Galaxy S22: price, release date, technical sheet, everything we know about the Samsung flagship

The Galaxy S22 is one of smartphones the most anticipated of the year 2022. Technical characteristics, price, availability, here is all you need to know about the new flagship series of smartphones from Samsung.

The South Korean manufacturer is number 1 in the smartphone market in terms of units sold. Its entry-level and mid-range models are very popular, but the brand also knows how to make people dream with premium phones, of which the S series is the most iconic representative. The new kid on the block is the Galaxy S22, and we tell you everything we know about it.

A Galaxy S22 Pro?

As for several years already, Samsung plans to launch three versions of the S22: the Galaxy S22, the Galaxy S22+ and the Galaxy S22 Ultra, from the most affordable to the best equipped. It is possible that a rebranding be carried out for the intermediate model, which would leave aside its usual “Plus” for a new nickname: Galaxy S22 Pro. A Galaxy S22 FE should see the light of day later, but well after these three references.

When is the Galaxy S22 coming out?

Samsung was forced to postpone the release of the Galaxy S22. Originally, it was to be unveiled and marketed sometime in January, like the S21. But component supply and production issues have forced the manufacturer to revise its schedule.

Finally, Samsung would expect an announcement and the opening of pre-orders for February 9, 2022, and a marketing for February 25, 2022. It will then undoubtedly be in direct competition with the Xiaomi 12 and the OnePlus 10 Pro.

What is the price of the Galaxy S22?

Information still differs as to the prices charged for smartphones of the Galaxy S22 series. Some sources point to prices similar to those of their predecessors, the Galaxy S21, while others raise fears of a price hike.

The truth may lie between the two. We can very well imagine that Samsung wants to keep a gateway that does not constitute a psychological barrier to buyers with its standard Galaxy S22, especially in the face of competition from Xiaomi and to a lesser extent OnePlus. On the other hand, we can anticipate an increase for the Galaxy S22 Ultra given the new features it should benefit from.

We must also take into account the situation of shortage and increase in the price of components, which could be reflected in the price of the final product. As a reminder, the Galaxy S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra cost 859, 1,059 and 1,259 euros respectively in their basic version.

Galaxy S22: more compact smartphones?

The race for “always bigger” in which brands seem to be indulging is not true with this new generation of smartphones. Samsung is even betting on a more compact format for its first two models in the series.

The Galaxy S22 would be equipped with a 6.06-inch screen, compared to 6.2 inches for the Galaxy S21, while the Galaxy S22+ (or S22 Pro) would have a diagonal of 6.55 inches, no longer 6.7 inches as on the S21+. This would result in slightly smaller chassis dimensions on the new mobiles in the range, which would also be thinner than their predecessors.

It is undoubtedly for Samsung to leave a very large screen on its most premium copy, the Galaxy S22 Ultra, to better enhance it, which acts as a replacement for the famous Note. Moreover, the S22 Ultra takes up the almost right-angled corners of the Note, while the S22 and S22+ have rounded corners. Another difference, the S22 Ultra has a slightly curved screen, unlike its two little brothers with a flat panel. From the 6.8 inches of the S21 Ultra, we would go to… 6.81 inches on the S22 Ultra.

Generally speaking, the S22 and S22+ look very similar, while the S22 Ultra manages to stand out in many ways. The back panel of the first two adopts an effect glossy, the S22 Ultra pulls out of the game with a matte texture. The photo block, so trendy on smartphones for a few years, is making a comeback for the S22 and S22+, the S22 Ultra abandons this design element with photo sensors that are not combined in a group.

In fact, it almost looks like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which could also be called Galaxy Note 22 or Galaxy S22 Note, does not belong to the same series as the other models.

Samsung could return to a glass back on the Galaxy S22, while the base model has been deprived of it for a few years to limit costs, the manufacturer preferring to use plastic. There are no changes for the Galaxy S22 + and S22 Ultra which are also entitled to glass.

Finally, let’s talk about the colors offered for the devices in the series. The S22 and S22+ share the same hues, with black, white, green and rose gold. The S22 Ultra would also be available in black, white and green, but the fourth color would be a dark red.

Three 120 Hz screens on the Galaxy S22?

