One of the biggest challenges facing the smartphone industry today is the lack of innovation. As smartphones have become more advanced, there have been fewer and fewer significant differences between models from different manufacturers. This means that for many people, upgrading to a new smartphone isn't as exciting as it used to be.
The Galaxy S23 is a perfect example of this trend. While Samsung is one of the most well-known and respected smartphone manufacturers in the world, the Galaxy S23 is not likely to offer anything significantly different from the Galaxy S22. This means that for people who already own a Galaxy S22 there probably won't be much of a reason to upgrade.
That's a dilemma that most Samsung fans find themselves in these days. We've seen it with other manufacturers like Apple as well. Over the years, meaningful iPhone upgrades have been few and far between, and in comparison Samsung has still done a much better job of pushing the envelope on innovation even for its Galaxy S series.
Samsung has been bucking this trend by focusing on foldable smartphones. It's the only manufacturer on the market right now that's offering two different foldable form factors at scale. It also has the solid network to back up these devices, providing customers with the peace of mind that their expensive foldables are well supported.
In addition to the lack of any major changes, the price of the Galaxy S23 may also be a concern. As mentioned earlier, Samsung's prices have remained largely unchanged in recent years, even as other manufacturers have started to lower their prices to compete with budget options. This means that the Galaxy S23 is likely to be just as expensive as the Galaxy S22, if not more, which may not be appealing to those who are looking for a more affordable option.
Most fans may already be expecting a price increase for Samsung's 2023 flagship lineup. With everything seeming, and indeed becoming, a lot more expensive over the past year, it feels unlikely that the impact of runaway inflation won't be apparent on flagship smartphone prices. Samsung may try to numb that pain a little through generous trade-in offers if a price hike is on the cards.
One of the reasons why people upgrade their smartphones is to get access to the latest and greatest technology. However, the Galaxy S23 isn't likely to offer any major technological advancements over the Galaxy S22.
With the Galaxy S23 expected to ship with the Snapdragon chipset in all markets across the globe, one incentive for Galaxy S22 owners might be to upgrade from their Exynos model. However, that means those with a Snapdragon Galaxy S22 will have even less of an incentive to buy Samsung's latest model.
Similarly, the camera on the Galaxy S23 series is rumored to be slightly better than the one on the Galaxy S22, but this will hardly be noticeable for the average user. Furthermore, many people use their smartphones primarily for social media. While the Galaxy S23 is rumored to have a better camera, this may not be particularly useful if all you're going to do is upload pictures to social media. Most social media platforms compress images to save space, which means that the extra camera quality of the Galaxy S23 may not be recognizable.
In conclusion, the Galaxy S23 is not making me as excited as I thought it would because it's likely to have a similar design to the Galaxy S22, it won't be any more affordable, it won't offer any major technological advancements, and the better camera may not be that useful for social media.
That's just par for the course, though, when it comes to Samsung's flagship smartphone launches. The cyclic nature of its flagship launches means that since the 2022 lineup brought major upgrades, the 2023 lineup will only be evolutionary at best. We should instead look forward to the 2024 Galaxy S series which may very well bring some ground-breaking innovations. Would you consider waiting or would you considering buying the Galaxy S23 anyway?
