Compared to other competing smartphones, Samsung’s getting left in the dust
We’re a few months out from the expected launch of the Galaxy S23, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t too early for the rumor mill to start churning. Although it sounds like Samsung is making some big changes to the S23’s camera, including an upgrade to a 200MP sensor, the rest of the phone might look a lot like this year’s hardware. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing — we’re pretty fond of the current Galaxy S-series design — it looks like that means we’ll also be stuck with some legacy hardware, particularly when it comes to charging.
As tweeted by notorious leaker Ice Universe, the Galaxy S23 passed through network certification today on its way to becoming a real boy phone. Although this regulatory appearance doesn’t give us a ton of information to work off of, it does seem to confirm that, for the fifth generation in a row, Samsung is sticking with 25W charging. It might’ve been impressive back when the Galaxy S10 hit the market, but as companies — particularly brands in China — continue to push the envelope here, seeing Samsung continue to hold its phones back is frustrating.
This spec shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who’s kept an eye on flagship Galaxy phones over the last few years. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, Samsung’s $1,800 crown jewel for 2022, is limited to just 25W charging. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 10T — set to hit store shelves in the US next week — offers 125W charging, capable of fully powering up the phone in about 20 minutes.
That said, not everyone loves the idea of high-speed charging. 25W is usually fast enough to power up a phone to 50% in about thirty minutes, and to plenty of users, that’s good enough. Keeping these slower speeds is a bit friendlier on the battery, but it fails to impress in a spec race with the likes of OnePlus and Xiaomi. What’s even more frustrating, of course, is that the Galaxy Note 10+ did offer 45W charging way back in 2019, as did the larger S22+ and S22 Ultra earlier this year. It’s unclear if these larger phones will retain their improved speeds, but it sounds like fans of smaller models will have to go without once more.
