Technologies

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Faces Its Biggest Challenge, and It Isn’t Apple

Premium phones keep appealing to consumers, but with carrier deals declining, that could change.

Consumers have flocked to Samsung’s top phones for their cutting-edge features, and the new Galaxy S23 phones continue that tradition, especially with a 200 megapixel main camera on its top-tier Galaxy S23 Ultra. But they’ve also been popular thanks to generous discounts from Samsung itself and US carriers eager to lure in new customers.

Those deals, however, are about to dry up.

Over the last few years, the wireless carriers have been essentially subsidizing the price tag of premium smartphones to get customers to sign up for lengthy three-year contracts. That’s helped people afford the most expensive phones as sales of cheaper handsets continue to decline.

But Verizon and AT&T both said they’ll be reducing their promotional discounts for phones going forward, representing a shake-up in the phone-carrier dynamic. That could have a big impact on whether US consumers still see top-of-the-line handsets across all brands as a good purchase, with Samsung particularly feeling the pain.

«It’s even more concerning for Samsung, as they are leaning on premium devices growth to navigate through the tough road ahead,» said IDC research director Nabila Popal, pointing to Samsung’s president and head of mobile experience T.M. Roh telling Reuters of the company’s focus on selling high-end phones in developed and up-and-coming markets.

That isn’t to say consumers are getting a bad deal with the new Galaxy S23 phones, which start at $800 for the base model and go up to $1,200 for the S23 Ultra. Samsung was smart to keep its prices level with last year’s models, Popal said, so consumers are paying the same for a better chipset and cameras.

But there’s little doubt that the priciest phones had continued to be appealing to consumers because of carrier-supported trade-in offers and promotions. «If they decrease, it would definitely have a negative impact on the industry,» Popal said.

Samsung isn’t the only company navigating a troubled phone market, though its rival Apple is dealing with entirely different challenges. iPhone sales dropped 8% during the holiday season, partially due to COVID-19 shutdowns and protests in parts of China where Apple’s phones are built, leading to supply shortages of the company’s top-tier iPhone 14 Pro series. People couldn’t get enough iPhones.

For Samsung, the challenge will be continuing to convince people that its phones are worth the high cost without as many carrier discounts softening the blow to consumer wallets. At Samsung Unpacked and the launch of the new S23 series, Roh was optimistic that the challenging economy could be the time for expensive phones to shine.

«When times get hard, then people would be more cautious in the choices that they make,» Roh told CNET Senior Editor Lisa Eadicicco through a translator. «In other words, they would be looking for greater value to be gained.»

Samsung’s newest top-tier phones may be a trial balloon for other phonemakers with launches planned for later in the year, as the macroeconomic conditions and lower subsidies add more uncertainty to the flagship phone market. Regardless, the S23 phones will help keep Samsung competitive until its next set of devices arrive, which are expected to be new versions of its Z-line of foldables, which have traditionally come out in August.

«An expected portfolio expansion of 5G and foldable smartphones throughout 2023 will help Samsung consolidate revenue growth and sustain leadership in a contracting market,» said David McQueen, research director at global technology intelligence firm ABI Research.

Whether those 5G or foldable features are considered good value in an age of shrinking deals remains a big question.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Sept. 11, #1545

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Sept. 11, No. 1,545.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle was an easy one for me, for a change! If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has two vowels.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with C.

Wordle hint No. 4: For your house

Today’s Wordle answer refers to a piece of furniture.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to where you might sit at your kitchen table.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is CHAIR.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Sept. 10, No. 1544 was POUTY.

Recent Wordle answers

Sept. 6, No. 1540: BULGE

Sept. 7, No. 1541: TENOR

Sept. 8, No. 1542: CHIRP

Sept. 9, No. 1543: TRICK

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Sept. 11

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Sept. 11

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle took me a while. The answers are numerous and tough to unscramble, I thought. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Take a break

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Relax.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

STEER, SHOW, CREE, STEM, METS, MICE, SHADE, DIME, TREE, STREET, DARE, DARES, PAIN, MITE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

READ, REST, PAINT, SHOWER, STRETCH, EXERCISE, MEDITATE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is METIME. To find it, look for the M that’s three letters down on the far-left row, and march straight across.

