How quickly does the Galaxy S23 charge?

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series may not look like a big upgrade over its predecessor, but the series as a whole has definitely improved beyond the spec sheet. The Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus, and Galaxy S23 Ultra offer one of the best Android phone experiences, and it’s a delight for most people to use either of these phones. However, Samsung hasn’t particularly made any real progress in charging technology. So a fair question in the mind of all potential buyers is, how quickly does the Galaxy S23 actually take to charge?

How quickly can the Galaxy S23 series officially charge?

Samsung says the Galaxy S23 supports “Super fast charging,” while the Galaxy S23 Plus and the Galaxy S23 Ultra support “Super fast charging 2.0.” This means the vanilla S23 supports only up to 25W fast charging, while the S23 Plus and S23 Ultra can go up to 45W fast charging. Samsung’s charging tech is based on the USB Power Delivery specification, so you can rely on third-party chargers that support the standard.

However, note that these numbers only indicate the maximum power that the phone will accept in ideal conditions. When the phone actually starts charging, it accepts a number lower than the maximum, depending on factors like the battery percentage and ambient and device temperatures. So the actual charging time changes depending on your prevailing conditions, as the peak is not maintained uniformly throughout the charging cycle.

Samsung’s situation with predecessor devices has not been great, as devices like the Galaxy S21 series and Galaxy S22 series barely maintained their peak wattage for fleeting moments, choosing to settle instead on a slower wattage for the vast majority of the charging cycle. Since the phones did not have very high peaks to begin with, the end result was that the devices charged rather slowly.

So how does the Galaxy S23 series actually fare beyond the spec sheet? We’ve run extensive tests on these devices, charging them from 1% to 100% with different chargers using different charging standards, and we have some practical numbers that you will find useful.

Galaxy S23 Ultra’s charging speed

The Galaxy S23 Ultra charges just a few minutes quicker than the Galaxy S22 Ultra in most situations. Using the fastest supported charger for the S23 Ultra (45W USB Power Delivery PPS), you can expect to fully charge the Galaxy S23 Ultra in about 57 minutes.

The difference between the two devices is not that impressive, but considering the fact that the underlying spec sheet did not change between the two devices, there are some algorithmic improvements that Samsung did bring to the table, allowing for a better charging curve.

As you can see in the graph above from our test data, the Galaxy S23 Ultra accepted 45W-40W of power for as much as five mins, which is a big improvement from the Galaxy S22 Ultra that barely touched 40W for a minute. The Galaxy S23 Ultra also sustains the higher wattage acceptance for longer. The end result is that you can reach 1%-60% in about 21 minutes, while it would take the S22 Ultra over 25 minutes for the same. The lead narrows on the latter half of the charging cycle as the S23 Ultra has a sharper drop-off, but it still manages to stay the winner.

Galaxy S23 Ultra charging compared to rivals

The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 57 minutes of charging time for its 5,000mAh battery looks impressive when you compare it to some key rivals. The Pixel 7 Pro charges its 5,000mAh battery at 23W, but takes about 90 minutes for a full charge. The iPhone 14 Pro Max charges its 4,323mAh battery at 27W and takes over 110 minutes for a full charge. If you want a faster charging device, you can choose the OnePlus 11, which charges its 5,000mAh battery at an insane 80W and takes under 30 minutes for a full charge.

What charger do we recommend for the Galaxy S23 Ultra for the fastest charging?

Our first recommendation remains the official Samsung charger, but that can be a bit expensive for many people. Thus, for users exploring a more cost-effective solution, we recommend the Tecknet 45W Dual USB-C charger. It costs about $20, and you can use the top port for full 45W charging or use both ports simultaneously for a split 25W+20W charging on two devices.

Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus’s charging speed

We’re in the midst of conducting our independent tests regarding the charging times on the Galaxy S23 Plus and the Galaxy S23, and we’ll update this article with accurate data from our tests once we complete our testing.

For the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus, Samsung has not changed the marketing spec for charging, resting at 25W and 45W, respectively, the same as the predecessors. However, both devices do see a 200mAh increase in battery capacity. This is likely to extend the time it takes for the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus to fully charge to 100%, compared to the S22 and S22 Plus.

