I’ll skip the Galaxy S23 and upgrade to the Z Flip 5 on one condition

I'm a happy Galaxy S22+ user, especially after the One UI 5.0 update. And unless Samsung really manages to surprise me with the Galaxy S23 series in early February, I intend to keep it that way for a while longer. In other words, as of this writing, I don't plan to upgrade from the Galaxy S22+ to the Galaxy S23+, but instead, I will wait until the Galaxy Z Flip 5 hits the market later in 2023 and possibly switch to Samsung's next foldable flip phone, on one condition.

First, let me explain why I don’t plan on upgrading to the Galaxy S23+ unless it surprises me with some yet-known features that may change my mind on day one. The primary reason is that, as a general rule, I don’t upgrade my phone every year. My previous device before upgrading to the Galaxy S22+ earlier this year was the Galaxy Note 10.

I could upgrade yearly and chalk it down to needing a yearly upgrade for my job, but some of my colleagues already do that, and as a team, we prefer using a wider range of devices.

I lean towards using my phone for more than a year for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I think it's reasonable to do so as a regular consumer. And secondly, I want to see how Samsung continues supporting a device once it gets replaced by a sequel so I can pass that information down to our readers with greater accuracy. I don't do yearly upgrades, partly because it helps my job just as much as upgrading to a new phone every year would — albeit in a different way.

I'll upgrade to the Galaxy Z Flip 5 on one condition

Another reason why I will most likely skip the Galaxy S23+ is the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which Samsung should announce in August-September 2023. I've yet to join the foldable phone bandwagon, not as much because of durability concerns but because the Galaxy Z Flip would be my first choice ahead of the Galaxy Z Fold due to cost reasons. And unfortunately, the Z Flip series lacks Samsung DeX.

Some of you know by now that I'm an exclusive Samsung DeX user. I replaced my PC with Samsung DeX for office work earlier this year, and I don't intend to return to Windows for the time being. I find DeX an enjoyable experience, and I like working around some of its constraints. But rest assured, I know that many other users don't even take DeX into consideration when buying a new Samsung phone. Nevertheless, I'm not in that camp.

With that in mind, as much as I would like to switch to the Galaxy Z Flip form factor, that's not going to happen unless I abandon DeX or Samsung adds DeX support to the Z Flip. I don't see myself leaving DeX behind anytime soon, so here's hoping that the Galaxy Z Flip 5 will be the first in the series to offer DeX support. If it does, it may become my next phone after the Galaxy S22+. And if it doesn't, I'll wait and see what Samsung has in store in 2024 for a potential upgrade.

Do you have any plans for the Galaxy S23 early next year? Or perhaps the next-gen foldable phones from Samsung? Feel free to let us know in the comment section.