S23U vs S22U and a few other things...

[Talderon]

[TL;DR] Is it worth upgrading from the S22U to an S23U? No, unless the upgrade it practically free.

Well, I was one of the very lucky T-Mobile users that managed to get their phone early (I got mine yesterday (02/10/2023)).

I have the S23U while my wife has had her S22U since launch.

Here are things I am finding as we do side-by-side comparisons. Please note that these are just our observations and nothing really scientific or determined as concrete.

Speed:

The S23U is visibly faster than the S22U in some specific instances, otherwise, they are pretty much the same.

Here are the areas the S23U beats out the S22U:

1. File Copies
2. Large Game Load Times
3. Boot-up
4. Transitions (closing/swapping apps)
5. App installations

Most other instances, things are not really noticeable to the eye (not using benchmark numbers since it's hard to translate them to real-world when you are USING the phone).

Cases:

There is a lot of talk out there how S22U cases fit the S23U and, for the most part, this is true, however, some cases that have tighter tolerances that others will not work. I have found that in some cases, the volume buttons are not exactly the same. My Unicorn Beetle case will fit my wife's S22U without issue, but the CaseBorne case has a tendency to mash the Volume Up button on the S22U. Cases with tighter tolerances with the Camera's will also have issues with the phone.

Fingerprint Scanner:

This is one spot that the S23U beats the S22U hands down. I removed my wife's WhiteStone Dome (it needed replacement, went with amFilm if anyone is interested) and we tested this and the S23U unlocks instantly whereas the S22U pauses for a split second. I did use my fingers for this test and tested with a few different fingers and even scanned one of my fingers 2 times (had 2 entries for the same finger) and the S23U beat it hands down.

Network Speeds:

I did not do much testing on 5G as there are WAY too many factors that can play hell with bandwidth, even with the phones next to one another. Keeping that in mind, WiFi is really different between the 2 devices.

We have gigabit fiber here.

WiFi 6:

I can routinely get 350 to 450 mbps on my S23U and slightly slower on the S22U (avg 260 to 375) (sub 7ms ping)

WiFi 6e: Both phones, when on WiFi 6e (My new gear arrived today, so I took this as an opportunity to test both), scream. Both phones on 6e manage to average over 800mbps repeatedly, so if you are wondering if it's worth it, then YES, or wait for WiFi 7.

Honestly, even my old Z Fold 3 screamed on 6e, so make sure your device supports it.

Sorry iPhone/iPad folks, they don't support 6e (yet).

In the end, my wife asked if it I honestly thought it was worth the upgrade from an S22U to an S23U. It wasn't hard for me to answer, unless you are getting one SCREAMING deal on the upgrade, no, not at all. And by screaming deal, I mean getting the upgrade for next to nothing.

Feel free to ask questions and I'll work on getting back to everyone.

Thanks!

 

[evohicks]

I don't think anyone got a 'screaming deal' with the S23 Ultra, this time around the trade ins and bonuses were much less than usual. We can all analyse the data and pros/cons of upgrading but at the end of the day we all have or reasons and it annoys me when youtubers say 'No, don't upgrade if you have the S22 Ultra'
The S23 Ultra that I received 4 days ago performs absolutely fantastic, everything works as it should and performs great. The S22 Ultra that I traded in was ok but had some issues, freezing in some phone calls and rebooting sometimes, which made me feel uncomfortable with it, but I don't need people telling me not to upgrade because there's no need to.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

I don't think anyone got a 'screaming deal' with the S23 Ultra, this time around the trade ins and bonuses were much less than usual. We can all analyse the data and pros/cons of upgrading but at the end of the day we all have or reasons and it annoys me when youtubers say 'No, don't upgrade if you have the S22 Ultra'
The S23 Ultra that I received 4 days ago performs absolutely fantastic, everything works as it should and performs great. The S22 Ultra that I traded in was ok but had some issues, freezing in some phone calls and rebooting sometimes, which made me feel uncomfortable with it, but I don't need people telling me not to upgrade because there's no need to.

Good chance the screaming deals are gone for awhile.

Sent from my SM-F936U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Morty2264]

Thank you for your review and side by side comparison! Though the S23 line looks truly impressive, if I had an S22, I don't think I'd upgrade. But everyone's needs are different!

 

[mustang7757]

[TL;DR] Is it worth upgrading from the S22U to an S23U? No, unless the upgrade it practically free.

Well, I was one of the very lucky T-Mobile users that managed to get their phone early (I got mine yesterday (02/10/2023)).

I have the S23U while my wife has had her S22U since launch.

Here are things I am finding as we do side-by-side comparisons. Please note that these are just our observations and nothing really scientific or determined as concrete.

Speed:

The S23U is visibly faster than the S22U in some specific instances, otherwise, they are pretty much the same.

Here are the areas the S23U beats out the S22U:

1. File Copies
2. Large Game Load Times
3. Boot-up
4. Transitions (closing/swapping apps)
5. App installations

Most other instances, things are not really noticeable to the eye (not using benchmark numbers since it's hard to translate them to real-world when you are USING the phone).

Cases:

There is a lot of talk out there how S22U cases fit the S23U and, for the most part, this is true, however, some cases that have tighter tolerances that others will not work. I have found that in some cases, the volume buttons are not exactly the same. My Unicorn Beetle case will fit my wife's S22U without issue, but the CaseBorne case has a tendency to mash the Volume Up button on the S22U. Cases with tighter tolerances with the Camera's will also have issues with the phone.

