Samsung Galaxy S23 5G Speed Test Compares Snapdragon Performance To Its Predecessor
Ookla, the company that created Speedtest.net, has put together an international list of 5G bandwidth results, comparing Galaxy S22 and S23 speeds from actual user reports in twelve different countries. This list was made to see whether or not the S23’s newer Snapdragon X70 5G modem is faster than the S22’s (slightly older) X65 modem. Overall, Ookla found that 5G performance of the S23 over the S22 was heavily dependent on the 5G infrastructure of each region. More tech-focused countries like South Korea, Germany, and the United States had an edge in S23 5G bandwidth, but others did not.
Ookla’s test methodology is interesting because the 5G modem in both the S23 series and Snapdragon versions of the S22 technically have the same maximum bandwidth potential of 10Gbps. However, the S23’s newer X70 modem has new features aimed at improving efficiency and at getting to that 10gbps limit more often. These features include support for every commercial 5G band - from 600MHz to 41GHz, PowerSave technology to reduce power consumption, and a 4x downlink carrier aggregation. Plus, there are additional AI capabilities built into the X70 modem that help the S23 choose more optimal channels.
Twelve countries were tested for S22 and S23 5G connectivity speeds, including Brazil, China, France, Italy, Germany, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Tests were conducted with Snapdragon versions of the S22, S22+ and S22 Ultra.
Brazil, China, Italy, South Africa, and Thailand rank among the least beneficial countries when it comes to S23 5G speeds. These countries saw effectively equal download speeds across all S22 and S23 variants, or that the S22 variants were actually faster for some reason. This was especially prevalent in China, where all three S22 variants averaged faster download speeds compared to the S23 and S23 Ultra (S23+ is not listed).
France, the Philippines, Poland, and the United Kingdom, are in the middle ground when it comes to S22 vs S23 5G performance. These countries don’t have a clear winner but show promise of faster 5G connectivity on S23 devices once 5G infrastructure catches up. The S23 results in these countries show very wide deviations between the worst reported speeds and the highest ones, but the highest reported speeds far outpace those from S22 devices.
Germany, the United States, and South Korea show the best results for the S23 series. The S23 lineup is noticeably quicker than S22 devices in these countries, to the point where an S22 to S23 upgrade can make a lot of sense if you depend on cellular connectivity.
Be sure to check out Ookla’s article here for the full report, but the gist is that the more advanced Snapdragon X70 modem in the S23 series has all the potential to be faster than the X65 in the S22 counterparts. The only problem is that most countries don’t have the 5G infrastructure yet to fully saturate the S23’s capabilities. This issue should become less and less common over the next couple of years as 5G continues to roll out worldwide.
This is an aggregate 5G comparison of the S22 and S23 and is not necessarily indicative of real-world head-to-head performance of these devices. At the end of the day, the S22 series and S23 series both have extremely fast 5G capabilities, though the S23 is better equipped to realize that potential. If you’re curious about upgrading to the S23 because you live in one of the optimal countries or if you just want to upgrade for the sake of the phone’s other features, be sure to check out our review of the S23 Ultra.
