Samsung Galaxy S23 - The Phone That Made Android History
2There isn't a clear definition of what "Android's iPhone" might look or feel like. Still, when I think of the iPhone, I imagine a polished and consistent software and hardware experience, efficient processing, and reliable battery life - all working in harmony.
As of now, many Android phones were "supposed to" reach Apple's level of performance and efficiency, but none of them have managed to come close… Perhaps the most recent Android phones I wanted to call "Android's iPhone" were the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 - mostly because Google has total control over the hardware and software of the phones (just like Apple).
Unfortunately for me (as a Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro user), rather than make them Android's iPhones, Google's Samsung-made Tensor chips turned out to be what holds the Pixels back from being as powerful and efficient as possible. But thankfully, there's Qualcomm!
The Snapdragon chip-maker took on a big marketing overhaul when releasing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset back in 2021. I say "marketing overhaul" since, despite having a new name, the 8 Gen 1 wasn't really a noticeable step up from the Snapdragon 888. Surprisingly, though, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 was!
Qualcomm's mid-cycle refresh for 2022 made a big difference in efficiency for phones with small batteries and big displays, like the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, compared to their predecessors, and now the brand new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is here to take this to a whole new level!
Although we still haven't gotten our hands on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered phone (the Vivo X90 is the first officially-announced phone with the new chip), thanks to leakster IceUniverse, we already have a very good idea of what the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will bring to the table! And it's exciting!
For starters, Samsung fans should be particularly pumped, and that's because the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra are set to bring a unique, overclocked version of the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which should make Samsung's flagships ever so slightly more powerful (at least on paper) than other Android phones with the same chip.
Regardless of whether we're talking about the standard or super-charged version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, we're expecting the new chip in the Galaxy S23 to bring tremendous improvements, especially when compared to the Exynos version of the Galaxy S22!
According to leaked Geekbench 5 scores, which test CPU performance, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 should bring at least 25% better single-core score and a whopping 45% better multi-core score compared to the Exynos 2200 from the Galaxy S22. And that's not even the final form of the SD 8 Gen 2.
CPU aside, leaked GFX benchmarks (testing graphics performance) show that compared to the Exynos 2200, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is improved by at least 60% while being at least 85% more efficient. These are what the tech world calls "unreal" numbers
This might seem like nothing special since Apple's A16 Bionic still sits comfortably on top of the food chain when it comes to overall performance, but the truth is that previous Qualcomm processors barely managed to reach the performance level of Apple's three year-old chips.
With 1,465 single-core and 5,180 multi-core, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is now set to match/surpass Apple's vanilla iPhone flagship for the first time in history
With 1,725 single-core and 4,635 multi-core, Apple's A15 Bionic from the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 14 might fall slightly behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the Galaxy S23
For the record, the A16 Bionic chip powering the iPhone 14 Pro has a single-core score of 1,875 and a multi-core score of 5,375, which puts it on top of the food chain