The MWC 2023 has just opened its doors in Barcelona in person and with great dynamism, after a few years marked by the pandemic. As part of this congress, the most important in the world of mobile telephony and technology, we were able to discuss with one of the top managers of this sector, Won Joon ChoiExecutive Vice President of Research and Development for Samsung’s mobile division.
[Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, análisis: apostando sobre seguro]
Won-joon Choi used to work at Qualcomm, so we wanted to talk to him about the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultraabove all the power and capabilities of what is the brand’s best mobile.
Samsung adapts to the paradigm shift
Smartphones have become something essential in our daily lives, but that doesn’t mean things haven’t changed.
In our chat with Won-joon Choi, we talked about how people are switching phones later and using them longer, and how that affects the way a company like Samsung approaches its new products.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 series seeks to be durable terminals, both at the software and hardware level. The company continues to bet on certifications such as IP68, but it is also committed to a software strategy that allows its terminals to last longer, which is increasingly appreciated.
In fact, Won-joon Choi told us how essential this was when designing One UI, when creating a system that could squeeze as much of the phone’s resources as possible, while providing greater battery life.
This is also noticeable in Samsung’s increased collaboration with other companies. The most obvious is Google, with whom they have had a very close agreement for years, but also with companies like TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat, so that their camera improvements can be integrated into these applications.
Another aspect that the Samsung executive highlighted in the answers to our questions is that related to the video game. More and more people are using mobile phones to game, and the number and types of titles are amazing. Samsung has designed the S23 to offer the best battery life in casual games and, at the same time, to offer the best power in much more demanding games. For this, agreements and collaborations have been made with leading companies in game development, such as Epic Games.
All of this enhances their mobiles to last longer, due to hardware design decisions and also due to software improvements. Buyers increasingly appreciate economy and ecology, and Samsung takes this very seriously.
users matter
One of the questions we had prepared was about Samsung users and whether the company takes them into account. The funny thing is that the answer came before we asked the question, because Won-joon Choi confirmed to us that the larger battery of the S23 and S23+ is due to them listening to feedback from previous models. The difficulty, however, was not to increase the size of the battery, but to do it without increasing the dimensions of the mobiles and without eliminating other internal components.
Something similar happened with the S23 Ultra, which retains the same battery, but with a larger camera module. What one would have expected would have been an increase in size, or a reduction in amperage, but the brand knows this is something very important to buyers, and they have managed to close the circle. .
The brand conducts general surveys on its products and also collects internal information, for example with the Samsung Members app.
Obviously, shaping user wishes isn’t easy, but it’s clear the company is listening to complaints and suggestions, and applying them to future products.
The S23 Ultra and its challenges
When we first saw the Galaxy S23 Ultra, many thought it was a minor evolution as there was no design language change.
The truth is that internal change is importantwith the larger camera module, battery maintenance, or even the improvement of the vapor chamber to cool the mobile.
This element is key when it comes to improving autonomy, in which the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra clearly stands out, as we have seen in its analysis.
As for the software, there have also been challenges, especially in the camera section, with the new sensor and the improvements in artificial intelligence thanks to its new NPU (Neural Processing Unit).
Qualcomm for all
One of the questions we had to ask Won-joon Choi, as head of development of the S series, is why this year Samsung had opted for Qualcomm in all markets, leaving Exynos aside.
According to the official, Samsung has always done the same thing, studying all possible options on the processor market, and choosing the most suitable one.
This doesn’t just involve choosing which one is the most powerful, but which one is the most efficient, which one is able to offer a worthwhile number of units, etc. In the following editions, nothing tells us that we will see changes, or that we will remain as we are, and it is that with each generation Samsung studies which is the best option, and chooses it. This year it’s the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
In fact, their long-term alliance with Qualcomm has allowed them to create a unique processor, based on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, with improvements not only in the CPU, but also in the NPU, something very important for Samsung because this is controlled by the artificial intelligence camera, the star function of the S series.
In fact, Won-joon Choi explained to us that the CPU is something very important, especially for normal usage scenarios, navigation or interface, but in other scenarios, the other components are still more important. For example, the NPU in the camera or the GPU when using very demanding games.
Samsung and its dilemma with fast charging
If we look at the data sheet of the S23 series, perhaps the number that attracts the least attention is the one that indicates the charging speed.
Won-joon Choi told us that for them, the battery is more than the number of watts that can be put into it at one time. Samsung takes many parameters into account when designing its mobiles and their batteries.
[Probamos el Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: vendrás por la excelente cámara; te quedarás por la batería]
It takes into account the charging speed, of course, but also the size of the battery (the higher the charging speed, the less room you have for the battery, unless you increase the size of the mobile), its security or yet the degradation it means using fast charging.
[Ojalá todos los móviles tuviesen esta novedad para la batería de los Galaxy S23 de Samsung]
At Samsung, they take a more holistic approach, where multiple factors are considered when deciding how to charge one of their phones.
The future of the Galaxy S
We were also able to talk a little about the future of this family. We’ve talked about the possibility of Samsung not launching a top-of-the-line every year, but every few years.
Won-joon Choi told us that it’s not about taking one deadline or another, but more about meeting user demand. Come on, people want new phones every once in a while, and brands are adapting to that.
Being Samsung a company that pays so much attention to what users demand, it seems logical to assume that as long as demand remains what it is, we’ll continue to see annual releases.
On the other hand, ever since the Galaxy S ended up merging with the Galaxy Note, we’ve been talking about the possibility that something like this could happen with foldables.
Won-joon Choi told us that’s not an option right now because they see three very different approaches. On the one hand, there are the Z Folds, which focus on a very large screen. The Z Flip offers extreme portability. The Galaxy S focuses primarily on the photographic section.
It seems unlikely that we’ll see a Galaxy Z with the S Ultra’s cameras or a Galaxy S that doubles. At least for now.
The S-Pen takes a lot more work than it looks
Finally, we spoke to Won-joon Choi about the S-Pen, arguably the most distinctive feature of the S23 Ultra. At Samsung, he told us, the S-Pen focuses on three pillars.
On the one hand, there is performance. They have been improving the hardware capabilities of the stylus for many years, choosing better and better materials, decreasing the writing latency…
On the other hand, we have the added functions. In addition to painting and writing, the S-Pen allows you to translate in near real time, to transcribe handwriting into digital writing, to be used as a remote trigger…
Finally, the Samsung pencil improves productivity, with applications such as Samsung Notes, Pen-UP…
The Samsung Pencil is becoming more and more versatile and useful, and if you’re interested, we recommend keeping an eye on our YouTube channel in the coming days.
We thank Won-joon Choi and the Samsung team for the availability and ease of conducting this interview.
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