The new Samsung Galaxy S23 range of smartphones launched recently and there are three models in the range made up of the Galaxy S23, the Galaxy S23 Plus, and the top model which is the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
The Galaxy S23 is available with 128GB or 256GB of storage, the Galaxy S23 Plus comes with 256GB or 512GB and the Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with either 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB OS storage.
But many new buyers are shocked to find that a significant chunk is already taken up. This is especially true of the Galaxy S23, which, thanks to Samsung’s version of Android, comes with 60GB of storage already filled.
That’s four times what the stock version of Android 13 consumes on the Pixel 7 phones which is just about 15GB and around double what Windows 11 takes up on a PC.
As Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S23 series last week, Ars Technica reports that 60GB is used for the system partition straight out of the box. That’s a big chunk, especially for those who purchase the handset with the least amount of storage.
The Galaxy S23, which runs on Samsung’s One UI 5.1 custom skin on top of Android 13, is packed with bloatware. Owners of the company’s handsets will be familiar with how it duplicates many Google apps, adding its own versions to a device and taking up space that usually can’t be removed. Some examples are as follows:
- Google Play Store ? Galaxy Store
- Google Chrome ? Samsung Internet
- Google Photos ? Samsung Gallery
- Google Assitant ? Samsung Bixby
- Google Gmail ? Samsung Email
- Google TV ? Samsung TV Plus
- Gboard ? Samsung Keyboard
Additionally, Samsung has a reputation for creating low-quality code, and it sells space on its devices to companies who want their apps to come pre-installed. Facebook, Netflix, LinkedIn, Microsoft Office, and others are often found already installed on Samsung handsets, and there’s usually more bloatware if you buy a phone from a carrier. Again, many of these apps can’t be uninstalled.
Although 60GB sounds bad, it could have been a lot worse if Samsung stored two copies of the OS like other phones do. Samsung is the only major manufacturer that doesn’t. But if you ever do run out of space, at least there are some cloud storage options S23 owners can rely on as there is no option for expandable storage.