Samsung’s Galaxy S23 may cost more than its predecessor

It seems like Samsung’s planning on charging more for the upcoming Galaxy S23 than it did for the S22, at least in some parts of Europe. Reliable leaker Roland Quandt has been posting prospective prices for the phones at European retailers, and for some models it seems like there will be price jumps of 100 euros or more.

As an example, Quandt says the Galaxy S23 will start at €959 in Spain with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while an Ultra with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage will cost €1,589. Compare that to the S22, whose versions of those phones cost €859 and €1,459 respectively when they’re not on sale, according to Samsung’s Spanish site. It’s apparently a similar situation in Germany, and 9to5Google has reported that the phones could cost AUS $100 more in Australia. In the Czech Republic, the base S23 will cost as much as 1,500 Czech Koruna (roughly €63) more than its predecessor, according to Quandt’s numbers.

The S22 to S23 increases may be even sharper in Denmark, ranging from an increase of 1,300 Danish Krone (roughly €175 or $190 USD) for the base model to a 3,300 Krone increase for the top-end Ultra. That works out to around €440 or $480 more than the previous phone. (Ouch.)

It could be a tough balancing act for Samsung. On one hand, the company’s profits have slowed down significantly in recent months — it recently estimated that its quarterly operating profit had fallen by 69 percent year-over-year, so I’m sure it wouldn’t mind making more money from its flagship phones. On the other hand, Samsung shipped 15.6 percent fewer phones in Q4 2022 than in did in Q4 2021, according to data released this week by analysis firm IDC. The phone market is struggling overall, and it’s hard to imagine that higher prices won’t make things even worse.

The price increases may not be global. In the US, according to 9to5Google, the S23 lineup is expected to start at the same prices as current models; $799 for the regular S23, $999 for the S23 Plus, and $1,199 for the S23 Ultra. It’s possible that Samsung wants to avoid losing customers to Apple, which kept its iPhone 14 prices the same in the United States, even though it quietly raised them in quite a few other countries.

We only have leaks from a few countries so far; there’s always a chance the increases won’t hit countries like the UK, France, Italy, or South Korea as hard as Denmark. Or, the increases could be even higher. It won’t be long until we find out, though; Samsung is holding its Unpacked event on February 1st at 1PM EST.