What we know everything so far - about the Samsung Galaxy S22 series

Samsung was behind some of our favorite phones this year, including its latest foldable and, of course, the Galaxy S21 Ultra. If you skipped out on the company's 2021 phones, you're in luck — we're just a couple of weeks away from the launch of its next mainline series. The

Galaxy S22 lineup promises to keep what worked about its predecessors while boosting performance and — at least in the case of the S22 Ultra — bring back some features once exclusive to the Note. Here's everything we know so far about Samsung's next flagship smartphones.

The Galaxy S22 series is official

After months of leaks and rumors, we finally got to see Samsung's newest flagship smartphones for ourselves. We'll have reviews for all three models coming soon, but for now, check out our hands-on with the Galaxy S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra right here.

As with the last few releases, Samsung is sticking to three models for its 2022 phones: the Galaxy S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra. While the first two devices look a lot like upgraded variants of this year's releases, the S22 Ultra has an all-new design, making it the most exciting phone of the bunch.

Galaxy S22 Ultra

A quick glance at Samsung's high-end flagship for 2022 makes one thing clear: this is a Note by any other name. With a squared-off design and a dedicated S Pen slot, the S22 Ultra looks nearly identical to the Galaxy Note20, especially from the front of the phone.

Meanwhile, the back panel drops the S21's signature camera bump for a smooth piece of glass, with four lenses protruding out independently from each other.

The S22 Ultra's design has been controversial since first sight, especially since some leakers couldn't quite develop a consensus on what the camera module would look like. Thankfully, we've already seen real-world photos of a pre-production model, more or less cementing the design for Samsung's 2022 flagship.

With the inclusion of an S Pen slot, the S22 Ultra seems to spell demise for the Note series moving forward. Without a release in 2021 — replaced, of course, by the S Pen-equipped Galaxy Z Fold3 — there were plenty of questions of how and when the original phablet would return. It's increasingly sounding like it might never make a comeback, as Samsung is reportedly ending all production on Note devices at the end of this year. Thankfully, for anyone holding out hope for a Note successor, here's the good news: the S22 Ultra seems to have r S10 and S20 users who skipped this year's releases.

Early renders from back in September provided our best look at the phones so far, showing off a refined take on their predecessors. Unlike with the Ultra, the S22 and S22+ retain the camera bump, helping to protect the lenses on both phones should you opt to go caseless. The rounded corners and metal rail will look familiar to anyone who's held a recent Samsung phone. Even the camera flash is kept in the same spot as last year.

Thankfully, the Galaxy S22 has switched away from its controversial "classic" back panel for a plain ol' sheet of glass. everything you'd want in a new stylus-equipped smartphone, and you won't have to wait until the usual late summer release date to get it.

Galaxy S22 and S22+

If the S Pen isn't important to you, the smaller S22 and S22+ might be worth a look. Although we haven't seen nearly as much of these two phones in recent months compared to their big brother, they might be perfect upgrades for S10 and S20 users who skipped this year's releases.

Specs and Camera

Like most 2022 flagship Android phones are bound to have, the Galaxy S22 series will primarily adopt Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 throughout the US and most of the rest of the world. An Exynos variant is also on the way, but unlike years past, it'll be much more geographically limited. While the United Kingdom and European markets will use an Exynos 2200, Asian and African regions are switching to Qualcomm.

As for improvements to storage and RAM, it's a mixed bag. On the one hand, it sounds like the S22 Ultra will feature a 1TB model — perfect for anyone who loves keeping their entire Spotify collection downloaded and available offline at all times. Unfortunately, recent rumors suggest Samsung's next flagship will only be available with 8GB or 12GB of RAM. The S21 Ultra came in a 16GB configuration, so it's odd to see the company stepping backward with a spec reduction. 12GB of RAM is still plenty, even in 2022, but for anyone looking to future-proof their next smartphone, it's something to keep in mind.