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Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Best of '22S Pen and all
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra marked Samsung's return to the built-in S Pen stylus. It's also a generally great phone with immaculate build quality, fast performance, and great, versatile cameras. However, unless you really need the stylus, it's a questionable upgrade from the S21 Ultra today.
Pros- Built-in stylus
- Faster charging
- Longer update support than the S21 Ultra
Cons- Still pricey at MSRP
- Minor upgrades from S21 Ultra
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Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Still holds upDon't rush the upgrade
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra was Samsung's top phone in 2021, and it's aged well since. The Galaxy S22 Ultra, and even the newer S23 Ultra, offer limited benefits over the older S21 Ultra. If your phone is still in good shape, you're not missing much by skipping the upgrade for now.
Pros- Still plenty fast enough for most tasks
- Getting updates until 2026
Cons- Slow charging
- No S Pen
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra was a fantastic flagship when it launched in 2021, with top-shelf performance, capable cameras, and a slick design. In addition, the phone had an MSRP that started at $200 less than the Galaxy S20 Ultra. That means 2022's S Pen-equipped Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has a tall order to fill.
Does the S22 manage to be one of Samsung's best phones in its own right while also living up to the expectations set by Samsung's now-defunct Galaxy Note line? If it does, is it worth upgrading from the Galaxy S21 Ultra? And how does the newer Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra fit into all this?
Price, availability, and specs
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra launched at a starting MSRP of $1,200 in 2022. It's since been replaced by the Galaxy S23 Ultra as Samsung's premier flagship phone; however, the older model is still available from retailers like Amazon and Best Buy and directly from Samsung. You'll typically find it for close to $1,000 now, and prices have fallen as low as $800 during sales.
The S21 Ultra cost the same $1,200 when it launched in 2019, but it isn't as easy to find. It's no longer carried by major retailers or sold by Samsung.
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Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Display 6.8-inch 1440p OLED, 120Hz 8GB, 12GB RAM 12 GB, 16 GB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB Storage 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB 5,000mAh Battery 5,000 mAh Android 13, One UI 5.1 Operating System Android 11 with One UI 40MP f/2.2, 26mm Front camera 40 MP f/2.2 163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9mm Dimensions 6.5 x 2.98 x 0.35"; 8.01 oz Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, Burgundy + Samsung.com exclusive Red and Sky Blue Colors Black; silver
Design
Design is where most of the differences between the two generations lie. The Galaxy S22 Ultra may bear the S-series moniker, but the design is unashamedly Note-like. The corners are sharp and boxy, the screen spills over the sides, and the top and bottom of the frame are flat. Which design is best is a matter of taste. Some people love the angular look of the Note series that the S22 Ultra carries forward, while others prefer the curves of the older S21 Ultra.
The all-metal camera bump on the S21 Ultra still looks great, though. The S22 Ultra switches up the series' aesthetic with an array of discrete camera lenses not contained in any unified shape. It's a unique look (or at least it was until the Galaxy S23 series came around), but some might find it a little too plain.
There's another minor irritation. The S Pen rests on the S22 Ultra's left side, and the bottom speaker has moved over with it so that the SIM slot can sit on the right. If you hold this phone in landscape, your hand blocks this speaker. It seems like it would make more sense for more users if the S Pen (and speaker) were on the right. But this isn't a dealbreaker.
Display
Comparing the two phones' displays, things are mostly identical. The S22 Ultra can now achieve a peak brightness of 1,750 nits vs. the S21 Ultra's 1,500 nits. It's an improvement. Still, considering the S21 Ultra's screen was plenty bright, it's not one you're likely to notice.
The S21 Ultra introduced LTPO technology that allowed its display to vary the refresh rate to between 10Hz and 120Hz, depending on what was happening on the screen. The S22 Ultra takes this a step further, with a range of 1Hz to 120Hz. That means marginally improved power consumption when looking at static images or using the always-on display.
Software
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and Galaxy S21 Ultra share a very similar software experience: fully updated, both phones run Android 13, and One UI 5.1 Galaxy S21-series phones are included in Samsung's 2022 commitment to provide four years of Android updates. The S21 Ultra, launched in 2021, should continue to see One UI updates through early 2025, plus security patches for an additional year after that. It's also on track to get both Android 14 and Android 15.
