Android and One UI occupy a very large space on the storage of the new Galaxy S23: up to 60 GB. A record weight for the manufacturer’s interface which is largely explained by the applications preinstalled by the manufacturer.
Samsung has always been singled out for the heaviness of its interface on Android in its smartphones. For several years, the firm has greatly improved the fluidity and ergonomics of its software, to the point of becoming one of the champions under Android.
Today One UI is considered an example for other manufacturers to follow, especially when it comes to the excellent follow-up offered by Samsung. However, the firm still has a huge weak point: the storage occupied by its interface.
One UI and Android occupy 60 GB!
Android Authority has seen on its Galaxy S23, the operating system and the manufacturer’s interface occupy far too much space. Once setup is complete, Samsung’s system takes up no less than 60GB of storage on its own.
The media recalls that for comparison, Android 13 on the Google Pixel 7 occupies 15 GB, which is already substantial, but four times less important than at Samsung. As for Windows 11 from Microsoft, a complete operating system for PCs with all the history we know about it, it occupies around thirty gigabytes. It’s still half the size of Samsung.
It’s simple, the Galaxy S23 is offered with 128 GB of storage in its basic version. In reality, the user would therefore only be entitled to half the storage once Android and One UI have been configured. Not to mention misleading advertising, one wonders to what extent the advertised storage actually reflects the reality of the use of the product in this case.
Where does the wasted space come from?
How can we explain that Samsung occupies 60 GB with its interface? Difficult to say as the figure is impressive, but the culprit is partly in the number of applications preinstalled by the giant.
Here, the brand can share the blame with Google forcing manufacturers to pre-install its own apps. As a result, a Galaxy S23 ends up with two web browsing apps, two photo management apps, etc. The firm also has an agreement with Microsoft to preinstall certain applications such as OneDrive. We therefore sometimes end up with three applications from three competing services between Google, Samsung and Microsoft.
A way for Samsung to increase its profit on each device sold, but which is much less justified on smartphones sold from 959 euros in France.
We understand better why Samsung refuses to manage transparent A/B updates. This very practical system for the user requires installing the system twice on the smartphone. We could then end up with potentially 120 GB of occupied space right out of the box.
Let’s hope that Samsung will be able to find the reason for a future version of One UI.
What about European models?
Note thatAndroid Authority observed this substantial weight on a device sold in the United States. We were able to look at our own S23 models being tested by the editorial staff. On our Galaxy S23 Ultra configured for France, the system occupies 37 GB. This is still a lot, but still much less than the 60 GB pointed out by our American counterparts. No doubt we have fewer pre-installed applications than on smartphones across the Atlantic.
Note, however, that we go up to 43.81 GB of storage occupied by the system on our classic Galaxy S23. Our model taking advantage of a space of 256 GB, this still represents 17%. It’s really substantial. Worse still, on our Galaxy S23 Plus, we come very close to the observations ofAndroid Authority with 58.68 GB taken by the system.
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