Galaxy S23 pre-orders end next week as Samsung transitions into regular sales on Friday. Judging by last week’s poll, many of you won’t wait until the 17th to get one – the S23 series is off to a strong start.
Two things happened in Europe this generation – local units finally ship with Snapdragon instead of Exynos but Samsung raised the prices. India got Snapdragon last year too but prices prices are higher for the S23 and S23 Ultra (the plus model is actually a tad cheaper).
Samsung Galaxy S23 series infographics
Was the pricing an issue? Voters were sensitive about the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra price. Few people doubt the quality of the phone, but some just can’t afford it. For the small fraction of voters who wanted to see the reviews first before deciding, our S23 Ultra review went live on Saturday.
The new Ultra is not perfect, its design was something that it was criticized for – it looks like the old Ultra. Also, some think that the camera improvements aren’t big enough for S22 Ultra owners to upgrade. Still, last year’s model gets good trade-in value if you do decide to upgrade. Plus, there are plenty of people with older S Ultras or different phones altogether.
The prices of the Samsung Galaxy S23+ and its smaller siblings weren’t as much of a concern with the “too pricey” option falling to third place. Interestingly, even fewer people felt the need to wait for reviews (but if you do, check out ours).
Going by the poll results, the price of the Samsung Galaxy S23 was even less of a concern than even the S23+. There aren’t many options in this size category and while we did see mentions of the Zenfone 9, the iPhone 14/14 Pro seems to be the more popular alternatives. Read our review for more on the phone itself and its competition.
Speaking of alternatives, it didn’t escape people’s notice that the Google Pixel 7 duo costs less than the Galaxys. Besides price savings, those give people a first-party experience with the beloved Gcam. There’s also the One UI vs. Pixel UI debate too.
The pricier iPhone models are an option as well, though here the choice of platform weighs heavily on the decision – your Android workflow and habits may be hard to switch over to iOS and vice versa.
But among those sticking to Android or looking to return to the platform, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series will be a popular choice. If you want one, you have one more week to score the pre-order goodies.
