Last month, Samsung unveiled the much-awaited premium Galaxy S22 smartphone series.
It comes in three variants-- a regular Galaxy S22, an above standard Galaxy S22 Plus and a top-end Galaxy S22 Ultra-- with prices ranging between Rs 72,999 and Rs 1,18,999, in India.
They are slated to hit stores later this month on March 11. DH has received the Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G review unit and here are our initial thoughts about Samsung's most expensive S series mobile.
Display and design
The Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G flaunts an all-new unibody design. The 2021-series Galaxy S21 Ultra (review) came with a dedicated curved chiselled camera module fused with the frame and it protruded a lot over the back. But, with the new phone, Samsung has ditched conventional style and instead fused the four camera lenses along with the LED flash and companion photography sensor to the back shell. The design language is refreshing and I love it. Of course, this is subjective as some are used to traditional phone design and their priority lies with just the performance.
As far as the colour goes, this unit is a Burgandy model, a shade darker than the Galaxy Note20 Ultra(review) Mystic Bronze. Talking of the latter, the new Galaxy S22 Ultra can be really called its true successor as Samsung has officially killed the Galaxy Note series.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra come with an S Pen stylus and a dedicated holster. Also, the next-generation S Ultra series models are expected to continue the legacy of the Note series at least for a few more years until Samsung comes with new mobile design innovation.
The device features armoured aluminium rail around the edges and both the front and back are protected by Gorilla Glass Victus+, which is understood to be the sturdiest protective cover on an Android phone to date. And, of course, the device comes with an IP68 rating.
On the top, the Galaxy S22 Ultra features 6.8-inch Quad HD+ (3088 x 1440p) Infinity-O-Edge Dynamic 2X AMOLED display and support variable 1-120Hz refresh rate, and up to 240Hz touch sampling rate in Game Mode.
To offer better readability outdoors, Samsung for the first time has introduced Vision Booster and this feature can enable the display to hit peak brightness up to 1,750 nits.
Another interesting aspect of the device is that Samsung has used repurposed plastic wastes including discarded fishnets and others for several key components and also in the retail packaging to reduce the negative impact of consumer electronics goods on the environment.
Processor configurations
In India, Samsung for the first time is offering premium Qualcomm silicon during the first phase of launch. Previously, the devices used to come with Exynos chipset.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G houses a 4nm class Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 octa-core processor, which can clock CPU speed up to3.0GHz. Also, it comes paired with Adreno 730 graphics engine to ensure a better gaming experience and smooth day-to-day performance on the device.
It is backed by 12GB RAM, 256GB/512GB storage and Android 12-based One UI 4.1. The user experience has been great in terms of operating the day-to-day chores such as opening apps and switching between them, and loading cameras. I need more time to fully assess the phone in terms of gaming and while recording high-resolution videos.
Furthermore, the Galaxy S22 Ultra houses a 5,000mAh battery and it is more than enough for the device to last a full day easily, despite enabling a high display refresh rate.
Though the retail package doesn't come with a charger adapter, the device supports 45W fast charging and also come with 15W wireless charging capability.
Also, it supports multiple 5G SA/NSA bands-- N1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 75, 77, and N78.
Photography hardware
Samsung's new ultra-premium phone houses feature-rich quad-camera module-- main 108MP (with OIS, f/1.8) + 12MP 120-degree Ultra Wide sensor (f/2.2) + 10MP telephoto lens (with 3x zoom, f/2.4 OIS) + 10MP Periscope lens (10x zoom, f/4.9, 100x Space Zoom) with LED flash, laser autofocus and supports 4K video recording at 60 fps (frames per second) and even 8K at 30fps. On the front, it boasts 40MP (f/2.2).
In the brief time I spent with the device, it has been able to impress me with macro shots and also colour though warmer than natural look great to the eyes.
I have been told the company has improved the Portrait mode, Zoom picture capability with Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered algorithm and also new Advanced Nightography in both the front and back camera to offer crisp and sharp images in all light conditions; I am very keen to test them out and let you readers know the full review coming on March 9.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G comes in two storage options--256GB and 512GB-- for Rs 1,09,999 and Rs 1,18,999, respectively.
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