The Samsung Galaxy Note has indeed been "retired," but its flagship features will still live on in this Galaxy S Series. Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra that we are reviewing has the legacy of the S Pen as one of the advantages, in addition to the main specifications, processor, battery, the 108MP camera, which is indeed the main attraction.
The Samsung Galaxy S now has the "soul" of Note. Maybe that's the correct sentence that describes how the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is. This latest Samsung cellphone appears with a very noteworthy and impressive design.
The square body frame, S Pen slot, and super large and curved screen are all reminiscent of the Galaxy Note's design concept from a few years ago.
The ZulYusmar team has been using the latest Samsung phone for about two weeks, and here is our complete review. From the design, screen, and audio to the specifications and performance of the processor, battery, and camera, the benefits of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra are numerous.
Design of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Galaxy S22 Ultra has a different design than other Galaxy S22 variants, as evidenced by its more boxy shape and the lack of the typical Galaxy S22 camera protrusion area that blends with the cellphone frame.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has a large, curved screen on the left and right. Although the size is the same as the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, the presence of a curve at the screen's edges gives it a more modern and premium appearance. The design distinguishes it from the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22+, which have a flat-screen surface.
Phantom Black is the color of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra that we are reviewing. It is a black color with a matte texture that coats the glass body, which is protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus +.
The combination of matte, black, and glass usually results in a phone body that is very sticky with fingerprints. This is not the case with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, surprisingly free of fingerprint traces.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra frame is made of rigid Aluminum Armor material. It weighs approximately 228 grams and stands 163.3mm tall. In terms of height and thickness, this phone is shorter than the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. This phone, like the Samsung Ultra variant, is large and slightly heavy. But it's worth noting that, despite the addition of the S Pen, Samsung has managed to keep the weight of this phone comparable to that of the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Located at the bottom is the S Pen slot, the first seen on the Samsung Galaxy S Series lineup. There are speakers, a USB-C port, a microphone, and a SIM card slot with no microSD support right next to it. The power and volume buttons are on the right. There is only one additional microphone at the top.
I can confidently state that this is the most beautiful Galaxy S phone I've ever held. I'm glad to see that Samsung has been actively experimenting with new phone designs while keeping aesthetics in mind.
S Pen
The Galaxy S22 Ultra, like the Galaxy Note, comes with an S Pen housed within the phone's body. Samsung claims to have improved the capabilities of the S Pen on the Galaxy S22, resulting in lower latency. This claim appears to be supported. When compared to the older S Pen, the stylus on the Galaxy S22 Ultra feels more responsive and easy to use.
We write on it, take notes, and even draw and color. It's almost like scribbling with a pencil or pen on paper. Again, those who have held the Galaxy Note will recognize the overall experience. The function of converting scribbles to text is retained, if not improved, thanks to the more responsive S Pen. When you're in a hurry and need to scribble something quickly, you can take out the S Pen and scribble away, even if the phone screen is locked. These scribbles can be converted into text later.
Like the previous Galaxy Note series, this S Pen can also be used as a smartphone remote control, such as to press the camera shutter button when taking pictures from a distance.
Screen and Audio
Amazing. One word to describe the screen on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra that we reviewed. The screen is a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X with QHD + resolution. Samsung will go to great lengths to maximize the capabilities of its flagship phone. Aside from a stunning screen, its features are pretty sophisticated and superior to the previous generation.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra screen supports adaptive refresh rates ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz. The adaptive refresh rate contributes to high battery power efficiency and extends the life of the smartphone's AMOLED screen.
This adaptive speed enables the screen to automatically adjust the refresh rate based on the user's needs and activities. Samsung's default apps, for example, will run at 60Hz, whereas games with a high frame rate can display in 120Hz mode. The screen on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is simply amazing in terms of quality. The screen's light intensity is also high, so it remains optimal even when used in direct sunlight.
