
The Samsung Galaxy S23 is one of the most hotly anticipated phones of 2023. It's predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S22 and its bigger brother, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, were widely regarded as some of the best phones you could buy.
Now, hints are dropping that suggest Samsung's new flagship could be a challenger, not just for best Android phone, but for best gaming phone. The newly released Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 could well make its way into the new devices, bringing a host of gaming credentials along with it.
The new chipset features a host of gaming-centric features, such as improved ray tracing, faster rendering for enhanced graphics, and faster CPU performance overall. It marks a new era for Qualcomm's processing technology, succeeding the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 that came before it.
"But wait," I hear you cry, "Samsung wasn't even announced as one of the manufacturers using the new chipset."
True. But that doesn't mean they aren't going to. As part of yesterdays launch event, Samsung announced an official partnership with Snapdragon Pro Series – a series of competitive e-sports tournaments hosted by Snapdragon.
In their announcement tweet, Snapdragon said, "ICYMI, [Samsung] is now the official presenting partner of the Snapdragon Pro Series. There's no better combo than Snapdragon Elite Gaming and Samsung flagship smartphones and we are so excited for you to experience it."
It was later retweeted by Samsung, who said, "Prepare to play on a whole new level."
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
Now, this might just be Samsung furthering their affiliation with e-sports. But it doesn't feel like that. This feels much more significant.
Speculation is already flying online, too. Respected leaker, Ice Universe, has shared a Geekbench score for a European Samsung Galaxy S23 variant, which shows it using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. That's a big deal, as the Exynos chipset used in the EU market previously was riddled with issues. And, not only is this getting the new chipset, but Ice mentions that this is a high-frequency version which will be exclusive to Samsung.

Sam is an award-winning journalist with over six years of experience across print and digital media. As T3’s Senior Staff Writer, Sam covers everything from new phones and EVs to luxury watches and fragrances. Working across a range of different social media platforms alongside his written work, Sam is a familiar face for fans of T3. When he’s not reviewing snazzy products or hunting for stellar deals, Sam enjoys football, analog photography and writing music.
-
A different "world's thinnest foldable" will launch shortly before Samsung's "world's thinnest foldable"
Samsung has competition
-
Your Pixel phone just got the biggest update of the year – Android 16 rolling out now
Google has started to roll out the full Android 16 update to supported Pixel phones
-
Samsung's worst kept secret is no longer even a secret, as it accidentally leaks next phones
The predicted names for Samsung's new folding phones appear online, but one question still remains
-
New Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 details leak, and there's a Classic surprise
We know about colours and more
-
Google's Android redesign is available to some already – just check your Messages
Material 3 Expressive is rolling out to different apps before the Android 16 launch
-
Your Samsung Galaxy S25 can already get Android 16 – here's how
If you want to test Android 16 (One UI 8) on your Samsung Galaxy S25, you can
-
Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro review: one of the year's best Windows laptops
Performance, price, design, and battery life all impress in Samsung's latest laptop
-
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 renders and video show a confident redesign
The all-new Samsung smartwatch design could surprise some