Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra features a familiar design and built-in S Pen
Just don’t call it the Note 22, okay?
On Wednesday, Samsung finally took the wrapping off the industry's worst-kept secret and announced the S22 Ultra at its first Unpacked of 2022. And in all but name, it’s the successor to the Note 20. Compared to its S22 siblings, it features a flat design that comes complete with built-in storage for Samsung’s S Pen stylus. And of the three phones the company announced today, the S22 Ultra is the only one that includes that feature.
Outside of that and a design that will be nostalgic for some, the primary reason to buy the S22 Ultra over its more affordable counterparts is the fact the phone comes with a 108-megapixel camera with an f/1.8 aperture lens. Like its predecessor, the S21 Ultra, the company's latest flagship features a 2.4um main sensor, making it the best of Samsung's phones at capturing photos in low light. The phone also includes a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera and two 10-megapixel telephoto cameras that come with the company's 100x Space Zoom feature.
Internally, the S22 Ultra features a 4-nanometer system-on-a-chip. If the past is any indication, the North American version of the phone will ship with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, while in Europe and other parts of the world it will come with Samsung’s own Exynos 2200. In addition to being faster and more efficient than their predecessors, both chips support the latest connectivity standards, including WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. The S22 Ultra features a 6.8-inch adaptive AMOLED display with a QHD+ resolution, dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, a 240Hz touch sampling rate and a built-in fingerprint sensor. It also covers the full DCI-P3 color gamut and can reach a peak brightness of 1,750 nits.
Powering everything is a 5,000mAh battery Samsung claims can go a full day on a single charge. With 45W fast charging supported, the company notes you can record a 50-minute video after just 10 minutes at the outlet. However, you’ll need to buy the adapter separately as it doesn’t come supplied in the box.
The phone will ship with Android 12 and One UI 4.1 out of the box. Building on the software policy it announced in 2020, Samsung said it would support the S22 Ultra with up to “four generations of Android OS upgrades.” Previously, the company only offered up to three full years of platform updates on its flagship phones. Samsung said it would scale that effort across its product lineup. In the immediate future, that means the rest of the S22 line and entire S21 series, as well as the Z Fold 3, Z Flip 3 and the newly announced Tab S8 series, will get similar support.
Samsung will release the Galaxy S22 Ultra on February 25th. Pre-orders for the device open today with pricing beginning at $1,200 for the base model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Samsung will also offer variants of the S22 Ultra with 12GB of memory and up to 1TB of space. Should you decide to pre-order the phone, you can upgrade to a higher storage tier, and Samsung will provide you with a $200 credit you can use toward the purchase of a Galaxy Watch 4 or Freestyle projector. You’ll also get 25 percent off any Galaxy Tab S8 device.
Catch up on all of the news from Samsung’s February Unpacked event right here!
