Samsung
Like the Pixel 6 before it, the Galaxy S22 seems to claim some misleading battery charging specs. The Samsung Galaxy S22 hasn’t been released worldwide yet, but some early reviews are trickling out and GSMArena has put Samsung’s new “45W” charger to the test. The site was unimpressed with the results, calling the spec “misleading” as they weren’t faster than the old 25W charging.
Last year’s Galaxy S21 Ultra had a maximum of 25W charging. This year, Samsung upgraded the S22+ and S22 Ultra to 45W charging, and it’s selling a new charger (sold separately, of course). Charging should presumably be significantly faster, but it isn’t.
Last year, reports showed that the 25W S21 Ultra took about 62 minutes to charge its 5000mAh battery. This year, the Galaxy S22 Ultra has a “45W” charger, and GSMArena clocked the phone in 59 minutes to charge its 5000 mAh battery. Trusting the marketing numbers, that’s an 80 percent increase in wattage for a 5 percent faster charge — probably still in the margin of error for such a measurement.
The report also says that switching between the official 45W chargers and the 25W chargers on the same device doesn’t really change the charging time. According to GSMArena, the Galaxy S22+ is fully charged in 62 minutes on the 25W charger and 61 minutes on the 45W charger. The Ultra lasted 59 minutes on the 45W charger and 64 minutes on the 25W charger.
The report concludes that “Samsung’s claim of a 45W charging speed is downright misleading when, even when combined with the original Samsung charger, it offers no real tangible benefits in terms of charging times over the 25W solution.” .”
Samsung is way behind in the fast charging race. Chinese OEMs like OnePlus and Xiaomi are constantly pushing the boundaries of fast charging – one of the few smartphone updates that really makes a difference in everyday use. OnePlus phones can be charged in about half the time of Samsung phones, about 30 minutes, with 65W and 80W charging solutions. Even if you don’t charge your phone for the full half hour, user behavior really changes when you see the battery going up by about 1 percent every 18 seconds. Plugging in a phone all night seems less necessary when it charges so fast.
We’ve asked Samsung for comment and will update this article if we hear anything.