Samsung might make you pay more for faster loading speeds on its upcoming Galaxy S23 series.
This is because the 128 GB variant of the Samsung S23 base model will use a UFS 3.1 chip, not the newer UFS 4.0, according to popular tipster Ice Universe.
It is understandable that the 128GB of the S23 uses UFS 3.1. There are indications that Samsung does not seem to produce the 128GB version of the UFS 4.0 chip. It is currently known that only Kioxia has produced the 128GB UFS4.0, but through the 128GB UFS4 chip of the Xiaomi 13
— ICE UNIVERSE (@UniverseIce) January 28, 2023
Buyers will have to pay more for the 256 GB version to get Samsung’s latest storage tech, as there’s no 128 GB UFS 4.0 chip available. Samsung claimed UFS 4.0 is twice as fast and 46% more power efficient than UFS 3.1, with speeds of up to 4,200MB/s (read) and 2,800MB/s (write).
Note that the information from Ice Universe is not confirmed. Some leaks suggest all S23 models will have 256 GB storage, while others say Samsung will offer a storage upgrade for pre-orders.
Regardless, UFS 4.0 is likely a significant improvement, but choosing a possible 128 GB model over 256 GB won’t be a big deal. Samsung is not expected to use eMMC or UFS 2.1 storage for the base Galaxy S23.
Furthermore, although there is a significant difference in UFS 3.1 and 4.0 speeds on paper, it is not as noticeable in practice. Most people are not even going to notice that their apps are launching a few milliseconds faster or that they are getting 4-5% extra battery life.
The upgrade may appeal to power users who play demanding games or use resource-heavy software, but to the average consumer, the change will mostly go completely unnoticed. Therefore, the 128 GB model will not be a deal breaker by any means.
Samsung is launching its Galaxy S23 series in Pakistan on February 2 through its Galaxy Unpacked virtual event.
