[ PROMO ] Redeem a 45W USB-C PD Super Fast Charger (worth RM199) for free when you buy the Galaxy S22 series with the promo code GS22VIPSC via the Samsung Malaysia online store. Offer ends 31 March 2022 while stocks last.
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Amidst a host of leaks, rumours and speculations, Samsung has finally revealed to the world their new flagship smartphone lineup, the Samsung Galaxy S22 series. It consists of three devices: the base Galaxy S22, the larger Galaxy S22 Plus and the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which comes with a very different look to it compared to its siblings. You can check out our coverage of the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus here, but in this article we’re taking a closer look at the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Right off the bat, you’ll notice that it’s design philosophy is much different than that of the other two in the Galaxy S22 lineup. You’ll find flat edges on the top and bottom of the device, with almost the same design as the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra from 2020. There’s a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front and back of the device too, sandwiching the metal frame in the middle. It’s no coincidence though that the Galaxy S22 Ultra looks and feels like the Galaxy Note smartphones of yesteryear, because it pretty much is one in every department other than name.
“The Galaxy Note series is one of our most beloved products, thanks to an incredibly loyal fan base that appreciates the power, performance and productivity Note offers. We’ve listened to them carefully, and we know that they want it all.
That’s why we’re integrating the most beloved Note features into more device categories, including the S Series, tablets, Z Fold, Galaxy Book and beyond. This enables everyone to get more from their mobile experience and marks the next chapter of the Note legacy,” – TM Roh, Samsung President
The display on the Galaxy S22 Ultra is a 6.8-inch, QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X curved edge display with a refresh rate capable of 120Hz as well as a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. Samsung says that the display is capable of reaching up to 1750nits too on top of a 3,000,000:1 contrast ratio while also covering 100% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. One thing to note though is that the display will come without the rounded corners like the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus, instead adopting the sharper, almost industrial look of the Galaxy Note series.
Under the hood, it’ll be powered by either the in-house Exynos 2200 or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 system-on-chip, though we’re pleased to hear that the Malaysian market will be getting the Galaxy S22 Ultra powered by the latter. The 4nm processor will then get mated to up to 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage, though the configurations available locally may not get that much storage. And as usual, the Galaxy S22 Ultra will come with Android 12 with the One UI 4.1 skin over it, and the Korean giant is also promising four major OS updates and five years of security patches too.
As for the camera department, we’re looking at a quad camera setup on the rear with an additional laser auto focus module with it. The main camera is a 108MP, f/1.8 shooter with dual pixel auto focus and a 85° field of view. That gets flanked by a 12MP, f/2.2 ultra wide camera capable of a 120° field of view, a 10MP, f/2.4 telephoto shooter with a 3x optical zoom and another 10MP, f/4.9 telephoto camera capable of 10x optical zoom too. There’s also a Space Zoom feature capable of 100x digital zoom via AI Super Resolution technology, though you can probably expect lower image quality as a result. Meanwhile, in the front of the device is a 40MP, f/2.2 front-facing camera for your selfies.
Other features of note include a 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging, along with Samsung Wireless PowerShare reverse wireless charging. It’s a slight improvement over the Note 20 Ultra’s 4,500mAh battery with 25W charging. You’ll also be getting 5G, Ultra Wide Band, WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity as well as Samsung Pay with NFC. The Galaxy S22 Ultra has an IP68 rating too, while the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is located under the display. It won’t come with a charging brick in the box though.
Of course, we can’t finish talking about the Galaxy S22 Ultra without mentioning the S Pen stylus that comes along with it. Samsung have upgraded a bunch of stuff under the hood to bring some significant improvements when using the S Pen on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, such as lowering the latency from 9ms to just 2.8ms. There’s now a better recognition rate for handwriting-to-text and better AI predictions, while Samsung Notes gets some new features too such as quick notes to easily attach links as well as the ability to use the Galaxy S22 Ultra as a secondary display when you’re using one of the new Galaxy Tab S8 series tablets with the S Pen.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra won’t be cheap though. It starts at RM5,099 for the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and will come in either Phantom White, Phantom Black, Burgundy or Green colourways. For RM5,499, you’ll be able to upgrade the specs to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, while RM5,899 bumps it up even more to 512GB of storage. You can check out the Galaxy S22 Ultra in more detail on its product page here.
