Android

3 Reasons to Pre-Order the Galaxy S23 & 4 Reasons to Wait

Published

1 year ago

02/15/2023

Pre-ordering a Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, or Galaxy S23 Ultra might be tempting, but there are some reasons why you might want to hold off buying one of the company’s new flagship models.

Samsung’s confirmed a trio of new smartphones and the Galaxy S23 series is the company’s answer to devices like Apple’s iPhone 14 and Google’s Pixel 7.

The devices replace the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, and Galaxy S22 at the top of the Galaxy S pecking order and they do so with some enticing upgrades including a new processor, improved cameras, and more.

If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, or if you’ll be looking to upgrade in the near future, the Galaxy S23 series should definitely be on your shopping list.

The Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra are currently on sale ahead of their release date on February 17th. Some of you might want to put in a Galaxy S23 pre-order right now. You can save money and you’ll get freebies with your pre-order like credits and a storage upgrade.

That being said, there are also some reasons why you might want to off on pre-order, at least temporarily. And, in some cases, you might want to skip the pre-order process entirely.

Pre-Order If You Want the Galaxy S23 ASAP
Pre-Order If You Want to Save Money
Pre-Order for Free Stuff
Wait for Long-Term Galaxy S23 Reviews
Wait If You Aren’t Prepared to Buy
Wait for Other Galaxy S23 Deals
Wait if You’re Worried About Problems

In this guide we’ll take you through the best reasons to pre-order a Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, or Galaxy S23 Ultra and the best reasons to wait.

Pre-Order If You Want the Galaxy S23 ASAP

If you’re planning to make the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, or Galaxy S23 Ultra your next device, and you want your new phone on your doorstep ASAP, you’ll want to put in a pre-order through Samsung, your carrier, or your favorite retailer.

Pre-ordering right now should ensure that you get the Galaxy S23 model you want, in the color you want, on your doorstep in the near future.

Again, the Galaxy S23 release date is officially set for February 17th for in the United States. While that’s the official street date, we should see some deliveries arrive before that. Companies often ship Galaxy S models well ahead of their release date.

If you want peace of mind and/or want a new Galaxy S23 in your hands right away, pick the option that best fits your needs and order the model you want right now.

Pre-Order If You Want to Save Money

If you pre-order a Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, or Galaxy S23 Ultra you can save money if you’ve got a device to trade-in or switch carriers.

Samsung and its partners are currently providing substantial trade-in offers to those willing to exchange their current device for a new Galaxy S23 model. For instance, Samsung is offering up to $500 instant trade-in credit with a pre-order.

In the United States, AT&T is offering up to $1000 off the Galaxy S23 series to new and existing customers with a trade-in. T-Mobile is providing a similar deal.

Verizon is giving new and existing customers $800 off any Galaxy S23 series device with a trade-in on qualified 5G Unlimited plans.

Unfortunately these offers probably won’t last forever so if you want to upgrade right away and you want to save cash, you’ll want to dig into these offers.

For more about the best Galaxy S23 deals, take a look at our guide. It will walk you through the best deals out there at the moment.

Pre-Order for Free Stuff

If you pre-order a Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, or Galaxy S23 Ultra, you’ll get some free items with your pre-order.

If you buy any Galaxy S23 model, Samsung will throw in an instant $100 Samsung Credit that can be put toward Galaxy S23 accessories.

Samsung also says customers who pre-order are eligible for a free storage upgrade to the next storage tier which is extremely handy.

If you pre-order through Verizon, the carrier will throw in a free Galaxy Watch5 and Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G. It’s also providing carrier switchers with a $200 Verizon eCard after they sign up.

For more about these offers, and many others, head over to our list of the best Galaxy S23 deals.

Wait for Long-Term Galaxy S23 Reviews

Samsung’s new models look like solid devices, but some of you might want to hang back and wait for long-term Galaxy S23 reviews.

Some people have already gone hands-on with the devices, but plenty more, us included, will have a chance to test the phones before, or shortly after, they hit shelves.

Early impressions and reviews are useful, but you shouldn’t base your decision off a review that comes hours, or even a few days, after handling new devices.

Digging into long-term feedback about smartphones is extremely important, especially when you’re spending this kind of money on a gadget that you might be stuck with for a year or more.

