Samsung’s 2023: Time for a Refresh?

Samsung is a machine, constantly putting out new products to better serve this world’s ever diverse population. The company literally has a phone in every market for every possible category of buyer. They have those durable phones with military grade hardware, they have the uber expensive foldables, high-end flagships, and the largest mid-range lineup of devices with no possibility of remembering all of their names. While this is clearly working for them, as they have completely taken over the Android ecosystem as the #1 OEM for some time now, I wouldn’t mind seeing a bit of a refresh for the US market. Allow me to explain.

When I talk about a refresh, I’m only talking about the devices that get heavily marketed here in the US. We’re a US-based site after all. That means I’m referring to the Galaxy Z line, Galaxy S line, and Galaxy Watch models.

For each of these lines, we don’t even have to see leaks or renders to know what to expect for any calendar year, which makes the whole thing feel kinda boring. For example, I can assure you that Samsung will launch the Galaxy S23, S23+, S23 Ultra, Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, and two models of the Galaxy Watch 6 in 2023. As for hardware differentiators, all of the phones will have their cameras dotted out on the backside like the Galaxy S22 Ultra had this year (header image). Past that, everything will be the same size. This is just my guess, but it’s already been reported to be possible back in September.

And that’s the state of Android hardware right now. The main difference when going phone to phone and OEM to OEM is the backside. With every device going with big screens, there’s no room to differentiate on the frontside, so companies are spending big in their design department to make sure the back of phones look great. Some are doing better (Google) than others (OnePlus). That’s a subjective statement there, no worries if you don’t agree.

Back to Samsung and what I’d like to see, it doesn’t really come down to a change in hardware or software or anything like that, but maybe instead I simply want to feel surprised by something. I’m not saying I want leakers to stop. I want Samsung to change up something, whether that be in the lineup of these devices or something more major. Here’s an example. I want a Galaxy S22 Ultra, at least in terms of specs, but in a Galaxy S22 sized body. Give me a really good small phone. These smaller phones are always getting the specs shaft. Apple does a pretty good job at ensuring that when you buy a iPhone “Pro,” whether it be the big one or small one, you’re getting a very similar experience. Not everyone wants the freakin’ monster phone. That’s what I want in 2023 — two Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra models, one large and one small. Is it doable? For 2023, probably not.

It’s likely too late for Samsung to surprise anybody in 2023, but 2024 could be a year where we see something drastic happen in response to a reported not-good-as-expected year of sales in 2022. These companies are constantly adjusting their strategies and lineups to fit the market, so in the words of KG, “Anything is possible!”