Samsung to unveil Galaxy S23 on Feb. 1 in San Francisco

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday sent out invites to its annual unpacking event for its new flagship Galaxy devices that will take place in San Francisco at 10 a.m. on Feb. 1.

Entitled “Galaxy Unpacked 2023: Share the Epic,” the event will be held in person for the first time in three years since the pandemic. It will also be livestreamed from Seoul through Samsung’s newsroom and homepage, as well as its official YouTube channel, the officials said.

“A new era of Galaxy innovation is coming. The new Galaxy S series will be the epitome of how we define the ultimate premium experience. We’re raising the bar and setting new standards for what’s epic. Join us as one of the first to see the new premium Galaxy innovations,” Samsung Electronics said in its invitation.

Samsung did not specify what will be unveiled during the event, but the company is expected to showcase the Galaxy S23 smartphone series, along with other latest smart devices.

Rumors about the upcoming Samsung smartphones are already running high.

The Galaxy S23 series are projected to improve the processing speed by expanding the data storage space, as well as picture quality, compared with its previous edition, according to industry sources.

Some foreign media outlets also forecast that the upcoming Galaxy phones are likely to be Samsung’s last bar-type smartphone devices since the tech titan aims at popularizing its foldable phones. The company, however, denied the possibility.

While smartphone sales declined due to decreased consumer spending amid mounting worries over a global economic downturn this year, industry watchers are paying keen attention to whether Samsung will pull off a rebound in its smartphone business through new product launches.

According to Samsung’s earnings guidance released on Jan. 6, its 2022 fourth-quarter operating profit was expected to tumble 69 percent on-year to 4.3 trillion won ($3.4 billion).

Details on each business sector’s estimated figures for the October-December period were not available but market watchers assumed the company’s shipments and sales of smartphones would fall below expectations.