We've had months of speculation around a potential launch date for the Samsung Galaxy S23, but it would seem that we can now confidently circle a date in our 2023 calendar for the big reveal: Wednesday, February 1.
Samsung hasn't come out and said that date specifically, but it did (via SamMobile (opens in new tab)) post a Galaxy Unpacked teaser for February 1 on its Colombian site. We can't find the teaser at the time of writing, so it's either been pulled or we're not very good at searching through the Samsung Colombia portal.
While not official official, this is almost official. Considering it matches up with previous rumors from reliable sources that pointed to the same date, we'd say it's pretty much certain that February 1 will be the date for the big reveal.
Rumors, mongered
When Samsung does decide to get around to unveiling its latest batch of flagships, it's unlikely to have too many surprises for us, considering how extensive the leaks have been for the Galaxy S23, the Galaxy S23 Plus and the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
In terms of design, it would seem that all three handsets in the series are going to follow the lead of the Ultra model, with raised camera lenses on the back. We've also been given an early look at the colors the phones are going to be available in.
There's been plenty of talk around camera upgrades too, especially when it comes to the Ultra model. Photos and videos taken in both good and poor lighting conditions should be better than ever if the rumors turn out to be true.
Analysis: Samsung strikes back
When it comes to smartphone launches from high profile tech giants, we tend to focus on the iPhone from Apple, the Pixel from Google, and the Galaxy S from Samsung – but only one of those three handsets gets launched at the start of the year.
That puts Samsung in a different position to Apple and Google. You could say the iPhone 14 and the Pixel 7 were competing directly against each other, because they were launched around the same time (September and October respectively). By the time the iPhone 14 launched though, the Samsung Galaxy S22 was already seven months old.
One way of looking at it is that Samsung is always half a year ahead of its big name competitors; another perspective is that it's always half a year behind. The strategy does at least mean Samsung can get plenty of attention for its flagship phones, independently of whatever Apple and Google are doing.
We're seeing the Galaxy S23 launch as Samsung striking back at what other phone makers did last year, as well as setting the pace for 2023. The next question is just how much of an upgrade over the Galaxy S22 handsets are we going to see.
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