Samsung debuts new Galaxy S23 series in PH, throws a big launch party

Samsung’s Epic House unveiled the new Galaxy S23 series at The Fifth in Rockwell with a spectacular launch party, bringing to life the brand’s promise of outstanding Nightography, the pursuit of passions, and the brand’s continued commitment to sustainability in an immersive and interactive event.

In a program hosted by content creator Nicole Andersson, Samsung shared a rundown of the Galaxy S23 Series’ latest innovations, marking a new era of ultimate premium phone experiences – from truly cinematic Nightography photos and videos with transformative AI, the “Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy” for powerful performance, to the Ultra’s embedded S Pen that offers more possibilities for productivity.

These features are all housed within a striking design that advances the company’s sustainability commitment. This latest series from Samsung is truly set to redefine experiences and push one’s creativity to epic proportions.

Actress Liza Soberano, iconic photographer BJ Pascual, and famed artist Leeroy New then took guests on a tour of the Epic Rooms, experiential installations that brought to life exactly what makes the Samsung Galaxy S23 series so exciting.

Epic Nightography

As part of the evening’s interactive experiences, guests were able to witness the most advanced camera system in the Galaxy through the Epic Nightography room. The room features different stations where guests were invited to take photos, with stunning neon décor to accentuate the retro, nightlife aesthetic.  Iconic photographer BJ Pascual led them throughout the room to showcase the series’ enhanced camera features, sharing that his favorite is the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 200MP camera.

“As photographers, we love data, and that’s a lot of data. And it has more megapixels than my work camera. It’s so crazy!” BJ exclaimed. “I’m actually excited to try it at an actual photoshoot. I just wanna try it again. Maybe it might be a billboard.”

The Epic Nightography room featured three stations: Night Selfie, Night Video, and Night Portrait. The Night Selfie station allows guests to take a selfie in the dark, surrounded by neon lights, as Nightography is also available in selfie mode.

Night Video, on the other hand, allows guests to record themselves in the dark surrounded by reflective panels to boost the Galaxy S23’s ability to capture motion while light conditions are low. The station also showcased the Slow Motion video feature, which BJ Pascual attested is perfect for Instagram reels as it adds a dramatic slow-motion effect to your videos that give a look of elegance.

Finally, the Night Portrait room allows guests to take a portrait of themselves surrounded by colored lights to show the Galaxy S23’s enhanced Nightography feature in portrait mode.

The Epic Nightography room highlighted the very best of Samsung Galaxy S23’s enhanced Nightography feature, which includes a new AI-powered image signal processing (ISP) algorithm that enhances object details and color tone under low-light conditions, which makes images at night crisper and more detailed. One can also take pro-grade photos with The Expert RAW app, which is exclusive to Samsung Galaxy.

The series also has the most stable video capture yet with a doubled optical image stabilizer (OIS), so taking videos at night do not have to look blurry. The video quality has also improved with the new series, with enhanced 8K video at 30fps with a wider angle for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Epic Passions

Guests were given the chance to be their most epic selves with the Epic Passions room, which featured larger-than-life installation and three epic stations: Productivity, Gaming, and Self Expression Zones.  Beloved actress Liza Soberano introduced the guests to the Epic Passions room, sharing how the Galaxy Series has helped her juggle her busy schedule, her secret love of gaming, and how the Galaxy S23 series is perfect for mobile gamers like her.

“One of my favorite things about the Galaxy S23 Ultra is that it seamlessly integrates with the Samsung ecosystem. I’m a busy girl, always on the go, and I love that I can easily pair it with my Galaxy Watch5,” Liza expressed.

The new Galaxy S23 series has also become the answer for the multi-passionate individual, as it allows one to connect with other devices in the Samsung line creating an ecosystem where you could multitask with your different passions at the same time.

The Samsung Multi Control feature connects the Samsung S23 to the Samsung PC and tablet with mouse and keyboard functionality. The embedded S-Pen on the Samsung S23 Ultra allows users to collaborate with other people in making projects through the co-editing feature in Google Meets live sharing, made possible by the collaboration of Samsung Notes and Google Meet. This makes the S23 series the most functionally flexible series yet.

In the Gaming station, guests were given the chance to use the Samsung Galaxy S23 series for mobile gaming, with a fun installation of their favorite video game characters. The station spotlighted the Galaxy S23 series’ premium performance and improved battery life.

Further pushing the envelope in gaming, the Galaxy S23 series provides the best mobile gaming experience yet. Samsung and Qualcomm have launched the new “Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy”, the most powerful and efficient processor ever in a Samsung Galaxy smartphone and the fastest Snapdragon available today, which allows for smooth gaming graphics and an overall enjoyable gaming experience.

Meanwhile, on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, a 5000mAh battery powers a larger camera than Galaxy S22 Ultra without increasing the device’s size.

