It’s a strange time for in-person tech events. For one thing, companies are eager to host them after a few years of blocked live streams. Samsung is the latest of them, after OnePlus, Apple and Google took turns last year. But on the other hand, mobile taking center stage in this new era of live events has been a bit boring and often overshadowed by their portable counterparts. The Apple Watch Ultra was arguably the biggest announcement to come out of the company’s fall event in Cupertino, and the Pixel Watch was (justifiably) all everyone wanted to talk about after Google’s Pixel 7 series launch event. .
That’s to be expected for a mature product category like smartphones: the year-over-year changes aren’t the technological advances they once were. Foldables may be about to take off, but slab-style phones like the S23 series that we’re sure to see in the spotlight on Wednesday have reached cruising height.
At least, that’s what a multitude of leaks and rumors suggest. It looks like the S23 Ultra will have a 200-megapixel camera sensor and a slight facelift, while the S23 and S23 Plus seem to offer new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processors and not much else. If that’s the case, then Unpacked could have a great “this in-person event could have been a live stream” vibe.
“Phones are boring” is not a problem that Samsung or any other smartphone maker needs to solve; it’s just the new reality. Washing machines are boring too, but they are still relevant to many people’s lives and important businesses to the companies that make them (including Samsung!).
And it’s not that mobile technology isn’t advancing, it’s just that the developments that are taking place now don’t translate well on stage. Take Samsung’s new 200-megapixel image sensor: It has relatively small individual pixels, which can lead to overexposure and blurring issues in photos because they have less ability to store electrons than larger pixels. samsung seems to have devised a way to compensate for this low “full hole capacity”, as it is called, by using double vertical transfer gate technology. That’s great, but I bet you five bucks we won’t be hearing the words “full well capacity” or “double vertical transfer gate” on stage this week.
And Will we hear? Samsung hinted that the Ultra model will be at the forefront of Unpacked announcements, and that makes perfect sense. The S22 Ultra has one of the best mobile camera systems we’ve ever tested, and if Samsung can carry that momentum forward into the next generation, then it’s worth celebrating.
Maybe these flashy in-person events aren’t so much about convincing everyone they need to upgrade their phone. right now for this newer model and more like an assurance that you bought the right ecosystem, a reminder that you’re rooting for the right team, like a cheer rally. Sure, you’re not going to buy a new phone this year, but if you did, you’d get the biggest and best phone ever made. And wouldn’t you know it, there’s also a fantastic watch and a pair of headphones to go along with it. You wouldn’t dream of changing the system, would you?
Regardless, perhaps this year’s event makes a little more sense when you consider it as a victory lap for the S22 Ultra, which didn’t have an in-person launch, or even slab-style phones. If the Galaxy Z Fold ever gets a really great camera system, an integrated S Pen, and a slightly more reasonable price, the Ultra will be obsolete. Why get a tile-style phone that does everything when you can have a flip phone that does everything? But don’t worry, it’s not time for a curtain call yet.