The Galaxy S22, in our review, takes over 65 mins for a full 0-100% charge with 25W charging. The Galaxy S22 Plus took over 50 mins for a full charge with its 45W USB PD PPS charging. As mentioned, add some more minutes over these times for a reasonable estimate for the current generation. So for the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus, you’d be looking at approximately 70 minutes and 55 minutes for a full charge, respectively.

Galaxy S23 Plus charging compared to rivals

A similar story repeats for the Galaxy S23 Plus as it did for the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The S23 Plus’s charging times only look impressive because key competitors in the USA also have slow charging. 

The Galaxy S23 Plus takes 55 minutes to charge its 4,700 mAh battery with an advertised 45W of power. The iPhone 14 Pro charges its 3,200mAh battery at 23W in about 100 mins. If you care about fast charging, pick up the OnePlus 11 instead.

Galaxy S23 charging compared to rivals

The Galaxy S23 has fewer competitors against its compact form factor. But still, 70 mins taken for a 3,900mAh battery at 25W charging is pretty good. The Asus Zenfone 9 takes 90 mins for its 4,300mAh battery at 30W. The Google Pixel 7 takes 101 minutes for its 4,300mAh battery at 21W.

What charger do we recommend for the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus for the fastest charging?

For the Galaxy S23 Plus, we continue to recommend the same chargers as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, as the charging spec remains the same on both devices.

For the Galaxy S23, we once again recommend the official Samsung 25W charger as our first choice.

The Tecknet 45W Dual USB-C charger is the second choice, as it comes out on top with its low pricing and versatility. If you want something with a USB-C and a USB-A port, then you can opt for the Iniu 30W USB PD charger as our third recommendation.

Wireless charging speeds for the Galaxy S23 series

The wireless charging situation on the Galaxy S23 series is uniform, albeit with a catch. All three phones support 15W wireless charging, but you can achieve this maximum only if you use one of Samsung’s official wireless chargers. As expected, these are fairly expensive compared to the third-party Qi-compatible charging options. If you use a standard Qi-compatible charger, all three phones will limit you to 10W maximum.

If you do go the wireless charging route, be prepared for longer wait times compared to wired charging. For each of the phones, you can expect to take over 90-120 mins when using the official Samsung charger, and about 135-150 mins when using a Qi-compatible charger. The exact times that you will get will vary depending on the ambient temperature, your placement on the wireless charger, and your starting battery percentage. But we hope this gives you a fair idea of what to expect.

What wireless charger do we recommend for the Galaxy S23 series?

For wirelessly charging the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus, or Galaxy S23 Ultra, we recommend sticking with an official charger to cut down on your charging time.

The Samsung Wireless Charger Fast Charge Pad (2022) is our recommendation, but you can go for larger pads if they meet your multi-device charging requirements better. Note that the wireless charger is a bit expensive compared to third-party alternatives. But if you want the fastest speed, you have to spend the money for it.

Conclusion: Fingers crossed for faster charging on the Galaxy S24

Samsung has made some good improvements on the S23 series when it comes to charging. However, we can’t help but marvel at the ludicrous charging speeds that Chinese OEMs provide on their phones. There’s definitely debate on how extremely fast charging can cause rapid battery deterioration, but OEMs claim that their recent releases perform better on this end.

Couple the battery degradation worries with the unfortunate saga of the Galaxy Note 7, and we can see why Samsung would play it extremely cautiously. Still, we’d love to see them take full advantage of the 45W USB PD PPS charging, at least for future devices. We also wouldn’t be complaining if they bumped up to 65W USB PD PPS, either. Anything beyond that point starts venturing into overkill territory, and we’ll prefer the cautious and conservative approach beyond that number.

We’d also love to see faster wireless charging on the Galaxy S23 series. Or even better, we’d love to see Samsung approach a higher uniform maximum charging speed for both its proprietary wireless charging solution as well as for Qi-compatible charger.

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