Samsung‘s flagship offering for 2022 is off to a bright start with the launch of the Galaxy S22 series comprising the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Pro, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra. No doubt, the top-end Galaxy S22 Ultra is the star of the pack as it comes with several impressive features including some that are appearing on the Galaxy S series for the first time.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is not only a successor to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, it is also the successor of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra that was released in 2020 but never got a successor to date. The main highlight of the Galaxy S22 Ultra is the presence of an S Pen stylus, a device that is common with the Galaxy Note series.
In terms of the design, the Galaxy S22 Ultra adopts a similar design to the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra whereby the front is flattened alongside the top and bottom while the sides are curved. Samsung even included a Burgundy color variant which looks similar to the Note 20’s Mystic Bronze color option.
The premium flagship phone utilizes an aluminum frame as well as the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ covering at the front and rear aspects. By the way, this is the first time the Gorilla Glass Victus+ is finding its way into a smartphone, corroborating an earlier rumor that Samsung will be the first to use the new glass protection. The phone also comes with IP68 water and dust resistance rating and this includes the S Pen.
Another aspect where the Galaxy S22 Ultra is expected to shine is the camera segment. The camera design ditches the large camera island which we have seen in its predecessor instead, opting for a plain design while retaining the array of sensors on the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
The camera configuration includes a 108MP F/1.8 main camera just like on the Galaxy S21 Ultra teaming up with a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera, 10MP F/2.4 3x, and 10MP F/4.9 10x periscope lenses. At the front, there is a 40MP F/2.2 selfie camera. The main improvement in the camera segment is the introduction of AI enhancement deploying the updated NPU to improve photo and video quality in low light and also to add other camera features.
Some of the new features include Auto Framing that allows the ultrawide camera to adjust the shot to fit the number of people in the frame. The camera also expands to accommodate more people if others join in. There is also an option of manually zooming in or tracking just one person in the group and the shot’s frame will be adjusted. There is also an improved portrait mode effect, including a night portrait mode that kicks in automatically while shooting in low light.
As for the S Pen, it comes with an impressive latency of 2.8ms which makes it highly responsive. It also integrates AI-based coordinate prediction technology. The phone also features support for handwriting to text features, upgraded to support 88 languages.
In terms of the display, the Galaxy S22 Ultra packs a 6.8-inch AMOLED 2X panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a QHD+ resolution of 3088×1440 pixels. The display also comes with a 240Hz touch sampling rate, 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage, and 1,750 nits of peak brightness. There is also an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor embedded under the screen.
Providing the juice is the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset while some regions will get the new Exynos 2200 SoC from Samsung on their models. The processor pairs with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage on the base model while there is a 12GB RAM variant with either 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage options.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra will run the latest One UI 4.1 based on Android 12 OS. The device will be powered by a 5000mAh battery with support for up to 45W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S22 ULTRA COLOURS
The S22 Ultra will come in Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, and Burgundy. It will retail in Europe for €1,250 for the 8GB+128GB version while the 12GB+256GB version is priced at €1,350. The 12GB+512GB and 12GB+1TB versions will sell for €1,450 and €1,650 respectively. The device will go on sale from February 25 but is now up for pre-orders. Samsung will also be exclusively selling additional Graphite, Red, and Sky Blue color options on Samsung.com.
