Galaxy S23 Ultra “15W” wireless charging is 33% slower than last year.

Samsung’s already low charging speed again fell short of people’s expectations. This time it’s wireless charging on the Galaxy S23 series, which is slower than older Galaxy S22 phones, according to new tests by PhoneArena. The site compared wireless charging for all three models – the base, Plus, and Ultra S22 and S23 – and concluded that “All three new members of the Galaxy S23 series charge much more slowly than the Galaxy S22 series, according to our tests..”

The worst model that failed the test is the flagship Galaxy S23 Ultra. The S23 Ultra and S22 Ultra have 5,000mAh batteries and 15W wireless charging, but even with the official chargers, the new phone was much slower. It took 1 hour and 58 minutes to fully charge the S22 Ultra via a wireless charger, while the S23 took 33 percent longer: 2 hours and 37 minutes. Not only does a full charge add an extra 39 minutes, but the phone also exhibits a pervasive decrease in charging speed that was never reflected in Samsung’s spec sheet.

Some people like to assume that fast charging can shorten battery life, but for now, we have years of practical evidence in the market that shows these fears are unfounded. Companies like Oppo/OnePlus and Xiaomi have been supplying fast charging solutions for several years now and you won’t find a group of people claiming that fast charging has destroyed their battery. Fast charging requires heat management, so companies manage heat! It is not a problem to measure the battery temperature and act accordingly. For wireless charging, some chargers are equipped with a fan to help dissipate heat while charging. Supposedly the S23 Ultra has some heat dissipation issues that result in slow charging speeds.

There is nothing “fast”about 15W wireless chargers for Samsung to have problems. The fastest commercial wireless options are 50W. Samsung, Apple and Google are a far cry from the state of the art charging technology you usually get from Chinese manufacturers. It’s a shame because fast charging, especially super-fast wired options, changes the way you use your phone. You don’t need to charge your phone overnight when you can quickly charge it within minutes.