Samsung’s One UI 6.1 is one of the biggest software updates that the company has released in a while. While it’s not a big visual update, it will be bringing Galaxy AI to older devices albeit in a more limited fashion. That said, it’s taken the smartphone manufacturer a little bit longer than it usually does to roll out the update. That ends on March 28, 2024, with the initial rollout of One UI 6.1 to some of the company’s older devices.
The devices that are slated to get the update so far are the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23 FE, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, the Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+ and the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. Yes, these are basically Samsung’s 2023 devices. These devices will be receiving the full Galaxy AI suite including circle to search, live translate and interpreter, generative editing, and Chat Assist.
The update will bring these devices on par with the Galaxy S24 series when it comes to software features. In fact, the Galaxy Tab S9 series will be the first tablets in Samsung’s lineup to get the update. It will be interesting to see how the software changes the experience on the Tab series moving forward.
Samsung has been at the forefront of Android smartphones for quite sometime now. Samsung has also led the charge in getting iPhone users over to the Android boat. The employed many tactics for this. They poked fun at Apple in their own ads, they offer incentives for Apple users choosing to opt into Android, they made data transfer from an iPhone to Galaxy smartphone much simpler and hassle free than before, and they encourage iPhone users to try the Galaxy devices as much as they can. In their latest effort, iPhone users get to use the Samsung Galaxy S23 for free, on their iPhone that is.
They cheekily call it the Galaxy app. Yes, it is an app that will run the Galaxy S23 interface on your iPhone. It is not available on the Apple App Store, so you have to download it via web. It is also not a proper app that overlays your iPhone with Android 13 based One UI 5.1 interface. It is a web app, a web page that lets you test run the Galaxy S23 on the web.
But it is not just some web app that lets you scroll through the home page, the app tray, and nothing else. It allows you to try the camera interface too, through your iPhone cameras and experience things like Nightography and Night Mode. You can even try apps like Photo Remaster on the web app, allowing you to edit whatever photos you take on the app. All this is to show how powerful a Samsung Galaxy S23 camera system is. You can even try gaming on the Galaxy S23 to see how smooth it can be, although you are not technically playing a game.
Of course, you can customise your Galaxy S23 experience all on the web app. You can change the wallpaper, background, themes, icons, and even more that is available on One UI 5.1. The app is also designed specifically for iPhone, so it will not do anything if you try going on your web browser on your PC to test it out. If you are on an Android device, there will also be an attached warning for the web app. In that case, if you are on an iPhone, you can test out the web app and try out the Samsung Galaxy S23 yourself via their web app.
Since the smartphone revolution, Samsung has built a name for itself as one of the foremost mobile companies. The company has become one of Google’s most important ecosystem partners with the success of their flagships. They have steadily pushed the ball and upped the ante since the first Galaxy S smartphone and with their revolutionary Galaxy Note series. But, over the past few years, their flagships have not only been uninspired, but their so-called flagships have steadily become a repeat performance.
With the Galaxy S20, S21 and S22, we were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. However, with the S23, it seems like the company is telling us to get ready for more repeat performances with each iteration as they focus on improving their “user experience”.
The “Ultra” Golden Child
That said, their renewed focus on user experience is leaving out one of the most important aspects of the smartphone user experience – especially when you’re buying a brand-new phone – the features. The vanilla S23 and the S23+ are essentially a repackaging of last year’s S22 and S22+ with a new processor and a selfie camera upgrade. The elephant’s share of updates and upgrades to the smartphone series is seen only in the S23 Ultra – or as we like to call it – the Galaxy S23 Note. While this has been happening since the S20, the S23 series is the most egregious. As reviewers, the trend makes us ask ourselves – is it worth recommending or talking about the vanilla S23 and S23+ at all?
The Ultra has become Samsung’s golden child when it comes to revolutionary features. This year, the new 200-megapixel sensor which promises better low-light performance thanks to better pixel binning technology and improved autofocus makes its debut with the S23 Ultra. While in the past, the introduction of a brand new feature like this would indicate a trickling down of older features down the series, the S23 saw none of it. Instead, we’re left with the exact same setup from S22. Not even the S20 Ultra’s 108-megapixel sensor trickled down to the S23 or the S23+. Let’s be honest here, the S23 and S23+ are just padding to raise the prices of their true flagship – the S23 Ultra.
