Samsung Galaxy S22 hands-on review

Our Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S22 builds upon the success of the Milky way S21, but it's not a big spring forward for Samsung's phones.

For

• Powerful new chipset
• Bright and colorful display
• Adept for 1-handed apply

Against

• Incremental upgrade on the S21
• Design isn't inspiring anymore

Tom'due south Guide Verdict

The Samsung Milky way S22 builds upon the success of the Galaxy S21, just it's not a big leap forrad for Samsung's phones.

Pros

• +

  Powerful new chipset

• +

  Bright and colorful brandish

• +

  Good for one-handed use

Cons

• -

  Incremental upgrade on the S21

• -

  Design isn't inspiring anymore

Samsung Galaxy S22 specs

Starting price: $799
Screen size: 6.1-inch AMOLED (FHD+)
Refresh rate: 10Hz-120Hz adaptive
CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen i (United states of america); Exynos 2200 (UK)
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 128GB, 256GB
Rear cameras: 50MP wide (f/1.8); 12MP ultrawide (f/2.ii); 10MP telephoto (f/2.four) with 3x optical zoom
Forepart camera: 10MP (f/ii.two)
Bombardment size: 3.700 mAh
Size: 5.7 x 2.eight x 0.3 inches
Weight: 5.9 ounces
Colors: Phantom Blackness, Phantom White, Green, Pink Gold

Samsung has embraced the idea of evolution over revolution when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S22. While the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra basically resurrects to Galaxy Notation, the standard S22 very much follows in the footsteps of its predecessor.

That'due south no bad thing. In my Samsung Milky way S21 review concluding yr I was impressed by the phone'south blueprint, performance, display and cameras. Information technology was my go-to Android smartphone for a while, until my preference for ColorOS had me swap to the Oppo Observe X3 Pro.

And then it's no surprise that Samsung has doubled down on the Profile Cutting design the S21 introduced. Combine that with all the leaks that came out over the past six months, and there's cipher unexpected from the standard Galaxy S22. Simply that doesn't mean it won't have a crack at a spot on our best Android phones list.

Samsung Milky way S22 release date and price

The Samsung Milky way S22 volition commencement at $799 and come in 128GB and 256GB models. That's the same starting cost as its predecessor, which is a good kickoff. I felt the Milky way S21 hit the sweet spot of offering flagship specs for a reasonable price, and Samsung conspicuously seems to agree.

Notwithstanding, it does mean the Galaxy S22 has to confront off against the $799 iPhone thirteen. Cupertino's phone has i less rear camera and a 60Hz brandish, but is however a fine phone. And the S22 is undercut by the $599 Google Pixel 6, which may have a lesser specs sheet but all the same offers impressive smartphone photography, plenty of performance and a sublime Android experience.

Galaxy S22 pre-orders start February 9 with the phone going on auction February 25. And as a nice bonus, those who pre-society the Milky way S22 volition get a 25% off whatsoever Galaxy Tab S8 tablet. Those are merely a handful of the early on Galaxy S22 deals yous'll find correct now.

Samsung Milky way S22 design

If y'all've seen the Galaxy S21, y'all've basically seen the Milky way S22. Both phones utilise the same blueprint, with the triple rear photographic camera array using the Profile Cut design that wraps the module around the phone's left edge.

Galaxy S22 Plus (left) and Galaxy S22 (right) (Epitome credit: Tom's Guide)

What's dissimilar with the Milky way S22 is the module loses the two-tone look of its predecessor; instead, it features the aforementioned color of the phone's rear.The Galaxy S22 comes in Phantom Black, Phantom White, Pink Gold, and dark-green, with the latter's dark shade being the most appealing to me.

I rather miss the ii-tone look that was a little more than distinct. Equally, the uniformity of single-color design looks neater and less ostentatious than that of the S21.

There are some other minor tweaks, notably the brandish has dropped from half dozen.2 inches on the Galaxy S21 to the S22'due south 6.1-inch panel. And measuring 5.74 x 2.8 10 0.iii inches and weighing five.nine ounces, the Galaxy S22 is slimmer, lighter and more compact than its predecessor. As a upshot information technology's a phone that's easy to use one-handed, at least for me. And it's also a lilliputian thinner and lighter than the iPhone 13.

