It’s that time of the year when Samsung unveils its next-generation Galaxy S series flagship phones. As expected, the first major Unpacked press conference of 2022 has brought us three flagship Galaxy S22 phones and three flagship Galaxy Tab S8 tablets. But the Galaxy S22 series is unlike any other Galaxy S iterations so far. That’s because Samsung has folded the Galaxy Note design into the Galaxy S series this year. Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra is the new Note, featuring a design that’s totally different from the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus.
After months of leaks and rumors, all three phones are finally official. We’ll cover the Galaxy S22 release date, price, and specs right here along with everything else you need to know.
Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Ultra designs
The three Galaxy S22 models will give fans two design choices. The Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus feature flat hole-punch displays and curved corners. All the sides are flatter now — we’re sure Apple’s newest iPhone design has nothing to do with that — and the phones are made of glass. That’s Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on the front and back of all phone versions.
On the back, we have a triple-lens camera encased in “Armor” aluminum. The phones’ frames are made of the same tough metal.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra can’t use the same curved design because the handset comes with a built-in S Pen stylus. As a result, the phone has rectangular corners and a display that curves at the sides. The top and bottom are perfectly flat.
The camera module on the back of the S22 Ultra has four-facing rear cameras that punch through the rear glass. There’s no metal enclosure for the Ultra’s camera system. The stylus opening is found on the bottom, just like previous Note models.
The Galaxy S22 packs a 6.1-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and 1500 nits of brightness. The Galaxy S22 Plus features a 6.6-inch screen and 1750 nits of brightness. Both devices have 2340 x 1080 resolution and refresh rates up to 120Hz.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with a larger 6.8-inch screen, and the resolution is bumped up to 3080 x 1440 pixels. The new Note handset also supports 120Hz dynamic refresh rates like the regular models.
All Galaxy S22 models feature IP68 water and dust resistance. Also, they all pack in-display fingerprint sensors, just like their predecessors.
Galaxy S22 specs
The three Galaxy S22 phones might look different, but they all rock the same powerful specs. Regardless of the model, you’ll get the same Samsung Android experience with one exception. The Galaxy S22 Ultra will have particular software features that only work with a stylus.
Samsung will use two different 4nm flagship chips in its Galaxy S22 phones. Some regions will get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip from Qualcomm, while others get Samsung’s own Exynos 2200 processor.
The cheapest Galaxy S22 options will feature 8GB of fast LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Spending more money on either model gets you more storage space, topping at 1TB for the Ultra. Also, you get 12GB of RAM with the 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB models.
Other specs include 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.2 support. All phones feature USB-C connectors and they lack microSD storage expansion support.
Android 12 is running the show with Samsung’s One UI 4.1 on top.
Camera and battery
When it comes to the camera experience, expect a similar performance from the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus models. We’re looking at a 50-megapixel wide-angle lens, 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, and 10-megapixel telephoto (30x hybrid zoom) lens on the back. The selfie camera features a 10-megapixel sensor.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has the best camera experience of the three phones. The primary camera comes with a 108-megapixel wide-angle sensor. Joining it are the same 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and two 10-megapixel telephoto sensors (100x Space Zoom). The selfie camera also features a better 40-megapixel sensor.
As far as the batteries go, the phones sport 3,700 mAh, 4,500 mAh, and 5,000 mAh battery packs. Samsung will let you recharge the phone using the Galaxy Tab S8 tablets if you also purchase the latter, with speeds going up to 15W.
Fast-charging goes up to 25W for the Galaxy S22, while the Galaxy S22 Plus and Ultra will support 45W. You will need to buy a separate fast charger to get those speeds, however. All three handsets support 15W wireless charging speeds.
Samsung Galaxy S22 release date and prices
The Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus will be available in black, white, green, and pink gold. The Galaxy S22 Ultra color options are similar, but the new Note will swap pink gold for burgundy.
Exclusive colors will be available online for each phone. That’s cream, graphite, sky blue and violet (Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus), and graphite, red, and sky blue (Galaxy S22 Ultra).
All handsets will be available for preorder from Samsung and its partners on February 9th. The Galaxy S22 Ultra release date is February 25th. The regular models should be available on the same day.
The good news is that Samsung has kept the Galaxy S21 pricing in place for one more year. That means you’ll pay $799 for the Galaxy S22, $999 for the Galaxy S22 Plus, and $1,199 for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Those prices are before taking into account any preorder and carrier deals. Also, expect to pay more if you need more built-in storage or memory.
You will get up to $200 store credit with your Galaxy S22 preorder. If you also registered for Galaxy S22 preorders, you’ll get another $50 in Samsung credit. That’s before any trade-in discounts are applied. Carriers, meanwhile, will have their own promotions for the Galaxy S22 lineup.
