The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is currently the best smartphone on the market. It is also the best photo smartphone of the year – with a high degree of probability, we can assume that no one will surpass it. It’s also a better choice for Android fans than the Pixel 6 Pro. Samsung has officially announced support that lasts no less than Google ‘s, including 4 new versions of Android and 5 years of security patches.You can appreciate last year’s S21 Ultra’s ultra-fast update to Android 12, with fewer bugs than the new Pixels since launch. For dessert, there is the fact that some features appearing on Google products are temporarily exclusive to Samsung, such as the latest Wear OS for the Samsung Glaxy Watch 4.
galaxy s22 ultra review
At the same time, the smartphone is not for everyone, both because of the high price and because of the large size. Even despite the fact that it is “the best”, it will be difficult for an ordinary user to justify spending 135 thousand rubles on a phone . It’s like a luxury Mercedes S-Class – it’s more comfortable, it’s more luxurious, it’s also a status symbol, but it won’t get you to your destination faster than a car that costs a quarter of its price. But who wouldn’t want to drive a Mercedes?
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra design
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the first model to combine two different product lines – S and Note – in one device. Now the user has an easier choice when they want to buy the best smartphone from the stable of the Korean manufacturer, because there is only one. And this can be seen from the design, because the S22 Ultra is clearly different in appearance from the other two models, i.е. S22 and S22+. There is no camera island here, only separate lenses, the shape is much more rectangular, with almost non-rounded corners and flat top and bottom edges. As before in the Note series, there is a place for the S Pen stylus on the bottom edge of the case, and the stylus itself is included. We can say that the Note got the cameras and the name of the S line rather than vice versa.
The S22 Ultra is the same size and weight as its predecessor, the S21 Ultra. It’s good that these parameters have not increased, because the S22 Ultra is close to the limit of practical sizes – 229 grams, combined with a rectangular shape, means that even simple one-handed actions require a lot of movement.
The S22 Ultra has an ultrasonic and very fast under-display fingerprint reader, high quality stereo speakers and an IP68 sealed housing . Both the front and back of the device are covered in Gorilla Glass Victus+ and the frame is made of Armor aluminum. I really like the frosted glass on the back of the case and the available colors, especially matte black and bottle green. While I like the look of the camera island more in the other two S22s, I have nothing to complain about with the S22 Ultra other than having to accept size and weight.
Display Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Samsung has the best displays on the market. Unsurprisingly, the top model in Samsung’s offering is second to none in this regard. Compared to its predecessor, the S22 Ultra still has a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and QHD+ resolution. What has changed is peak brightness, which now hits 1,750 nits, and an extended adaptive refresh range that can drop from 120Hz to 1Hz rather than the 10Hz it used to. A lower refresh rate will save more battery when there is no animation on the screen.
While FHD+ is the default, there are no restrictions on combinations of higher QHD resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. There is nothing to write about colors and viewing angles, the screen makes a phenomenal impression. The lack of rounding at the corners gives the user a larger usable display area, and 6.8 gives the impression of a larger diagonal than, for example, the S21 Ultra . Some will not like that the screen is not completely flat, as in the S22, but has slightly curved edges.
Specifications and operating system Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra in Europe has been getting Samsung’s Exynos processor for years instead of Snapdragon, this year the octa-core Exynos 2200 clocked at 1 x 2.8GHz + 3 x 2.50GHz + 4 x 1.8GHz.
In my opinion, this is a misunderstanding that the flagship smartphone for almost 100 thousand rubles is offered in an 8/128 GB configuration. Especially since last year’s S21 Ultra had 12GB of RAM from the cheapest version , and there was also a 16GB RAM option. In addition, you must take into account that the memory cannot be expanded using a micro SD card. 12/256 GB should be the base option, in this version the smartphone came to me for testing.Comparative results:
Antutu 9-970630
Geekbench 5 – 1170/3763
Androbench Sequential Read/Write – 1921/1293 MB/s
PCMark Work 3.0 – 13786
PCMark Storage 2.0 – 3164
3Dmark Wild Life – 7549
3Dmark Wild Life Extreme – 2062
In short, we can say that the increase in computing power is visible in benchmarks, but there is no breakthrough in relation to, for example, Snapdragon 888. I didn’t get a chance to compare the test unit to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 powered version of the S22 Ultra, but I’m currently testing two smartphones that haven’t had an official premiere yet and have exactly this processor. The S22 Ultra is 10% more efficient in PCMark Work 3.0 than either one, 4% more efficient in Antutu, but 27% less efficient in the 3Dmark Wild Life test. From the second – 12% slower in PCMark Work 3.0, 2% faster in Antutu and a whopping 31% slower in 3Dmark Wild Life. Both of these phones will be cheaper than the S22 Ultra.
