Samsung will host its next Unpacked event on February 1, 2023. What to expect?
Samsung will be holding its first Unpacked event of 2023 on February 1 next year, and many expect the Galaxy S23 family to take center stage. The South Korean giant has even left out some details such as camera and performance improvements. But will it be a major update or a more modest update? What can this event organized in San Francisco give us?
Galaxy S23 Ultra
If the main selling point of the Galaxy S22 Ultra was undoubtedly the Galaxy Note-style stylus, the S23 Ultra could revolve around the PV module. Rumors from Ice Universe and others have touted a 200MP main sensor, and Samsung has added some grit to that mill by introducing a sensor that could just fit. ISOCELL HP2 promises extremely detailed 8K photos and videos at 30 fps with unrivaled low-light performance. It can also capture more accurate colors in very good light. On the other hand, the front device can be upgraded to 12 MP.
Samsung can also give its S23 family a nice performance boost with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip said to be 25% faster than Gen 1 with hardware-enhanced ray tracing for gaming. AI processing will also be four times faster. And Qualcomm claims Gen 2 is 40% more efficient. Satellite communications may also appear, as well as Wi-Fi 7.
Perhaps the biggest surprise will be the availability of this chip. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the Snadragon 8 Gen 2 chip will be offered in devices worldwide. Out came the Exynos chip, which offered less than good performance and battery life.
The rest will be very similar. In terms of design, if the leaked images are correct, the Galaxy S23 Ultra offers a flatter design than its predecessor. There will still be a 12MP ultra-wide lens, two 10MP telephoto lenses, an S-Pen, and up to 12GB of RAM. A 1TB storage option will also be available.
Galaxy S23 and S23+
More conventional smartphones shouldn’t be eligible for such major upgrades, but the improvements should still be interesting. There will also be a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and a 12MP front sensor, as well as a larger battery. The two devices will also be eligible for 256GB of base storage.
Otherwise, we are likely to get the classic 6.1- and 6.6-inch screens of the Galaxy S22 line, not to mention the 5MP main rear sensor, 12MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and a single 10MP telephoto lens. In addition, the PV module should benefit from a redesigned design more similar to the Ultra family.
Galaxy Book 3 Ultra
Samsung rarely just unveils new smartphones during the Unpacked event, and there are rumors of a new high-end laptop coming out soon. The brand’s booking page hints at a new Galaxy Book device, and Mobile Experience TM president Roh has made it clear that Ultra products fall into “more product categories”beyond smartphones. Why not an ultra laptop?
If the leak is confirmed, this new model will be the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra. No one knows what this laptop has to offer, but Samsung Display has explained that this high-end Galaxy Book will have an OLED screen with a built-in touch screen like smartphones. The Ultra is expected to arrive alongside the more traditional Galaxy Book 3 Pro and the convertible Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 with stylus. Performance should also, of course, be on top.
Bonus: Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Buds
The rumors didn’t really mention any other products for this Unpacked. Samsung has reportedly decided to delay the launch of the Galaxy Tab S9 family of tablets, likely due to current economic uncertainty and weak sales of the Tab S8. In any case, it seems that between the two generations of tablets, the giant waits longer than smartphones. The Tab S8 arrived in early 2022, while its S7 predecessor arrived in the summer of 2020.
Don’t rely on new headphones either. Samsung introduced the Galaxy Buds 2 in the summer of 2021 and the Buds 2 Pro the following year. Aside from a slight resurgence of the Galayx Buds Live, the brand does not require any upgrades to its audio products.
Other products are likely to be formalized later. Don’t expect new foldable Galaxy Z smartphones, new affordable Galaxy A smartphones, or new Galaxy Watches, for example.