Samsung Unpacked live blog: Galaxy S23, S23 Plus, S23 Ultra, Galaxy Book and more

We're fast approaching Samsung's first Galaxy Unpacked Event of 2023 - and that means we're mere hours away from the probable unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S23 series.

Yes, after months of rumors and speculation, we'll finally be getting eyes on the company's trio of new flagship phones, alongside a bevvy of new laptops (if the leaks hold true).

The Samsung Unpacked event starts at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm GMT today (February 1), and we'll be with you every step of the way. Samsung will be streaming the whole thing online, and we've embedded the placeholder for that below. We also have a guide explaining How to watch the Samsung Galaxy S23 launch online live. 

But you don't even need to do that, because we'll be at the event ourselves and will be reporting back as Samsung lifts the lid on its latest flagships. So scroll down for more details about what to expect, then keep this page bookmarked for all the last-minute rumors before the event, then all the news once it starts.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 - what to expect

Samsung Galaxy S23: The S23 looks like a relatively minor upgrade on the Samsung Galaxy S22, with the same 6.1-inch FHD+ screen, the same 120Hz refresh rate, and the same rear camera setup. But a new chipset - most likely the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 - looks a cert, and the design should be brought more in line with the S23 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus: As with the S23, the Galaxy S23 Plus is likely to be an evolution rather than revolution. Expect a bigger 6.6-inch FHD+ screen and a larger battery than on the vanilla model, but not many other differences.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: The standout reveal at Galaxy Unpacked should be the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. As well as getting a powerful new chipset it's tipped to get a whopping 200MP sensor on the rear camera. Elsewhere, a 6.8-inch QHD+ screen, up to 12GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, and a 5,000mAh battery should give it the specs to compete with the best phones.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 family: Rumors suggest that there will be several Galaxy Book 3 models debuting at Unpacked, including the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360, and the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra.

One UI 5.1: The only software reveal at the event is likely to be the latest version of Samsung's One UI. This is unlikely to be a huge release, with bigger changes likely held back for the arrival of Android 14 later this year.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 - livestream

Good afternoon and welcome to our Samsung Galaxy S23 event live blog. 

We're just under 24 hours out from Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, which is set to start at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm GMT on February 1 (or 5am AEDT on February 2). 

We'll be keeping a close eye on any breaking news ahead of the event, as well as giving you our verdict on the rumors so far. Then, once the event begins, we'll be sharing all the big news as it happens.

So, on with the show… 

As Samsung fans will already be well aware, we're expecting three members of the Galaxy S23 series to arrive on February 1: the Galaxy S23, the Galaxy S23 Plus and the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The leaked image of dummy units you see above (credit: Sonny Dickson) echoes  other leaks and rumors around the design direction Samsung is taking with this generation. Each device looks strikingly similar in form to the Galaxy S22 Ultra. 

The standard and Plus models of the S23 this year appear to shrug off the Contour Cut camera module of the previous two generations of Galaxy S phone, in favor of something a little more sleek and sharp.

TechRadar's Editor in Chief, Marc McLaren has done a deep-dive on the difference between the three expected models in our Samsung Galaxy S23 vs S23 Plus vs S23 Ultra comparison feature.

An interesting tidbit that's arisen from the rumors is that every Galaxy S23 buyer will have equal color opportunities, no matter which Galaxy S model you pick. Whether you go for the entry level device or spring for the Galaxy S23 Ultra, you'll be able to show off Samsung's unique colors. 

We're expecting some interesting shades, accompanied by Samsung's interesting color branding. A Misty Lilac or a Botanic Green could be your preferred hue this season, whether you go for the enigmatic mid-level Galaxy S23 Plus or any other of the new phones. 

We're also expecting accessories to match the new colors, though we haven't heard of new devices like earbuds in this year's shades. 

James Rogerson has even offered up an in-depth round-up of all the expected Galaxy S23 colors, which includes speculative renders of what each color might look like on different models.

Which one's your favorite? I have a love-hate relationship with the Cotton Flower color, personally. 

If one thing has become abundantly clear over the past few weeks of leaks, it's that the cameras on the S23 generation aren't messing around. This official video posted by Samsung less than ten days ago highlights the low-light capture capabilities of the new phones.

"Epic nights are coming" may seem a little ambiguous as a tagline but we already have an idea of why that might be the focus of the Galaxy S23's camera experience.

As the Samsung fans over at SamMobile unearthed earlier this month, the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus will sport new primary cameras at the same 50MP resolution as last year's model. The Galaxy S23 Ultra will drop the 108MP sensor of its predecessor in favor of a new primary camera, rocking an impressive-sounding 200MP.

Not only that, but the new devices will capture photos in RAW format at up to 50MP, up from the previous 12MP limit. We're also hearing about a feature that helps the camera take hyperlapse videos of the sky.

Cameras Editor, Tim Coleman seems to think we should be looking past that 200MP number when it comes to the S23 Ultra's camera, saying "it's more than just a gimmick" in his deep-dive of the sensor the phone's likely to use.

The S23 Ultra, in particular, looks as though it's getting more than just a higher resolution camera than its predecessor, with an additional trio of key upgrades over the S22 Ultra expected in a feature by writer, James Rogerson.

For one, how about a powerful new chipset?

Good morning from the UK, where I'm picking up this live blog from my colleague Philip Berne while he gets some much-needed sleep ahead of Unpacked later today.

Let's start the day with the latest in a seemingly never-ending line of leaks around the Galaxy S23 series. In this case, multiple images of the devices have surfaced after a Twitter user seemingly spotted the phones on display in Chile.

The source, Dylan Xitton, initially posted a video of the phones, but that's now been removed. However photos purportedly of the handsets can still be seen below.