Technologies

Everything Announced at Apple Event 2025: iPhone Air, iPhone 17, AirPods Pro 3 and New Apple Watches

Apple’s annual September reveal of its latest mobile devices featured the brand new iPhone Air, AirPods Pro 3 with heart-rate sensing, the iPhone 17 lineup and new Apple Watches.

Each September, Apple’s product release playbook dials up the unveiling of the company’s newest line of iPhones, along with a variety of complementary gadgets. On Tuesday, the company took the wraps off the iPhone 17 in all its variations, most notably the new skinny iPhone Air, along with new Apple Watches — Series 11 and Ultra 3 — and an upgrade to its 2-year-old AirPods Pro 2 earbuds.

Along with the hardware, Apple is rolling out the new versions of the devices’ respective operating systems, iOS 26 and WatchOS 26, both of which have been in public beta all summer. (The final version of iOS 26 will be available on Monday, Sept. 15.) The new Liquid Glass interface design may even seem routine to you by now.

Many of the new devices’ capabilities come from new features in their operating systems, and throughout Apple stressed health and fitness as one of the primary drivers. It deemphasized how many of the features’ analysis capabilities — notably most of the new heart-rate sensing and Live Translation in the AirPods Pro 3 — really rely on the iPhone for their heavy lifting.

Given Apple’s struggles with its AI efforts, especially given how much it stressed Apple Intelligence at previous events, the company came as close to downplaying it as it could: There was only the occasional mention of features being driven by AI and the increased neural power in the new A19 Pro processor. And despite no discussion of smart home tech, there was a brief hint in the iPhone Air announcement.

For more in-the-moment commentary, check out ourApple Event live blog.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

iPhone 17 boasts a better screen

The update to Apple’s most mainstream model comes in pastel colors. Notably, the base iPhone 17 now has a ProMotion (120Hz VRR) display, which was formerly only on the Pro models. The screen is larger (6.3 inches) and brighter (up to 3,000 nits) with an improved scratch- and glare-resistant coating. ProMotion has been a much-wanted upgrade; I think there’s probably some dancing going on right now. Inside, it incorporates the A19 chip with a five-core GPU and adds fast charging.

The new front camera has an 18-megapixel square sensor for more flexibility in framing, alongside a larger field of view to enable Center Stage and stabilization. It still has two cameras, though the main camera is bumped to 48 megapixels via Dual Fusion or 24 megapixels as standard.

It starts at $799 in the US — the 16E remains in the line at $599 — and all the iPhones are available for preorder now. It’s £799 in the UK and AU$1,399 in Australia.

The iPhone Air is thin but powerful

Thin seems to be in for phones this year — at least for manufacturers, since buyers don’t seem to be quite as interested and iPhone buyers even less so. Did anyone ask for a super thin iPhone? But in the continuing absence of a foldable iPhone model, what’s a company to do? Behold the iPhone Air, at 5.6mm thick.

It has a polished titanium frame and Ceramic Shield on both sides, which makes some people just want to touch it. According to the company, it’s almost entirely battery on the inside, with Apple claiming all-day battery life.

It’s got high-end specs, too: a 6.5-inch ProMotion XDR display and the A19 Pro processor found in the Pro models. The processor incorporates neural accelerators into each GPU core (six of them), bigger caches and more, giving it quite a bit of computing power.

A new N1 chip and C2 modem improve connectivity (Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6) and power conservation. The device has 48-megapixel Fusion and 12-megapixel wide-angle cameras, the Center Stage front camera, and a way to combine front and back cameras live.

It requires all-new accessories, including a MagSafe pack (80 hours) and a thin, translucent case. It starts at $999 (£999, AU$1,799).

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max deliver a love letter to videographers

The flagship iPhone Pro models tend to differ only by screen size (now 6.3 and 6.9 inches), and their unique features are made possible by their higher-powered processors, more flexible camera arrays and other component differences over the lower-end models.

