Review of Samsung Galaxy S22
Sensible smartphones from Samsung for 2022
You're not mistaken if you think the Galaxy S22 Ultra is a lot of a lot. If you're looking for a more sensible, pared-back smartphone, the Galaxy S22 or S22 Plus, two nearly identically specced phones with all the power of their larger, more expensive sibling but less excess may pique your interest.
The Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus maintain the same features that made the Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus such good buys: slim bodies, Samsung's latest and greatest interface experiences, and, most importantly, lower price tags. Samsung has updated the line for 2022 with improved cameras, updated PC integration, and new designs made from more high-quality materials.
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| Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus |
But if you already own an S20 or S21, are Samsung's new flagships See or S22 Plus worth upgrading to, and should you consider the S22 Plus when the Ultra is only a few hundred pounds more?
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| S22 vs S22 Plus vs S22 Ultra |
Design and screen: Sleek, slender, and stylish
While the S22 Ultra appears to be a successor to the Note 20 Ultra, the S22 and S22 Plus build on the design language of last year's S21 and S21 Plus. They both have simple, clean, smartphone-by-numbers designs, with the Plus being nothing more than a blown-up version of the vanilla S22.
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| Design and screen: Sleek, slender, and stylish |
The entire S22 series features Gorilla Glass Victus Plus, a version of tempered glass that is exclusive to Samsung, along with an Armour Aluminium frame and IP68 water and dust resistance.
These elements should make the phones durable, while the color options add softness and style to the mix. Samsung strikes a good balance of classic and fun colors in Green, Phantom Black, Phantom White, and Pink Gold, with all four looking and feeling rich in the hand.
Samsung has redesigned more than just its phones. When compared to the S21 series, the packaging of the S22 series has shrunk by nearly 20%. The plastics in the phones are also ocean plastics, and the box contents, aside from device and connection components, contain no plastic at all.
The S22 has a 6.1-inch screen, while the S22 Plus has a 6.6-inch screen. Other than that, they're both Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays with a refresh rate of 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. That means they'll be punchy with a great picture, smooth to look at, and touch-sensitive.
The entire S22 line also includes Vision Booster, which brightens certain areas of the screen but not others for power-efficient, effective picture enhancement in bright environments.
Performance: Ample everything
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| Performance |
On top of Android 12, the S22 and S22 Plus come with Samsung's new One UI 4. That means great app support, top-tier security features, and a plethora of customization options.
Windows Connect, a clever new feature for the series, allows you to use your phone from your PC via an on-screen virtual window. Samsung outperforms Huawei by making the feature available on all Windows devices, not just its own branded laptops. However, there is currently no word on macOS compatibility.
In most regions, the S22 and S22 Plus, like the S22 Ultra, are powered by a 4nm Exynos 2200 processor, while in China and the US, the smartphones are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. With 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage, even power users should have sufficient space, so the lack of an SD card slot shouldn't be a problem.
The S22 has a 3700mAh battery with up to 25W wired charging, while the S22 Plus has a 4500mAh battery with up to 45W wired charging. Both phones support 15W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging, allowing you to charge your watch or a friend's phone without a cable.
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| Performance: Ample everything |
Camera: Improved, but not the best
In comparison to the S22 Ultra, the cameras on the S22 and S22 Plus are more basic. There are no 108MP main sensors or 10x zoom lenses. Instead, the primary camera is a 50MP wide-angle lens with an f/1.8 aperture and OIS. The ultra-wide camera on the phone is 12MP with an f/2.2 aperture, and the telephoto camera is 10MP with an f/2.2 aperture.
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| Camera |
With more pixels and optical zoom than the Galaxy S21 series, we're hopeful that the camera system will improve year after year; however, it's unclear how many of the S22 Ultra's features have made it to the S22 and S22 Plus. These include improved night video thanks to the imaging NPU on the S22 Ultra, as well as Auto Framing, which turns the phone into a subject-tracking camera person.
Early conclusion
The S22 and S22 Plus should be consistently excellent phones thanks to their high-end design, fantastic screens, and quick internals. Time will tell how effective their new camera system is and whether the phones can compete with other top devices like the iPhone 13 Pro and Pixel 6 or the 108MP behemoth S22 Ultra.
All three of Samsung's S22 smartphones have received overwhelmingly positive initial reviews, but the S22 is poised to be the slim phone enthusiast's top pick at just 168g and 7.6mm thick. With its larger screen and less than $1,000 price, the S22 Plus competes with the OnePlus 9 Pro, while the S22 Ultra, which you can learn more about in our S22 Ultra hands-on, offers S Pen input, even bigger visuals, and an advanced camera setup.
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