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

Despite this, Samsung has gone dorsum to using a glass dorsum for the S22, rather than the plastic of the S21. I wasn't against the and then-called 'glasstic' of the S21, which felt nice and easy to grip. Merely the employ of Gorilla Drinking glass Victus on both the font and dorsum of the Milky way S22 is reassuring, as information technology will likely survive a butter-fingered drib. The metal edges of the S22 now utilize Samsung's Armor Aluminum, which should also weather a drop without beingness chipped to heck.

In some means I'd have  liked Samsung to take been braver with the Galaxy S22'south blueprint. But if Apple can get away with using the same design for generation upon generation, why shouldn't Samsung? And there'south no question that the Galaxy S22 is a rather lovely phone to concord and employ.

Samsung Galaxy S22 display

The Galaxy S22 might have a smaller brandish than its predecessor but information technology's no less impressive. With a new LTPO console, the brandish will get from 120Hz to a mere 10Hz, which should assist preserve bombardment life when a high refresh rate isn't needed; the S21 only dropped every bit low as 48Hz.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Another upgrade is the Vision Booster feature, which will dynamically map the tone of the screen to tweak color and contrast to exist all-time suited for what'southward being viewed and the environment it'south being viewed in.

In practical terms, the Galaxy S22's brandish is simply lovely. Colors and contrast are punchy, and the screen feels very responsive. This isn't a surprise as Samsung has long fabricated very skilful phone screens. Withal, without being able to compare the screen alongside the Galaxy S21, I'm not sure at that place's a massive deviation in the viewing experience.

As e'er, Samsung tends to lean quite difficult into color saturation, merely this can exist tweaked in the display settings, though I'grand rather fractional to the bounty of colors the S22 offers. In short, the Galaxy S22 has a neat screen from a user's perspective, but we'll demand to put it through our lab tests earlier nosotros come up to whatever concrete conclusions.

Samsung Milky way S22 cameras

As mentioned earlier, the Galaxy S22 sticks with a triple rear camera assortment, but with a new suite of sensors.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The main camera now sports a 50-megapixel sensor and uses "Tetra binning" engineering science to resolve large photos down to standard 12MP shots with more detail and calorie-free. The telephoto camera has dropped from 64MP to 10MP, only information technology now has the reward of a proper 3x optical zoom rather than a hybrid 3x zoom. And the ultrawide sticks with a 12MP sensor merely now has a larger 120-degree field of view as opposed to a 79-caste FOV. The front-facing camera remains at 10MP, but improved AI epitome processing should come into play hither to deliver better selfies.

While I'd need to exercise a lot more than testing than my easily-on session afforded, my initial impression of the Galaxy S22 cameras are positive. The new main camera captures bright and color-rich shots, with plenty of detail — 1 caveat being I was viewing them on the S22 not an external brandish — and it certainly feels it sucks in more low-cal than the S21'due south chief camera.

I'm an abet of optical zoom on telephotos cameras, and then the conclusion to go for that over a college megapixel sensor felt correct to me. And I also feel the 30x Infinite Zoom is a lilliputian clearer and usable than it was on the Galaxy S21. What's more, the ultrawide photographic camera tin can capture more in its frame.

However, dissimilar my experience with the Google Pixel 6 Pro, I didn't feel similar any of the S22'due south shots really grabbed me in terms of contrast, detail or just presentation. Nor did I feel at that place was the consistency across the lenses I go from an iPhone 13 Pro. Still, the variation in night and light areas in the Samsung'southward King's Cantankerous shop were handled well past the Milky way S22, clearly showing that the actress light a 50MP camera lets in pays dividends.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Samsung touted improved portrait photo capabilities cheers to its new AI Stereo Depth Map, which tin supposedly choice out the smallest of details like a strand of hair. While I'd need to compare the Galaxy S22 against the S21 for the differences to be made clearer, the portrait shots I snapped were definitely pleasing — I felt in that location was less fringing between the edges of the subject area and its groundwork.

Having snapped a quick selfie with the 10MP front camera, I reckon Samsung has improved in reigning in the over-smoothing and processing the S21 cruel foul of. The pores on my brow were visible when I zoomed in, and my dead-eyed yard 1000 stare was clearly captured.

Video seems to accept been an area Samsung has focused on with the Galaxy S22. Video capture goes up to 8K at 24 frames per second, like it did with the Galaxy S21. But the new Car Framing feature can observe and rail upward to x people in a frame and automatically suit the camera'southward focus to tape them all clearly. Information technology besides tracks individuals in a frame to center the camera on them, which is almost hypnotic to watch. Where this sits between gimmick and an actually useful feature isn't clear to me yet, merely it's certainly cool.

