Samsung Electronics to introduce new Galaxy S23 series on Feb. 1

Samsung Electronics will introduce its new Galaxy S23 series on Feb. 1 in San Francisco.

Galaxy Unpacked will be a full-scale in-person event and will be live-streamed online, according to the smartphone maker Wednesday.

Galaxy Unpacked is Samsung Electronics’ biannual event where the company showcases its latest products. This year marks the first full-scale offline edition in three years.

At the previous Unpacked event in New York on Aug. 10, Samsung introduced its foldable Galaxy Z series. The previous Unpacked was held partly offline but scaled-down, with only a limited audience permitted to attend.

The Galaxy S23 series will be released at a challenging time. Demand for smartphones is weak due to the slowing global economy and lockdowns in China, and weak chip demand is weighing down on Samsung’s profit significantly.

Samsung Electronics recently reported a weaker-than-expected quarterly operating profit of 4.3 trillion won, down 69 percent on year, in its preliminary earnings guidance. It is the worst quarterly operating profit since the third quarter of 2014.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]