The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the best phone on the market, but it commands a price so high that most people will probably wait to upgrade.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Brand: Samsung
- Storage: 128, 256, 512, 1024 GB
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
- Memory: 8,12 GB
- Operating System: Android 12 with One UI 4.1
- Battery: 5,000mAh, max 45W charging, 15W wireless
- Display (Size, Resolution): 6.8-inch 1440 x 3088 OLED @ 120Hz
- Camera (Front): 40MP f/2.2, 26mm
- Cameras (Rear): 108 MP f/1.8 primary, 12 MP f/2.2 ultrawide, 10 MP f/2.4 3x telephoto, 10 MP f/4.9 10x telephoto,
- Price: Starting at $1,199
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e; Bluetooth 5.2; 5G mmWave and sub6
- Dimensions: 163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9 mm, 229 g
PROS
- Industry-leading display quality
- Integrated S Pen stylus
- Ultra-long update support
- Powerful camera array
- Fantastic build quality
CONS
- It’s a gigantic phone that almost demands two hands
- High $1,200+ price tag
- Doesn’t come with a charger (but they give you a $250 credit to buy one)
Introduction
The Galaxy S22 is the reincarnation of Samsung’s popular Galaxy Note handsets. With the Galaxy Note series being discontinued, Samsung designed the Galaxy S22 Ultra to effectively become a new Note phablet.
It’s the top-of-the-line model in Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series. As fans would expect, this is the most feature-packed and high-tech model in the 2022 flagship lineup. A lot of great features and functionality are on offer.
Design
Samsung has redesigned its Ultra model to look like a Galaxy Note, you get the resemblance immediately. The Galaxy S22 Ultra has a metal and glass build with a luxurious haze finish for an elegant look and feel. The camera lenses are seamlessly integrated with the glass back. The overall design is streamlined with the signature Galaxy Note sharp angles.
Please excuse my laziness, I was excited to use this phone and took some pictures with a lower end cell phone. I left my good camera at home 🙂
All of the physical buttons are located on the right side of the frame. On the bottom, you’ll find the USB-C port and the speakers. This is also the first Galaxy S smartphone with a built-in S Pen. The stylus can be stored within the device itself.
Specifications
The Exynos 2200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 are the 4nm chipsets that power the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Chipset availability varies by market. It’s paired with 8 and 12GB of RAM. Samsung is offering internal storage options ranging from 128GB all the way up to 1TB. There is no microSD card slot.
The Exynos 2200 chipset comes with an AMD GPU. This is the first mobile GPU based on Samsung’s collaboration with AMD.
The handset is powered by a 5,000mAh battery with support for up to 45W wired and 15W wireless charging. Wireless PowerShare is also supported. A charger doesn’t ship with the handset in the box.
Display
The Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 6.8-inch QHD+ resolution Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It has a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate that can go all the way down to 1Hz to save battery life. In Game Mode, the display has a 240Hz touch sampling rate. Samsung has also introduced Vision Booster technology to further improve the high resolution display’s quality.
Since the Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with the S Pen, the display is obviously capable of working with the stylus that ships with the device itself. Gorilla Glass protection ensures that the front panel remains safe from bumps and drops.
Camera
The camera setup on the Galaxy S22 Ultra feature a 108-megapixel wide-angle f/1.8 camera in addition to a 12-megapixel ultra-wide f/2.2 camera. There’s also a 10-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and a second 10-megapixel f/4.9 telephoto camera with 10x optical zoom.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra supports 100x Space Zoom with AI Super Resolution technology. There’s a 40-megapixel front camera for selfies. Samsung has made significant improvements to the low-light camera performance on this device.
Software and Features
Android 12 comes pre-installed on the Galaxy S22 Ultra out of the box. Samsung has confirmed that the handset is supported for four years of Android OS upgrades. This means that the Galaxy S22 Ultra is supported up until Android 16.
In addition to four years of One UI and Android OS upgrades, the handset will also get five years of security updates.
Available and Price
Prices for the Galaxy S22 Ultra start at $1,199 with the handset hitting shelves on February 25, 2022 (I got mine on February 23rd). Color options include Phantom Black and White, Burgundy and Green. The Sky Blue, Graphite and Red colors are offered exclusively through Samsung.com.
If you order through the Samsung App on your phone, you get an additional 8% cash back, a $250 credit towards other Samsung devices and accessories AND they double your memory for free! I picked up the Galaxy Buds Pro, the 45w Super Fast 2.0 Charger and the white leather case.
