THE POMP AROUND smartphone launches is often deflated by one word: iterative. Too often, a shiny, just-released phone fails to add anything exciting to the list of features we saw in the previous models. If there is a crazy new trick, it's gimmicky; if there isn't, well, there's probably no need to upgrade, right?
Like clockwork, Samsung has unveiled its next set of flagship smartphones: the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra. You won't find any gimmicks here, but to call these phones iterative would be an overstatement. These new Android phones—at a surface level—seem to have barely evolved beyond their predecessors.
The Galaxy S23 series isn't the lone hardware announcement from the company. At its big media event today in San Francisco—the first in-person Galaxy Unpacked since the pandemic—Samsung also unveiled a whopping five new laptops, all of which are badged with the new Galaxy Book3 name. Here's everything Samsung announced at the show.
Samsung's Galaxy S23 smartphones follow closely in the footsteps of the S22 series. The S23 Ultra, in particular, looks nearly identical to the S22 Ultra. However, the S23 and S23+ have lost the housing that sits around the rear camera, and they've been given a “floating” camera look that matches the design of their pricier sibling. The phones are plainer now; at a distance, they don't look too far off from Samsung's cheaper phones. (I don't think this is a good thing.) All of the new Galaxy S-series handsets are available in Phantom Black, Cream, Green, and Lavender, though Samsung has exclusive online-only colors too (Lime, Graphite, Sky Blue, and Red).Watch video