The Samsung Galaxy S23 already sounds like a more interesting phone than the Galaxy S22, and it's about 10 months away from release. In fact, it sounds like the most interesting new phone from the company since the Galaxy S10 in 2019.
This is because of a report from Business Korea, a Korean business website (surprisingly, given the name), which published an article detailing how Samsung is said to embrace MediaTek chipsets in its Galaxy S23, and also Galaxy S22 FE, phones.
Now, chipsets are a messy business for Samsung's flagship phones. Unlike a company like Apple, which uses the same processors in everyone iPhone model around the world, Samsung currently has an odd split where certain regions get Galaxies with its own Exynos chipsets, and others get them packing chips from Qualcomm, the current top dog in the mobile processor world.
Business Korea says Samsung is considering throwing MediaTek's chipsets into the mix, probably for phones sold in Asia, but will also use Qualcomm and its own processors for certain regions - that sounds pretty messy.
But while some Samsung phone fans might be wrinkling their noses at this rumor - one that has yet to be officially substantiated, we should make clear - it actually could mean huge things for the phones.
Analysis: why MediaTek is important
For the last few years, chipset maker MediaTek has been on a meteoric rise.
It used to push out low-end processors for cheap phones - in fact, its name on a specs list was usually a sign that the mobile would be pretty weak. But over 2020 and 2021 that changed, especially with the launch of its Dimensity line.
Now, we've seen MediaTek Dimensity chips power some pretty impressive top-end phones, including versions of the Xiaomi 12 and Oppo Find X5 Pro launched in Asia. The chips can provide flagship-level processing power at lower costs, which makes the phones in turn more affordable.
However if Samsung used Dimensity chips for its Galaxy S23 phones, that would be a clear sign that MediaTek had transcended its cheap roots and become a real flagship player.
If that resulted in the Galaxy S23 being even more affordable, that'd mean great things for Samsung fans - and if the price stayed the same, it could instead balance out for bigger changes elsewhere.
Of course, it's also possible that Samsung is simply struggling to build enough chips itself, given the global shortage, and instead is asking another company to help out. So we can't for sure say that big changes are happening for the Galaxy S23 line, but it sounds like it could have some surprising changes from the S22s.
