Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

amazon Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra reviews

Before folding phones, Samsung always maintained two high-end phone lines: Galaxy Note and Galaxy S, one line out at the beginning of the year and one line out at the end of the year. The emergence of folding phones forced the company to consider keeping only the S or Note series if it did not want to have too many high-end phones jostling each other.

After a year of not releasing a new Note line, it seems that Samsung has eliminated this phone line. But no, the Galaxy Note has returned after 2 years with the shape and full of featured features, only under the new name of Galaxy S22 Ultra. Putting the Note in the same Galaxy S series helps Samsung retain both of these product lines.

Design: still the familiar Galaxy Note

From the front, it’s hard to tell the difference between the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Note 20 Ultra. The overall design of this phone is similar to its predecessor Note generation. The main difference lies in the camera cluster on the back. The cameras of the S22 Ultra are placed individually on the back, not in the usual “induction cooker”. I find this camera arrangement looks less heavy, especially when the device has up to 4 rear cameras and a laser focus sensor placed in the lens like a camera.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra has the same thickness and weight as the S21 Ultra, 8.9mm and 228g. However, holding it with one hand is no problem thanks to the rounded edges, not as clumsy and tight as the Apple iPhone 13 Pro with its square edge design.

The build quality is really good. On the product I experienced, no gaps were appearing along the contact lines between the metal frame and the back or screen. Different materials have different shrinkage. If the processing quality is not good, the contact lines between different materials such as glass and metal on the phone are easy to appear gaps.

In terms of materials, both the front and back of the Galaxy S22 Ultra are Corning Gorilla Glass Victus +. The aluminum frame is called Armor Aluminum by Samsung. This is the type of alloy used on Fold3 and Flip3 folding phones, which Samsung advertises as the most rugged on today’s phones. The back surface of the S22 Ultra is lightly roughened, limiting fingerprints.

As a real Note, of course, the S22 Ultra also has an S Pen slot. This slot is designed to be waterproof from the inside like previous Note generations. The phone itself is also IP68 certified and can be submerged in water to a depth of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. Galaxy S22 Ultra was introduced with 7 different colors.

Screen: high brightness, comfortable outdoor use

All three Galaxy S22 series devices use AMOLED screens and have a 120Hz refresh rate, especially the S22+ and Ultra have a high peak of 1750 nits. However, only the Ultra version uses an LTPO screen that allows the screen to change the refresh rate based on the content, helping to save more battery.

According to Samsung, the scanning frequency on the Ultra version can be adaptively adjusted to 1Hz, but in fact, I found the scan frequency to be as low as 24Hz, that’s when the phone is in sleep mode. As for web surfing, the scan frequency operates at 60Hz and some games operate at a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz.

In terms of panel quality, the screen of the S22 Ultra is great. In the default “vivid” mode, the colors appear vivid without the color saturation being excessive. The bright peak of the screen is high, so it can be used comfortably outdoors, even when used in strong sunlight. In addition to the high peak brightness, the low reflectivity of the screen glass also contributes to good outdoor use.

When compared directly with the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max in the sun, I found the screen of the S22 Ultra to be brighter and a bit easier to see.

The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the screen of the S22 Ultra also works smoothly, the fingerprint recognition speed is almost instant and has high stability, I rarely have to touch it a second time to unlock the phone. In addition, this phone can also open with face recognition at a speed that is not inferior, only the security will be less than a fingerprint.

Performance and software

Samsung still uses the strategy of integrating 2 homegrown Exynos (Exynos 2200) and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon (Snapdragon 8 Gen 1) processors on the Galaxy S series like in previous generations. The difference is that this year the version using Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is sold in many markets.

Both Exynos 2200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processors are manufactured on the 4nm process, have a similar 1 + 3 + 4 CPU structure, and are integrated with 5G wave chips. I have not experienced the Ultra version using the Exynos 2200, but following the technology pages, the version using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip is more appreciated.

In everyday use, the S22 Ultra is as smooth as one would expect on a flagship. Switching between apps is nimble, graphics-heavy games play smoothly, and every effect is smooth thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate. After half an hour of playing Pubg Mobile and Genshin Impact games, I noticed that the phone did heat up, but I did not see the device decrease in performance to balance the temperature.

I tried the “stress test” by running 5 times Antutu continuously, then the performance score decreased in the following times, but the reduction was not much, only about 10-13%. Before that, I also did the same “stress test” on the Galaxy S21 Ultra using Exynos 2100 and iPhone 13 Pro Max, and saw a higher drop in performance, from 18-22%. This shows that the S22 Ultra version using Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has good heat dissipation, and performance is not squeezed much when under heavy load.

Regarding memory, it is noted that the S22 Ultra does not have a memory card slot like the S21 Ultra. So, if you play a lot of heavy games and take photos/videos with your phone, the standard 128Gb version may not meet your storage needs. At that time, choosing the 256GB or 512Gb version will be more reasonable.

