On 1 February, Samsung unveiled the smartphones in its Galaxy S23 series, along with pricing and availability details for South Africa.

While the S23 Ultra was the headliner of the event, the company also highlighted innovations made to the rest of the S23 range, and announced the new Galaxy Book 3 series of laptops.

Here’s what to know about the new smartphones…

Galaxy S23 and S23+ features

A few things have changed from the S22 to the S23 series of phones, with one of the major updates being the inclusion of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy. According to Samsung, the processor is “the most powerful and efficient platform ever in a Samsung Galaxy smartphone and the fastest Snapdragon available today”.

The Galaxy S23 is the smallest smartphone in the range, featuring a 6.1-inch Full HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

The S23+ is slightly bigger with a 6.6-inch FHD+ display that also supports a 120Hz refresh rate.

Both phones feature the same main triple-lens camera setup. This setup includes a 12MP ultrawide lens, a 50MP wide lens, and a 10MP telephoto lens.

On the front, both phones have a 12MP selfie camera.

In terms of battery, the S23 has the smallest capacity at 3900mAh. Meanwhile, the S23+ includes a 4700mAh battery.

Both phones include 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of onboard storage.

You can see a summary of the Galaxy S23 smartphone specs below:

• Display: 6.1-inch FHD+ AMOLED 2X display with 120Hz refresh rate
• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy
• Main camera: 12MP ultrawide lens + 50MP wide lens + 10MP telephoto lens
• Selfie camera: 12MP
• Battery: 3900mAh
• RAM: 8GB
• On-board storage: 128GB / 256GB / 512GB

You can see a summary of the Galaxy S23+ specs below:

• Display: 6.6-inch FHD+ AMOLED 2X display with 120Hz refresh rate
• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy
• Main camera: 12MP ultrawide lens + 50MP wide lens + 10MP telephoto lens
• Selfie camera: 12MP
• Battery: 4700mAh
• RAM: 8GB
• On-board storage: 256GB / 512GB

Galaxy S23 Ultra features

The Galaxy S23 Ultra was the main highlight of the briefing, with Samsung highlighting its photography and gaming performance.

One of the major changes from its S22 Ultra predecessor is the inclusion of a 200MP lens in its main camera setup. The 200MP lens is accompanied by a 12MP ultrawide lens, and two 10MP telephoto lenses. On the front, the phone features a 12MP selfie camera.

The largest phone in the series, the S23 Ultra includes a 6.8-inch QHD+ curved display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Its battery has a 5000mAh capacity and the phone comes with up to 12GB of RAM. Like the other S23 smartphones, it also includes the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy.

And like its predecessor, the S23 Ultra also includes a built-in S-Pen that slots into the phone’s base.

One of the gaming highlights of the phone is its ability to support real-time ray tracing in mobile games.

You can see a summary of the S23 Ultra’s specs below:

• Display: 6.8-inch QHD+ curved AMOLED 2X display with 120Hz refresh rate
• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy
• Main camera: 12MP ultrawide lens + 200MP wide lens + 10MP telephoto lens (3x optical zoom) + 10MP telephoto lens (10x optical zoom)
• Selfie camera: 12MP
• Battery: 5000mAh
• RAM: 8GB / 12GB
• On-board storage: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB

Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra price for South Africa

So how much will the phones cost in South Africa and when will they be available?

The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a recommended retail price of R31,999. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S23+ has a recommended price of R23,999 and the Galaxy S23 has a recommended price of R21,999.

Pre-orders for the phones opened on 1 February, and they will be available from 24 February.

_{Feature image: Samsung}