In addition to HDR10+, there is a Vision Booster feature (of course). Vision Booster is a cutting-edge technology that enables the phone system to analyze ambient light conditions and automatically adjust the color contrast of the image or content displayed on the screen. Users can also enjoy an exciting visual experience with these features. This feature is useful when using the phone outside in reasonably bright light.
The content on the screen remains flawless; there are no shadows or over-brightness. Everything feels proper and distinct. Aside from visual quality, screen durability is regarded as a plus in this series. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus+, a non-tinted glass.
The stereo speakers on the bottom of the body above the screen are already present in the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra that we reviewed (joined with the earpiece). The audio outputs are correctly balanced, resulting in a loud and pleasing sound. Dolby Atmos support extends its speaker capabilities even further.
There are four presets to choose from Auto, Movie, Music, and Voice. Everything can be tweaked to provide the best audio quality possible in all scenarios. Dolby Atmos for Gaming, on the other hand, automatically presents loud and realistic sounds when you play your favorite Android games. We, as users, have complete control over how we set our equalizer.
Performance
The use of the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset with 4nm fabrication, which is faster and more power-efficient, distinguishes the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has three clusters: a 1-core Cortex X2 with a clock speed of 3 GHz, a 3-core Cortex 710 with a clock speed of 2.5 GHz, and a 4-core Cortex-510 with a clock speed of 1.8 GHz.
The latest processor from Qualcomm is embedded in the latest powerful Adreno 720 graphics card.. There is no doubt about its ability to meet gaming needs or create the best content. Furthermore, this GPU already supports VRS or variable rate shading.
When rendering images, this technology allows the GPU to receive a more significant allocation of resources. In essence, VRS enables GPUs to allocate more resources to rendering more complex or realistic images while using less power to process more detailed photos.
This chipset comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It already supports a 5G network and a battery with a 5,000 mAh supported by fast charging 45W, wireless charging 15W, and wireless power share. And it should be noted the Galaxy S22 Ultra does not provide a MicroSD slot. You can now play popular games like PUBG Mobile, Mobile Legends, and Genshin Impact smoothly at high graphics settings.
When tested with the 3DMark Wild Life app, the Galaxy S22 Ultra received a score of 8,821, which the app claims are 98 percent higher than other smartphones. Its performance is 92% above the average for all devices tested using 3DMark in Q1 2022.
Meanwhile, when tested with the Geekbench application, the Samsung S22 Ultra received a score of 3,126 for multi-core and 1,204 for single core.
One UI 4.1 Based on Android 12
This smartphone already has the most recent operating system, One UI 4.1, based on Android 12. Samsung's user interface is one of our favorites, particularly One UI 4.1, which appears cleaner, smoother, and less bloatware. The UI is also more modern, with a personalization function that allows us to customize the appearance. Color Palette is a feature that will enable us to choose which colors to apply to each icon in the notification bar, the App Drawer, and other buttons.
The presence of Smart Widgets is one of the benefits of the One UI 4 on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. This feature allows us to display multiple widgets in one area, eliminating creating a full screen of essential widgets.
Simply hold down the screen and select Smart Widget. There are three display options available; choose one. To add it to the main screen, click the Add button. In most cases, only two widgets will appear in a single area. Press and hold the widget to add or remove and select Add or Remove. Simply choose the application information or data you want to display on the Smart Widget.
In terms of Android 12, this operating system is more secure, with user privacy as a top priority. There is a new Privacy menu with more robust controls than previous generations. We can now see any application with real-time access to the camera, microphone, location, and other devices as users. When the application accesses critical user data, there is a timetable.
Furthermore, the user has complete control over turning off or on camera and microphone access with a single button press. When the switch is turned on or off, it affects all applications. Additionally, a feature alerts the user when an application accesses the clipboard. A clipboard is a menu that temporarily stores text, images, and other content data that has been copied or copied.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra camera is identical to the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra camera in terms of specifications. The configuration includes a main camera with a 108MP ISOCELL HM3 sensor and OIS (optical image stabilization), a 12MP ultrawide camera, a 10MP telephoto camera with OIS and 3x magnification, and a 10MP periscope camera with OIS and 10x magnification. At the same time, the front camera is the same, namely 40MP with two shooting modes, standard and wide.
