The Galaxy S23 brings a refined design and upgraded features, but Samsung just made the Galaxy S22 a tempting alternative by announcing a permanent price cut for the 2022 flagship. While Samsung frequently discounts its flagship smartphones, a permanent price cut is not a common occurrence. That changes with the Galaxy S22 series.
At the Galaxy Unpacked event for the Galaxy S23 series and Galaxy Book 3 series, Samsung announced the Galaxy S22 will now start at $699, a hundred dollars off of its launch price. Unfortunately, its siblings, the Galaxy S22 Plus and Galaxy S22 Ultra, have not received a similar treatment and will retain their original launch prices of $999 and $1,199, respectively. Since these are also the prices of the new Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra, there is a chance that Samsung will soon discontinue them in favor of the new models.
Is The Galaxy S22 Worth Buying?
While the Galaxy S22 may be a year old already, it is still a capable smartphone. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor can handle any task thrown at it, and its camera features are great. In addition, some of the software features of the Galaxy S23 should be made available to it via future updates. However, for those who don't have a set budget, paying $100 more for the Galaxy S23 is the better decision. The Galaxy S23 has a stronger build, thanks to Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which provides better resistance to drops.
Samsung has also equipped the Galaxy S23 with a brighter display, an upgraded selfie camera, and a larger battery. The new flagship will also receive updates for longer since it is a new device. Further, those who pre-order the Galaxy S23 now get a free storage upgrade. What this means is that rather than the 128GB version for $799, they get 256GB of storage, which will sell for $859 once the promo period ends.
Nevertheless, it is good to see Samsung keep the Galaxy S22 in production and slashing its price. This move is similar to what Apple does when it announces new iPhones. Following the launch of the iPhone 14 series, Apple discontinued the iPhone 13 Pro models and announced a price cut for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini. This way, those who can't afford the new phones can pick up the still very capable flagship from the previous year. Since there is also no word on when the Galaxy S22 FE will arrive, this discount on the Galaxy S22 makes more sense.
Source: Samsung