Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “I wanted to love the Galaxy S23. Here’s why I don’t.”.
Samsung, I love you, but what are you doing In a world where Samsung are putting more and more emphasis on their folding phones and they’re canceling lines such as the Note I’ve got ta ask “? Is this really where things are headed ?”, We’re here in San Francisco this morning to take an early look at the Samsung Galaxy S23. They’re, clearly very confident in their design, because this is incredibly similar to the S22 but other than the new color and the fact That they’ve kinda changed the way the camera bump is hardware-wise. It seems incredibly close. ( television static, buzzing ) Almost exactly three years ago, Samsung unveiled the first Galaxy, Z, Flip and I’ll admit it. I fell in love instantly. The idea of having a tiny phone that could fit in your pocket that could then unfold to become not only a full-sized flagship, but importantly, also give you extra features like a built-in tripod having the external display. Like for me.
It was really really something magical.. I know I say that, like I’m in an Apple ad right now or something but the second that I got my hands on the Z Flip, it was a wrap. And for the last three years a Z Flip of some variety has lived in my pocket.. Now, to be fair, that first generation model did leave a lot to be desired, but importantly, Samsung seized on that potential.. Within six months they had released an updated 5G model with improved specs and a little over a year later, there was the Z Flip3, which was a complete overhaul of the phone that, let’s not forget, had only been out for, like less than 18 months at that Point., In contrast, let’s look at the Galaxy S line over the same last three years.. We had the S20, the S21, which was a reasonable little upgrade when it comes to the outside specs and especially the cameras.
But then the S22 was a very minor upgrade., And now here we are in 2023, with the Galaxy S23 and ah yeah, it’s a it’s a new phone, all right., It’s very different., I mean sure they continue to load the latest and greatest specs inside, including the Specific for Samsung ( logo clicking ) ( harp strings flourishing ) Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. ( chimes tinkling ). This is a slightly higher-clocked version of the same chip that is going out in other phones, right, now., Essentially, Samsung have just gotten the exclusivity on the slightly higher binned, mostly because they’ve agreed to finally drop the Exynos version of the Galaxy S line in favor. Of, let’s be honest, the much better performing Snapdragon equivalents. (, dramatic country, music, ), But here’s the thing you look at this Galaxy S23 and there are so few major improvements that I really kinda have to ask. Like is Samsung’s heart really in this I mean yeah. It’S nice to have the incremental stuff year over year., It’s certain what Apple have been doing for quite a while, but it seems like over the last few years, while they’ve poured all of their time and effort into foldables. The standard Galaxy S23 has just not really moved forward..
That’S not even counting the weird awkward middle child., That’s a little mean., The awkward middle child., No offense, if you’re a middle child.. This is a weird one., Like I don’t know who should buy the Plus.? Essentially, what you’re getting for your additional $ 200 over the base? S23 is the larger screen battery standard 256, gigs of storage as opposed to 128, and you get a couple of minor upgrades, such as an ultra-wideband chip, but unless you’re using your phone as a digital. Key for a BMW, it’s not particularly important and for me a $ 200 jump, is massive in this space.. I don’t think the Plus is it..
I think the Ultra is what you’re looking for. [ Ken ], Favorite one.. So clearly, the phone that is the most exciting is the S23 Ultra.. It seems clear that Samsung had put in more effort for the Ultra this generation..
Now, while on the outside, it looks very similar to the S22 Ultra you’ve still got the camera bumps that are exposed on the back.. You’Ve got those big squared-off sides, the slightly less radiused corners on the display, the S Pen that goes inside. But all of this comes at a cost.. This thing is huge ( phone tapping ). I straight up think it’s like double the Z Flip.. The real highlight of the phone, though, has got ta, be the cameras and I don’t think it’s an unreasonable thing to say that the Galaxy S23 Ultra might just have the most well-rounded camera package of any phone period right, now., (, vehicle, zooming ) Know you have A 200-megapixel main shooter. You’ve also got the ultra-wide the three times telephoto and the 10 times.. So I mean, as far as putting everything in one package I could safely say that not only is this phone about the most well-rounded thing that you would get today, but it’s gon na age, well.
You’re, getting the software support. You’re, getting the performance, the screen, the Cameras, the battery life., I’m outta fingers, but probably some other things. Like there’s, really nothing that you have to compromise. Besides your wallet, ( cash register ringing ) and the space in your pocket..
The question, though, and I think it’s a valid one is – is all this really worth the $ 1,200 price tag of this S23 Ultra For comparison? If you look at the iPhone 14 Pro Max, that’s a full $ 100 cheaper., And if you move over to the Pixel 7 Pro that is $ 300 less expensive than this S23 Ultra. Sure the Ultra is a little bit more well-rounded when it comes to performance Between the flexibility of the zoom range – and certainly it’s got a little bit of a better reputation when it comes to doing all these software updates., But almost more importantly than that, just being a solid, reliable device. And look, the Pixels have come up in a big Way and the Pixel 7 as far as I’m concerned, is an incredibly strong competitor, but it also would be remiss of me if I didn’t at least acknowledge some of the issues that the Pixel 6 specifically had.. Google is getting there, but they don’t quite have that.
