We subjected the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (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: 5000mAh
- 45W charger (not included)
- 6.8-inch OLED display, 1440 x 3088, 120Hz
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen2 (4nm)
- ROM / RAM combination tested: 256GB + 8GB
Pros
- Very good autonomy at almost 67 hours in moderate use
- Excellent autonomy when watching videos
- Low discharge currents in general, especially when streaming video and making calls
- Low residual power consumption when the device is fully charged and still plugged in
Against
- Battery level drops after 5%
- Low battery life when using the camera or listening to music
- High residual consumption of the wireless support
The battery experience of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra earned an excellent overall score, placing it among the top 10 devices we’ve tested so far and at the top of our Ultra-Premium segment. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset, the Galaxy S23 has far surpassed its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (both Snapdragon and Exynos versions), thanks to better battery life and efficiency scores.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra showed very good results in our runtime tests. The battery lasted nearly 67 hours when used moderately, with less than 2% lost on average per night. Even in outdoor tests, performance was very good, except when using the camera, where runtimes were slightly below the average in our database. During tests in which we evaluate particular uses separately, battery life was also excellent, especially when streaming video. However, the battery level plummeted when it reached 5%, which could affect the user experience.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s charging results were average, both wired and wireless. The time to fully recharge the battery with a wired charger took 1 hour 21 minutes and with a wireless one 2 hours 18 minutes. A quick 5-minute wired charge provided an average of 5 hours and 23 minutes of battery life, but the autonomy recovered with a 60% charge was only half of that recovered with a 20% charge.
Residual power consumption for both wired and wireless chargers was very low when the device was fully charged and still plugged in. However, the residual consumption of the wireless media itself was very high, placing it at the bottom of the database. In almost all test cases (except music streaming and idle with screen off), the discharge currents were very low, which means that the device is well optimized.
Flagship devices often face challenges in battery performance due to new features that require a lot of power. This is where careful integration of hardware and software plays a significant role in battery performance. Compared to other devices in the Ultra-Premium segment ($800+), the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra easily achieved the highest score in our database. While it didn’t set new records in subscores, its excellent battery life and efficiency, combined with a good charging experience, allowed the Galaxy S23 Ultra to achieve the best score so far for this segment.
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 Ultra | 5000mAh | 45W (not included) |
15W | AMOLED 1440 x 3088 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) | 5000mAh | 45W (not included) |
15W | 2X AMOLED 1440 x 3088 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max | 4323mAh | 20W (not included) |
15W | OLEDs 1290 x 2796 |
Apple A16 bionic |
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.
94 hours
Light use
Active: 2h30/day
67 hours
Moderate use
Active: 4h/day
42 hours
Intensive use
Active: 7h/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 hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep”. The robot repeats this series of actions every day until the device runs out.
In movement
139
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
140
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
133
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
129
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
138
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
143
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 the device’s battery capacity . 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
137
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
146
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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