From the moment the first Galaxy S23 rumors hit our radar, we assumed that Samsung will want to announce the series in January or February 2023. The next flagship trio should either get unveiled in January like the Galaxy S21 did or borrow the Galaxy S22’s Unpacked schedule and hit the scene in February. And according to a new report, Samsung might release the Galaxy S23 sooner rather than later.

Samsung has reportedly shared its tentative release roadmap for the Galaxy S23 series with its partners and ordered the parts necessary to manufacture the first batch of Galaxy S23 devices. Market watchers cited by Korea IT News say that Samsung aims to release the Galaxy S23 series three weeks earlier than the Galaxy S22. The latter was announced on February 9 and released on the 25th of the same month.

A three-week head start would position the Galaxy S23’s market release closer to February 4 or late January. In which case, Unpacked should take place at some point in early-to-mid January.

No more GoS-like nonsense with the iPhone 14 Pro around

Some market watchers have interpreted Samsung’s early release plans for the Galaxy S23 as a response to the iPhone 14 series. Or more specifically, according to reports, demand for the iPhone 14 Pro models exceeded expectations, but they’ve cannibalized the sales of basic non-Pro models (via Bloomberg). There seems to be a higher demand for top-tier premium phones, at least in Apple’s camp, and Samsung might respond to this with an early release of its own Galaxy S23 Ultra model.

Others say that Samsung wants to bring the Galaxy S23 closer to a January release to renew the series’ image after this year’s GOS (Game Optimizing Service) controversy. The latter boils down to some people disliking Samsung’s methods of managing chipset temperatures. Samsung released several patches that have both improved and deteriorated the user experience for many Galaxy S22 customers throughout the better part of H1 2022. Samsung is supposedly eager to put all of that behind with an early Galaxy S23 launch.