This morning, Samsung held their Galaxy Unpacked event to introduce the Galaxy S22, S22+, and the new S22 Ultra. This latest Samsung S series flagship lineup boasts big batteries, excellent cameras, and fast processors. If you are a Galaxy Note fan, you’ll be relieved to find that the Note lives on in the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, which now sports a built-in S Pen. By meshing the Ultra’s large display, flagship specs, and pro-grade cameras with the Note S Pen’s siloed convenience and note-taking functionality, Samsung has created a smartphone that might just offer the best of both worlds.
Samsung is making it a point to mention that the Galaxy S22 series is their most eco-conscious device lineup yet. They are collaborating with leading organizations to recover discarded fishing nets and turn them into material used for different components in the phones. So far, this includes a critical bracket that contains 20% recycled ocean-bound plastic from those discarded fishing nets, and they are using post-consumer recycled material in the speaker module and inner parts of the power and volume keys.
As these phones are predominantly glass and aluminum on the outside, there’s probably not a lot Samsung could do to incorporate more recycled plastics, but I appreciate the effort. They’re also using 100% recycled paper for the Galaxy S22 series’ packaging, and the protective film on the phones is made from recycled plastic.
You won’t have to be afraid to use these phones by the pool, as the Galaxy S22 series all have IP68 dust and water resistance.
The S22 lineup will all have Samsung’s strongest Armor Aluminum frames, which is a first for the S series. Gorilla Glass Victus+ will cover the front and back of the phones. As I write this, Gorilla Glass Victus+ does not appear anywhere on the Corning site, nor can I find any info on Victus+ online that isn’t directly tied to a Twitter leak about it being used on these devices from a few weeks ago.
According to Drew Blackard, Samsung VP of US Mobile Product Management, Victus+ is exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy S22 series. One would assume that if Gorilla Glass Victus is twice as scratch-resistant as Gorilla Glass 6 and can survive drops of up to two meters versus Gorilla Glass 6’s 1.6 meters, then Gorilla Glass Victus+ should be even stronger. Still, without any info on it, I honestly don’t know.
Unless you’re in the UK or Europe, which will be receiving Exynos processors, the S22 series will be powered by the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform with a 4th gen Snapdragon X65 5G Modem.
I think we are finally getting to the point where we don’t have to tack 5G onto every phone’s name just so that you’ll know it’s capable, but of course, these phones will have 5G while working just fine on LTE networks. The S22 series all have Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth v5.2; the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Galaxy S22+ will have Wi-Fi 6E, and the Galaxy S22 will have Wi-Fi 6.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 series will come with Android 12 and Samsung’s One UI 4.1 overlay, and Samsung is promising to support the lineup with “up to four generations of Android OS upgrades.”
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will be on the larger side, measuring 6.5″ tall by 3″ wide by 0.35″ thick and weighing 8.1 ounces. It keeps some of the Note’s design language with sharp corners and a boxier appearance than the Galaxy S22 and S22+, which I actually prefer.
If you can handle a phone this big, you’ll get to enjoy a 6.8″ Waterfall QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a new Vision Booster algorithm that produces a peak brightness of 1,750 nits when you’re looking at it under direct sunlight.
The S22 Ultra’s display will have an adaptive refresh rate of 1 ~ 120Hz, so you’ll get the smoothest possible experience when gaming or scrolling. However, if you’re doing something a bit less intensive, like reading a book on the Kindle app, the refresh rate will slow down to conserve battery life. The S22 Ultra will have a respectable 240Hz touch sampling rate in Game Mode to provide less latency, better accuracy, and a smoother gaming experience.
You’ll be able to get the Galaxy S22 Ultra in memory configurations of 8GB RAM with 128GB storage, 12GB RAM with 256GB storage, and 12GB RAM with 512GB storage. A 12GB RAM with a 1TB storage variable will also be available, but only online and on the unlocked version. It’s available in Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, and Burgundy.
The S22 Ultra will have a 5,000mAh battery, and it will support up to 45W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging. There’s no charger included in the box, though; Samsung recommends that you buy their 45W charger, which will cost you an extra $49.99.
You’ll be able to get the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra in Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, and Burgundy; if I were buying one, that green would be a no-brainer.
Okay, so … the S Pen. Sure, Samsung allowed S Pen use with the Galaxy S21 Ultra and, more recently, with the Galaxy Z Fold3, but this is the first time — outside of the Galaxy Note devices — that they’ve included built-in storage and charging silo in a smartphone. They’re saying that the S Pen on the S22 Ultra has 70% lower latency than it did on the S21 Ultra for a more natural on-screen drawing and writing experience.
