Eventually, the delay is over. Samsung with a new flagship Galaxy S22 Ultra and we’ve got some hands-on time with this new flagship. And, you know, it's funny, we have not had a new Samsung Galaxy Note two times since the Note 20 in 2020. And since also, we have had all these questions like, oh, Is Samsung killing the Galaxy Note? Are they done with that line? Is it over? But I've got a proposition. This is a Galaxy Note. Now, not by name. We are still calling this an S22 Ultra.
But, you know, Samsung is looking for a slightly further away to separate the Ultra from the rest of the Galaxy S line-up, and a reason to justify this $1200 starting price. So, I wouldn't be surprised if Samsung did behind the scenes actually make an S22 Ultra and a Note 22 Ultra and also look at them side by side and like, there is not enough difference then, and also just booted the S22 Ultra and kept the Note 22 Ultra and slotted it in at the top of the line-up, but changed the name. So yes, the phone I am about to review is called the Galaxy S22 Ultra. But yeah, the Note is back.
So, I picked this phone up and held it for the first time, and immediately all the recollections of former Galaxy Notes come back. As I said, this places right above the Galaxy S22 and S22. Those two new phones will be released contemporaneously with this bone. But yeah, this is the top of that line-up. So, the new design that was rumored is real. The accouterments feel familiar. You've got essence and Gorilla Glass V, the flat top and bottom, the whole thing is IP68 certified. And also the shape, well, this is the exact specific shape of the Galaxy Notes of the history, just with a satin back now and the new camera layout. The satin back I love, seems like the word Ultra is associated with a satin or matte non-glossy back, and I am each about that. And of course, while I love the matte black, I suppose the white one will show the smallest fingerprints if you can keep it clean.
The cameras are a little strange-looking, for sure. There's no big camera bump, no shelf on the corner like the S21 Ultra, just individual camera rings that each protrude out the same quantum from that flat reverse. And the camera rings are gorgeous and they match the rails of the phone for each color. I do not suppose it looks that great. In the renders, it appeared to be relatively rudimentary. But actually, utmost other phone's camera bumps look enough lame too because you have to draw around the camera cut-outs, and also it slightly looks like the letter P shape. It's a good thing you do not have to look at the reverse of your phone all the time. You can get a case you like. It's just a shame because everything in the S21 series looked so much better. And the S22 and S22 both still have this better-looking corner camera bump design.
Ultra's display looks to be everything you'd anticipate. I believe we take it for granted a little at this point since they regularly have some of the finest defenses on any phone. Seems like that is again what we are looking at then.6.8 elevation corner to corner, 1440p resolution, 120-hertz maximum refresh rate, and this is an LTPO2.0 display now. Hence, the refresh rate can modulate down to one hertz when not much is passing, for an indeed better blend of effectiveness and responsiveness. I was also suitable to enable Adaptive Refresh Rate Mode and 1440p resolution at the same time, which is a plus. We know it will drain your battery, but you paid for a lot of those pixels, so you might as well use them all. But, formerly again, this appears to be the world-class performance we have come to anticipate.
The selfie camera cut- eschew is still top center, not taking too numerous pitfalls by putting it underneath the display. And the ultrasonic point anthology is still in this same spot, the same size. On each side of the screen, there is a small wind. I love the smooth shells of the lower S22s. This bone curves over the edges a little bit into the side rails just like the other Notes. You can see the little ultra-wideband cut- eschewal on the rail under the power and volume buttons.
And also, of course, the biggest new point of the S22 Ultra is a point that came from the old Notes, which is the erected-in stylus, the S Pen. As I said, it's a Note. Therefore, the cherished erected-in stylus returns to the nethermost corner of the phone to pop in and out reversibly, it has all the software. The screen-off notes, the super low quiescence, everything that people loved about the S Pen ahead, it's all still then. And it's also funny, this time, the S Pens are all black no matter what color phone you get. It feels like this phone just picks up right where the old Notes left off, because other than the name, principally does exactly that.
Now getting to the specifications they're exactly what you'd expect as a spec bump from those older notes. It's a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, and going to have the Exynos versions in certain regions again, but it's a new four-nanometre chip. Then, every specification except the base model has 12 gigabytes of RAM. Therefore, it'll start at eight, but then every single other one up to one terabyte of storage will have 12 gigs of RAM, so you can spec it up to that high. It appears to be pricey, but you have the option of going that high if you so choose.
The battery stays at 5,000 milliamp hours, which is impressive given there's now a cut-out inside for the S Pen, and there's 45-watt fast charging in the Ultra and the S22+, but not in the regular. There is no charger in the box, but it'll support that fast charging if you give it enough juice. That's like a 50% charge added in 20 minutes of being plugged in. And these cameras are interesting. The hardware hasn't changed much, but there are a lot of new software functions.
So you're still looking at four cameras: a 108-megapixel primary camera, an ultra-wide, a 3X telephoto, and a 10X telephoto. However, there is a lot of material in the software. There's a new Nona Binning Mode for high-resolution night-time photography. And there's an improved Pro Mode with new RAW formats. They're doing AI stereo depth mapping for better portrait mode photos, and also just playing around with it for the time I had with hands-on, it feels like the 100X space zoom has even more improved stabilization that tries to lock onto subjects, presumably something contrast-based from what I can tell.
So, is the Galaxy S22 Ultra a good buy? So far, our first impressions are really favourable. At the end of the day, if there is one Android phone to be excited about in 2022, it has to be this new Galaxy, because it truly is the all-in-one device that showcases the best of Samsung in one device: refined design, stunning display, S Pen, powerful processor, no compromises with battery size, faster charging, there isn't much this phone lacks.
Instead of S22 Ultra, should it have been called a Note? Probably, but whatever it's called, it's a fantastic phone that sets a new standard for Android phones in the future.
You must be logged in to post a comment.