If you aren’t completely sold on buying a Galaxy S23 model right now, we recommend skipping the pre-order period while you wait for long-term feedback from critics and early adopters.

Wait If You Aren’t Prepared to Buy

You’ll want to skip a Galaxy S23 pre-order if you aren’t prepared to buy right now.

If you aren’t sure what kind of effect buying the Galaxy S23 will have on your data plan or your finances, hold off until you’re one hundred percent confident.

Before you commit to a Galaxy S23 model, you’ll want to research the colors and storage options and their differences, dig into your data needs, and look into rival carriers and see if you might want to switch.

You’ll also want to go hands-on with top Galaxy S23 alternatives like Google’s Pixel 7 Pro and Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro Max.

You’ll also want to make a plan for your current device. Again, we’ve seen some great trade-in deals and you’ll also want to check what kind of money you can get back at resellers.

If you don’t need the extra cash, you may want to look into donating your current phone to charity. If you’d rather keep it in-house, get in touch with friends and family and see if someone needs a hand-me-down.

Wait for Other Galaxy S23 Deals

Early Galaxy S23 trade-in offers will help you save money. Again, if you want to save the most cash on your purchase, you’ll need a newer smartphone in great condition.

If you don’t have one on hand, or you don’t want to trade-in your current phone, you’ll want to wait. Galaxy S23 price cuts without a trade-in will come, but we probably won’t see price drops for a few weeks at least.

Retailers and carriers should start getting more competitive with their offers once the initial buzz from the release has died down.

Wait if You’re Worried About Problems

If you’re worried about potential Galaxy S23 hardware and/or software problems, you might want to wait a few weeks before buying one of Samsung’s new flagships.

The company’s Galaxy S23 models all run Android 13 and One UI 5.1 out of the box. The software is plagued by a variety of issues and the Galaxy S23’s software will likely have problems of its own.

Samsung and its carrier partners will roll out bug fix updates to address some of these initial issues so it might be worth it to wait for the first, second, or even the third batch of bug fixes to arrive before buying one.

New Galaxy phones are sometimes plagued by hardware issues as well. In the past, we’ve seen production issues impact Galaxy S models at launch.

If you’re concerned, you might want to hang back and see what kind of problems early adopters are reporting in the weeks after their release.

5 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 15 & 5 Reasons Not To

Wait for Design Changes

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Last year, Apple introduced a brand new pill-shaped notch the company calls Dynamic Island. Unfortunately, this change is only available on the company's high-end iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. That will likely change this year.

Analyst Ross Young believes Apple could bring Dynamic Island to the lower-end iPhone 15 models. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman does as well.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the iPhone 15's proximity sensor will be integrated into Dynamic Island. The proximity sensor on the iPhone 14 Pro models is under the display outside of Dynamic Island. This could lead to Face ID improvements.

This might give some of you considering Apple's iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Plus a reason to hold out and wait for the new models.

On the flip side, Young doesn't think the standard iPhone 15 models will get 120Hz/LTPO like the iPhone 15 Pro models.

This has been backed up by another source who says the iPhone 15/iPhone 15 Plus won't get ProMotion and Always-On display capabilities.

We've heard the the iPhone 15 Max's design will be made out of titanium as opposed to stainless steel. The frame supposedly has a brushed finish.

In a tweet, a prominent leaker says the iPhone 15 Pro models will "have thinner bezels" with curved edges. The display is reportedly still flat, however.

ShrimpApplePro says additional sources now agree with the information and that the bezels on the iPhone 15 Pro models will indeed be thinner.

In a tweet, well-known leaker Ice Universe says the iPhone 15 Pro Max will break the record for thinnest bezels on a smartphone. The record is currently held by the Xiaomi 13.

In a follow up tweet, he's shown off what are evidently glass displays and third-party screen protectors for the iPhone 15 series.

Analyst Jeff Pu from Haitong International Securities also believes the company is working to deliver a new titanium design.

So does Gurman. In a report Gurman says the iPhone 15 Pro models could be about 10% lighter than their predecessors thanks to the new design.

We've also heard the iPhone 15 Pro will have a new mute button that replaces the switch. This "Action" button could work like it does on the Apple Watch Ultra in that it will allow users to map it to different functions.

This new addition has seemingly been confirmed by the iOS 17 beta.