Samsung's phone chief has high hopes for the Galaxy S23 series, the Fold 5 and the Flip 5

Coming off of a poor year for smartphone sales in general with shipments down 11.3% year-over-year for 2022, (18.3% for the fourth quarter), Samsung's TM Roh might be too optimistic. Roh, the head of Samsung's Mobile eXperience Business, is fresh off his latest gig as MC of the company's latest Unpacked event held earlier this week. And during a press conference held after the Galaxy S23 series was introduced, the executive discussed his expectations for the new line and the upcoming Fold and Flip foldables.

According to Korean online publication The Investor (via SamMobile), Roh said that even with weak global economic conditions, he expects the Galaxy S23 series to be a success. He expects annual sales for both the Galaxy S23 line and the Galaxy Z foldables "to grow globally by double digits compared to last year." The executive added, "Despite the unfavorable economic conditions, our premium strategies will help us lead the market."

Roh is optimistic about the Galaxy S23 series because of the improvements it made to the cameras, software, and performance of these phones. Notably, Samsung's 200MP ISOCELL HP2 image sensor drives the Wide camera on the back of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The latter should also take smoother videos and the low-light photography of the line has been taken to a new level. As for the performance of the new phones, they are all powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset which features an overclocked X-3 "high-performance" core.

Samsung recently reported its 2022 earnings and said that a drop in smartphone shipments was one of the reasons behind a 16% decline in operating profits to the equivalent of $351.7 billion. For 2022, Samsung remained the global leader in smartphone shipments and captured 22% of the global market. The company delivered 257.9 million smartphones last year. Later this year, Samsung will release the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.

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Sales for 2022's Galaxy S22 line came in at around 24 million units which means that the Galaxy S23 series needs to sell more than 26 million units says Roh. A double-digit increase in sales for the Galaxy S23 line would work out to sales of 26.4 million phones. He also discussed the pricing of the new phones. "We had so many difficulties deciding the prices...We had to consider multiple variables, including the price jump in raw materials and the increased volatility in the Korean won exchange rates," Roh said.

Samsung didn't change the pricing in the U.S. where the Galaxy S23 starts at $799.99, the Galaxy S23+ begins at $999.99, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra costs $1,199.99 and up. In other countries, Samsung raised its prices slightly. Pre-orders for the line are currently being accepted and the phones will be released on February 17th.