Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G First Impressions and Camera Samples!
We got an early look at the newly announced Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G. These are our thoughts and first impressions of the new flagship!
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| Now includes the S Pen |
After months of speculation, Samsung has finally officially launched the Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G. It has a massive 6.8-inch Edge QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display in front. Inside is the new 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 5G octa-core processor, 8GB/12GB RAM, 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB of storage. There is no microSD card slot. Powering the device is a large 5,000mAh battery with up to 45W fast charging support thru USB-C.
At the back of the phone is the 108MP f/1.8 main camera, 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, 10MP 3x telephoto, and 10MP 10x telephoto with an LED flash. While in front is the 40MP f/2.2 selfie camera.
In the Philippines, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G starts at PHP 68,990 for the 8GB/128GB model.
Is it worth it? Let's dive in!
Build Quality/Design
For the materials used, the Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G is made of Armor Aluminum that was first introduced with the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G and Z Fold3 5G. Samsung claims that it is lighter and stronger than other aluminum.
The metal frame in between the glass back panel and the glass front panel feels solid.
Armor Aluminum + Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+
Samsung says that the exterior lens of the cameras is made of Super Clear Glass with Gorilla Glass DX which reduces reflection and glare as well.
Meanwhile, the display is now protected by the new Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+. According to Samsung's presentation, it is up to 12 percent tougher than previous-gen glass.
Similar to most modern flagships, the device comes with an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
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| SIM tray with rubber gaskets |
At first glance, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G looks more like the evolution of the Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G than last year's S21 Ultra 5G. It even includes the S Pen and a silo to store the stylus.
The back is polished to the same degree as "high-end" jewelry. The phone will arrive in Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, and Burgundy colorways.
The back panel is made of a tempered glass back that is resistant to fingerprint smudges. The texture also makes it less slippery to hold.
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| Large display! |
In front, it is equipped with the massive 6.8-inch Edge QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, Vision Booster, and 1,750 nits peak brightness. On the upper part of the display is the punch hole that carries the 32MP f/2.2 81-degree wide selfie camera. Above the display is the super slim earpiece that doubles as the first half of the stereo speakers.
Around the panel are slim bezels. Although the chin bezel is slightly thicker than the top and side bezels.
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| Top and bottom sides |
On top of the S22 Ultra 5G are an antenna line and a microphone port while at the bottom are the S Pen and the S Pen silo, antenna lines, speaker grille, USB-C port, and the SIM tray.
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| Left and right sides |
Like its siblings, the left side of the S22 Ultra only features antenna lines while on the right are the metal volume rocker and the metal power button.
The S22 Ultra 5G measures 77.9 x 163.3 x 8.9 mm and weighs 229 grams. At first, you would think that the size would make it heavy but it is surprisingly lighter than it looks.
Samsung's use of the lighter "Armor Aluminum" could explain the S22 Ultra 5G's slightly wider size to last year's S21 Ultra 5G but with the same 229-gram weight.
Even though the phone is wider than most, it still fits in our hands. It is surprisingly lightweight for its size which makes it easier to hold.
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| Rear cameras |
For cameras, It features a 40MP f/2.2 selfie camera while at the back is a quad-camera array made up of a 108MP f/1.8 main camera, 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera, 10MP f/2.4 3x Telephoto camera, and a 10MP f/4.9 10x Telephoto with an LED flash. The main 108MP shooter features OIS and PDAF while the rest feature Dual Pixel AF. Both the 3x and 10x Telephoto cameras also feature OIS.
First Camera Samples
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| main 1x camera |
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| 3x Telephoto camera |
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| 10x Telephoto camera |
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| 100x digital zoom |
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| Ultra-wide camera |
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| Plenty of detail even if you zoom in! |
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| Selfie camera |
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| Selfie portrait |
Out of the gate, the cameras are impressive. Even if you zoom into the files, there is plenty of detail with minimal noise and artifacts.
Once we get a review unit we will do more intensive camera shots.
As of the moment
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| Full S Pen experience |
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G is equipped with solid and lightweight build materials highlighted by the Armor Aluminum and Gorilla Glass Victus+. The phone is IP68 rated as well. Of course, it has powerful specs overall too.
The new S22 Ultra 5G even features a large 5,000mAh battery with the new 45W Super Fast Charging 2.0. Samsung claims that 20 minutes of charge will offer "all-day" battery life. The S20 Ultra also had 45W charging but was not much faster than the 25W charger back then. Hopefully, Samsung has significantly improved the 45W charger.
What sets the S22 Ultra 5G apart is that it inherits the Galaxy Note's S Pen along with the silo to store the stylus.
Another noteworthy feature is that the cameras have improved since last year. We were surprised that even after zooming into the files, the images still had minimal grain and artifacts compared to previous generations.
However, we are a bit confused why Samsung didn't use the company's new 200MP sensor for this model announced last September 2021.
AND, unlike previous years, the Philippines will receive the Qualcomm Snapdragon variant across all models.
As mentioned earlier, the Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G will arrive in the Philippines in either 8GB/128GB, 12GB/256GB, or 12GB/512GB variants.
Stay tuned for our full review once we get our hands on a review unit.
Alongside the new S22 series, Samsung also launched the new Tab S8 series.
What do you guys think?
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