- Samsung just announced its new Galaxy S22 lineup.
and I was able to spend some time
with the new devices last week.
I know a lot of you guys wanna know
about the Galaxy S22 Ultra in particular,
so that's what I'm focusing on in this video.
Let's do it.
♪ Oh baby, I love your madness ♪
♪ It's so incredibly beautiful ♪
♪ Oh whoa ♪
- For a smartphone with a starting price of $1,200,
it takes a lot to justify purchasing a new one.
If you're looking to pick up any of the Galaxy S22 lineup,
the link in the description
will give you an additional $200 Samsung store credit,
a free storage upgrade, and trade-in deals as well.
So what has Samsung done to encourage the upgrade?
Well, the Galaxy S lineup is Samsung's flagship series.
It's been around for almost 12 years now
and evolved into multiple sizes and specs,
as the Plus and Ultra were introduced.
This year, though, something is different.
You see, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
isn't a Galaxy S at all.
Instead, this device is, for all intent and purposes,
a Samsung Galaxy Note 22 Ultra.
Now, if you're confused, let me explain.
The Note 20 Ultra was Samsung's last Galaxy Note
and was released back in 2020.
When it came time for the typical Galaxy Note event in 2021,
Samsung instead announced two new foldable devices,
the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3.
There was no Galaxy Note to be found.
Now, for those who missed the Note,
Samsung added S Pen support to the S21 Ultra,
meaning it could do most of the same things
you'd expect from the Note line,
even if there was no place to store the S Pen
in the body of the phone.
With the S21 Ultra getting S Pen support, though,
speculation ran wild that we would see tighter integration
on the S22 Ultra, and here we are.
Back to present day, and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
has built-in S Pen support,
has the same look and feel in hand as the Note 20 Ultra,
and even has the built-in silo for storing the S Pen
in the body of the phone.
So yeah, call it a Galaxy S22 Ultra if you want,
but this device is a Note through and through.
So if you want a Note device,
this is the one to go with this year,
but what if you have an S21 Ultra?
Is it worth upgrading?
For my immediate answer, it's no.
It's rare that I recommend anyone upgrade
on an annual basis, but if that's how you roll,
let's compare the two.
Taking a look at the specs,
we see the Galaxy S22 Ultra
has the brand-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor,
compared to the S21 Ultra's
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor.
The main difference between the two chips
beyond the name is the size.
The 8 Gen 1 is a four-nanometer chip,
and the 888 is a five-nanometer chip.
Some of the key differences are an all-new architecture,
which should provide more efficiency
alongside better performance.
That said, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is still a fast phone
by today's standards.
Both phones have the same amount of RAM,
but storage could be a differentiator,
as the S22 Ultra can go up to a terabyte,
while the S21 Ultra caps out at 512 gigabytes.
So if you need more than 512, then the S22 is for you.
The S22 Ultra also gets
the newest Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+
on both the front and back,
definitely making it the more durable device.
WiFi 6E is also new on the S22 lineup.
That might not be a big deal today,
but if you hold onto your phone for a couple of years,
you'll appreciate that bit of future proofing.
Now, the camera is where we will see
the most significant difference
outside of the S Pen support.
The S22 Ultra is using all-new sensors in the cameras.
The megapixel counts are the same,
but the sensors are larger and use binning,
which takes nine smaller pixels
and converts them into one larger pixel
for better low-light performance and sharper images.
It also has a faster NPU,
with the ability to shoot in 16-bit RAW,
capturing more information in the image
for easier editing later.
Portrait mode also gets an upgrade,
with the camera actually scanning your face
and using that information to make a better portrait image.
This is called AI studio depth map
and uses deep-learning technology to pick out small details.
Samsung is saying even a single strand of hair
won't throw off the processing of busy backgrounds.
I wasn't able to test this one just yet,
but be sure you're subscribed for the full review
that I'll be dropping soon.
Samsung did also improve video recording as well,
with features like AI-based auto-focus, Super Steady System,
Super HDR, and auto FPS.
Nona binning can be found on video here as well,
so lower light should be much better
even with the Super Steady System enabled.
Now, you may have already made up your mind,
but if you're looking for some guidance here, then I'd say
if you've had the Galaxy Note 20 in your pockets
and refuse to let go of it
because of the death of the Note lineup,
then the Galaxy S22 Ultra is for you.
It's the spiritual successor to the Galaxy Note 20,
and will provide you with a two-generation spec update.
If you're using a device from 2021 and you're happy with it,
ignore of the FOMO, as there isn't really a huge reason
to upgrade here for most.
The two reasons I'd see
are if you absolutely love the built-in S Pen
and want that experience.
And second would be
if you always want to have the best camera features
that are currently available,
then of course you'd want the Galaxy S22 over the S21.
But other than that,
the Galaxy S 21 Ultra is still a great phone
and it costs literally hundreds of dollars less.
Again, link in the description
of you want to pick up any of the Galaxy S22 lineup,
and that link will give you bonuses
like $200 in store credit, a free storage upgrade,
and some great trade-in offers as well.
Thanks for watching us as always, guys.
I appreciate your support.
I'm Andru Edwards, and I will catch you in the next video.