After the Galaxy S22 series blunders, Samsung assuredly can’t wait to release a traditional smartphone that consumers can actually get excited about. Add to that the incredible iPhone 14 Pro sales and Apple’s manufacturing issues in China, and Samsung has plenty of reasons to launch the Galaxy S23 series as quickly as possible next year.
A report from Korea says the launch event will take place in the US in early February. But we don’t have an actual date for the event yet.
We’ve always expected the Galaxy S23 series to hit stores in the first quarter of 2023 after a two-week preorder period. That’s been Samsung’s strategy in recent years. But this is the first time that a more specific launch window has leaked this early.
According to Korean media, an unnamed Samsung executive confirmed the launch period.
“The S23 series will be shown during our own Unpacked event in the United States, which will be held in February,” the person said. They didn’t mention a date or city, but local media said the Galaxy S23 launch event would take place in San Francisco in the first week of the month.
February 1st falls on a Wednesday next year. If the claim is accurate, Samsung will launch the handset by Sunday, February 5th. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S22 on February 9th.
The Galaxy S23 could hit stores before the 2023 edition of the Mobile World Congress kicks off in Barcelona on February 27th. MWC was once the home of the Galaxy S launch event. But in recent years, Samsung moved away from the big Spanish mobile show.
The report notes that the Galaxy S23 series might be more expensive. But the good news is that Qualcomm’s brand new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will power all Galaxy S23 models. This should prevent any performance issues similar to the Galaxy S22 series.
Galaxy S22 issues aside, Samsung’s mobile business isn’t doing great compared to Apple’s iPhone. Samsung handset sales fell 11% last month, according to the report. Apple’s iPhone sales rose by 10% as the company launched the iPhone 14.
Demand for the iPhone 14 Pro remains high in December, as Apple is dealing with massive COVID-related production issues in China that have further delayed shipments. An early Galaxy S23 launch might help Samsung take advantage of that.
Samsung has yet to announce anything officially. Invites for the Galaxy S23 media event should go out in January if the early February launch event claim is accurate.
