Review: Samsung Galaxy S22, S22+, S22 Ultra

there's nothing groundbreakingly innovative or different about Samsung’s Galaxy S22 smartphones. These new models are filled with iterative upgrades over their respective predecessors—small improvements that further refine this trio as some of the best Android phones you can buy. The range includes the Galaxy S22 ($800), S22+ ($1,000), and S22 Ultra ($1,200), the latter being the model that includes an S Pen stylus, just like Samsung's Galaxy Note phones. (That's not the only reason you might want it, but more on that later.)

If you're currently using a Galaxy S21 series phone, there are zero reasons to upgrade to a 2022 model. But if you're rocking a Galaxy S9 or another old Android phone that's been struggling, these are great choices.

Keep in mind that these phones are the crème de la crème of Android hardware. They are stuffed with the latest chips, components, and software. They're also expensive, and these days you absolutely do not need to spend anywhere north of $450 for a phone that can take great photos, last more than a day, and run all your usual apps. (For example, see the Google Pixel 5A in our Best Cheap Phones guide). But if you want that full-featured device with dynamic speakers, the best and brightest screen, high-end build materials, top-tier gaming performance, top-notch video and photo capabilities, and the longest software support on Android, well, you can't go wrong. 

Years of refining the Galaxy S22 series have helped make them really great smartphones. They don't just look smart, they act like it too. You get rich audio coming through the stereo speakers, the unfathomably bright AMOLED screens stay legible with zero squinting required on sunny days, and the displays' variable 120-Hz refresh rates keep them feeling responsive and fluid when scrolling through Instagram or Twitter. Yes, it makes phone calls perfectly fine too!

All three are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor in the US (which is what I tested; Samsung uses its own Exynos 2200 in the Galaxy phones sold in several other countries). This is Qualcomm's top-end chip of the year, and while I noticed marginal improvements over the previous model in CPU benchmarks, the new phones scored markedly better in gaming tests.

However, those supposed improvements didn't quite translate when I ran just about the most graphically demanding game, Genshin Impact, on the S22 Ultra and S21 Ultra. I had to lower the graphics settings so they could run more smoothly, but the newer phone didn't perform too much better than its benchmarks suggested it should. (For the record, the iPhone 13 Pro struggles with the same game at its maximum graphical settings too, but the performance of Apple's mobile architecture still feels miles ahead.) None of this is to say that any of the Galaxy S22 smartphones are slow or laggy. Not at all. The phones do get quite warm when you push them, but performance in Genshin Impact bests most other Android devices. Apps launch at lightning speed, and switching between them is snappy. You just won't notice a huge difference moving from an S21 Ultra, for example, to an S22 Ultra. 

The one feature that will impact you nearly every day is the sheer size of these phones. The Ultra is a behemoth measuring 6.8 inches diagonally across the screen. It's a struggle to use, even with my large hands. At 6.6 inches, the S22+ feels a bit more at home in my paw, but it's the 6.1-inch S22 I couldn't stop fawning over. It feels like a compact phone, without the squished screen and minuscule battery life of the iPhone 13 Mini. The flatter edges around the S22 and S22+ also make it easier to grip; the curved screen on the Ultra is tougher to stretch your fingers around without touching it. Between the two, the S22 wins. I don't think the minor perks that come with the S22+ (detailed here) are worth the $200 upcharge over the S22.

That said, size directly affects battery life. The S22 has the smallest battery at 3,700 mAh, the S22+ has a 4,500-mAh capacity, and the S22 Ultra stuffs in a 5,000-mAh cell. They might be drawing more power for those larger screens, but the S22+ and S22 Ultra managed roughly a day and a half of average use on a single charge. The S22 comfortably hit a day, but I could see it dropping dead before the night's end if you spend more time on your phone than I do. (No shame, I'm just often on my PC!)

The S22+ and S22 Ultra will accept a fast charge if you use a more powerful 45-watt charger (the S22 is restricted to 25 watts), but you’ll need to supply that accessory yourself. That'll cost you around $15 more than a standard 25-watt charger, but the extra expense might not be worth it as I haven't found the bigger S22s to charge all that much faster than the S22 or their 25-watt-only predecessors. Companies like OnePlus are so far ahead of Samsung with their fast-charging tech that you can fully recharge the OnePlus 9 Pro in the 30 minutes it takes the S22 Ultra to reach 60 percent. Just use whatever charger you might already have, and maybe get a wireless charger instead to keep it topped up. Either way, just know the phone ships with no charger in the box.

I don't really care about having a stylus with my smartphone, but that's one of the top reasons to pay more for the S22 Ultra, the only model that comes with the S Pen tucked into the phone's chassis. Samsung says it has improved how the pen writes on the glass screen, and I certainly found that to be true. It feels responsive and very natural, but that experience quickly deteriorates as my palm is too big to rest on the screen. It just doesn't feel comfy to write, scribble, and poke that way—a problem I've always had with stylus-enabled phones. 

