Galaxy S22 under criticism – what’s the deal? COMPUTER BILD measures!
Samsung’s new top smartphone, the Galaxy S22, has been heavily criticized in internet forums: Fast charging doesn’t work, and Samsung is deliberately slowing down the speed. The fact that new products from Apple and Samsung make the comment columns on the Internet glow is not new. But is there really anything to the allegations? COMPUTER BILD got to the bottom of the matter.
Accusation 1: Samsung brakes!
In the laboratory test of the Galaxy S22, it was already indicated: The new Exynos 2200 processor was faster than its predecessor in pure processor tests and in graphics tasks, but in more practice-oriented measurements the predecessor was on par and in some points even in front. An explanation: Samsung slows down performance-hungry apps and processes in order to keep power consumption and heat development within limits. However, the way in which this happens is a source of criticism: in early March 2022, users found out that Samsung was throttling the performance of more than 10,000 apps on current devices (S22 and predecessors). Notably, throttling applies to every app on this list regardless of heat or battery drain. And: In addition to games, apps such as Instagram, Microsoft Office or Netflix and even in-house apps such as Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass are also affected – but no benchmark apps for measuring speed. This explains why the higher processor speed of the S22 is not noticeable in all situations. The cause of the throttling is a system for optimizing game performance (“Game Optimizing Service”).
The best Samsung phones
Samsung
Details about the test
Per
Super display – large, sharp, high-contrast and extremely bright
WiFi 6E
against
Big and heavy
No memory card slot
Samsung
Details about the test
Per
Enormously bright and large OLED
Good battery life
against
No jack socket
No power supply included
Samsung
Details about the test
Per
Very bright OLED
Good battery life
against
No jack socket
No power supply included
Samsung
Details about the test
Per
Brilliant big screen
Top photo quality in daylight
against
Insecure Face Unlock
No jack socket
Samsung
Details about the test
Per
Large and extremely bright display
Extreme camera zoom
against
Insecure facial recognition
No jack socket
Samsung
Details about the test
Per
Fast processor
Bright, high-contrast display
against
Display could be sharper
No memory card slot
Samsung
Details about the test
against
No jack socket
No memory card slot
Samsung
Details about the test
against
Loads slowly
No UWB (Ultra Wide Band Short Distance)
Samsung
Details about the test
Per
Giant display in cell phone format
Great contrasts and colors
against
Sensitive folding display
Folding curvature visible in the display
Samsung
Details about the test
Per
High speed
Big, bright, sharp display
against
Slippery back
thick camera
Complete list: The best Samsung phones
In mid-March 2022, Samsung provided an update. The performance throttling should now start later when overheating begins and when playing games. In addition, apps should be able to bypass the power throttling in a targeted manner – it is still unclear whether the apps have to be adapted to do so.
COMPUTER BILD used the Galaxy S22 Ultra as an example to test how the update works in practice. Result: With the update, Samsung has actually increased the speed in some points, surprisingly the battery life has also been extended. In principle, power control is indispensable for smartphones so that the battery lasts longer and the processor does not get too hot. Because overheating not only throttles a specific app, but the entire system in terms of performance. This was visible in the S22 test: After activated maximum power (Settings / Battery and device maintenance / Battery / More battery settings) the pace of work dropped after a while. Tip for gamers: Im Game launcher you can improve game performance by using the priority mode turn on.
Accusation 2: The power pack is lame!
The second accusation: charging the S22 Plus and the S22 Ultra with the more powerful 45-watt power supply unit does nothing – it takes practically as long as with 25 watts. COMPUTER BILD also measured here. The charging process of the S22 Ultra (see graphic below) shows: The total charging time is actually 90 minutes with both power supplies.
Especially in the first 24 minutes, the 45-watt adapter (Samsung ET-T4510) pumps more power into the battery than the 25-watt adapter (EP-TA800).
But: In one case, the stronger power supply is worth it after all! A lot actually helps a lot if you want to supply an empty Galaxy with juice for the next few hours as quickly as possible. The 45-watt power adapter charges the battery to 65 percent in the first half hour. With the 25-watt power supply, it’s only 56 percent.
Samsung
EP-T4510 Fast Charger 45W
For Samsung Super Fast Charge 2.0
Supports 7.5W to 45W charging
thick and heavy
Higher charging speed in the test with the S22 Ultra only at the beginning of the charging process
Charging time on Galaxy S21: 97 minutes
Battery level after 15 minutes: 28%
Not optimized for fast charging on iPhone
Conclusion: Is the wave of outrage justified?
Yes and no. The fact that Samsung simply throttles thousands of apps based on a list of names without real-time monitoring of resource consumption casts a bad light on both Android’s energy management and the efficiency of the processors used by Samsung (several older devices are affected, not just the S22 with the Exynos processor). COMPUTER BILD repeatedly shows that Android manufacturers have some catching up to do in the large smartphone battery test. But with the most recent update, at least the general game throttling seems to be off the table, and at the same time the Samsung engineers have apparently fundamentally improved the battery management. And: Performance management including throttling of individual apps is definitely desirable, but ideally only when the power consumption is too high or there is an acute threat of overheating. The criticism of the fast charging, which is slow compared to the competition, is understandable, but the excitement about it is not. Because everyone should be clear: fast charging is particularly useful when time is short. So it’s usually not about necessarily reducing the total charging time, but about getting enough battery charge in urgent cases so that the cell phone lasts until the next longer charging interval.
