The Samsung Galaxy S23 and its siblings are likely to be some of the most exciting phones of 2023, and as we get closer to their launch, rumors and leaks are swirling, with the latest being the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s benchmark.
Spotted by My smart price (opens in a new tab)this Geekbench list points to a phone with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. This is no surprise since – at least in some regions – the Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup used the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but that’s good news as the Gen 2 will likely be the most powerful chipset available for Android phones up to Gen 2 Plus or 3rd generation coming later in 2023
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 itself is not yet available, but we expect it to debut at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit in mid-November, so it should arrive in time for the launch of the Galaxy S23 line, which is likely to happen in February next year.
However, it’s worth noting that this benchmark is based on the US model of the phone, which makes the bundled chipset even less surprising since the Snapdragon silicon is virtually always used in Samsung’s flagship phones in the region. Some other markets – including the UK – often get Exynos chipsets instead, but there are reports that the Snapdragon will be used everywhere this time around.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumors of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 being used, with a spec list recently leaked from Yogesh Brar (opens in a new tab) (by PhoneWorld (opens in a new tab)), for example also pointing to this chipset.
Samsung Galaxy S23 (supposedly) – 6.1″ FHD+ sAMOLED, 120 Hz – Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC – Rear camera: 50 MP (OIS) + 12 MP (UW) + 10 MP (Tele) – Front camera: 10 MP – 8 GB RAM – 128/256 GB storage – Android 13, OneUI 5 – 3900 mAh battery, wired 25 W, wireless charging 15 WOctober 18, 2022
This spec list is for the standard Samsung Galaxy S23, but we usually see Samsung using the same chipset across the entire Galaxy S range, so it’s no surprise. There are also no rest of the revealed specs, as apart from the chipset and a slightly larger 3900mAh battery, the listed specs are exactly the same as the S22.
Anyway, the benchmark isn’t good news as it also mentions just 8GB of RAM which, while enough for most users, isn’t particularly high for an Ultra phone. It’s also not an upgrade on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s initial capacity – although the more expensive versions of this device stretched to 12GB, so we’d expect that to be at least the case again.
Analysis: These probably won’t be the first phones to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
If the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 lands in November and the Samsung Galaxy S23 lineup lands in February, Samsung’s upcoming flagships are likely to be among the first phones to use the chipset.
After all, only high-end phones will get Gen 2, and we’re not expecting too many in this window.
However, there will likely be at least one that will beat Samsung, namely the Xiaomi 13. Based on the earlier form, it could debut in China in December 2022, and one leaker believes it could land as early as November.
But the global launch could be later, and the Xiaomi 12 won’t see a wider version until April this year. Likewise, Motorola managed to beat even Xiaomi out of the gate last year with the China-exclusive Edge X30, however like Xiaomi, the most like-minded international counterpart of the Edge X30 (Edge 30 Pro) didn’t arrive until well into 2022.
Thus, it is possible that the Samsung Galaxy S23 lineup will still be the first to use this chipset in the US, UK, Australia and other countries around the world. Besides, Xiaomi phones don’t come to the US anyway, so Xiaomi 13 counts.
Unless the S23 lineup turns out to be drastically different from what these leaks suggest, and Samsung somehow manages to drop the ball, all three of the next Galaxy S phones will likely end up in our roundup of Samsung’s best phones. For those who can’t wait that long, check out our best Black Friday phone deals, which are constantly updated in the run-up to Black Friday (November 25) and beyond.