Samsung Galaxy S returns with faster, more eco-friendly design

Tech giant holds first in-person unveiling event for flagship phones after 3 years of pandemic disruptions

Samsung Electronics President Roh Tae-moon poses with the new Galaxy smartphone at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. (Samsung Electronics)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Samsung Electronics on Wednesday unveiled its flagship Galaxy S23 smartphone lineup equipped with upgraded camera functions, faster processors and even sustainable features, touting it “the most powerful S series ever.”

The South Korean tech giant held the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco, with some 2,000 journalists and industry people in attendance. It was the first in-person unveiling of the S series phones after three years of pandemic disruptions.

The world’s largest smartphone maker in terms of shipments showed confidence in repeating the success story of its S series, consisting of three models -- the standard S23 with a 6.1-inch screen, the S23 Plus with a 6.6-inch screen and the largest S23 Ultra with a 6.8-inch screen.

The latest phones have drastically improved overall functions of camera and processor. Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chips, in particular, are designed to offer a more powerful mobile gaming experience, the company said.

Key features of Samsung Electronics' new Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphone (Samsung Electronics)

Using artificial intelligence technologies, the enhanced camera system also allows optimal camera performance at night or low-light conditions, not to mention the enhanced selfie function. Of the quad camera module, the main 200-megapixel camera has been almost doubled from the 108-megapixel camera of the previous S22 smartphone.

Enhanced sustainability is another key feature of the new model. More environmentally friendly materials are used in the Galaxy S23 phones and their packaging as part of efforts to help tackle climate change, the company said.

"Consumers will not have to worry about choosing between performance and sustainability," Samsung’s mobile chief Roh Tae-moon said during the event. “Samsung Electronics will continue to introduce innovative products that can contribute to the Earth with the best performance in the future."

The company got rid of the sleek contour-cut outer design for the S23 Plus and S23 models. As for color choices for the S23 series, customers can choose from four colors: phantom black, cream, green and lavender. This year’s signature color is green.

An image of Samsung Electronics' new Galaxy S23 smartphone series (Samsung Electronics)

More color options of graphite, sky blue, red and lime will be added for the Galaxy S23 Ultra, while graphite and lime will be available for the S23 and S23 Plus models for customers who will purchase the devices from the company’s official online shopping mall.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra model’s price ranges from around 1.59 million won ($1,292) to 1.96 million won depending on the size of the storage units. The price of the Galaxy S23 has been set to between 1.15 million-1.27 million won, while the Galaxy S23 Plus is priced between 1.35 million won and 1.47 million won.

In the meantime, Samsung's latest flagship laptops deployed the Book series' first Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, a new generation of AMOLED displays that has been used for Galaxy smartphones.

Samsung's flagship laptop lineup comes in three models -- the high-end Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, the standard Galaxy Book 3 Pro and Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360, a two-in-one laptop with a 360-degree hinge that flips from PC to tablet in a snap.

The Book 3 laptops also supports the multicontrol function, where users can control either their Galaxy phones or tablets using the laptop's keyboard and mouse.

By Jie Ye-eun

Korea Herald correspondent

By Jie Ye-eun(yeeun@heraldcorp.com)