Samsung launches Galaxy S23 with 200 MP camera for R $ 9.5 thousand

Samsung launched this Wednesday (1st) the Samsung Galaxy S23, the company’s new generation of smartphones. The line is already available for pre-sale in Brazil and covers the S23, S23 Plus and S23 Ultra models, which have a 200 MP (megapixels) camera.

In Brazil, the Galaxy S23 will cost BRL 5,999, the S23 Plus, BRL 6,999, and the S23 Ultra, BRL 9,499.

The announcement took place during the Samsung Unpacked event in San Francisco, in the United States. It is the first time that the company launches occur simultaneously in Brazil and the USA.

The new cell phones compete directly with the iPhones 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, launched by Apple in September 2022.

Aiming to appeal to discerning consumers with video and photo quality, Samsung said the S23’s camera offers photos that capture ambient light more accurately.

But, just like last year’s Apple releases, the improvements are spot-on — the quality of the cameras is the biggest difference between the three models in the line. The most expensive, the Ultra, has a 200 MP main lens —almost twice as much as the S22 Ultra—, a 12 MP ultrawide lens, a 10 MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and a 10 MP telephoto lens with 10x optical zoom .

The first two models, the S23 and S23 Plus, have an identical three-camera system. The main lens has 50 MP, the ultrawide, 12 MP, and the telephoto, 10 MP. The front camera is 12 MP.

Like the previous generation, the Galaxy S23 is the smallest of the three phones, with a 6.1-inch Full HD (1080p) display. The S23 Plus is only slightly larger, at 6.6 inches and capable of higher brightness. The S23 Ultra has a 6.8-inch QHD (1440p) display. The three versions are of the AMOLED type, with well-defined contrasts, and have an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

The most advanced version even comes with the S-Pen stylus —a feature that came with the Galaxy Note line, discontinued since last year— and has a rectangular design. The S23 and S23+ models are rounded, as they were in the S22 line, with the difference that now the cameras do not come with a frame-mounted camera module.

All three models use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor. The S23 and S23+ have 8 GB of RAM, while the Ultra has 12 GB. They are sold in versions with 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB and 1 TB of storage.

The South Korean company’s launch strategy is marked by top-of-the-line models at the beginning of the year and the Galaxy Z foldables in the second half.

Global smartphone market sees record drop in 2022

The scenario of the global smartphone market is not the most favorable. According to preliminary data from the IDC consultancy, cell phone sales in 2022 had a reduction of 11.3% compared to the previous year.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the contraction was even greater, at 18.3%. According to IDC, this is the biggest quarterly drop ever seen for the segment.

The consultancy points out that 2022 ended with shipments of 1.2 billion units, the lowest amount since 2013. Among the factors are reduced consumer demand, inflation and economic uncertainties.

Furthermore, with weaker demand and the fact that high-end smartphones have reached a plateau in terms of performance and innovation, earlier models —cheaper and just as powerful as current ones—become even more attractive to average consumers. .

“With an 11% drop in 2022, 2023 should be a year of caution as vendors will rethink their device portfolio and sales channels will think twice about taking on excess inventory,” said Anthony Scarsella, Research Director from IDC, in a note.

“However, consumers may find even more generous offers and promotions continuing through 2023 as the market will think of new methods to drive upgrades and sell more devices, specifically high-end models.”

See the list of products announced by Samsung this Wednesday (1st):

Galaxy:

• Samsung Galaxy S23 (R$ 5,999)
• Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus (R$ 6,999)
• Samsung Glaxy S23 Ultra (R$9,499)