If you do make it work, you can convert your handwriting to text, but this very much depends on your penmanship. I like to think my handwriting is pretty good, but the Samsung Notes app still struggled. (It changed "write" to "curate.") Not to mention the weird formatting you'll need to fix when you convert your scrawls. At least it's better than using my finger when signing documents in DocuSign.

I very much prefer using the S Pen as a Bluetooth remote control for the camera. Long-press the button on the S Pen's butt end and it will launch the camera. Double press to swap to the selfie cam; single press to take a photo; make a swirl motion with the S Pen to zoom in or out. It's a great little tool, especially if you (like me) find it uncomfortable to ask someone to take a photo of you.  

The cameras are where you'll see some of the biggest improvements, many of which you can read about here. The S22 and S22+ share the same camera system, with 3X optical zoom, an ultrawide, and a 50-megapixel main sensor. That's always nice to see as it means you're not compromising by going with the smaller phone. The S22 Ultra swaps out the main sensor for the same 108-megapixel camera as the S21 Ultra and retains the 10X optical zoom camera (for a total of four cameras). That extended zoom functionality is the main reason to buy the Ultra—you still can't find a comparable phone in the US with that feature, and I love the versatility it offers. 

I carried these phones alongside the Google Pixel 6 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, Galaxy S21 Ultra, and S21 over several weeks to see where they fall across the spectrum. First and foremost, all three Galaxy S22 phones are excellent snappers. Results are generally brighter and sharper than shots from last-year's phones, though there were one or two times when I thought an S21 photo came out on top. Where it leapfrogs the S21 series (and the Pixel 6) is in video capture. No matter which S22 model you pick, your video footage will be brighter, clearer, less grainy, and incredibly stable. Seriously, the stabilization improvements are so good and come close to the iPhone 13, though I think Apple's camera produces nicer colors. 

The Pixel and iPhone photos are generally a bit sharper with more natural tones—and often better high dynamic range—but Samsung holds its own. Its Night mode produced images with far less grain, and its Portrait mode is also significantly better than before. I did run into a few issues: there's a small delay sometimes when you tap the shutter, which can introduce some blur; the 10X optical zoom is quite blurry when paired with Samsung's Night mode; and there was one time where 10X zoom took some bizarre-looking photos of traffic and street lights (which I haven't been able to replicate since). Still, I've been quite happy overall.

I could go on and on about the minute details about the cameras, but I'll spare you. There's just one last thing I want to mention. Samsung has stuffed in so many camera features that its camera app is turning into a bloated, confusing mess.

For example, the new Adaptive Pixel feature Samsung is touting everywhere isn't even enabled by default. It supposedly lets you take advantage of those high-megapixel-count cameras and still get bright low-light photos, but it will work only when you enter 108- or 50-megapixel mode. And even then it will work only in specific lighting conditions, so it's really hard to test. You can use Night mode with Adaptive Pixel, but not in the actual Night mode tab—if you switch over to that tab in the camera app, you're kicked out of the 108- or 50-megapixel mode. When you enter this high megapixel mode, your access to the phone's other cameras disappears in favor of different digital zoom levels, which is frankly going to confuse a lot of people. I also initially had no guidance on whether I was supposed to rely on Adaptive Pixel or stick with the normal Night mode. After running some tests, I recommend the latter. It usually produced a sharper image with less grain.

And if you want to take RAW photos with some of Samsung's image processing thrown in there, you need to use a completely different Expert RAW app from the Galaxy Store. Contrast that with Apple's approach, where you can toggle on ProRaw mode in the settings and use it in the same camera app. (Did I mention that in the main Samsung camera app, there are separate modes for Pro, Pro Video, and Director's View?)  

And Samsung's Super Steady mode, which adds even better stabilization for videos, feels a bit redundant now that stabilization improvements have been made to the standard video mode—especially since you're limited to 1080p in Super Steady and the quality is quite poor in any condition other than a bright, sunny day. Stick to 4K at 60 frames per second (and yes, 8K video capture is still overrated at the moment).

There's a lot of choice and control here, but Samsung just needs to figure out a better way to present it all that makes it easier to use. 

Of the three Galaxy S22 phones, you should probably buy the standard S22. It offers the most features for the least money, and its smaller size makes it the easiest to handle. If you don't care for the 10X zoom camera or the S Pen but want the larger screen, then there's a place for the S22+. But if those features do speak to you, then the Ultra won't disappoint. 

All three of these phones will get four Android operating system upgrades and up to five years of security updates from Samsung. That software policy is even better than what you'll find on Pixel phones from Google, the company that manages Android. These phones will get some love for a long time, which is better for your wallet and better for the planet.

You might be just as happy (and can save more money) by sticking with a phone like the Google Pixel 6 ($599). Google's phones come with some notable software features I've missed during my time testing the Galaxy phones—like Hold for Me, which I would have loved to use when I had to wait nearly two hours to speak to a Delta Airlines customer service rep. Still, these Samsung phones are polished and feature-packed, and they are some of the best Android phones on the market. Just don't forget to grab a case.