We subjected the Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon) to our rigorous SBMARK Battery test suite to measure its performance in terms of battery life, charging and efficiency. In these test results, we’ll analyze how it performed in a variety of tests and several common use cases.

Overview

Key Specifications:

  • Battery Capacity: 3900mAh
  • 25W charger (not included)
  • 6.1 inch OLED display, 1080 x 2340, 120Hz
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen2 (4nm)
  • ROM / RAM combination tested: 128GB + 8GB

Pros

  • Low residual consumption regardless of whether the device is connected to the wired charger or not
  • Low overall discharge currents

Against

  • Poor battery life when listening to music and idle with the screen off
  • Poor battery life during calls and using the camera on the go
  • Inaccurate battery indicator: 15.6% of the actual measured capacity shows as 20% on the display

The overall battery score of the Samsung Galaxy S23 was lower than the average in our entire database, but the device outperformed its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S22, particularly in terms of battery life and efficiency.

With a charge that lasted just over 2 days with moderate use, the battery life of the Galaxy S23 was below average. When testing specific uses, the results varied. Battery performance was decent when watching videos and was good when the device was idle with the screen on. Listening to music or using the camera outdoors, however, showed poor results. Also, the battery gauge was inaccurate, only showing 15.6% real capacity remaining when the device screen showed 20.0%

The charging experience was also below average. Wired charging took longer than average, but wireless charging was average. Regained runtime after a quick 5-minute boost was low at only about 3 hours, which contributed to its below-average score.

The efficiency of the wireless charger was poor due to the high consumption. Despite a small battery, the runtimes of the Samsung Galaxy S23 were only slightly below average thanks to the low overall discharge currents, which means that the device is well optimized.

For a device in the Premium price range ($600€ – $799), the Samsung Galaxy S23 ranked just above average in our database, held back by its poor charging experience, despite excellent efficiency and average battery life .

Trial summary

Learn about SBMARK battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, SBMARK engineers conduct a series of objective tests over a one-week period both indoors and outdoors. (See our introduction and how we test articles for more details on our smartphone’s battery protocol.)

The following section compiles the key elements of our extensive testing and analysis performed in the SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.

Drums Battery charger wireless Screen Processor
Samsung Galaxy S23 3900mAh 25W
(not included)
15W AMOLED
1080 x 2340
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon) 3700mAh 25W
(not included)
15W AMOLED
1080 x 2340
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Apple iPhone 14 3279mAh 20W
(not included)
15W OLEDs
1170 x 2532
Apple A15 bionic
Xiaomi 13 4500mAh 67W
(included)
50W AMOLED
1080×2400
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

Autonomy

100

Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)

188

Honor X7a

Honor X7a

How the Autonomy score is composed

The Battery Life Score is composed of three performance sub-scores: Home/Office, On the Go, and Calibrated Use Cases. Each subscore includes results from a full range of tests to measure range in all kinds of real-life scenarios.

Light use

72 hours

Light use

Active: 2h30/day

Moderate use

51 hours

Moderate use

Active: 4h/day

Intensive use

33 hours

Intensive use

Active: 7h/day

Home office

95

Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)

213

Honor X7a

Honor X7a

A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a series of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, streaming video, etc. — 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16 hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep”. The robot repeats this series of actions every day until the device runs out.

In movement

112

Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)

195

Samsung Galaxy M51

Samsung Galaxy M51

Using a smartphone on the go has a negative impact on range due to additional “hidden” demands, such as continuous signaling associated with cellular network selection. SBMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a series of precisely defined activities following the same three-hour travel itinerary (walking, taking the bus, the subway…) for each device

Calibrated

104

Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)

198

Samsung Galaxy M51

Samsung Galaxy M51

For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and to ours bots repeatedly perform actions related to a specific use case (like gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting with an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have used at least 5% battery power.

Reload

111

Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)

181

Realme GTNeo 3

Realme GTNeo 3

How the recharge score is composed

Charging is fully part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where range is at its lowest, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a concern. The SBMARK Battery Charging Score consists of two subscores, (1) Full Charge and (2) Fast Boost.

Charge complete

113

Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)

184

Black Shark 5Pro

Black Shark 5Pro

The full charge tests evaluate the reliability of the battery charge indicator; measure how long and how much energy it takes for the battery to charge from zero to 80% capacity, from 80 to 100% as shown by the user interface, and to an actual full charge.

The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) showing the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.

The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) showing the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.

Quick push

110

Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)

182

Realme GTNeo 3

Realme GTNeo 3

With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), the Quick Boost tests measure how much charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. The graph here compares the average range gain with a 5-minute quick charge.

Efficiency

134

Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)

154

Oppo Reno6 5G

Oppo Reno6 5G

How the efficiency score is composed

The SBMARK Energy Efficiency Score consists of two subscores, charge rate and discharge rate, which combine both data obtained during a typical robot-based usage scenario, calibrated testing and charge rating, taking into consideration battery capacity of the device. SBMARK calculates the product’s annual energy consumption, shown in the graph below, which is representative of overall efficiency during a charge and when in use.

Charge Up

135

Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)

205

Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro

Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro

The secondary charge score is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, relating to the amount of energy required to recharge the battery compared to the energy the battery can supply; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to your phone; the remaining consumption when the phone is fully charged and still connected to the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The graph below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in %.

Discharge

133

Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)

194

Apple iPhone 14 Pro

Apple iPhone 14 Pro

The sub-discharge score evaluates how quickly a battery discharges during a test, which is independent of battery capacity. It is the ratio between the capacity of a battery and its autonomy. A small capacity battery may have the same run time as a large capacity battery, indicating that the device is well optimized, with a low discharge rate.

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Philip Owell

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