Samsung Galaxy A22 review

One UI 3.1 Core on top of Android 11, with most features intact

It is hardly a secret that a lot of the appeal of Samsung devices lies in the software. Of course, it's not a universal appeal, but there is a reason why One UI is one of the most popular custom Android implementations out there and has been so for quite some time. For many users, the added value proposition of a Samsung phone lies precisely in the software and ecosystem.

In keeping with its new "Awesome is for everyone" slogan, the Korean giant is significantly stepping up its software game with the new Galaxy A family of devices. That includes the Galaxy A22.

That being said, feature parity only stretches so far and coming down from the A72 towards the A22 has inevitably resulted in extra feature cuts. Nothing major, though, and the things still there are amazing for a budget device.

The Galaxy A22 actually ships with something called One UI 3.1 Core on top of Android 11. That "Core" bit actually demotes a slightly cut-down version, which explains some feature omissions. In any case, there aren't too many differences compared to the regular One UI 3.1, nor its predecessors, like 3.0 and 2.5. Just subtle things here and there, which we will try to mention.

First, a quick PSA about software support: at the launch of the A72, A52 and A32, Samsung made a huge commitment to offer three major Android OS updates for those phones, as well as four years of security updates. That will apparently be the case going forward for its high-end and some mid-range models.

Unfortunately, the Galaxy A32 and A32 5G are the cutoff point in that list, and the Galaxy A22 is currently scheduled for two major OS updates. This could actually be a reason to prefer the A32 for some prospective buyers, particularly if they intend on keeping it for a long time.

Let's start from the lockscreen. The default shortcuts for the dialer and camera are now monochrome. They used to match the respective apps' colors. Oddly enough, if you pick different apps, they will keep their colors - it's not a first-party vs. third-party type of differentiation either.

As more of a functional change - the lock screen has a wellbeing widget - you can now keep track of how much time you've spent on your phone without even unlocking it.

Lock screen, shortcuts and widgets

The always-on display option is present on the Galaxy A22 and makes proper use of its AMOLED display.

The side-mounted fingerprint reader will likely be the primary method of unlocking for most users, but you can still use face unlock instead or alongside it. It can be more convenient in certain situations, but it is generally less secure since it's based on the selfie camera.

Biometrics and security

The notification shade is a bit different on newer One UI versions and now covers the entire screen underneath, even if there's just one notification card or none at all. Previously, a portion of the screen below the last notification still remained visible, just darkened.

While we're here, the quick toggles can now be edited directly from the plus button at the end of the list instead of going into the menu.

Android 11 includes the nifty Notification history feature. It's accessed from the Settings menu, so it's not within immediate reach, but it's there for those occasions when you dismissed a notification too quickly, and you can't seem to find what it was about. Just make sure to enable it because it's Off by default.

Notifications, quick toggles and notification history

All of the standard layout adjustments and toggles for the quick panel and taskbar are accounted for. Android 11 has a new way of handling notifications for instant messenger apps called Bubbles, and One UI 3 adopts it, too. That's in addition to a previously available similar feature offered by Samsung by the name of Smart pop-up view. You'll find these settings under the 'Floating notifications' submenu, where you can alternatively turn both of them off and opt for the old-school cards-only interface.

Bubbles is an extension of the Conversations feature, another new development. You tap on an icon in the initial incoming message notification. It turns into a conversation that you can then minimize to a bubble, or what was known as a 'chat head' - originally Facebook Messenger's default way of dealing with chats.

Smart pop-up view is one of One UI's lesser-known proprietary features. In the pre-Bubbles days, it used to add the chat head functionality to any application of your choosing. Tapping the hovering 'head' icon opens the app in a floating window, which you can further maximize to fullscreen or minimize again to an icon. Sort of like Bubbles, only slightly different.

Floating notifications

Android 11's refined multimedia controls have made their way onto One UI. You get the active audio playback apps in a stack right below the quick toggles and swiping to the side switches between the apps.

The Media screen was already available on One UI 2.5 pre-Android 11, and it offers similar functionality for picking the output device or using Samsung's Music share feature. The volume control panel has gotten a makeover too, and now the four sliders are vertical instead of the horizontal ones of One UIs past.

Media controls

Samsung's Music Share is just one example of a fairly advanced software feature that originally launched as a flagship one and is now bringing a lot of added value to the mid-range. It fits right in with the new "Awesome' campaign for the Galaxy A family - a fact the PR team has instantly picked up on. The feature allows you to play music through Bluetooth accessories connected to a friend's Samsung phone. It is pretty nifty.

Interestingly enough, Music Share was absent on the Galaxy A22 5G back when we reviewed it, even though it was technically running the same One UI 3.1 Core. Perhaps it was backported with a subsequent update and is now on the vanilla A22.

Samsung Music Share

Yet another of the native Android 11 improvements that Samsung also includes in One UI 3 is the ability to pin apps to the top of the sheet with Share options. It's one of those things that make you wonder how come it had to wait until v11 for us to get there. Things are much better now, but still, we'd like to be able to remove some of the options, too, because that list could sure use some decluttering.

