Samsung Galaxy S22

The Samsung Galaxy S22 is a series of high-end Android-based smartphones developed, manufactured, and marketed by Samsung Electronics as part of its Galaxy S series. They collectively serve as the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S21 series except the S21 FE. The first three smartphones were unveiled at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event on February 9, 2022 and were released on February 25, 2022. It is the first Samsung flagship lineup which all have a glass back since the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9 as previous flagships from 2019–2021 (except the Note 10+ the original Note 10, the S10, the S10+, the S20, the S20+, the S20 ultra, the note 20 ultra, the s21+ and the S21 ultra) used a matte plastic finish similar to the A series.
The S22 series consists of the base Galaxy S22 model, the plus-sized Galaxy S22+ model, and the camera-note-focused Galaxy S22 Ultra model. The latter serves as the official successor to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and the Note lineup, housing an integrated S-Pen. There are numerous upgrades the phones possess over the previous models, in addition to improved specifications, an enhanced camera system supporting 8K video recording (7680×4320) at 24 frames per second, and a super-resolution zoom of 30–100x, for the Ultra model.
The Galaxy S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra launch with prices at $799.99, $999.99, and $1199.99, respectively.
The Galaxy S22 was succeeded by the Galaxy S23, which was announced on February 1, 2023.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 series was unveiled on the 8th February 2022 as the successor of the Galaxy S21 series. All devices' design schemes are identical to the 2021 models, with the exception of the S22 Ultra, retaining the individual camera modules excluding the camera bump and rectangular body. The base model maintains a glass back instead of the (plastic) polycarbonate back the S21 originally had. The S22 and S22+ contain comparable software, composition, and hardware to the previous year's models, with minor distinctions. The S22 Ultra underwent massive reconstruction, with the phone serving as the successor to the discontinued Galaxy Note series. The device features a rectangular body, higher resolution display, and advanced camera system, and most notably, the Ultra model houses an embedded S-Pen, a signature feature of the Note series. The S22 Ultra serves as the high-end professional model of the lineup and successor to the S21 Ultra, while the base models succeed the S21 and S21+, respectively.
The S22 line consists of three devices. The Galaxy S22 is the least expensive with a 6.1-inch (155 mm) screen. The Galaxy S22+ has similar hardware in a larger form factor, with a 6.6-inch (168 mm) screen, faster charging and a larger battery capacity. The Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 6.8-inch (173 mm) screen and the largest battery capacity in the lineup, with a more advanced camera setup and a higher resolution display compared to the S22 and S22+, as well as an embedded S Pen – the first in the S Series as a whole.
The Galaxy S22 series has a design similar to preceding S series phones, with an Infinity-O display containing a circular cutout in the top center for the front selfie camera. All three models use Gorilla Glass Victus+ for the back panel, unlike the S21 series which had plastic on the smaller S21. The rear camera array on the S22 and S22+ has a metallic surround, while the S22 Ultra has a separate lens protrusion for each camera element.
The S22 line comprises three models with various hardware specifications. Except for some African and all European countries that use the Exynos 2200, with a new gpu with AMD, all models outside these regions use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 including Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, India, Mexico and the United States.
The S22 series feature "Dynamic AMOLED 2X" displays with HDR10+ support and "dynamic tone mapping" technology. All models use a second-generation ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint sensor.
The S22 and S22+ offer 8 GB of RAM with 128 GB and 256 GB options for internal storage. The S22 Ultra has 8 GB of RAM with 128 GB as well as a 12 GB option with 256 GB, 512 GB and 1 TB options for internal storage. Unlike the S21 Ultra, the S22 Ultra doesn't feature a model with a 16 GB RAM variant. All three models lack a microSD card slot.
The S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra contain non-removable 3,700 mAh, 4,500 mAh, and 5000 mAh Li-Po batteries respectively. The S22 supports wired charging over USB-C at up to 25W (using USB Power Delivery) while the S22+ and S22 Ultra have faster 45W charging. Tests found there's no significant difference between the 45W and 25W charging speeds. All three have Qi inductive charging up to 15W. The phones also have the ability to charge other Qi-compatible devices from the S22's own battery power, which is branded as "Wireless PowerShare," at up to 4.5W.
All three phones support 5G SA/NSA networks. The Galaxy S22 supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, while the Galaxy S22+ and S22 Ultra support Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. The S22+ and S22 Ultra models also support Ultra Wideband (UWB) for short-range communications similar to Bluetooth (not to be confused with 5G mmWave, which is marketed as Ultra Wideband by Verizon). Samsung uses this technology for their new "SmartThings Find" feature and the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag+.
The S22 and S22+ have a 50 MP wide sensor, a 10 MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom, and a 12 MP ultrawide sensor. The S22 Ultra retains its predecessor's 108 MP sensor with 12-bit HDR. It also has two 10 MP telephoto sensors with 3x and 10x optical zoom as well as a 12 MP ultrawide sensor. The front-facing camera uses a 10 MP sensor on the S22 and S22+, and a 40 MP sensor on the S22 Ultra.
The Galaxy S22 series can record HDR10+ video and support HEIF.
The Galaxy S22 series supports the following video modes:
Still frames extracted from high resolution footage can act as standalone photographs.
The S22 Ultra is the first S series phone to include a built-in S Pen, a hallmark feature of the Galaxy Note series. The S Pen has latency at 2.8ms, reduced from 26ms on Note 20 and 9ms on the Note 20 Ultra and S21 Ultra (although the S21 Ultra had S Pen functionality, it was not included with the phone), and marked the introduction of an 'AI-based co-ordination prediction system'. The S Pen also supports Air gestures and the Air Action system.
The S22 phones were released with Android 12 (One UI 4.1) with Samsung's One UI software. Samsung Knox is included for enhanced device security, and a separate version exists for enterprise use. On February 9, 2022, the new Galaxy S22 devices alongside a selection of other Samsung Galaxy devices, were announced to receive 4-5 years of updates (OS upgrades and security updates respectively).
On October 28, 2022, Samsung began rolling out One UI 5.0 to the Galaxy S22 devices. Some features and changes include the ability to turn off the RAM Plus feature, where previously users could only limit it to 2 GB rather than turning it off entirely, and a redesigned way of customizing the lock screen, similar to iOS 16. Material You was also expanded to most of Google and Samsung Apps along with some third-party apps that support material you, allowing more ways to customize One UI. One UI 5 also brings refreshed icons for a more-refined look across the UI. As of October 2024, the Galaxy S22 also supports updating to One UI 6.1.1 based on Android 14, which also comes with foldable phones and flagship devices released in 2024. This and other versions of One UI newer than 6.0 contain new AI-based features that are exclusive to this and later generations of the Galaxy S series.
Testing performed by benchmarking utility Geekbench and media outlet Android Police reported that Samsung's Game Optimizing Service (GOS) was throttling the performance of the device significantly in a number of popular apps, but allowing it to run unthrottled for benchmarking utilities; one specific test on the S22+, using a copy of Geekbench 5 that was modified to look like Genshin Impact to the GOS, recorded a loss of 45% in single-core performance and 28% in multi-core performance versus an undisguised copy of the utility. In response, Geekbench has permanently delisted the entire S22, S21 and S10 lineup from its service. Samsung has since released an update allowing S22 users to disable GOS on their devices.