The conclusion is that you are not buying S22 Ultra for performance, because the top processor is available in phones for only 40-50 thousand rubles. Where this processor is placed makes a difference in terms of use and price. The S22 Ultra comes in second in the Antutu ranking along with both of the phones mentioned above. This is one of the fastest phones, but over time this group will become more and more numerous and it will be more and more difficult to stand out against this background. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is more capable in graphics testing, although an update that takes full advantage of the graphics capabilities of the new Exynos processor co-developed with AMD is yet to come. Whether this will change in terms of performance, we’ll see.
S22 Ultra has a set of the latest connectivity standards including: 5G, LTE Cat20 2000/200 Mbps, WiFi ax 6e, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC and USB C with 3.2 controller . Localization is carried out using GPS, GLONASS, BDS and GALILEO systems . The set of sensors includes: accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, light sensor, digital compass and barometer .
S22 Ultra will debut in the market with Android 12, One UI 4.1 overlay and Android security update from January 1, 2022. One UI 4.1 is, in my opinion, the most successful system overlay in the Android world . It is also the Samsung ecosystem that allows you to receive calls and SMS on other devices, continue to work in applications on other devices, or Samsung DEX, which mimics the Windows desktop layout on an external screen. Most importantly, however, is the support for updates announced by the manufacturer at the launch of the S22 Ultra – 4 years of system updates to a newer version and 5 years of security updates are now the highest standard in the industry.In this regard, Samsung is significantly ahead of two manufacturers, respectively, by 2 and 3 years, which are especially fond of showing off long-term support – Motorola and Nokia.
The biggest novelty for the S series is the S Pen stylus with the integration of its capabilities into the system. The functions of the S Pen are no different from what we knew before – handwritten notes and sketches, signing documents, handwriting recognition, smart selection with text extraction, translation of specified words, remote control of smartphone functions using gestures, remote shutter release, etc. e. recording delay and the appearance of a stripe on the screen from 9 to 2.8 milliseconds. Now even fast movements seem without delay, like a pencil on paper . However, if someone doesn’t plan on using the S Pen, you shouldn’t feel offended. The integration of the stylus in the S22 Ultra did not increase the size or reduce the battery compared to the S21 Ultra, which did not have a stylus.
As it turns out, the Exynos version of the S22 Ultra has a specific bug that only shows up when we use the standard animated wallpaper on the lock screen, set the screen resolution to max and switch colors from bright to neutral, and then unlock the screen with a fingerprint – then for a fraction of a second. stripes and artifacts appear on the screen. For me, the effect is super short, not like some of the videos on the net where the whole screen flashes for more than a second. Hopefully the update will fix this glitch.
Cameras photo, video Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra currently has the most extensive camera system on the market. In terms of hardware, not much has changed since the days of the S21 Ultra, but not a single large smartphone has appeared on the market that would offer two telephoto lenses, or even just one, but just like in Samsung with 10x optical zoom. So, we have 4 cameras on the back of the case and a fifth for selfies:
108 MP, f/1.8, 23mm PDAF, Laser AF, OIS – main camera
10 MP, f/4.9, 230mm dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom
10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom
12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, autofocus – ultra wide angle
40 MP, f/2.2, 26mm, PDAF – front selfie camera
All 5 cameras are in focus, as well as the ultra-wide-angle camera and the selfie camera. As many as 3 cameras on the back have optical stabilization . The user has the ability to manually switch between optical zoom, i.e. lossless – x0.6 – x1 – x3 – x10, but sometimes the phone selects the camera automatically for best results. When we get close enough to the subject that the macro mode is activated, it means that the S22 Ultra has switched to the wide-angle camera. Sometimes in low light, x3 magnification is realized as a frame from the main camera.