Fingerprint Scanner:

This is one spot that the S23U beats the S22U hands down. I removed my wife's WhiteStone Dome (it needed replacement, went with amFilm if anyone is interested) and we tested this and the S23U unlocks instantly whereas the S22U pauses for a split second. I did use my fingers for this test and tested with a few different fingers and even scanned one of my fingers 2 times (had 2 entries for the same finger) and the S23U beat it hands down.

Network Speeds:

I did not do much testing on 5G as there are WAY too many factors that can play hell with bandwidth, even with the phones next to one another. Keeping that in mind, WiFi is really different between the 2 devices.

We have gigabit fiber here.

WiFi 6:

I can routinely get 350 to 450 mbps on my S23U and slightly slower on the S22U (avg 260 to 375) (sub 7ms ping)

WiFi 6e: Both phones, when on WiFi 6e (My new gear arrived today, so I took this as an opportunity to test both), scream. Both phones on 6e manage to average over 800mbps repeatedly, so if you are wondering if it's worth it, then YES, or wait for WiFi 7.

Honestly, even my old Z Fold 3 screamed on 6e, so make sure your device supports it.

Sorry iPhone/iPad folks, they don't support 6e (yet).

In the end, my wife asked if it I honestly thought it was worth the upgrade from an S22U to an S23U. It wasn't hard for me to answer, unless you are getting one SCREAMING deal on the upgrade, no, not at all. And by screaming deal, I mean getting the upgrade for next to nothing.

Feel free to ask questions and I'll work on getting back to everyone.

Thanks!

How you feel about battery life ? I know its still early

 

[Talderon]

How you feel about battery life ? I know its still early

I've had it for a day and a half and I have yet to charge it fully. It only charged while hooked to the car for Android Auto.

Compared to my Z Fold 3, when used like this, it'd be near dead by now. I'm still at 65% and it was in the car for a 5 minute drive and not plugged in on the way home.

I plan to charge it tonight and get as much SOT as I can for the next couple days and see where I am at.

Truth be told, I feel this thing is is a real battery sipper. Whatever they did this time around, I hope it stays and get better.

 

[mustang7757]

I've had it for a day and a half and I have yet to charge it fully. It only charged while hooked to the car for Android Auto.

Compared to my Z Fold 3, when used like this, it'd be near dead by now. I'm still at 65% and it was in the car for a 5 minute drive and not plugged in on the way home.

I plan to charge it tonight and get as much SOT as I can for the next couple days and see where I am at.

Truth be told, I feel this thing is is a real battery sipper. Whatever they did this time around, I hope it stays and get better.

I have a feeling this is going to be one best battery phones to date that new chip

Sent from my SM-F721U1 using Tapatalk

 

[The_Woo]

How's the general Camera comparison?

Video?

Zoom?

Shutter lag?

Appreciated

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Talderon]

I have a feeling this going one best battery phones to date that new chip

Sent from my SM-F721U1 using Tapatalk

I have to agree from what I am reading.

 

[Talderon]

How's the general Camera comparison?

Video?

Zoom?

Shutter lag?

Appreciated

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

I have been watching some Astral Photography videos to learn how to use the camera more. Since I live in the desert, I don't have to go far to get out of lighted areas, so I'm in a prime place to take pics.

I'll post them here with settings and information and hope that answers questions about that.

As for taking regular pics, I'm not a shutterbug and don't really take a lot of pics, but the wife and I plan to scout a few locations tomorrow for Astral Photography locations and I'll take some pics and post here.

 

[The_Woo]

I have been watching some Astral Photography videos to learn how to use the camera more. Since I live in the desert, I don't have to go far to get out of lighted areas, so I'm in a prime place to take pics.

I'll post them here with settings and information and hope that answers questions about that.

As for taking regular pics, I'm not a shutterbug and don't really take a lot of pics, but the wife and I plan to scout a few locations tomorrow for Astral Photography locations and I'll take some pics and post here.

Right on!!! Thanks

Congrats on your purchase

Sent from my SM-F936U1 using Tapatalk

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Thanks, nice to get an ernest take. I don't really think it's even worth upgrading from my S21U...

 

[f1nzup]

Question: they've talked about the screen being more flat, so is it a noticeable difference, and would you consider it an improvement? Thanks.

 

[Talderon]

Question: they've talked about the screen being more flat, so is it a noticeable difference, and would you consider it an improvement? Thanks.

Honestly, I can't tell, mainly because of the cases I use. When my wife gets home, I will see if I can do a side-by-side comparison for you and let you know.

 

[Mr Segundus]

Seems like, based on reviews all over, the battery life upgrades would be worth the upgrade alone.

 

[f1nzup]

Seems like, based on reviews all over, the battery life upgrades would be worth the upgrade alone.

This is exactly why I am upgrading. My S22U can't hold a charge, which leaves me charging it over and over during the day. I'm hoping these early reports hold up. It would so nice to get through a day on one charge.

 

[evohicks]

Question: they've talked about the screen being more flat, so is it a noticeable difference, and would you consider it an improvement? Thanks.

I think it feels better in the hand with the sides being more flat, with the case on I can't really tell but without it's definitely noticeable, especially coming from the S22 Ultra.

 

[allysisa]

What about photos are you and your wife both on snapdragon or your wife on exynos, be interesting as they say exynos is not as good as snapdragon.
My note 20u over exposes and reds are awful

 

[Talderon]

What about photos are you and your wife both on snapdragon or your wife on exynos, be interesting as they say exynos is not as good as snapdragon.
My note 20u over exposes and reds are awful

We're in the US, so we're both on Snapdragon.

 

[frank-barnett]

Does $400 count as a screaming deal? I thought so, and upgraded in the fall. I don't use my phones for a lot - I actually liked the curved screen better.