Rounding up the Epic Passions Room is the Self-Expression Zone-perfect for those who love to customize their phones. From aesthetic phone cases to the home screen, one can add favorite apps, widgets, and folders to make one’s Galaxy S23 truly one’s own.

Epic Sustainability

The Epic Sustainability room allowed guests to be introduced to the importance of sustainability and how the Galaxy S23 Series was designed with the planet in mind. An awe-inspiring art installation created by renowned sustainable artist, Leeroy New, was the room’s showpiece, made with recycled materials and other sustainable products.

Sharing the inspiration behind the piece, Leeroy explained that “it speaks about how a lot of our plastics, and microplastics, end up in our ocean. Having done large-scale works, I learned to think about the life cycles of the materials I use and I have taken it on as a personal challenge to strictly use materials that are already available.”

Himself an environmental advocate, New was among the first to make a promise at the Pledge Wall, a digital display where guests can use the S-Pen to write pledges on the wall in real-time. Asking everyone “What can you do for the planet?”, the display served as an invitation for guests to make their own commitments to sustainability.

The Galaxy S23 series is Samsung’s most sustainable line of mobile devices yet from Samsung, made from pre-consumer recycled aluminum and glass and post-consumer recycled plastics sourced from discarded fishing nets, PET bottles, and water barrels. It is also the first S series to market its screens made of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, the most durable glass yet made with 22% pre-consumed recycled material.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 series is still available for pre-order via Samsung.com, authorized Samsung stores, and Samsung Experience Stores nationwide until February 23. Customers can enjoy a Double Up Storage offer which guarantees the higher memory variant for the price of the lower variant within the same model lineup. The pre-order offer also comes with up to 50% off on Samsung’s latest wearables, and massive savings for traded-in devices.

To pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, visit this page.

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Here’s a quick look at PS5’s next-gen VR controller

03/20/2021

Following the recent reveal of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s next-generation virtual reality system for PS5, the company excited to unveil more details about the new controller that will play a critical role in providing gamers with the VR experience it’s working to deliver.

The new VR controller speaks to the brand’s mission of achieving a much deeper sense of presence and a stronger feeling of immersion in VR experiences. It will build upon the innovation introduced with the DualSense wireless controller, which changed how games “feel” on PS5 by unlocking a new way to tap into the sense of touch. Now the company is bringing that innovation to VR gaming.

Design

The first thing you’ll notice with its next-gen VR controller is the unique design, which takes on an “orb” shape that allows you to hold the controller naturally while playing with a high degree of freedom. There are no constraints with how you’re moving your hands, providing developers with the ability to create unique gameplay experiences.

The new controller is also designed with great ergonomics in mind, so it’s well-balanced and comfortable to hold in each of your hands. They applied learnings from testing users with a range of hand sizes, as well as the decades of insights from controllers across all PlayStation platforms. The result is an iconic design that will change how VR games are played.

Features

The new VR controller enables players to feel and interact with games in a much more visceral way. There are several features, including key features from the DualSense controller, which match the vision for what next-generation VR games can be.

Adaptive triggers: Each VR controller (Left and Right) includes an adaptive trigger button that adds palpable tension when pressed, similar to what’s found in the DualSense controller. If you’ve played a PS5 game, you’ll be familiar with the tension in the L2 or R2 buttons when you press them, such as when you’re drawing your bow to fire an arrow. When you take that kind of mechanic and apply it to VR, the experience is amplified to the next level.

Haptic feedback: The new controller will have haptic feedback optimized for its form factor, making every sensation in the game world more impactful, textured, and nuanced. When you’re traversing through a rocky desert or trading blows in melee combat, you’ll feel the difference, magnifying the extraordinary visual and audio experience that’s so central to VR.

Finger touch detection: The controller can detect your fingers without any pressing in the areas where you place your thumb, index, or middle fingers. This enables you to make more natural gestures with your hands during gameplay.

Tracking: The VR controller is tracked by the new VR headset through a tracking ring across the bottom of the controller.

Action buttons/analog sticks: The Left controller contains one analog stick, the triangle and square buttons, a “grip” button (L1), trigger button (L2), and Create button. The Right controller contains one analog stick, the cross and circle buttons, a “grip” button (R1), trigger button (R2), and Options button. The “grip” button can be used to pick up in-game objects, as one example.

SIE’s Product, Engineering, and Design teams have collaborated to build our new VR controller from the ground up with the goal of making a huge leap from current-gen VR gaming. The company is thrilled with the controller that was developed, but what matters now is how game creators will take advantage of the features to design the next generation of VR experiences. Prototypes of the new VR controller will be in the hands of the development community soon, and SIE can’t wait to see what ideas they come up with and how the controller helps bring their imagination to life!

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