Although the hardware cameras are similar to those of the S21 Ultra, Samsung has greatly improved the algorithms and image processing. There is an improvement in night shots, and for the first time, digital photos don’t hit the eyes with digital artifacts . For years, manufacturers have been talking about various “hybrid zooms” and “lossless digital zooms” that have always turned out to be just marketing. In contrast, photos taken with the S22 Ultra’s 30x digital zoom are qualitatively almost indistinguishable from those taken with the 10x optical zoom.
With S22 Ultra, you can take a picture of a distant sign, which even with the naked eye does not show that there is text on it, and it is easy to read it on a smartphone, as if we were taking a photo while standing next to it. This is impressive, and no other smartphone on the market delivers this to such an extent. The closest would be last year’s Samsung S21 Ultra, but there is a clear improvement in quality in favor of the S22 Ultra.
I have to commend Samsung for the fact that the colors of all the cameras are very similar. You can also easily switch between cameras while shooting, including in 4K resolution. The quality of the video is also at a very high level – the recordings are detailed, the recorded sound is of high quality, and the available magnification is in the range from x0.6 to x20. The stabilization is extremely effective, this time even when recording 8K video, which previously ruled out any stabilization.
In Pro mode, you can use all 4 cameras and all their settings. The camera of the Samsung S22 Ultra comes across as extremely polished. I found only one problem here, when when photographing a sheet of paper, Samsung will offer to scan, i.e. crop and straighten a photo a moment after taking it, the phone thinks longer than it should.
Autonomy Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is equipped with a 5000mAh battery, supports 15W wireless charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. The phone supports chargers up to 45W, but there is no charger in the box , only the USB cable itself. I am not in favor of not adding chargers to phones. They use different fast charging standards and the ones that are usually included are the best. Also, there are never too many USB chargers nowadays – I never threw them away, but bought extra ones.
During a YouTube video streaming test with the screen brightness set to half, the smartphone was half dead in less than 10 hours. A full drain would then mean 20 hours of viewing time – an excellent result and probably due to adaptive screen refresh, which should be reduced to the frame rate of the video being watched.
Higher CPU usage and higher refresh rates while gaming or browsing the web will cut that down, but I’ve never been able to run the S22 Ultra through the day, or even come close to it. In the PCMark Work 3.0 battery test, which also puts the phone under heavy load, the S22 Ultra lasted over 12 hours with the screen on.
While battery life is impeccable, Samsung can’t match its Chinese rivals when it comes to charging speeds . We are talking about a maximum power of 45W, although there are also phones with chargers with a power of more than 67W, but also the charging time. I tested the phone with a Samsung 25W charger and it took about half an hour to charge half and 75 minutes to fully charge. Redmi Note 11 charges 15 minutes faster with the included charger. We haven’t been able to test the 45W charging, but the information available online shows that it’s not much faster.
Final Score
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra lives up to its name. It’s unrivaled in most aspects – it’s got the best display, the most versatile camera with the longest zoom, and it’s also exceptionally good in terms of quality. It also has the best stylus on the market and the manufacturer has made the decision to offer the longest support on the market. It’s actually easier to say not the best, because it’s limited by two things – not very fast battery charging, and not necessarily the fastest processor in the Exynos 2200 version, and 8 GB of RAM in the cheapest version , with the charging duration separating Samsung from the competition. more than specification.
We will find cheaper phones that we can charge faster than the S22 Ultra and at that price they will have a charger included. As for processor speed, it is at the forefront, no matter how many smartphones end up with better results in benchmarks, so here it is more than honorable than it is possible to realize in everyday use. In addition to these aspects, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra offers all the best that modern smartphones have to offer.
However, we should not forget that the best costs more, and the added features do not proportionally reflect the increase in price. After the price cut, the Samsung S21 FE can now be bought much cheaper. Nearly half the price of the S22 Ultra for a phone that offers three-quarters of the features of the Ultra, including an advertised 4 years of Android updates and 5 years of security updates , no more than 15% less performance, and very good cameras, albeit with less zoom. Therefore, if we want the absolute best, we must pay dearly.