Each model of S22 should benefit from a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz in order to offer smooth animations on the screen. The Galaxy S22 and S22+ would display Full HD+ definition on their AMOLED LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicon) panel, the Galaxy S22 Ultra would offer Quad HD+ on its LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) screen.

The LTPO will allow the S22 Ultra to take advantage of an adaptive technology which automatically recalibrates the scanning frequency according to needs, in order not to sacrifice autonomy: it is for example useless to keep 120 Hz when viewing of a video on Netflix. Without this, it would probably not be possible to activate both 1440p and 120Hz, the screen would then consume too much energy.

An AMD GPU to boost the graphics performance of the Galaxy S22?

The Galaxy S range has the particularity of being equipped with very different SoCs depending on the region of the world where it is marketed. If in the United States or in China, it is a Qualcomm chip which is integrated, Samsung uses its own Soc Exynos house for its devices sold in Europe.

This year, the situation could be different. It is not yet clear how Samsung will react to the shortage of semiconductors, but the manufacturer could run out of supply of Exynos chips. A source even mentions the possibility that Europe will receive Galaxy S22s with Snapdragon 8 Gen1.

However, we expected a lot from the Exynos 2200 developed in partnership with AMD. With its GPU under RDNA 2 architecture, it promises to greatly improve the graphics performance of smartphones, as well as making them compatible with ray tracing. In a benchmark, the Exynos 2200 showed a score 34% higher than the Exynos 2100, but Samsung could decide to restrict it in order to make it less energy-consuming and increase the autonomy of mobiles.

Even more storage on the S22 Ultra?

It’s been a good number of generations since there has been a microSD card slot on Samsung flagships, hence the importance of providing enough internal memory for storage. If the brand has recently limited itself to 512 GB in this area, the Galaxy S22 Ultra should offer a configuration with 1 TB, like the Galaxy S10 + at the time or the latest iPhone 13 Pro.

Smaller batteries for the Galaxy S22 and S22+?

Who says more contained dimensions, also often says reduced battery size. The battery capacity of the Galaxy S22 and S22+ should drop to 3,800 and 4,600 mAh respectively, compared to 4,000 and 4,800 mAh for their predecessors. Information that comes from two well-known leakers: Ice Universe and Tron.

For its part, the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which retains dimensions roughly similar to those of the S21 Ultra, should benefit from a 5,000 mAh battery, like the model of the previous year.

The available charging power is still up for debate. According to Ice Universe, the Galaxy S22 Ultra would be entitled to a wired charge of 45 W. But the Chinese certification body 3C mentions a speed of 25 W for all three Galaxy S22 models.

An improvement could come from wireless charging. At least one of the models in the series could be compatible with a 25 W induction charge, against 15 W at best at Samsung currently.

What’s new in photos on the Galaxy S22?

Photography has become one of the main issues for manufacturers in the premium segment, and Samsung cannot afford to stagnate on this point.

The Galaxy S22 and S22+ would be the main beneficiaries of advances on the photo side, swapping the main 12 MP sensor of the S21 and S21+ for a 50 MP module. The 12 MP ultra-wide-angle shouldn’t move much, but the telephoto lens changes, going from 64 MP to 12 MP, and allowing an optical zoom of up to x3.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra will not have a 200 MP sensor, even though Samsung has developed such an optic. It will be “satisfied” with the same 108 MP, f/1.8, 1/1.33” and 0.8µm sensor as on the S21 Ultra. The 120° ultra wide-angle would also be identical: 12MP, f/2.2, 1/2.55” and 1.4µm. There is also an optical lens with x3 zoom and a periscope lens with x10 zoom. They display the same definition (10 MP) and aperture (f/2.4 and f/4.9) similar to last year’s sensors, but for a size of 1/3.52 inch and photosites of 1.12 μm ( compared to 1/3.24” and 1.22µm on the two telephoto lenses of the S21 Ultra). The S22 Ultra therefore does not revolutionize the formula by borrowing the photo block from the S21 Ultra.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with an S-Pen?

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is actually the spiritual successor to the Note line. While the S21 Ultra was content with compatibility with Samsung’s stylus, with no place to store it (unless you buy a special protective case) and not supplied with the smartphone, the S22 Ultra changes the game to get closer of the experience offered by the Notes.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra does have a slot to store the S-Pen, and some reports suggest the possibility of it being delivered directly with the mobile, as for the Note.