Like the Air, the iPhone 17 Pro uses an A19 Pro processor with updated cooling and thermal management — a vapor chamber — and has a Ceramic Shield back and front. Apple promises 39 hours of video playback.

The cameras are usually the highlight of the Pro, and that remains true: It has an 18-megapixel front Center Stage camera and a triple-camera Fusion Telephoto system, with three 48-megapixel cameras, including a 4x-8x telephoto for a maximum of 200mm equivalent. The phones can capture ProRes Raw and Genlock (to synchronize cameras for video), which should tickle the fancy of pro videographers.

The Pros now come in orange, which isn’t everyone’s favorite, and there’s a new 2TB storage option. They start at $1,099 (£1,099, AU$1,999).

Apple Watch Series 11, Watch SE and Watch Ultra 3 get redesigns

The Apple Watch Series 10 is our Editors’ Choice for smartwatches. The next-generation Watch Series 11 shrinks the thickness, with a more scratch-resistant front glass. It adds 5G support and better power management for up to 12 hours of battery life. A new Flow watch face takes advantage of Liquid Glass visuals. It adds blood pressure tracking (based on blood flow) to find indications of high blood pressure and sleep score from WatchOS 26. Prices start at $399 (£369, AU$679).

There are new bands in new colors, too.

It’s been three years since the last iteration of the Watch SE. Now, we get the Watch SE 3, with the new S10 chip with 5G wireless. It still delivers 18-hour battery life and an always-on display. There’s wrist temperature sensing for ovulation tracking, it gets sleep apnea tracking, sleep score and more. Prices start at $249 (£219, AU$399), and preorders start now.

Apple’s top-of-the-line smartwatch, the Ultra 3, is updated over the Watch Ultra 2 with a wide-angle OLED (smaller bezels mean more display area). Apple has given it emergency-related satellite connectivity, which required a new antenna and receiver. It also comes with increased battery life. Prices start at $799 (£749, AU$1,399).

AirPods Pro 3 upgrade includes live translation

The AirPods Pro 2 version released in 2023 offered only incremental hardware upgrades over the 2022 models (hence the lack of a name change). The AirPods Pro 3 are smaller, with an updated design that introduces foam-ish eartips for better noise isolation and upgraded active noise cancellation, live translation with adaptive ANC for better focus on the speaker, five sizes of ear tips and IP57 water resistance. Fitness enhancements include heart-rate and calorie tracking, among other updates, which come from iOS. Battery life increases to eight hours with ANC and 10 hours with transparency.

The live translation can be somewhat awkward, though, or as CNET’s Macy Meyer puts it, it’s fluent in convenience, not culture. The price hasn’t changed; they still start at $249 (£219, AU$429).

Notable new accessories for the iPhones

The iPhone Air debuts with new accessories. If you want to keep it thin and still have some level of protection, Apple is offering a $39 polycarbonate bumper that wraps around the edges. Aside from drop protection, I know I’d need it simply to keep the slight phone from slipping out of my hands. There is also a traditional $49 clear MagSafe Case along with an opaque Beats-branded polycarbonate case for $45. If for some reason you want to turn your ultrathin phone into a thicker one with longer battery life, you can pick up the $99 MagSafe battery.

The redesign of the camera section of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max means it needs a new case design, and in addition to all the newly designed versions of the usual cases Apple introduced a $59 MagSafe case made of a new TechWoven material — colored yarns of recycled polyester woven into a textured material and coated with polyurethane, or PTU. Presumably, it will fare better than the FineWoven cases Apple released with the iPhone 15.

You can also get a novel (for Apple) $59 Beats Kickstand Case, which looks like the standard polycarb case. The kickstand, though, isn’t a kickstand; it’s a handstrap with a small bit on the end that you can use for standing the case on its side. The kickstand case also comes in a version for the iPhone 17.

For many of the iPhone cases Apple launched yesterday, the company introduced magnetic attachment points. That makes them compatible with its new $59 Cross-Body Strap. On one hand, I’m not sure I want to trust my $1,200 phone to some magnets or my propensity to walk into walls and doorways. On the other, it’s probably safer than my back pocket.