The S22 Ultra, being one year newer, will get OS and security updates for one year longer than the S21 Ultra will, into 2026 and 2027, respectively. So as far as software goes, you won't see much benefit in upgrading from the S21 Ultra to the S22 Ultra — at least not for a few more years.
Performance and connectivity
Glancing over each phone's spec sheet, the two devices look virtually identical. In the S22 Ultra, the chipsets are newer and the charging is slightly faster, but the camera hardware is mostly unchanged. The S22 Ultra is available with a new 1TB tier, but there's a surprising downgrade hidden in the storage options, as it has less RAM than the previous generation. The S21 Ultra featured 12GB of RAM for the 128GB and 256GB models, while the 512GB variant included 16GB of RAM. In contrast, the S22 Ultra starts at 8GB for the 128GB entry point, while all other options get 12GB of RAM.
Losing the 16GB option shouldn't be an issue for most buyers since that may be more memory than you need in a phone. But for $1,200, 8GB on the base model doesn't look great. Day-to-day performance is still good, but the base-model S22 Ultra has a lower capacity for multitasking than the base-model S21 Ultra. We're also a little worried about how eight gigs might perform by the time the phone reaches the end of its update timeline in 2027. If you plan to keep your S22 Ultra as long as possible, it might be worth springing for a model with 256GB or more storage. Those have 12GB of RAM.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S22 Ultra support 5G connectivity on all compatible US carriers, including sub-6, mmWave, and C-band. The S22 uses a newer modem in the Qualcomm X65, which gives it higher theoretical max download speeds of up to 10 Gbps. The S21 Ultra's Qualcomm X60 modem tops out at 7.5Gbps. That won't matter in real use; even over mmWave, you'll likely never bump up against either of these ceilings.
Battery life and charging
The S21 Ultra and S22 Ultra both have 5,000mAh batteries. How that'll translate into time between charges depends on how you use your phone, but either should last through a full day of moderate use without needing a top-up. On the other hand, with lighter usage, both should last two days. At least, that was the case when the phones were new; batteries deteriorate with repeat charge/discharge cycles. So if you got your S21 near the time it launched, it might be showing its age in this department by now.
The S22 Ultra charges faster than the S21 Ultra. The newer phone has a peak charging speed of 45W compared to the 25W max on the older S21 Ultra. The difference isn't that pronounced in practice — you'll need a compatible PPS charger to hit these top speeds, and the S22 Ultra's charging slows down considerably as the battery fills. The main consideration here should probably be how well your S21's battery is holding up.
Cameras
Camera specs look almost identical on both phones, but the S22 Ultra has some improvements over the S21. Specifically, the 108MP primary sensor has a wider aperture and an improved lens that lets it collect more light and limits lens flare. Like its predecessor, the S22 Ultra produces 12MP photos using pixel binning. However, there's a difference this year. In addition to the multiple 12MP images combined into the final result, the S22 captures a full 108MP image that is merged in for added detail.
Image stabilization and the S22 Ultra's low-light capabilities have also improved. Also, both of the S22 Ultra's telephoto cameras get new IMX754 sensors. Even though they're the same resolution as before, improved processing means shots should look brighter and sharper.
Should you upgrade?
If you have a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra in good condition, you probably shouldn't upgrade to the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The answer is as simple as that unless you fall under a particular set of circumstances. The S22 Ultra is a better phone than its predecessor, but it's an incremental upgrade. Day to day, you won't notice the slight boost in performance, and the camera upgrades, while welcome, are minor. The only significant difference is the S Pen slotted inside the phone.
Spending up to four figures on a minor spec bump isn't worth it for most buyers. Unless you're sure you'd get a lot of use out of the bundled stylus, this upgrade won't do much for you. That's especially true given the fact that the Galaxy S23 Ultra is now available. If you can get the S22 Ultra for considerably less than an S23 Ultra, it's still a very good phone, but it's not different enough from the S21 Ultra to recommend that most people upgrade.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra sports everything you'd expect in a 2022 flagship and an S Pen to boot. While it takes its design cues from 2020's Note 20 Ultra, it focuses on improvements to camera quality, battery life, and overall performance.