But pointing and shooting video felt a picayune smoother with the Galaxy S22 than it did with the S21. Only I would need to test the S22 against the iPhone xiii Pro, which makes capturing good videos dead-easy, before I draw any conclusions here.

Samsung Galaxy S22 operation, battery life and charging

At the heart of the Galaxy S22 sits a 4-nanometer chipset, supported by 8GB of RAM. This is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the U.S. and Chinese models. But Samsung has all the same to say which fries ability models in the U.K. and other regions; I suspect it's the Exynos 2200.

Either way, Samsung says processor performance is up 5%, graphics functioning has seen a 40% bound, and the operation of the neural processing unit has leaped by a healthy 133%. In a practical sense, this means the Galaxy S22 is faster and smarter than the S21.

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

I encountered aught that brought the Galaxy S21 with its Snapdragon 888/Exynos 2100 to its knees. So I'chiliad not convinced the operation uptick the S22 offers will be hugely noticeable. In my time with the S22, it felt abrupt and responsive, equal to that of whatever other Android flagship phone I've used recently. More than in-depth testing could be more telling, but I can't encounter the Galaxy S22 falling curt in CPU or GPU clout.

Samsung says the extra dose of smart processing power will better clarify network usage and behavior, also as streamline app performance, especially in games so that the software and user experience feels smooth but won't guzzle battery life. I've heard such claims made plenty of times with Samsung and other phones, but take mostly found that bombardment life even so only lasts a solar day.

I hope that's non the case as the Galaxy S22 has a smaller battery than the S21, with a 3,700 mAh cell compared to the S21'south iv,000 mAh bombardment. In our testing, which involves continuous spider web surfing at 150 nits of screen brightness over 5G, the Galaxy S21 managed ix hours and 53 minutes. That'southward bully, merely it'south a far cry from making it on the Tom's Guide best phone battery life list, and we got that time but by turning off the S21's dynamic refresh rate. I hope Samsung has indeed brought proper smart processing to impact bombardment optimization, as otherwise the S22 could be a bit of a letdown in that section.

Speaking of disappointments, The Galaxy S22 has stuck with 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. The rumored 45W charging only features on the Milky way S22 Plus and S22 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S22 software

The Galaxy S22 comes with Android 12 and I UI 4.one out of the box. I'grand a fan of Android 12, but Google's Material You design language has been toned down here in favor of Samsung'south on UI skin. Over the by few years One UI has been tweaked and honed to go cleaner and less fussy than it was when it debuted with the Milky way S8.

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

And I'g happy to say One UI 4.ane is the cleanest iteration however. It also allows for some in-depth customisation, notably with widgets, which at present offering more data. There'south also a new privacy dashboard, which integrates features from Android 12, and then yous tin can get things like alerts when an app has used your microphone or photographic camera.

Samsung apps that basically double up on what Google offers are withal nowadays, meaning there'southward the e-mail app aslope Gmail. But information technology's a pocket-size matter and easy to chop-chop swap around apps.

Samsung also worked with Google on the latter's Duo so users can at present spotter videos live on a group call. Not my matter, just someone might honey this.

Samsung Milky way S22 outlook

With the caveat that Tom's Guide volition need to practice a full review of the Galaxy S22 before we come to any definitive conclusions, if I were to summarize the phone in one word it would be irksome. That's not to say it's a bad phone — far from information technology.

From my experience with the Galaxy S22, it's a good looking, comfortable, capable and seemingly powerful Android phone. If you are looking to upgrade from a Galaxy S20 or some other older phone, the Galaxy S22 could be well worth a wait.

Only if you lot take a Milky way S21, I can't help only feel the S22 won't be the phone for you. Small camera upgrades are groovy, but the S21 was no slouch there. Nor did I experience information technology was defective in the performance stakes. So the upgrades the Galaxy S22 is offering aren't going to shift the needle; maybe hold fire for the Galaxy S23 next year.

While nosotros go on to work on our review of the Milky way S22, here'south a closer wait at the reasons you may want to upgrade to the Galaxy S22 — and why you may want to skip this model.

Roland Moore-Colyer is U.K. Editor at Tom's Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he'southward also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland tin be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his confront.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-s22

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