Best Samsung S23 deals: Get the latest Galaxy phone with a £450 discount and free Disney Plus (Image: SAMSUNG • GETTY • EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS )
Samsung Galaxy S23 has landed. The all-new handset was unveiled at an event earlier this month alongside a larger Galaxy S22 Plus and an all-singing, all-dancing Galaxy S23 Ultra. If you’re interested in the latter, we’ve got a separate guide to the best Galaxy S23 Ultra deals, including up to £600 off for a very limited time.
Back to the Galaxy S23.
As the name suggests, the Galaxy S23 is the follow-up to the Galaxy S22 released last year. This time around, Samsung has fitted a brand-new chipset from Qualcomm to unlock faster performance and better battery life (the size of the battery cell has also grown too). Galaxy S23 also includes an improved selfie camera, faster Wi-Fi 6E, improved low-light photography, and components made from recycled fishing nets retrieved from the ocean to ensure it’s less harmful to the planet.
Below, we’ve got details on all of the new features found in the Galaxy S23, the UK release date and pricing, as well as the latest pre-order deals. The biggest mobile networks, including EE, Vodafone, Three, O2, and Virgin Mobile, have also announced pricing and availability for the latest must-have handset from Samsung.
Scroll down for our complete guide, or use the links to jump to a relevant section.
What’s new?
The Galaxy S23 arrives with a 6.1-inch 1080p OLED display (that’s the same size as its predecessor) shielded with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 – the latest toughened glass from Corning, which promises better protection from scuffs, scratches, and drops. As you’d expect from a 2023 flagship phone, Samsung is using a 120Hz high refresh-rate panel to ensure scrolling, animations, and gameplay is incredibly smooth.
The display fitted to the Galaxy S23 is capable of a maximum brightness of 1,750nits (a pretty significant boost from the 1,300nits found on the Galaxy S22) and should guarantee you can always see what’s happening on-screen, even when outdoors on the sunniest day of the summer.
Inside the Galaxy S23 is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, a custom-designed variant of the latest system-on-a-chip from Qualcomm.
In previous years, Samsung relied on its own in-house processors, dubbed Exynos, to power Galaxy S devices in the UK, mainland Europe and Africa, while US customers enjoyed Qualcomm chipsets. This wouldn’t have been an issue, except tests regularly showed that Exynos was significantly slower (and suffered from worse battery life) than its Qualcomm-designed counterpart. With the Galaxy S23 series, everyone will enjoy the fastest performance available from Qualcomm, no matter where they live.
Galaxy S23 is available in Cream, Phantom Black, Green, Lavender, Graphite, and Lime (Image: SAMSUNG)
Preorders are available now
Samsung has increased the size of the battery inside the Galaxy S23 to 3,900mAh (up 200mAh compared to Galaxy S22). Combined with the extra efficiencies of the new chipset from Qualcomm, the Galaxy S23 should have more than enough juice to get through the day without reaching for a charger.
We’ll need to test the Galaxy S23 for ourselves to determine battery life, but Samsung says users can expect the phone to endure 22-hours of video playback before you hit 0% charge.
Gaalxy S23 also supports the latest 5G speeds, improved Wi-Fi 6E (perfect if you’ve treated yourself to a next-generation router, like the Eero Pro 6E), and includes a number of core components made from discarded fishing nets and plastic bottles.
Samsung says production of the Galaxy S23 could rid the oceans of roughly 15 tonnes of plastic this year. It’s great to see Samsung placing emphasis on sustainability.
On the back of the Galaxy S23, you’ll find a triple-camera setup with all of the usual bokeh effects, portrait mode, and night mode tricks.
The sensors – a 50-megapixel main camera with OIS, 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and 10-megapixel 3x telephoto for lossless zoom – are unchanged from the Galaxy S22, but the beefier processor will improve image quality, Samsung says. The software has also been tweaked to improve colour accuracy and exposure.
On the front, Samsung has increased the megapixels of the selfie camera to 12 megapixels. It can also capture HDR video at 60 frames-per-second for the first time too.
Release date and price
Samsung Galaxy S23 will hit store shelves in the UK from February 17, 2023. If you want to get your hands on one of these flagship phones in-store, you’ll need to wait until February 17. However, those who pre-order the Galaxy S23 will get their new phones much earlier, with delivery expected between February 13 – 17, 2023.
Prices start from £849 for the Galaxy S23 with 128GB of built-in storage. Increasing to 256GB will cost you £899 ..although not at the moment, thanks to a brilliant pre-order deal.
For a limited time, Samsung is selling the maxed-out Galaxy S23 with 256GB of built-in (and crucially, non-expandable) storage for the same price as the entry-level model. That means you’ll be able to get the 256GB (usually £899) for just £849. This limited-time offer is available from the Samsung online store, as well as Amazon UK, John Lewis, and Currys.
Galaxy S23 is available in Cream, Phantom Black, Green, and Lavender.
As usual, Samsung has reserved a couple of colours as exclusives for its own online store. This time around, these are Graphite and Lime.
With the arrival of the next-generation phone in the Galaxy S series, bargain hunters should check out the best Galaxy S22 deals. The best Galaxy S22 Ultra deals are also likely to get a welcome boost too, given that an upgraded Galaxy S23 Ultra was announced at the same event as the Galaxy S23.
Pre-order deals
If you want to upgrade to the next-generation handset from Samsung, you’ll be pleased to know there are some brilliant pre-order deals already available on the Galaxy S23.
For a limited time, Samsung is offering its largest storage capacity – 256GB of built-in, non-expandable memory – for the same price as the entry-level model. That’s a saving of £50 and means you’ll be able to store twice as many photos, videos, apps, games, songs, and Netflix shows for offline viewing on your next train journey or flight.
The deal is only available until the release date of the Galaxy S23, currently scheduled for February 17, 2023. The free storage upgrade offer is available from the Samsung online store, as well as other popular online stores, including Amazon UK, John Lewis, and Currys.
Not only that, but all Galaxy S23 shoppers can claim a six-month subscription to Disney Plus for free. Usually priced at £7.99 per month, this subscription will enable you to watch exclusive TV shows like The Mandalorian, WandaVision, Dopesick as well as the latest Pixar films, Encanto, new entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and documentaries like Fire of Love and Free Solo from National Geographic. You’ll be able to watch Disney Plus on the Galaxy S23, as well as any other devices with a dedicated app for the platform, including Smart TVs, consoles, Android tablets, iPads, and more.
The free Disney Plus subscription is available to both customers who buy the new Galaxy S23 outright as well as those who get the handset on a pay monthly contract.
Finally, Samsung has bolstered its trade-in deals. For a limited time, Samsung is offering up to £450 off the Galaxy S23 when you hand over your existing phone.
Of course, the level of discount will depend on the make and model of your current phone.
Helpfully, Samsung will discount the cost of your new Galaxy S23 at checkout, but doesn’t require you to send off your current phone until after the new Galaxy S23 has arrived in the post. That means you’ll have plenty of time to transfer contacts, photos, videos, and apps to your new Galaxy S23 before you need to mail it.