Look same a Note, it works just like Note. Just don’t call it a Note. It’s the new one from Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultraa large, 6.8-inch Android phone that looks like Galaxy Note 20 Ultra from 2020. The similarities between the new S-series phones and last year’s Note aren’t just in the depths. For the first time on the Galaxy S, the stylus — a feature that made Note phones so unique — is embedded inside the device. That could mean killing off the Note brand that Samsung has used for large mobile phones with the S Pen since 2011.
This $1,200 phablet (do we still say phablet?) was announced today at Samsung’s virtual Galaxy Unpacked event, along with two other phones: new Galaxy S22 ($800) and Galaxy S22+ ($1,000). Oh, and three new tablets too. Here’s a breakdown of all six Samsung devices.
I’m feeling 22
From left to right: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, S22+ and S22.
Photo: Julian ChokkattuLet’s start with the phone. There are small changes compared to last year excellent Galaxy S21 range. For example, the S22 and S22+ are slightly smaller than their predecessors, with 6.1-inch and 6.6-inch screens respectively. They have no prominent color on the rear camera module, which is a downgrade for me. It added a bit of fun to the S21 lineup, and things seem a bit simplistic here (pardon the pun).
The biggest redesigned S22 Ultra. There should be plenty of cues from the Galaxy Note, including the built-in S Pen that you can pull out from its underside. Samsung says its stylus is more responsive than ever, but it can do all the same tricks we last saw on the Note 20 Ultra, including acting as a controller. Bluetooth for the camera, act as a drawing tool or be used as a way of taking notes so Samsung’s handwriting recognition software can convert your scribbles into regular text. There’s no S Pen included with the S22 or S22+, and these phones don’t support stylus either. You’ll have to pay for Ultra if you want to use the stylus with your phone.
The other main difference between the Ultra and its smaller brethren is in the camera system. The S22 Ultra remains the only one with a 10X optical zoom camera — and it has no rivals in the US that offer the same functionality. Its main camera uses the same 108-megapixel sensor as last year’s S21 Ultra, while the S22 and S22+ have a new 50-megapixel sensor that’s 23% larger than the sensor in their predecessors. Larger image sensors are more able to gather light, allowing them to produce brighter and sharper photos. The only cameras that are identical across all phone models are the 3X optical zoom telephoto lens, the 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and the 40-megapixel selfie camera.
Despite having different main cameras, Samsung says all three phones use a new image processing technique called Adaptive Pixel to produce brighter high-resolution photos. Strangely, this process doesn’t happen by default. Let me explain. Just like last year, the new devices take 12-megapixel photos by default instead of photos that take full advantage of the sensor size — 108 or 50-megapixel photos, depending on the phone. This is because it uses a process called pixel binning, where pixels merge and become larger but less numerous so that each pixel can absorb more light. That produces a lower resolution but brighter photo. It’s an ideal method to use whenever there’s not much light in a scene.
Samsung Galaxy S22 +
Photo: Samsung