Regardless of how many leaks there have been around the Galaxy S23 - and seriously, this thing has leaked like a sieve - we don't know everything about it yet.

For one, we don't know how much it will cost. The smart money (pun intended) says that in the US at least, all three models will keep the prices from the S22. If true, that would mean prices of $799.99, $999.99 and $1,199.99 respectively, for the base variants.

However, earlier this week we heard rumors that Galaxy S23 prices could go up in some countries - and considerably so. Fingers crossed that isn't the case.

If Samsung Galaxy S23 prices do rise, then you'll want to save every cent you can on the new phones. That's particularly true if you have your eye on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, because that phone is unlikely to be cheap wherever you are.

The good news is that you can save money on the devices if you act quickly. Galaxy S23 preorder are still live, and the official Samsung site is running a unique pre-registration promo which could save you $50 on one of the phones.

Simply head on over to this page and fill out the 'register your interest' form to reserve a device. Not only will you secure a firm place in line in doing this, but you'll also receive $50 of store credit should you commit to a preorder once they go live later today.

But act quickly: the pre-orders will close an hour before the event starts, so as of writing you have around 8hrs to register.

Good morning from a sunny UK, where I'm taking the live blog baton from my colleague Marc McLaren. Samsung's first Unpacked event is now just under eight hours away, so let's take a look at the latest leaks.

This Unpacked event has been leakier than a colander, but new ones keep coming – this morning Evan Blass flung some new marketing videos onto the pile. They don't tell us very much we don't already know and unfortunately the videos are protected, so you may not be able to see them.

Still, they do appear to confirm the expected designs of all three phones, which are all very similar aside from the S23 Ultra's curved front glass. 

And most interestingly, the thread teases the camera features we'll be hearing more about later – steadier video shooting (perhaps an answer to the iPhone's Action mode), that 200MP sensor for the S23 Ultra, and an improved night mode across all models (including selfies).

But please, Samsung, just stop calling it 'nightography'.

It's here, the biggest S23 news so far – Samsung has officially revealed the new 'Over the Horizon' ringtone for the series. The trademark tune has been around since 2011's Galaxy S II and is reimagined each year, this time taking on a lo-fi retro sound.

This year's theme comes courtesy of Yaeji, a Korean-American DJ and producer who straddles the worlds of pop, house music and hip hop. It's certainly a gear shift from last year's piano jazz ringtone and I like its Nintendo-style charm, but as expected it's divided opinion in the YouTube comments.

Expect to hear this song on a train near you very soon – or perhaps on the music festival circuit, as Yaeji's booked to play the likes of Coachella later in 2023.

As TechRadar's former Cameras editor, I'm most interested in the photography upgrades we're going to hear about later – particularly on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

A lot of Samsung's pre-launch hype (like its 'Epic nights are coming' promo) has been around the phone's potential for Moon photography. But as impressive (and sometimes controversial) as that AI-powered mode is, the bigger quality-of-life upgrade for most people will likely be the S23 Ultra's improved zoom at more modest focal lengths.

According to a recent Tweet from the leaker Ice Universe (above), the quality of the S23 Ultra's 30x zoom will be on a similar level to the S22 Ultra's 20x zoom. In good light, at least.

That's a big deal, as is the prospect of an improved zoom in the 10x-15x zoom range. In theory, the latter could get close to the quality offered by the folded optics of the S23 Ultra's 10x zoom lens. 

This is the space where Samsung is really opening up a lead on the iPhone. And the prospect of having a slim smartphone with that kind of zoom quality is still an amazing one to me – it wasn't long ago that Samsung could only get to 10x zoom on a phone by slapping a compact camera on the back of the Galaxy Camera.

Talking of cameras – despite being one of (if not the most) popular smartphone lenses, front-facing cameras are often overlooked. But according to the latest leaks, this also promises to be much-improved area on the S23 series.

All three phones will apparently have a 12MP selfie camera. For the S23 Ultra, this might sounds like a step down from its predecessor's 40MP front-facing camera, but it should help its performance in low light. 

The S22 Ultra's selfie shots were a little soft when shooting in gloomy conditions, but the leak from Evan Blass below suggests a Night Mode for selfies could see Samsung's new phones take a step up from that.

For me, these improved selfie cameras will be a much more popular feature among owners than the promised 13 hours of 8K video shooting, which is apparently be possible on the S23 Ultra. 

Hopefully, some of these low-light improvements might filter across to the S23's video mode too, which was another weak area for the S22 Ultra. But the proof will be in the testing of that new 200MP HP2 sensor.

Hey, I'm Hamish and I'm taking over the live blog from Mark for a while.

I'm definitely excited about the potential camera upgrades we'll see, but I'm much more interested in finding out what chipset Samsung's S23 smartphones will use. Our mobile's chip is the brains behind everything the device can do, so an upgrade in this department will bring improvements to pretty much every aspect of the handset.

While we don't yet know for certain what chipset the Galaxy S23 (and its Plus and Ultra models) will use, we're expecting they'll deploy the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Qualcomm's latest flagship was unveiled back in November and boasts several upgrades compared to its predecessor.

For those of you that love mobile gaming, the biggest improvement will come via ray tracing – which means you expect better-looking shadows and reflections in supported titles. Thanks to its Adreno GPU the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 promises to deliver a gaming performance that's 25% faster while also being 45% more power efficient, meaning you should be able to enjoy your games for longer on a single charge.

You may also see the Galaxy S23 model's data and Wi-Fi speeds get a slight bump if they adopt this chipset. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 offers a speedy 10Gbps down and 3.5Gbps up connection over 5G, and while WiFi 6E still feels like it's just out of the packaging this chipset can actually support WiFi 7 bandwidth and speeds. No matter what your data plan is – nor what your home's Wi-Fi is like – a phone with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 should be able to get the best out of it.