• samsung-galaxy-s22-ultra-square
    Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
    A sensible upgrade

    The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra sports everything you'd expect in a modern Android flagship and an S Pen to boot. It's since been replaced by the Galaxy S23 Ultra as Samsung's top-of-the-line flagship, but if you can catch a good sale, the S22 Ultra is a great upgrade from the Note 20 Ultra.

    Pros
    • Ongoing software support
    • Better cameras
    • Larger battery
    Cons
    • Now a year old
    • Sale prices still relatively high
  • samsung-galaxy-note-20-ultra-mystic-bronze-1-1
    Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
    Nearing retirement

    The Note 20 Ultra is still a spec powerhouse on paper, even by today's standards. The display is big, bright, and beautiful; the cameras still hold their own, and the boxy design has made a comeback. But this is an old phone, and it won't be getting software updates anymore. The question shouldn't be, "Should I buy one?"; it should be "Is it time to let it go?"

    Pros
    • Still great performance
    • Versatile camera setup
    • It's the last Note phone!
    Cons
    • Unlikely to get future Android updates
    • Battery life isn't great anymore

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was one of 2022's best Android phones. It brought back the Galaxy Note design that had been missing in action for over a year. The boxy design and S Pen were hallmarks of the Note range for a long time, but can it truly take over the legacy of the Note 20 Ultra, or is this just a pretender to the throne?

Price, availability, and specs

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra launched at an MSRP of $1,200, but that was in 2020. Now several generations old, the Note is out of production and no longer available at retail unless you want to buy a refurbished model.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra also launched at an MSRP of $1,200 in early 2022. These days, it's always available for less than $1,000. The phone is available from most retailers and carriers worldwide, but that may change in the coming months as we gear up for the S24 series.


  • Samsung Galaxy S22 UltraSamsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
    SoCQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
    RAM8GB, 12GB
    Storage128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB8GB, 12GB
    Battery5,000mAh 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
    Operating SystemAndroid 14 and One UI 64,500mAh
    Front camera40MP, f/2.2Android 12 and One UI 4
    ConnectivityUWB, NFC10 MP, f/2.2
    Dimensions163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9mmUWB, NFC
    Weight229g164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1 mm
    IP RatingIP68208g
    Micro SD card supportNoIP68

Design

The two phones share a lot of their design. It's not quite an "it's the same picture" situation, but it's plain to see that the S22 Ultra is intended to succeed the Note. The phones have boxy metal frames with sharp corners and front and rear glass that melts around the sides into the frame. The display takes up almost the entire front of the phone, with just a small punch-hole camera at the top.

The only noticeable exterior change is the rear camera module. The Note 20 Ultra has triple cameras in a camera bump, while the S22 Ultra has four cameras that stand individually, a design that spread to the rest of the S-series when the S23 came along. The individual lens arrangement looks good, but keeping them clean and dust-free is incredibly difficult.

Display

A Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, showing the Android 13 emoji easter egg, sitting next to a bunch of bananas.

Both of these phones have fabulous AMOLED displays that were industry-leading at the time of their launch. The Note 20 Ultra is a tenth of an inch larger than the S22 Ultra with a 6.9-inch display, but stepping down to the 6.8-inch S22 doesn't feel smaller in the hand. The biggest difference you'll feel right away is the screen curve. Both have it, but the Note is far more extreme. Both displays have support for the S Pen as well, so you can easily draw, edit documents, and navigate the web with the best mouse replacement on a phone.

The two-year gap in display technology makes itself clear when you look more closely. Both screens are 1440p with 120Hz, but only the S22 Ultra can achieve both of those figures at once. The Note 20 Ultra made you choose between 1080p at 120Hz or 1440p at 60Hz. The S22 Ultra also benefits from LTPO, which lets it vary its refresh rate based on the content it's displaying to save battery. Display brightness is close but still favors the S22 Ultra with 1,750 nits. The Note 20 Ultra maxes out at 1,500 nits. The S22 Ultra replaces the older Gorilla Glass 5 with Gorilla Glass Victus +.

Software

A Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra phone showing the home screen

Right now, both phones run Android 13 with One UI 5.1 on top; however, that won't last long. Samsung's One UI 6 beta is in full swing, bringing plenty of new features along with Android 14. The S22 Ultra will continue to get updates all the way up to Android 16 in 2026. The Note 20 Ultra, sadly, will not advance any further than Android 13.

Both devices benefit from the S Pen software that made the Note line a smash hit in the first place. You can hover the S Pen over links and other UI elements to get contextual information, draw with incredible accuracy, and edit documents with ease.

Performance and connectivity

The Snapdragon 865 found in the Note 20 Ultra was top of the line when it came out, but times have changed, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is far superior. The difference in speed is noticeable, as is the efficiency.

