Samsung is relaunching its Galaxy S series with three new high-end smartphones. The S22 Ultra marks the end of the Galaxy Note.
Once again three: Since For some time now, the Galaxy S series has consisted of three smartphones, and the Koreans are keeping that this year as well. The Galaxy S22, S22+ and S22 Ultra form the current triumvirate. With the Ultra, Samsung is apparently retiring the Galaxy Note series.
Although the predecessor Galaxy S21 Ultra could already handle an S Pen, the successor integrates the pen known from the Galaxy Note much more consistently. As with the Note smartphones, the S Pen disappears into the housing of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, where it is also supplied with power for the built-in battery via induction. The pen functions of the S Pen, which transmits its signals via a Wacom digitizer, are largely identical to those of the Note smartphones, so there should hardly be a real need for Samsung’s second flagship series.
The fact that the Galaxy S22 Ultra is a bit different from the S22 and the S22+ is already clear from the design – aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and back, waterproof and dustproof according to IP68. Visually, the Ultra has nothing in common with its brothers. Instead of the camera hump of the two sister models, the S22 Ultra integrates its four rear cameras individually into the back. In addition to a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle and two telephoto lenses (triple and tenfold magnification, each with 10 megapixels), the main camera in particular promises a lot. The new 108-megapixel sensor should not only display a particularly large number of details, but also capture a lot of light despite the tiny pixels by combining several pixels. To ensure that you end up with exactly what you want, Samsung relies on a lot of software and AI, for example to adapt the frame rate to the frequency of artificial light, the automatic focusing of up to ten people or the detection of object boundaries for cropping. If you like to lend a hand and edit photos yourself, you can download the new Expert RAW app. The front camera has a 40-megapixel sensor.
New processor and lots of memory
So that the software works fast enough, the Exynos 2200 is a mobile processor on board for the first time at Samsung, which is manufactured with a structure width of 4 nanometers and is equipped with a Radeon GPU from AMD brings an industry first. According to the manufacturer, the AI unit is twice as fast as that in the predecessor Exynos 2100. Depending on the model, the octa-core chip can access 8 or 12 GB of RAM. The internal and non-expandable memory is 128, 256 or 512 GB, the top model, which is only available in Samsung’s online shop, even has 1 TB of flash memory. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with Android 12 and Samsung’s current One UI 4 interface. Samsung has a particularly secure area for sensitive data in the form of the Knox Vault and its sandbox.
Samsung Galaxy S22, S22+ and S22 Ultra (21 images)
Samsung Galaxy S22 01
Of course, all this fine technology has its price, and it is steep. Even the smallest memory variant with 8/128 GB tears a 1250 euro hole in the wallet. For 12/256 GB Samsung demands 1350 euros, for 12/512 GB a hundred more is due. If you need 12 GB of RAM and 1 TB of internal memory, you have to shell out a whopping 1650 euros. There’s not much missing from the most expensive Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max for 1830 euros, which has an equally large memory.
Galaxy S22 and S22+ for the masses
Who doesn’t quite like it If you want something expensive, big and heavy, take the Galaxy S22 or S22+ from Samsung. The design of the two smartphones has only slightly evolved from the predecessors, but they forgo cheap plastic covers in favor of high-quality Gorilla Glass Victus. With a 6.1-inch display and a weight of 168 grams, the S22 is pleasantly compact and light, the S22+ marks the golden middle of the S22 series with 6.6 inches and just under 200 grams.Both OLED screens have a resolution of FHD+ and support refresh rates between 10 and 120 Hz. All three S22 models have an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor underneath the display.
Samsung is also building the in Europe in the two cheaper flagships Exynos 2200, only in the USA does the entire Galaxy S22 series have Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The storage options are 8/128 and 8/256 GB, the S Pen is not supported. The two smartphones also have drawbacks compared to the S22 Ultra when it comes to the cameras: the tenfold telephoto fell victim to the red pencil, the main camera only has a 50 megapixel sensor and the selfie camera leaves it at 10 megapixels. While the Galaxy S22+ has the same charging speeds as the Ultra, Samsung leaves the S22 at 25 watts per cable. The smallest Galaxy S22 has to make do with a battery capacity of 3700 mAh, the Galaxy S22+ has 4500 mAh.
Galaxy S22 in three variants: Samsung’s new S-class . The Galaxy S22 + costs 1049 euros for 8/128 GB and 1099 euros for the variant with 8/256 GB. All three new Galaxy smartphones will be available in stores in February.
