Samsung raises the prices of new smartphones

There are also three versions: the entry-level S23 model, the slightly larger S23 +, and the more powerful S23 Ultra. The S23 this time starts at €949 for the device, while the S22 cost €849 when it launched last year. The most expensive Ultra cost €1,649 last year, now it’s €1,819.

Hypertrophy has not been felt in smartphones until recently. Even Statbel reported that smartphone prices fell 11.2 percent in January compared to a year earlier. However, the general inflation is as high as 8.05%.

After Apple, Samsung is now raising prices for its latest devices. The South Korean producer says the price increases are mainly due to exchange rate effects. Prices in dollars remain the same as they were last year.

According to Samsung, in recent years, more and more consumers in the Belgian market have chosen the most expensive S series devices, even to the extent that supplies cannot keep up. So Samsung is still seeing growth, especially in the “ultra-high” segment. More than 40 percent of S22 device buyers have opted for the S22 Ultra, according to company numbers.

The S23 series smartphones are not fundamentally different from their predecessors, both in terms of functionality and appearance. Remarkably, Samsung is now also putting US chip maker Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset into devices in Europe. In recent years, European S smartphones had Samsung’s own Exynos chipset on board, but it turned out to perform much less well.