In terms of software, the S22 Ultra currently comes pre-installed with a customized One UI 4.1 version based on Android 12. Samsung has committed to updating 4 Android versions for the Galaxy S22 series. Therefore, the device will be upgraded to Android 16. In addition, security updates will last 5 years. This is the best update commitment in Android phone makers today, more than Google.

where can you get a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra online

SAMSUNG Galaxy S22 Ultra Cell Phone, Factory Unlocked Android Smartphone, 128GB, 8K Camera & Video, Brightest Display Screen, S Pen, Long Battery Life, Fast 4nm Processor, US Version, Phantom White: Buy it now

SAMSUNG Galaxy S22 Ultra Cell Phone, Factory Unlocked Android Smartphone, 128GB, 8K Camera & Video, Brightest Display Screen, S Pen, Long Battery Life, Fast 4nm Processor, US Version, Phantom Black: Buy it now

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G 512GB 12GB RAM Factory Unlocked (GSM Only | No CDMA – not Compatible with Verizon/Sprint) Global Version – Green: Buy it now

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra S9080 5G 512GB 12GB RAM Factory Unlocked (GSM Only | No CDMA – not Compatible with Verizon/Sprint) Global Version – Burgundy: Buy it now

S Pen

The S Pen on the S22 Ultra has the same size and functions as the Note 20. Samsung says the latency of the S Pen on the S22 Ultra has been reduced by up to 70% compared to previous generations. However, in actual use, it is difficult to notice the difference in latency between the S Pen on the S22 Ultra and the Note 20 Ultra because the delay measurement unit in milliseconds is extremely small.

The S Pen writing experience on the Ultra S22 screen is smooth and has a fast recognition speed. This is a feature that sets the Galaxy Note series apart from other Samsung products and other brands on the market. It is suitable for those who like to write notes or sketch out things to do right on their phone with a pen, much more convenient than using a virtual keyboard.

People who draw on phones will also love the S Pen because it supports many strokes, and is responsive and flexible. In addition to taking notes and drawing, I find the S Pen pen also very convenient when I need to edit photos, capture an area on the screen or circle important information, for example.

Camera

The camera specifications of the S22 Ultra are similar to its predecessor S21 Ultra, including a 40MP front camera and a quad rear camera cluster with a 108MP main camera, a 12MP super wide-angle camera, and two 10MP telephoto cameras, a 3X short zoom, and a 10X telephoto zoom. Camera changes mainly come from software algorithms and image processing chips integrated into Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or Exynos 2200 processors.

I have been using the S22 Ultra for about two weeks and have taken many scenes in parallel with the iPhone 13 Pro Max or iPhone 13 Pro. In comparison, both the S2 Ultra and the iPhone 13 Pro Max have advantages and disadvantages. With the S22 Ultra, I find this phone to be slightly better than the iPhone 13 Pro in the ability to take night shots, take backlit shots, take selfies from the front camera and excel at telephoto zoom shots.

With portrait photography, both devices blur the subject very well, but the S22 Ultra handles skin color more naturally, not as red as the iPhone 13 Pro Max. However, with daylight conditions, I found that the main camera of the S22 Ultra produces images that are more overexposed than the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

When launching the S22 Ultra, Samsung also officially launched the Expert RAW application for RAW photography. You can download this app on the Galaxy Store. This is a standalone application, not pre-installed. Expert RAW will capture multiple frames and combine them into a DNG image file. For those who love photos, this is an interesting application because it provides photos that contain a lot of information to edit to create better photos than taken from a regular camera.

Battery life

S22 Ultra is equipped with a 5,000 mAh battery capable of 45W fast charging, 15W Qi / PMA wireless charging, and 4.5W wireless reverse charging. The box only has a charging cable, so you need to buy a 25W or 45W charger to quickly charge the phone. Regarding the charging speed, I tried charging it with a 25W charger, and the time to fully charge the battery in 72 minutes. I have not tested with a 45W charger, but I have seen many places that have tested it and found that the charging time with a 45W charger is only about 7-10 minutes faster. So, if you already have a 25W charger, it is not necessary to spend extra money to buy a 45W charger.

The battery life of the S22 Ultra is almost similar to the S21 Ultra I experienced last year. It can be said that it is safe enough to use comfortably during the day at a high intensity of use. With surfing the web and watching movies online, I found that the device drained on average about 9% of the battery after every hour of use over the Wi-Fi network at about 50% screen brightness. When playing graphics-heavy games, the battery drains faster, averaging about 16% per hour. In standby mode, the device drains the battery quite slowly, about 3-4% after 8 hours overnight.

Summary

After two years, fans of the Note series have received an update worthy of an upgrade. This is a smartphone with an AMOLED screen that supports today’s top-quality S Pen stylus, powerful performance, large battery capacity, and versatile camera system. The design also has a good finish. The absence of a memory card slot and no accompanying charger is not a problem because this is a common trend on today’s top smartphones.

If I had to point out the point that Samsung needs to improve in the S22 Ultra, in my opinion, it is the limitation of overexposure in daytime outdoor photos. Hopefully, Samsung will fix this issue through a software update.