Abandoning a Legacy of Affordable Innovation for Lux and Premium Status
While this may seem like a small matter, we have to also take into consideration that these smartphones are not even keeping their prices from last year. They continue to increase in price year on year. While the S23 series could be excused for the squeeze the recent pandemic put on resources, the truth of the matter is: prices are not going down. With a recession around the corner, we’re poised to see companies like Samsung use it as an excuse to pad their coffers further.
What irks us even further is that consumers are continually being duped out of “the next big thing” cause of cost. Samsung had a golden opportunity to incorporate imaging sensors from their own company into the S23 and S23+ and bring the same software features to their flagship series, not just a flagship device. Let’s be honest, it wouldn’t have been hard for them to justify the bump in hardware with the bump in price.
In their lust for luxury, the company has dropped the ball when it comes to meaningful, affordable innovation – a legacy which has brought them this far. Their customers don’t even get the benefit of innovation being trickled down the price ladder. Where we were able to buy a Galaxy Note for less than MYR 3,000 – we are expected to pay MYR6,199 this year with no option for something more affordable.
Passing off Google & Microsoft’s Homework as Their Own
It’s not just about legacy when it comes to innovations. Samsung is quickly becoming a partner that companies like Google and Microsoft can’t do without. As a company, they control a large portion of not only the mobile and device markets worldwide, it has seen steady growth in the Smart TVs, monitors and appliances segments. That said, it’s become an increasingly apparent trend that Samsung is passing off the work of their partners as their own. We saw inklings of this with the last few devices in the Galaxy Note series and continue to see this even with the Galaxy S23 series and other Galaxy Ecosystem devices.
Source: Android.com
Let’s look at the core of Samsung’s Galaxy ecosystem, on the other hand, is Samsung’s take on Android they’ve named “One UI”. Samsung’s mobile devices – smartphones and tablets in particular – use this exclusively. In their announcement of the Galaxy S23 series, the company talked about personalization, security and an improved user experience. While we will readily admit when it comes to security Samsung has contributed the lion’s share with Knox; we can’t ignore that when it comes to personalization and user experience, Samsung has done little to contribute.
Samsung’s colour palette feature and even customisations to notification drawers and lock screens are core updates to Google’s Android OS. These updates came with Android 13 and will continue to see improvements with Android 14. However, Samsung has in their announcement of One UI 5.0 and One UI 5.1 passed these features as their own. We will give them the nod on their admitting that Android is the backbone of One UI.
Samsung isn’t just doing this on Android. One of the key “features” they touted at the recent Unpacked for the Galaxy Book and Galaxy Smartphones is the ability to work seamlessly between the two. This feature is available as a core feature of Microsoft’s Windows platform as “Phone Link”. In fact, it’s the reason that companies like Dell have sunset their takes on the same feature. It works with any Android device and in a limited way on Apple devices. However, Samsung touts this as an “exclusive” feature of their devices.
Perhaps even more irksome are the recent reports that state that Samsung has been loading unwanted apps into their devices This is of significance when they tout that their S23 and S23+ will have improvements to the user experience as one of their main features. If the OS alone is going to take up a significant amount of storage, that leaves little for our apps and using their camera. We all know what happens when any device runs low on memory, don’t we?
The one space that Samsung hasn’t done this is their Camera features. However, as we mentioned earlier, these features seem to be meant only for the S23 Ultra, their true flagship. So, where does this leave the S23 and S23+? Should they even be in the lineup?
”A” Pain in the “S”
The biggest sign of the death of their Flagship “S” is that their midrange “A” is more exciting. The Galaxy A series of smartphones continues to churn out flagship-class devices that are affordable and bring a dimension of value the “premium” Galaxy S has abandoned. It’s also doing this while being overly saturated with devices. Just last year, the company saw more success with their Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A73 than their flagship Galaxy S series.
