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? Here are the results of our testing.

Thinking of upgrading? Learn more about the Galaxy S24 lineup, although don’t be surprised when it has the same charging technology.

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 rate is not maintained uniformly throughout the charging cycle.

Samsung’s charging 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 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 minutes, which is a big improvement from the Galaxy S22 Ultra which 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

The Galaxy S23 Plus matches the top charging speed of the S23 Ultra, so it was no surprise that it went from 0 to 100% in almost exactly an hour in our testing. The standard Galaxy S23, which tops off at 25W, averaged 80 minutes to charge to full. That’s a pretty significant difference, but not too bad compared to the likes of the Pixel 7 or iPhone 14.

It’s worth noting that this is actually slower than their predecessors. The Galaxy S22, in our review, took 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.

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 minutes. 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.

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.

No improvements for the Galaxy S24

We had hoped that Samsung would get closer to the charging speeds that Chinese OEMs provide on their phones, but with the release of the Galaxy S24 lineup it was revealed that nothing has changed. The phones feature the exact same charging specs, although the standard model and Plus model have marginally larger batteries.

In other words, if you were waiting to upgrade for faster charging, you’ll need to wait at least another year for the Galaxy S25, and even then there’s no guarantee. At this point Samsung feels quite committed to its maximum of 45W charging.

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