With a large frame, powerful technology, extended battery life, and, of course, a built-in S Pen pen, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (beginning at $1,199.99) has all the trademark attributes of the Note family. The new model outperforms the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra from last year, as well as the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (although somewhat), and is a good pick for anyone looking for the most phone imaginable. However, among the three Galaxy S22 versions, we prefer the S22+ since it offers much of the same capabilities as the Ultra at a lesser price and in a more manageable size.
In this article, we’ll discuss the features of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Features
1. The S pen
The S Pen is a one-of-a-kind feature. Artists, for example, adore it. While add-on styli are available for other devices, the S Pen is built right into the body of the S22 Ultra, making it far more difficult to misplace and always ready to use. The integrated stylus, on the other hand, is a significant reason why the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is bigger than the S21 Ultra. If you don’t utilize it, the added bulk might be tough to ignore.
The new S Pen is the same size and form as the S Pen that came with the Note 20. It has a pointed, flexible tip and is flat on the sides with a single button in the center. However, the body material is different—the S Pen on the Note 20 Ultra was firm and polished, whereas this one is matte and squishy.
The latency of the S Pen has been lowered from 9ms on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra to 2.8ms on this model, according to Samsung. I was doubtful at first that I would notice a change, but the stylus on the S22 Ultra feels more responsive. Samsung claims to utilize an AI system to forecast where you’ll write before you do, so instead of following your pen like the Note 20, the S22 Ultra’s ink nearly before it.
2. Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has the same image capabilities as the previous year’s model. That’s a 12MP ultra-wide camera on the front, a 108MP primary camera that usually produces 12MP photographs with nine-pixel binning on the rear, a 10MP 3x zoom, and a 10MP 10x zoom on the front. There’s also a 40MP front-facing camera with four-pixel binning that typically captures 10MP photographs.
The phone’s primary camera can take up to 8K video while the front camera can shoot 4K video. Samsung claims to have enhanced low-light image capabilities to the point where the experience is now referred to as “nightography.” That, in my opinion, vastly exaggerates the situation. In low light, the S22 outperforms the S21, but not by much.
3. Performance
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU from Qualcomm doesn’t offer a significant performance boost over the Snapdragon 888 processor from last year. In comparison to last year’s model, our benchmarks reveal a 9 percent to 13 percent increase in CPU performance and a 20% increase in GPU performance. That’s a noticeable improvement, but aside from improved S Pen performance (which I detail further below), the phone doesn’t feel much more alive than the S21 or the Note 20 Ultra.
In a handful of benchmark tests, it also lags below the iPhone 13 series. It’s possible that performance is being hampered by thermal concerns. Under heavy use, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra throttled faster and harder than the S21 Ultra, which helps to explain the minor difference between the two. However, in demanding games like Genshin Impact, I didn’t notice any frame drops, and the phone is noticeably more powerful than a Galaxy S9 or S10 model.
4. Battery Life
The large 5,000mAh cell provides excellent battery life. With the screen at 100% brightness, I achieved 12 hours and 14 minutes on a video rundown test. The phone lasted 13 hours and 35 minutes at 75 percent brightness, which is an hour longer than the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Galaxy Note S20 Ultra. The Galaxy S22+ is likewise an hour and a half ahead of it. Again, I believe the screen refresh rate is at least somewhat to blame for this benefit.
5. Operating System
While the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is an Android 12 phone – and one of the greatest Android phones – it also runs Samsung’s newest Android interface software, One UI 4.1.
This Android overlay, like most others, isn’t primarily intended to impose a bespoke design aesthetic on top of pure Android; rather, it duplicates some utilities, such as the web browser and photos apps, and adds a slew of smart software touches and useful tools, such as Samsung’s new Wallet, that should improve the Android experience.