There’s a simple reason behind it. The Galaxy A53 and A73 have comparable specifications to the Galaxy S22 and S22+. The biggest differences between the devices are their processor and display. However, even with those differences, the experience on the Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A73 is comparable to that of the Galaxy S. Even with a slightly lower-specced camera setup with a 64-Megapixel and 108-Megapixel sensor respectively, users can achieve comparable pictures and videos. More importantly, the hardware improvements generation on generation is complemented by an improved software experience. Even once exclusive features like DeX are slowly making their way to the Galaxy A series.
It is obvious that Samsung themselves has recognized the threat that its own midrange Galaxy A series poses to their Galaxy S flagships with the rumoured cancellation of the Galaxy A74 and even their Galaxy S22 FE. Both these smartphones were outpacing their S20 and S21 series flagships. It’s also an indication that users are looking for an affordable device with the features they care about.
A Dangerous Game to Play
Samsung is playing a dangerous game when it comes down to it. Gunning for the glitz, glam and bank of a premium flagship is pushing more and more of their users to their competitors. With the recent restructuring and abandonment of their in-house Exynos processors for their Galaxy S flagships, Samsung’s innovation streak seems to be coming to an end. Their most exciting lineup seems to be the Galaxy A series and the Galaxy Z series, the latter of which suffers from the same issues plaguing the flagship Galaxy S series.
Or could this be their big game plan? Are Samsung’s promise of having a full-featured, affordable piece of innovation seems to be their means of buying more time? If it is, we’re bound to see the Galaxy S series slowly fade into irrelevance while consumers bend to their foldable whims. But will we see something truly revolutionary with the Galaxy Z series when Samsung is still trying to perfect their display technology for it? They are undoubtedly looking to be market leaders with their foldables but what about those of us that don’t want a foldable? Perhaps it’s time we look to brands like OnePlus, Xiaomi and even OPPO for a device that will check all the boxes.
Samsung’s best bet is to look at trends and customer feedback when it comes to their smartphones and devices. Unlike their biggest competition, Apple, their ecosystem is more open and less likely to create “lock-ins” with their users. Their unwillingness to budge may continue their downward trend in market share. This will undoubtedly be exacerbated by a shrinking marketplace and the foreboding of an incoming global recession.
Samsung has only just announced its new flagship series: the Galaxy S23. The new S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra bring the latest and greatest camera-centered experiences to Samsung’s portfolio. Powered by a customised version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with up to 12GB of RAM on the Galaxy S23 Ultra and up to 8GB on the Galaxy S23 and S23+, the smartphones are touted to bring new experiences and up the Nightography ante.
With the announcements done and dusted, Samsung is announcing pre-order packages the world over. In Malaysia, pre-orders will be kicking off starting now (2nd February 2023) until 23rd February 2023. Purchases of any of the Galaxy S23 series are entitled to a double storage upgrade for the same price worth up to MYR500. So, if you’re getting the 128GB version of the S23, you’ll be getting the 256GB instead. In addition, you will also get a 30% purchase-with-purchase discount on selected Samsung Accessories, Galaxy Tablets, Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Buds and Samsung Care+. You can also get up to MYR600 rebate on trade-ins of your pre-existing device. (pssst… you’ll be able to stack up more than 1 device)
Purchases on Samsung Malaysia’s official website will entitle you to an MYR400 e-voucher. However, if you purchase your Galaxy S23 at Samsung Experience Stores or at Samsung Authorised Partners, you will also get free accessories worth up to MYR458.
Pricing Details & Model Availability
Together with the pre-order deals, Samsung Malaysia also announced the models and detailed pricing of the S23 series in Malaysia. Notably absent is the 128GB version of the S23 and the 256GB version of the S23+.
It’s that time again, Samsung has just unveiled their new lineup of flagships – the Galaxy S23 series. The new S23 series follows its predecessor in more than just the design – there are also three devices in the lineup. You’re going to quickly realise that that’s a theme that will be recurring throughout the series.
Like previous years, the Galaxy S23 series will come with a vanilla Galaxy S23, the S23+ and the Note-successor Galaxy S23 Ultra. This year, however, it seems like Samsung has chosen to focus on the Galaxy S23 Ultra rather than its two siblings. The vanilla Galaxy S23 and the S23+ seem to have a lot more in common with the S22 than we’re used to.
