Before a smartphone can go out into the world, it needs to be approved by various regulators – and the Samsung Galaxy S23 has just arrived at 3C, the Chinese regulatory agency, revealing another key spec along the way.
It comes from SamMobile (opens in a new tab) and Ice Universe (opens in a new tab)which are credible sources when it comes to Samsung’s upcoming products. The fact that the phone has now arrived in 3C suggests that it is still well on its way to launch in the not-too-distant future, with February 2023 being the month the phone will most likely be launched.
The only real curiosity we get from this report is that the wired charging speed will stay at 25W, just like the Samsung Galaxy S22. By today’s standards, it’s not that fast at all, as some phones charge the battery almost five times faster (120W).
Take it slow and easy
This caution when it comes to charging speeds is something we’ve noticed on other premium Samsung phones as well. For example, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 also achieves a wired charging speed of 25W, with 15W wireless charging.
It might be understandable that Samsung sticks to the 25W wired charging speed for the Galaxy S23 given what happened to some Galaxy Note 7 models that caught fire – that was in 2016 though, so that’s not all recently.
There is one caveat which is that this regulatory list only lists the standard Samsung Galaxy S23 phone. It is possible that other models, the Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra, will increase the charging speed.
Analysis: How Important Is Loading Speed?
The charging speed of a wired phone may not be the most important spec when choosing a new device, but it does affect the way you use your phone. If your device can be charged in minutes instead of hours, then battery life is not that important.
If you’re running out of the house or stopping quickly in the office, knowing that you can recover a significant amount of phone battery juice in a short period of time helps reduce that creeping anxiety that can arise from ending your day with a dead phone.
Samsung can at least point to Apple as the next company to slow down when it comes to battery charging speed. The iPhone 14 hits a maximum of 30W when it comes to wired charging, just above the reported ceiling for the Galaxy S23.
As long as the 2023 phones have other improvements, Samsung can probably get away with keeping the charging speed on the Galaxy S23 the same as it did with its predecessors – and it should at least have more powerful internals.