That doesn't make the Note 20 Ultra slow by any means. With its 12GB of RAM, it can still multitask easily and perform any task you ask of it. In fact, the S22 Ultra may struggle with some multitasking depending on which model you get. The 128GB model only has 8GB of RAM, leaving the 12GB for the 256GB and above versions.

A green Galaxy S22 Ultra face down on concrete

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra both have 5G connectivity in the United States, but the newer S22 Ultra enjoys access to more bands thanks to its newer Snapdragon X65 modem. If it's a 5G signal in North America, the Galaxy S22 can latch on mmWave, low-band, and everything in between. The Note 20 is no slouch, but its older X55 modem doesn't support some newer frequencies, such as 3.45Ghz and C-bands that will be vital on AT&T and Verizon going forward.

The X65 modem inside the Note 20 Ultra has a theoretical max speed of 10Gbps, while the X55 modem in the Note 20 Ultra tops out at 7.5Gbps over 5G. It's unlikely you'll ever see peak download speeds on either device, but the point is that the newer S22 Ultra can latch onto more 5G bands and supports higher download speeds than the Note 20 Ultra.

Battery life and charging

A pair of Samsung earbuds sitting on the back of a Samsung smartphone

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's battery packs in 5,000mAh of juice, a 500mAh gain over the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra's 4,500mAh cell. The added battery capacity helps support the S22's more advanced hardware and brighter screen, but both phones last about a day. Well, the Note did when it launched, anyway — after this long, your battery might be on the outs.

Samsung claims 45W charging speeds on the S22 Ultra, much higher than the 25W max charging of the Note. However, the overall charging speeds aren't very different in real life; the S22 Ultra's 45W charging only kicks in when the phone's battery is nearly empty. Both phones support wireless charging at up to 15 watts.

Cameras

Samsung's "Ultra" branding guarantees the best camera hardware money can buy, but even flagship cameras don't stay on top forever. The Note 20 Ultra's triple-camera array is still respectable, but the S22 has it outclassed. The primary sensors in each phone are 108MP Samsung ISOCELL units, but the one in the S22 Ultra has two additional generations of progress — HM1 vs. HM3. Samsung says you'll get brighter, sharper pictures on the S22 Ultra thanks to the refined sensor, enhanced photo processing, and re-engineered camera glass.

Left: Primary camera sample from the Note 20 Ultra. Right: Primary camera sample from the S22 Ultra.

The zoom levels are where the S22 Ultra really pulls ahead. The Note 20 Ultra has one 5x optical zoom level, but the S22 Ultra has two: 3x and 10x. This lets you get more photos at a distance without resorting to digital zoom, and the S22 will really let you push the zoom. The Note 20 topped out at 50x "hybrid zoom," but the S22 Ultra has 100x support. These photos won't look great, but other phones can't even hope to snag a shot from so far away.

Left: 5x optical zoom on the Note 20 Ultra. Right: 10x optical zoom on the S22 Ultra.

Should you upgrade?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra launched at $1,200, the same MSRP as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. It's a lot of money for a phone, but if you spent big to get the S Pen back in 2020, now's your chance to do it again.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is a better phone in just about every way, and makes a great upgrade from the Note 20 Ultra, just not at full price. That's because the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra landed in February, and it carries the same $1,200 retail price tag. The S23 Ultra is a very minor upgrade over the S22 Ultra — design and performance are largely the same — but makes the better buy unless you can find the S22 model for significantly cheaper.

samsung-galaxy-s22-ultra-square
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Editor's choice

A sensible upgrade

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra remains one of the best phones on the market today. Thanks to features like its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset and refined camera array, it makes an excellent upgrade from the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Be aware that the S23 Ultra is out now, however, meaning it's not a great time to pay full price for an S22.

Although it's a presently capable phone, the Note 20 Ultra is nearing the end of its software update lifespan, and two generations of upgrades to display and camera tech make an appreciable difference. The Note 20 Ultra will always be a phone fondly remembered as the best and last Note phone to exist.

samsung-galaxy-note-20-ultra-mystic-bronze-1-1
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Time to let go

Still a great phone, but nearing retirement

On paper, the Note 20 Ultra is a spec powerhouse, even by today's standards. The display is big, bright, and beautiful; the cameras still hold their own, and the boxy design has made a comeback. But this is an old phone, and it won't get software updates anymore. The question shouldn't be, "Should I buy one?" Instead, it should be, "Is it time to let it go?"

Pros
  • Still great performance
  • Versatile camera setup
  • It's the last Note phone!
Cons
  • Unlikely to get future Android updates
  • Battery life isn't great anymore