With a week to go before the Samsung Galaxy S23 arrives, we still don't know what Samsung is planning to charge for its new phones. But evidence is mounting that you will be paying more for this year's models, at least in some parts of the world.
The latest piece of the pricing puzzle comes from Roland Quandt, with the leaker sharing prices from a retailer in Spain. And from the looks of it, the Galaxy S23 is going to cost anywhere from €110 to €160 more than the Galaxy S22's debut prices depending on model.
S23 pricing from a Spanish retailer:S23 8/128 959 EuroS23 8/256 1019 EuroS23+ 8/256 1209 EuroS23+ 8/512 1329 EuroS23 Ultra 8/256 1409 EuroS23 Ultra 12/512 1589 EuroJanuary 24, 2023
Specifically, Quandt has the base model Galaxy S23 starting at €959 for the version with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. That's more than the €849 starting price that the Galaxy S22 featured a year ago. The Galaxy S23 Ultra could also see a price jump from its predecessor, with a rumored starting price of €1,409; the S22 Ultra started at €1,249.
The biggest price hike from last year's models could involve the Galaxy S23 Plus, where Quandt has the phone costing €1,209. The Galaxy S22 Plus started at $1,049 when it debuted.
Keep in mind these rumored prices are based on info from a Spanish retailer. In a subsequent tweet, Quandt says that Germany and the Benelux countries could have different pricing. In those regions, Quandt says the base Galaxy S23 might cost €949, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra weighs in at €1,399.
All of this is a reminder on how tricky it is to pin down pricing ahead of a phone's debut. Phone makers adjust the price of devices in different countries based on currency fluctuations and local taxes. For instance, with last year's iPhone 14 launch, U.S. prices were unchanged from comparable iPhone 13 models. Prices in Europe, however, went up, as Apple accounted for the weakness of Euro against the U.S. dollar.
To put it another way, even if these leaked Spanish prices for the Galaxy S23 prove to be accurate, it doesn't necessarily mean prices are going up across the board for Samsung's new phone.
That may account for the wide array of pricing rumors we've heard so far for the Galaxy S23. An earlier leak predicted a $100 price hike for the Galaxy S23 in Australia while another suggested that only the Galaxy S23 Ultra would see its price go up.
More recently, a leaked spec sheet reportedly from Verizon listed the same prices for the Galaxy S23 series that Samsung charged for the Galaxy S22. That's fueled hopes that U.S. shoppers might avoid price hikes for the Galaxy S23.
Rumored Galaxy S23 vs. Galaxy S22 changes suggest a modest update for this year's phones, highlighted by an upgraded processor that should deliver a boost in performance as well as power efficiency. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is expected to see the most noteworthy changes, including an improved main camera with a rumored 200MP sensor.
We'll find out just what Samsung has planned for this year's phones — and just as importantly, what it's going to charge — on February 1 when the Galaxy Unpacked launch event gets underway. Be sure to check out our guide on how to watch Galaxy Unpacked so you can keep up with all of Samsung's announcements.
