 Ultra hub for all the latest news and leaks.