The rear camera bump on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is no more, as Samsung has moved to integrated lenses that individually protrude from the glass back. They include a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, a 108-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3X optical zoom, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 10X optical zoom. On the front, there is a 40-megapixel selfie cam.
Check out this hands-on video that Michael Josh Villanueva from GadgetMatch did for the S22 Ultra.
Pricing for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will start at $1,199.99; it will be available in carrier stores and online on February 25th. Check the end of this post for some special offers if you’re ready to pre-order.
Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22+
If you don’t need the larger display, bigger battery, extra cameras, or the S Pen experience offered by the S22 Ultra, you might want to take a look at the Samsung Galaxy S22 or S22+. Make no mistake about it; these two S22 models are flagships in their own right, but they’re a slightly less over-the-top experience than you’d get with the S22 Ultra.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 measures 5.7″ tall by 2.76″ wide by 0.3″ thick, and it weighs 5.9 ounces; the Galaxy S22+ measures 6.2″ tall by 3″ wide by 0.3″ thick, and it weighs 6.9 ounces.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22+ have flat Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays; the S22’s is 6.1″, and the S22+’s is 6.6″. You still get the adaptive 10~120Hz refresh rate and the 240Hz touch sampling rate in Game Mode, and both phones have the Vision Booster algorithm. The S22 produces a peak brightness of 1,300 nits, and the S22+ produces a peak brightness of 1750 nits when you’re looking at them under direct sunlight.
You’ll be able to get the Galaxy S22 and S22+ in memory configurations of 8GB RAM with 128GB storage or 8GB RAM with 256GB storage; they will be available in Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, and Pink Gold.
The Galaxy S22 will have a 3,700mAh battery, and it will support up to 25W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging. The S22+ will have a 4,500mAh battery, and it will support up to 45W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging. There’s no charger included with either phone, of course; Samsung recommends their $34.99 25W charger for the Galaxy S22 and their $49.99 45W charger for the Galaxy S22+.
The Galaxy S22 and S22+ have the same Contour-Cut design rear triple module that includes a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3X optical zoom. On the front, they have a 20-megapixel selfie camera.
You’ll notice that the S22 and S22+ have the same design language that the Galaxy S21 series had. I have to admit preferring the sharper edges of the S22 Ultra while also much preferring the flat display on the S22 and S22+; if Samsung were to sell the boxy Ultra with a flat display, I’d be pretty tempted.
Here’s Michael Josh again with a hands-on of the S22 and S22+. Enjoy!
Pricing for the Galaxy S22 will start at $799.99, and the Galaxy S22+ will start at $999.99; they will be available in carrier stores and online on February 25th. See below for some special offers if you’re ready to pre-order.
Special Offers Available on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Lineup
• If you pre-order from Samsung, you’ll get a $200 Samsung gift card, a free storage upgrade, and up to $700 enhanced trade-in credits. You can pre-order the Galaxy S22 Ultra here or the S22 and S22+ here.
• AT&T is offering pretty attractive deals to new and existing customers on the Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup, with $800 off the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, and Galaxy S22 Ultra when you trade in any Note, S, or Z series ph0ne from any year, in any condition. That breaks down to getting the Samsung Galaxy S22 for free, the Samsung Galaxy S22+ for $200, and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra for $400 with a qualifying installment plan. Pre-orders start today, and the phones will be available online and in stores on February 25th. If you’re interested in this deal, your best option would be to pre-order before February 24th because AT&T will double the storage on any of those devices for free!
• Best Buy is offering a $200 Best Buy gift card, a free storage upgrade, and up to $600 trade-in credits on the unlocked Galaxy S22 phones.
Accessories for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Lineup
• Otterbox: Cases and screen protectors for the Galaxy S22, S22+, and the S22 Ultra
• ZAGG: Cases and screen protectors for the Galaxy S22, S22+, and the S22 Ultra
• Incipio: Cases for the Galaxy S22 series
OK, so what are the reasons why Samsung didn’t just call the S22 Ultra a Note instead?
Samsung makes nice phones, but isn’t it to the point that even lower-end phones today are good enough at everything that it’s not worth the cost for premium ones? Even so, wait 6 months and prices will drop.
Lots of information on the phone …nice review! High dollar but some decent incentives. Very pretty phone.