Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event is just a few days away, and according to one rumor, the cheapest model of the Galaxy S23 could be significantly slower than the others.

According to tipster Ice Universe (opens in new tab), the 128GB model version of the standard Galaxy S23 may not only have less storage, but may have slower onboard storage than the 256GB option too. Ice Universe, the 256GB model, the rest of the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra all feature the ultra-fast Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 4.0 chip, but the 128GB Galaxy S23 has older, slower UFS 3.1 storage, it claims.

The performance difference between UFS 4.0 and UFS 3.1, even between the same models, can be significant: UFS 4.0 offers read speeds of up to 4,200 MB/s and write speeds of up to 2,800 MB/s, which is double that of UFS 3.1. [The Galaxy S23 with UFS 4.0 will load apps and files much faster; frequent 5G users should avoid the 128GB model because UFS 4.0 offers greater bandwidth, with speeds of up to 23.2 Gbps per lane. Samsung has also confirmed that UFS 4.0 does not affect battery life, in fact it improves efficiency by 46%.

Ice Universe claims that "Samsung does not manufacture a 128GB version of the UFS 4.0 chip" and that the disparity between phones is likely due to production habits. Universe also claims that even if Samsung were to put its existing UFS 4.0 chip in a 128GB phone, the performance would not reach the level of other devices due to this incompatibility.

Of course, we don't really know for sure which of the Galaxy S23 series will feature universal flash storage; Ice Universe has a reputation for leaks, but we can't take leaks as gospel.

Those desperate to get their hands on the Galaxy S23 can pre-order, and this according to Leaker Roland Quant (opens in new tab), as Samsung may be offering a storage upgrade for pre-orders This could be a workaround for the performance difference. Thus, those who pre-ordered the 256GB Galaxy S23 may end up paying the actual price of the 128GB model.