Samsung Unpacked 2023: everything that was announced at the S23 launch

Samsung’s annual Unpacked event is now over – and as expected, we were treated to the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S23 series. But while those three phones, which include the S23 Ultra, were the headline act, there were plenty of interesting support acts, too.

As the leaks suggested, we were also treated to Samsung’s Galaxy Book 3 series, which give Samsung fans some fancy new ultrabook options. These include the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, a powerful machine that weighs less than a Dell XPS 13 or an Apple MacBook Pro.

But Samsung’s trio of new S23 series phones were undoubtedly the stars of the show. You can read about the base model’s refined design in our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S23 review, or its larger sibling’s lovely screen in our Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus review. 

Alternatively, if you’re a photography fan with deep pockets, you can get a closer look at Samsung’s flagship phone in our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review. 

Already convinced that they’re the phones for you? Head to our Samsung Galaxy S23 pre-orders page. Or if you’re just looking for a quick rundown of everything that was announced at Unpacked then check out our round-up below.

How to re-watch Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023

The Samsung Unpacked 2023 livestream is now over. But if you weren’t able to tune in, you can still re-watch the event on Samsung’s website or on its YouTube channel.

Alternatively, we’ve embedded the livestream replay below.

What happened at the Samsung Galaxy S23 launch

1. Samsung Galaxy S23

The vanilla Samsung Galaxy S23 may not have been the most exciting announcement at Unpacked, but it does have all the makings of another hugely popular Android phone.

As the leaks predicted, it comes with a lot of the same features as the current Samsung Galaxy S22, including a 6.1-inch FHD+ screen with 120Hz refresh rate, plus the same 8GB of RAM (8GB) and rear cameras as before. That means you get a 50MP primary sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide one, and a 10MP telephoto one, with 3x optical zoom.

But there are also changes under the hood, most notably an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor for some improved gaming and video skills. And the design has been refined too thanks to the arrival of a new, cleaner look. Check out our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S23 review for a closer look.

2. Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus

If you need the expanse of a 6.6-inch screen, the Galaxy S23 Plus is the series’ new middle child. It brings a new, cleaner look thanks to the omission of some raised metal that previously surrounded the camera array, and has the same bespoke Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor as its smaller sibling.

Another bonus is a boost to the S23 Plus’ base storage, which is now up from 128GB to 256GB. But just like last year, the phone also falls in between the standard S23 and flashier S23 Ultra. We’d like to have seen the S23 Plus inherit the 108MP main camera seen on last year’s S22 Ultra, for example.

Still, Samsung hasn’t attempted to fix what wasn’t broken on the S22 Plus, and it still has a powerful trio of cameras – you get a 50MP wide, 12MP ultrawide, and a 10MP optically-stabilized 3x optical zoom camera. The front camera is also now 12MP rather than a 40MP affair that let you shoot 10MP 4-in-1- pixel-binned photos.

For a more detailed look, head to our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus review.

3. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

The star of Samsung’s Unpacked event was the Galaxy S23 Ultra, an incredibly powerful (but also incredibly expensive) flagship phone with a new 200MP main camera.

It’s far from a complete overhaul of its predecessor, but there are small improvements across the board – including a tougher screen, faster memory and storage, plus a more efficient battery.

A large part of the presentation, though, was dedicated to the “pro-level” camera system. It’s the first Samsung phone with a 200MP sensor, the new ISOCELL HP2 that Samsung revealed before launch. 

Alongside the phone’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, this powers what appear to be some strong upgrades to the S23 Ultra’s low-light performance for both video and stills, but only our full review will be able to gauge how much of a real-world difference this makes. Until then, you can read our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review.

4. Samsung Galaxy Book 3

We didn’t just get three smartphones at Android Unpacked today – Samsung also treated creative types to a trio of Galaxy Book 3 laptops.

The most powerful is the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, which arrived alongside a Pro and Pro 360 version of the laptop. A big part of the appeal of all three will be their AMOLED screens, with the heavier Galaxy Book 3 Ultra also the latest mobile CPU and GPU to help it appeal to both gamers and visual creatives.

While the price of the Ultra version ($2,199.99 / £1,849, or about AU$3,190) is quite high, it does look like an intriguing rival to high-end gaming laptops and ultrabooks. You can read our about it in our hands-on Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra review. 

Alternatively, we’ve penned our first thoughts on its siblings in our Samsung Galaxy Book 3 review and Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 review.

5. One UI 5.1

Alongside new hardware, we also saw some new software at the first Unpacked event of 2023 in the form of One UI 5.1.

In short, Samsung’s made a few tweaks to its One UI interface that sits on top of Google’s Android 13. It’s far from a major redesign, with features including an update to its Notes app to make editing and sharing easier.

A bigger overhaul alongside the bug fixes and security patches would certainly have been welcome, though we may see more major shifts with the launch of Android 14 later this year.

What we didn’t see at the Samsung Galaxy S23 launch

The above is everything we saw at the Samsung Galaxy S23 launch, which means there was a lot of stuff that wasn’t in attendance.

For one thing, we didn’t see a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 there, even though the Galaxy Tab S8 series debuted alongside the Samsung Galaxy S22 line.

These slates have reportedly been delayed due to sluggish sales of the current models, and that’s a believable claim, given that very little has been rumored about the Tab S9 series.

Beyond that, there are other major Samsung products on the horizon, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, but new models in these lines aren’t expected until late 2023, going by past form. Similarly, the timing wasn’t right for some new Galaxy Buds.