Let’s start off with what’s changing across the board, the first and biggest update coming to the series is its new processor. This time, Samsung hasn’t been coy about it. Instead, globally, the S23 series will be coming with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for GALAXY. This is a customised processor built specifically for Galaxy smartphones. Prepare to see more of the “Snapdragon for GALAXY” in this year’s Galaxy lineup. In addition to this, the Galaxy S23 series will be coming with a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with increased colour accuracy, a 120Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. This comes in a 6.1-inch size on the S23, 6.3-inch in the plus and 6.8-inch in the Ultra.
Is the Galaxy S23 Series Continuing an Iconic Design?
When it comes to the design of the S23 series, the series drops the iconic contour cut design from the Galaxy S22 and S22+ in this year’s iterations. Samsung claims that it’s doing this for the uniformity of design across all three variants of the S23 series. To achieve this uniformity, they’ve opted to adopt the minimalistic design language of the S22 Ultra – which has more or less been recycled for the S23 Ultra.
However, there are some iterative changes that are being introduced. As mentioned, the contour cut camera cutout is no more. Instead, the back is totally uniform with each camera sensor being highlighted by a silver ring. The same design is used across the series. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is slightly more different with the design being flattened out to enlarge the flat surface of the 6.8-inch display to take advantage of the S Pen.
Galaxy S23 Ultra Focused Leaving the S23 & S23+ Behind – at least in Hardware
The new series is very heavily Ultra focused. The Galaxy S23 and S23+ are more or less the same devices we’ve seen in the S22 and S22+. The only difference aside from the new processor is the improved selfie camera which comes in at 12 megapixels and the larger batteries – 3,900mAh in the S23 and 4,700mAh in the S23+. Aside from that, they come with the same 10-megapixel telephoto and 12-megapixel ultrawide sensors we’ve seen in the S22 and S22+.
The Galaxy S23 Utlra, on the other hand, comes with a brand new 200-megapixel sensor complemented by a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 10x optical zoom. The new camera setup – particularly the 200-megapixel adaptive pixel sensor – comes with improved pixel binning. The new sensor combines 16 pixels into a single pixel when taking photos. Samsung is calling this “Super Quad Pixel”. This gives better light sensitivity and contrast while giving the AI more information for better bokeh and nightography. With the improved pixel binning, the AI is able to discern between features like skin, eyes and hair better and more accurately. It also allows for better autofocus as it allows the AI to use a larger 4×4 grid with more points of focus.
Stabilization on the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera has also been improved. The optical image stabilization (OIS) angles have been doubled from 1.5° to 3.0°. This is supposed to give the smartphone even better image and video stabilization. Keep in mind, this is a stabilization that comes from the hardware itself and not the software. Software-wise, the whole S23 series comes with improved VIDS. The improved VIDS is able to analyse and subdivide movement and recognise lighting conditions that allow for better software stabilization. The S23 series also comes with better multi-frame processing and AI.
A Focus on User Experience Starting with One UI 5.1
While the series is a little bit bland when it comes to hardware, Samsung promising a renewed focus starting with One UI 5.1. The new update to One UI will bring a new sense of personalisation which can be extended with apps like Good Lock.
One UI 5.1 brings a few new features including Modes and Routines. The new modes and routines feature allows users to string together settings, apps and even smart things devices into a “routine” or “mode”. This allows you to do things by simply saying “Hey Google” or “Hey Bixby” followed by the name of the routine or mode or even trigger it with an exercise or more.
Bixby Text Call is also coming for the ride. The new feature allows users to send text messages as replies to incoming calls. In addition to this feature, the S Pen functionality is extended to work in a series of Google Apps including Google Drive, Google Sheets and more. Users will also be able to collaborate more effectively with the Co-Edit feature in Samsung Notes over Google Meets.
Pricing & Availability
The Samsung Galaxy S23 series will be in Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender. Prices for the S23 and S23+ start at MYR3,899 in Malaysia while the Ultra starts at MYR5,699.