Near-Bulletproof reliability record that Samsung have cultivated over the last decade-plus.. Still, though, in my opinion, Google have really struck gold with the Pixel line lately, especially when it comes to the 7 and the 7 Pro.. Not only do you have those world-class cameras, they’ve got their own Tensor processors, which means that they’ve got a little bit more control over the long-term software support.. This comparison gets a whole lot tougher, though, if you step down to the standard Pixel 7 and the Galaxy S23., Those sort of regular flagships if you’re not looking for the Ultra experience.
Here, the price difference is a full $ 200. Look for 600 bucks. It is incredibly hard to argue with the Pixel 7 right now. Now, if I could give the S23 anything, it would probably be that it does have a telephoto camera which, especially with that 3X on that S23, is a really nice bonus. But outside of that, there are very few advantages of going with the S23 over the Pixel 7 and again, that’s a $ 200 difference. Man, like.
(, inhales, ), ( electricity, humming, ), (, relaxed music, ), Hey guys. This is Austin, and today you’re here with an unboxing of the new Samsung Galaxy S3 for T-Mobile. ( static, crackling ), Looking around the space that they’ve got here, and one of the things that jumps out to me immediately is the wall of Galaxies..
So they’ve got everything from the S3, the S6, the S10 pretty much every single Galaxy device that they’ve done over the last 10-plus years. All in this cool array., My very first tech event that I was invited to was actually the Samsung Galaxy S3 Unpacked.. This was a time where Samsung truly were on top of the world, and a big part of that was because their marketing was absolutely on point.
Very quickly. People realized that if you wanted an Android phone, Samsung should be pretty much on the top of your list. Sure there were the Nokias, the LGs, the HTCs, the BlackBerries, but look around the space now and you’re. Pretty much gon na see things being dominated by Apple by Samsung and now at least there’s some competition from Google, which is always a good thing, because duopolies suck but triopolies are great.. Here’S the thing the Galaxy S23, specifically the Ultra, is a very, very nice device.. The problem, though, is the level of innovation.
The level of Samsung are taking baby steps.. What feels like the industry as a whole are taking much much bigger leaps.. Even when you look at Samsung’s own foldable lines over the last few years, they’ve come so far and yet going from the S21 to the S22 to the S23. Yeah. There are upgrades. Yeah.
There are differences but they’re, very minor in the grand scheme of things. And when companies such as Google are out here being super-competitive on price, when companies such as OnePlus are hungry for that sweet, sweet Samsung market share. It just feels like Samsung, are ( sighs, ) resting on their laurels, a bit When they’re almost putting more attention, at least from the outside, on not only their foldables, but even like the lower end, like A Series lines that they’ve creating budget devices and mid-range devices..
It puts for me the S23 lineup in a very weird spot, because these are good phones but good, just kind of isn’t enough.. If you sit on that good for long enough it just it just becomes okay., It just becomes sort of forgettable., Because for so long the S line has been the default phone.. That’S the phone that you get.
If you want a flagship, you want something: that’s reliable! You want something that you can get it every carrier. Like it was just kind of the default Android answer and that’s really where I’m struggling to answer the question. “ Is the Samsung Galaxy S23 lineup worth it ?” I mean for me. The clearest answer really is with the S23 Plus.. It just doesn’t make sense. Same thing goes though, for the S23.
I mean it is a safe bet.. I think if you buy it, it will last you for many years and it’ll be great, but the biggest issue with that is that not only does the Pixel 7 exist for much less, but so does the Galaxy S22 from last year which, because it’s so similar Means that you could probably pick that up for significantly less and still get almost the exact same experience.. The Ultra, though, does have a place.
Know, while it might not be as clear cut as it has been in the past, at least what you’re getting here is that reliable performance, the good build quality, the long-term software support. You’re, also getting the S Pen and the Incredibly, impressive camera suite.. It just seems clear that if you’re considering any of the Galaxy S23 line, it should probably be the Ultra this year, but it feels like this is not the future..
It just feels like they’re, just continuing their legacy business of selling you the $ 800, the $ 1,000, the $ 1,200 flagships for as long as you will keep shelling out for it, which is fine., There’s nothing wrong with that.. These are very competent, very solid devices, but they’re, not exciting. They’re, not even a great value when you consider they’re so similar to the devices that they’re replacing. Save your money., Buy yourself an S22 for hundreds of dollars less or be bold, innovative and exciting, and get Yourself, a folding phone.. Well at least that’s what I’m gon na do. ( relaxed electronic music ) .