Samsung announced its flagship Galaxy S23 smartphone lineup on Wednesday.
Samsung
Samsung on Wednesday launched its latest lineup of flagship Galaxy smartphones, touting a greater camera and enhanced gaming features because the South Korean tech giant tries to tempt people to upgrade amid weak macroeconomic conditions and waning consumer demand.
The Galaxy S23 smartphone lineup features three recent models: the usual S23, a rather costlier S23+ and the top-of-the-line S23 Ultra.
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The S23 series will go head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone 14, which launched last September. Samsung typically releases its flagship Galaxy S models in the primary half of the yr and its Galaxy Z line of folding phones within the second half.
Samsung mostly made subtle improvements to its recent premium handset, including improved camera capabilities.
The most costly of the three models, the Galaxy S23 Ultra, includes a 200-megapixel “adaptive pixel” sensor that mixes 16 pixels into one larger pixel for brighter, more detailed shots in low light situations, Samsung said.
Samsung added users’ low-light photography with the device can be assisted by much faster processing speeds from its internal chipset, which was developed in partnership with Qualcomm, in addition to artificial intelligence.
There’s also a video feature on the device called “astro hyperlapse” which lets users take time-lapsed motion shots — for instance, of star movements — with none special equipment.
Samsung also touted the gaming capabilities of its recent device, saying users will have the option to play for longer due to a more powerful battery. The S23 Ultra houses an enormous 5,000 mAh, or milliampere hour, battery.
The S23 Plus and S23 include 4,700 mAh and three,900 mAh batteries, respectively.
The corporate also unveiled its recent Galaxy Book3 laptop lineup Wednesday, which incorporates a 3rd Ultra model with a 16-inch AMOLED display. Samsung’s Galaxy Book2 got here in just two options. Samsung hopes the brand new laptops will make a splash within the premium PC market.
The firm showed off software that lets users drag and drop files between its laptops and smartphones. Users can even pair the Book3 with Samsung tablets to make use of the latter as a second screen, Samsung said.
Tough times for smartphone market
The corporate is launching its recent products at a very tough time for the patron tech space. Demand for premium smartphones specifically has softened, with people opting to spend less on big-ticket gadgets on account of climbing price pressures and tighter budgets.
Global smartphone shipments plunged 18.3% to 300.3 million units within the fourth quarter of 2022 — often a giant holiday shopping period — marking the most important decline in a single quarter on record, in accordance with market research firm IDC.
A complete of 1.21 billion smartphones were shipped in 2022, which represents the bottom annual shipment total since 2013, IDC said.
“Every little thing is heading within the unsuitable direction for consumer electronic providers,” Paolo Pescatore from PP Foresight told CNBC via email.
On Tuesday, Samsung recorded its worst quarterly profit because the third quarter of 2014. The firm reported operating profit of 4.31 trillion won ($3.4 billion), down 69% from the identical period a yr ago. Samsung said its performance was hampered by weak demand for smartphones and memory chips.
Meantime, many individuals are also affected by smartphone fatigue whereby, not quite satisfied with improvements promised by newer models, they’re holding onto their current phones for longer.
“As has been the case with most flagship launches lately, the shoppers who will feel probably the most profit from Samsung’s latest devices will probably be those upgrading from older models or from a mid-range device,” said Leo Gebbie, principal analyst for connected devices at CCS Insight.
“Customers who’ve bought a premium-tier mobile within the last yr or two will see little difference between the device they have already got and the brand new Galaxy S23 family.”
In that context, Samsung has consolidated its smartphone portfolio to simplify its offering to customers. The firm incorporated its S Pen stylus into last yr’s Galaxy S22, marking the symbolic end of its high-end Note phone series.
It is also tried to spice up consumer appetite for brand new premium phones with its folding devices. Samsung last yr launched two recent foldable models, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4.