Although the same, capturing photos and videos from the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is much better thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor with an ISP chip or the latest generation Qualcomm Spectra image signal processor.
This Qualcomm Spectra ISP, for your information, is supported by Snapdragon Sight technology and is Qualcomm's first 18-bit ISP. With these benefits, the camera can capture images in stunning detail with a color coverage of more than one billion colors in 8K HDR video capture.
It has been demonstrated that all Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra cameras produce the highest quality images under all conditions. Yes, whether you shoot during the day or at night, the results are equally satisfying.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's main camera can produce sharp photos, stunning and accurate colors, and a wide dynamic range. Taking pictures at night or in low light conditions is equally good, with minimal noise and natural colors and not overpowering. The details and colors can still be appreciated when the photo is enlarged to 50%. The standard is unquestionable.
The ultrawide camera performs similarly well. My personal favourite is the ultrawide camera on Samsung's flagship smartphone. The quality is out of this world. The end result is a sharp, detailed image with natural colors and minimal noise.
Surprisingly, this ultra-wide camera performs admirably when photographing a night scene. Although the details aren't as good as the main camera, the colors are still quite good. Even though there is noise in some photo spots, the photos are not too "bright" or "dark."
One of our favorites is the telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The photos appear clear, the details are solid and not broken, and the colors are unmistakably natural. The periscope camera, which has a 10x optical zoom capability, has a high level of detail. The noise is still present, but it does not affect the overall quality of the photographs. The resulting color is also quite pleasing. With this camera, we captured subjects from a distance with minimal effort.
Both of these long-range cameras can take photos at night. The quality is also acceptable and dependable. The images are still sharp, and the colors are vibrant, though some noise reduces the image quality slightly.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's "Space Zoom" 100x digital magnification is back. This 100 times magnification can capture images with a high level of detail. Although the details are still lacking, it is superior to the previous generation's Space Zoom.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has a selfie camera with a resolution of 40MP. The camera results are pretty good; the colors are accurate, and the facial details are lovely. Thanks to two shooting modes, we can also capture normal and "slightly" wide selfies with just one touch. One camera is used for two shots, which is efficient.
In terms of video, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra camera can capture images at up to 8K resolution at 24 frames per second, 4K at 60 frames per second, and Full HD at 60 frames per second.
Surprisingly, video stabilization is available across all recording resolutions, allowing users to shoot high-resolution videos steadily.
Main camera
Results from a 10x periscope camera
The digital zoom camera with a 100x magnification
Night Mode
Summary
Regardless of price, this latest Samsung cellphone deserves to be used by users who require a flagship phone with high power, advanced features, and excellent quality. After all, this smartphone offers a lot of value to users.
We were astounded by the capabilities and benefits of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's specifications during our review. Not only that, but it managed to make us feel at ease using this cellphone for a variety of purposes in terms of design, experience or UX, features, and the sophistication of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra camera.
When it comes to flagship phones, also known as first-class phones, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra stands out from the crowd. You had to have guessed it, didn't you?S Pen. This sophisticated and intelligent stylus is a Samsung exclusive not available from competing brands.
Many brands out there may have offered a large screen, fast specifications, and a powerful camera. But what about the S Pen, which can boost user productivity? This is an advantage for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
A premium design, a large and high-quality screen, a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, a reasonably long battery life, a high-quality camera, and the ability of the S Pen to be as good as the Galaxy Note Series make it one of the dream phones for people looking for a fantastic smartphone. The camera can also take pictures and record videos in low-light conditions. Because of Samsung DeX and Link to Windows, the Galaxy S22 Ultra can also be used for productivity.
