We put the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE through our rigorous SBMARK Battery test suite to measure its performance in terms of battery life, charging and efficiency. In the results of these tests, we will analyze how it performed in a series of tests and in several common use cases.
Overview
Key Specifications:
- Battery capacity: 4500mAh
- 25W charger (not included)
- 6.4-inch OLED display, 1080 x 2340, 120 Hz
- Samsung Exynos 2200 (4nm)
- Tested ROM/RAM combination: 128GB + 8GB
Pros
- Good wireless charging time
- Good charging efficiency via cable
- Low residual power absorbed by the wired charger
Against
- Poor autonomy overall
- Low autonomy recovered after a 5 minute charge
- High residual consumption of wireless support
- Inaccurate battery indicator: 16% of actual measured capacity shows as 20% on the display
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, the special Fan Edition of the S23 series, struggled in most of our battery tests, particularly in terms of battery life.
When used moderately, the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE provided just under two days of battery life, which is below average in our database. Even when testing individual test cases, performance was poor. However, during gaming, the device showed relatively decent battery life compared to other devices we tested.
The S23 FE’s battery indicator was inaccurate, indicating 20% when the actual measured capacity was 16%, which may impact the user experience. Furthermore, the last 5% of the charge left in the battery was used up very quickly.
With a 25W wired charger, the battery charging time was average, taking 1 hour and 34 minutes to fully charge. Wireless charging was quite good, taking about 2 hours to fully charge the battery. A 5-minute quick charge provided an additional 3 hours and 16 minutes of battery life, which is a bit low compared to other devices.
The S23 FE’s charging efficiency was a bit balanced with good wired charging but poor wireless charging. The residual consumption of the wired charger itself, regardless of whether the fully charged device was still connected or not, was very low. But the stand’s wireless power consumption was among the weakest we’ve ever tested. Finally, discharge currents were above average for most tasks, except gaming, which was average, indicating that the device is not well optimized.
When compared to other devices in the high-end segment ($400 – $599), the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE in terms of battery life, efficiency and charging experience remained poor and below average.
Test summary
Information on SBMARK battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, SBMARK engineers perform a series of objective tests over a period of one week both indoors and outdoors. (See our introduction and how we test articles for more details on our smartphone battery protocol.)
The following section brings together key elements of our comprehensive testing and analysis performed in 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 S23FE | 4500mAh | 25W (not included) |
15W | 2X dynamic AMOLED 1080 x 2340 |
Exynos 2200 |
| Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) | 4500mAh | 25W (not included) |
15W | OLED 1080 x 2400 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G |
| Samsung Galaxy S23 | 3900mAh | 25W (not included) |
15W | AMOLED 1080 x 2340 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
How the autonomy score is composed
The battery life score is made up of three performance subscores: Home/Office, On the Go, and Calibrated Use Cases. Each subscore includes the results of a full range of tests to measure battery life in all types of real-life scenarios.
67 hours
Light usage
Active: 2h30/day
47 hours
Moderate use
Active: 4 hours a day
30h
Intense use
Active: 7 hours a day
Home office
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 16 hours. -a period of one hour, plus 8 hours of “sleep”. The robot repeats this series of actions every day until the device runs out of power.
In movement
111
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
Using a smartphone on the move puts a strain on battery life due to additional “hidden” needs, such as the continuous signaling associated with cellular network selection. SBMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a series of well-defined activities following the same three-hour travel itinerary (walking, taking the bus, subway…) for each device
Calibrated
93
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
For this series of tests the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and our bots repeatedly perform actions related to a specific use case (such as gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting from an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have consumed at least 5% of their battery charge.
In charge
114
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
How the charging score is made up
Charging is a full part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where battery life is at its lowest, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a concern. The SBMARK Battery Charging Score is made up of two sub-scores, (1) Full Charge and (2) Quick Boost.
Full charge
116
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
Full charge tests evaluate the reliability of the battery charge indicator; measure how long and how much energy the battery takes to charge from zero to 80% capacity, from 80 to 100% as shown by the user interface, and until actually fully charged.
The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) show 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) show the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.
Quick push
113
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
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 battery life gain with a 5 minute fast charge.
Efficiency
95
Oppo Reno6 5G
Oppo Reno6 5G
How the efficiency score is composed
The SBMARK Energy Efficiency Score is composed of two sub-scores, charging speed and discharging speed, which combine both data obtained during a typical robot-based usage scenario, calibrated tests and charging evaluation, taking into account battery capacity of the device. SBMARK calculates the annual energy consumption of the product, shown in the graph below, which is representative of the overall efficiency during a charge and when in use.
Charge Up
139
Nubia Red Magic 7 Pro
Nubia Red Magic 7 Pro
The charging subscore is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, related to the amount of energy needed to fill the battery compared to the energy the battery can provide; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to your phone; the residual 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
78
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
The discharge subscore evaluates how quickly a battery discharges during a test, which is independent of the battery’s capacity. It is the ratio between the capacity of a battery divided by its autonomy. A small capacity battery may have the same battery life as a large capacity battery, indicating that the device is well optimized, with a low discharge rate.
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