02/07/2023 at 4:30 p.m. by Claus Ludewig – With the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, the Android operating system including bloatware occupies more than 60 gigabytes of memory. However, there is a way to get more storage space again.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 has been available for pre-order since the beginning of February, before delivery starts on February 17th. In addition to the Galaxy S23 and the larger Plus model, Samsung also offers the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The normal model and the Galaxy S23 Plus are delivered with at least 128 gigabytes of memory, for an additional charge there are 256 gigabytes or 512 gigabytes of mass storage. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, which costs 1,400 euros, always has at least 256 gigabytes of UFS 4.0 storage installed. According to initial user reports, the Android operating system occupies more than 60 gigabytes when delivered. The bloatware that Samsung preinstalled is to blame.
Galaxy S23: Samsung counterparts to Google apps take up storage space
According to initial reports, the amount of memory used varies. For example, with a Galaxy S23 Ultra with 512 gigabytes of storage capacity, the operating system including pre-installed apps takes up almost 69 gigabytes of storage space. With a Galaxy S23 Ultra with 256 gigabytes of memory, only 41.21 gigabytes of space are occupied, according to the Golem colleagues. A Google Pixel 7 Pro, on the other hand, only uses 16 GiByte of memory for the OS and the pre-installed apps.
Samsung’s increased storage requirements are probably due to the fact that there are pre-installed Samsung counterparts for many Google apps, such as the contacts app, the calculator, the SMS app, a dictaphone, the web browser, etc. With these Samsung apps, the Manufacturers emancipate themselves from Google. However, the obligation to pre-install Google apps if the device manufacturer wants to offer access to the Google Playstore is stipulated in the contract. There are also apps pre-installed with Facebook, Spotify, Netflix and Microsoft 365, for which Microsoft & Co. paid money to Samsung so that these apps are automatically installed on every Galaxy S23 sold. However, owners of a Samsung smartphone can remove these apps, but that involves a lot of effort. Samsung still does not use A/B updating for system updates, so the device always reboots to switch the system version when an Android update is performed. With other manufacturers, a copy of the OS used is created so that users can continue working during the update.
Also worth reading: Camera comparison Galaxy S23 Ultra versus iPhone 14 Pro Max
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Collection of bloatware on the Samsung Galaxy S23:
According to user reports, more than 60 gigabytes of memory can already be occupied in the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra when delivered. The bloatware that Samsung preinstalled and that any user can remove manually is responsible for the high memory usage. For example, there are two pre-installed web browsers. After all, every device manufacturer commits to installing numerous Google apps if you want to have access to the Play Store. However, since Samsung wants to emancipate itself from Google, there are numerous Samsung apps with the same functions as the Google apps. Apps such as Microsoft 365, Netflix, Facebook, etc. also populate every Galaxy S23. Samsung received money for this pre-installation.
Sources: Golem, Twitter