Technologies
Samsung Galaxy S23: The Features We Need to See
Commentary: Samsung must improve some of the basics on its flagship phone.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 has an upgraded camera that’s better at seeing in the dark, and it has an upgraded aesthetic. But we need so much more for Samsung to blow us away with their Galaxy S23, which is expected to debut on Wednesday at Samsung Unpacked.
In particular, I’d like to see longer-lasting batteries, more photographic features and faster charging that doesn’t require an expensive adapter and more photographic features.
Read more: How to Watch Samsung Unpacked
Samsung leads the smartphone industry, with 21% of the worldwide market in the third quarter of 2022, according to Counterpoint Research. Upgrading core features like the camera and battery could help it maintain that top spot, especially as it faces increased competition from Apple and Google.
Longer battery life for the regular Galaxy S23
Battery life can never be long enough, but the standard-issue Galaxy S device is in particular need of a boost. The 6.1-inch Galaxy S22 generally lived up to Samsung’s claims of all-day battery life, but sometimes just barely. After using it for a month straight, I noticed the battery level dipped roughly to 30% or 40% by 9 p.m., even with the always-on display turned off and the screen’s refresh rate set to standard. That’s enough to get through a work day, but you’ll likely want to pack a charger if you have after-work plans or a long commute home.
The Galaxy S22 has the smallest battery (3,700-mAh capacity) of the three phones in the Galaxy S22 lineup, and it shows. For example, I was pleasantly surprised when the 6.6-inch Galaxy S22 Plus, which has a larger 4,500-mAh capacity, lasted for about a day and a half when I reviewed it in February. I also had the refresh rate set to high, which typically drains battery more quickly. The Galaxy S22 Ultra, which has a 6.8-inch screen and a 5,000-mAh battery, had similar battery life.
It makes sense that the Galaxy S22 line’s smallest phone would also have the smallest battery. But I hope Samsung finds a way to improve battery life on next year’s 6.1-inch Galaxy phone, whether it’s through better power efficiency or a larger physical battery. After all, Apple made upgrades to the iPhone 13 Mini that gave it an extra two to three hours of battery life compared to the iPhone 12 Mini. Battery life is the main complaint I had about the Galaxy S22, and addressing that would make the Galaxy S23 an even more compelling choice for Android fans who prefer smaller phones.
Korean news outlet The Elec indicates that could indeed be the case, as it reports that Samsung aims to increase the Galaxy S23’s battery capacity by about 5%.
More clever camera features
The Galaxy S22’s 50-megapixel camera and the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s 108-megapixel camera capture impressively colorful and detailed photos. I only wish there was more you could do with those cameras when it comes to editing and software features.
The Galaxy S22 lineup has shooting options like panorama, night mode, portrait mode, slow motion, super slow motion and Director’s View, which lets you record video using two different lenses simultaneously. Then there’s Single Take, which creates multiple stylized shots with a single press of the shutter button. You can also download the Expert Raw app to get more granular control over photo settings.
But not much has changed between the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S22 when it comes to camera features and shooting modes. I’d love to see Samsung take a page from Google, which regularly adds nifty camera tricks that feel practical rather than gimmicky. For example, Google introduced a new feature on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro called Photo Unblur, which sharpens low-quality photos, even ones taken with an older camera. Photo Unblur builds on Face Unblur, a previous Pixel 6 and 6 Pro camera feature I also appreciate. As the name implies, Face Unblur freezes moving subjects that may otherwise look blurry.
Features like these show that Google is not just thinking about camera quality, but also ways to eliminate everyday annoyances with mobile photography. Many of Samsung’s updates, on the other hand, feel aimed at giving content creators more tools for capturing different types of shots and video clips.
While the Galaxy S23 likely won’t launch for several more weeks, Samsung is already making enhancements to the cameras on its current Galaxy phones. It added a new feature to the Expert Raw app that helps stargazers take better photos of constellations, similar to Google’s Astrophotography feature for Pixel phones. There’s also a new Camera Assistant app that lets you enable or disable certain features, like a faster shutter or automatic lens switching.
Faster charging that doesn’t cost so much
The Galaxy S22 lineup supports fast charging of up to 25 watts for the Galaxy S22 and 45 watts for the Galaxy S22 Plus and Ultra. But you have to purchase a separate charger to do so. Samsung charges $50 for the 45-watt charger and $35 for the 25-watt charger, although you can often find them for less through retailers like Amazon and Walmart. In some scenarios, I also didn’t notice much of a difference between the pricier 45-watt charger and Samsung’s less expensive 25-watt charger when powering up the Galaxy S22 Plus, which you can read more about here.
With the Galaxy S23, I’d like to see a more noticeable improvement in charging speeds, as well as more affordable charger options. The OnePlus 10 Pro, for example, offers either 65- or 80-watt fast charging depending on your region, both of which are speedier than what Samsung has to offer on paper. OnePlus also includes a compatible power adapter in the box.
Samsung and Apple stopped including power adapters in their product packaging to cut down on waste, which is an admirable cause. But I at least wish Samsung would let you choose to include a fast-charging compatible adapter as an option for a discounted price when ordering a new phone, similar to the way it lets you select a storage option or add Samsung Care Plus.
If rumors turn out to be accurate, the base Galaxy S23 model might have the same 25-watt charging speed as the Galaxy S22. That’s according to Ice Universe, a Twitter account with a history of publishing details about unreleased Samsung products.
Samsung is already doing a lot right with the Galaxy S22, particularly when it comes to software support and display quality. But as year-over-year smartphone upgrades have become more incremental than revolutionary, focusing on core elements like the camera and battery are as important as ever.
Technologies
Tesla Has a New Range of Affordable Electric Cars: How Much They Cost
The new, stripped-back versions of the Model Y and Model 3 have a more affordable starting price.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598
Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.
Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.
I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s Strands theme is: Catch all.
If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:
- BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK
Answers for today’s Strands puzzle
These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:
- TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK
Today’s Strands spangram
Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.
Quick tips for Strands
#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.
#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.
#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.
Technologies
Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Oct. 22, #1586
Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Oct. 22, No. 1,586.
Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Wordle puzzle features some letters I don’t often guess, but it’s not terribly difficult. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.
Today’s Wordle hints
Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.
Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats
Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.
Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels
Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel.
Wordle hint No. 3: First letter
Today’s Wordle answer begins with S.
Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter
Today’s Wordle answer ends with T.
Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning
Today’s Wordle answer can refer to an action displaying spectacular skill and daring.
TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER
Today’s Wordle answer is STUNT.
Yesterday’s Wordle answer
Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Oct. 21, No. 1,585 was DETOX.
Recent Wordle answers
Oct. 17, No. 1,581: GROSS
Oct. 18, No. 1,582: HAVEN
Oct. 19, No. 1,583: IDEAL
Oct. 20, No. 1,584: LIMBO
Quick tips for Wordle
#1: Check our list ranking the popularity of all the letters in the alphabet and choose your starter words accordingly. (TRAIN, STERN and AUDIO are good.)
#2: Don’t forget that letters can be used more than once.
#3: Many words are similar. You don’t want to use up multiple guesses that don’t advance your cause. So if the puzzle is STA_E, don’t guess STARE, STATE and STALE. Guess something that uses that R, T and L, like TWIRL.
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