One more thing that Google tweaked in this year's release is the permission handling, and Samsung's implemented it in One UI 3. With this version, you will now see a new prompt for permissions every time an app requests it, letting you deny permission, allow it only while using the app, or just for this one time. If an app requires constant access to permission, you also get a fourth option that takes you to a setting page where you can provide it. This is done to prevent the user from accidentally selecting this option while blazing through the permission dialogs.

Share options pinning and permissions handling

The settings menu has seen a subtle but meaningful makeover. Subcategories are made more legible by using a dot separator and extra intervals, while recent searches are now shown as bubbles instead of a list. Additionally, there's a newly added feature to search settings by hashtags - for conceptually related things found in different places in the menu.

One UI settings

The One UI dialer app lends itself to plenty of customization. There are two different layouts for the in-call screen to choose between. You can also set up a background image or video for that screen, though it's going to be all the same for all of your calls - you can't have a different one on a per-person basis.

Samsung dialer

There are plenty of other smaller visual changes scattered all throughout One UI 3.1. Samsung's excellent theme support and rich online selection are present, as well. The same goes for the system navigation options, with a few tweaks and layouts available for gestures, as well as old-school button controls, even the really-old original style, with the back button on the right side.

One UI 3.1 and navigation options

There are plenty of additional extra features in the Galaxy A22 as well. As we said, most things present on the A52 and A72 made it over, like the Edge panels interface, as well as Game launcher - the hub for all your games, which also provides options for limiting distraction when gaming is here to stay as well.

Game launcher

There are some omissions, though. For instance, there is no mention of Bixby anywhere in the UI. Another thing missing out of the box is SmartThings. Though, the system-level integration for it within the Devices tab in the notification shade is present. All you need to do is download the SmartThings app to get it working.

Additional software features

Samsung Dex is nowhere to be found. But it is absent from the entire Galaxy A lineup, which we get - some things still need to be flagship exclusives. Even in its absence, though, you can still get a lot of its functionality through the Link to Windows feature that has been implemented in cooperation with Microsoft. You don't get Samsung's Smart View display and content casting either.

System benchmarks

The Galaxy A22 has the Mediatek Helio G80 chip inside, an okay performer but one that's going to have a hard time competing with rival offerings in this price bracket. It features an octa-core CPU in a 2+6 configuration (2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55) and a Mali-G52 MC2 GPU. A number of RAM and storage options are available, ranging from 4GB/64GB all the way to 6GB/128GB. Our review unit is the 4GB/128GB variant.

These are basically the exact same internals as found inside the Galaxy A32, with the exception of the top-tier 8GB RAM option. Performance is hence, expectedly very similar between the paid, as well as other phones equipped with the Helio G80.

Kicking things off with some pure CPU numbers and GeekBench we can see the Galaxy A22 holds its own well enough, but definitely doesn't excel among its peers in terms of raw performance.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  2801
• Poco X3 Pro
  2574
• Realme 8i
  1886
• Realme 8s 5G
  1842
• Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
  1820
• Poco M4 Pro 5G
  1797
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
  1796
• Realme 8 5G
  1784
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
  1780
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  1719
• Realme 8
  1690
• Realme 8 Pro
  1678
• Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
  1673
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  1599
• Samsung Galaxy A52
  1577
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S
  1576
• Poco M3
  1398
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  1372
• Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
  1325
• Xiaomi Redmi 10
  1294
• Samsung Galaxy A32
  1277
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  1034
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  495

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  771
• Poco X3 Pro
  735
• Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
  636
• Realme 8s 5G
  616
• Poco M4 Pro 5G
  597
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
  569
• Realme 8 5G
  569
• Realme 8 Pro
  566
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  560
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
  560
• Realme 8i
  539
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  534
• Realme 8
  533
• Samsung Galaxy A52
  525
• Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
  505
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S
  502
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  376
• Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
  362
• Samsung Galaxy A32
  361
• Xiaomi Redmi 10
  361
• Poco M3
  308
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  169
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  131

At least it is good to see that the Galaxy A22 is making the most out of the G80 chipset. In fact, it manages to squeeze a few extra points in CPU tests on average, for what that's worth.

The more compound AnTuTu benchmark isn't overly favorable towards the Galaxy A22 either, but in the older AnTuTu 8 runs, the budget Samsung does manage to outpace the Poco M3 and its Snapdragon 662 chipset and come close to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 and its Snapdragon 678.

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

• Poco X3 Pro
  453223
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  429675
• Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
  334981
• Realme 8s 5G
  329661
• Realme 8 5G
  302059
• Realme 8
  298328
• Poco M4 Pro 5G
  296721
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
  295442
• Realme 8i
  293507
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
  290172
• Realme 8 Pro
  286666
• Samsung Galaxy A52
  261282
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  242155
• Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
  226561
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  218788
• Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
  201829
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  185358
• Poco M3
  177904
• Samsung Galaxy A32
  174332
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  107189
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  90811

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Poco X3 Pro
  45
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  33
• Realme 8
  20
• Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
  19
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
  19
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
  19
• Realme 8 Pro
  18
• Samsung Galaxy A52
  17
• Poco M4 Pro 5G
  16
• Realme 8s 5G
  16
• Realme 8 5G
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  14
• Realme 8i
  14
• Samsung Galaxy A32
  9.3
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  9.3
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  9.3
• Poco M3
  7.2
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  3.4
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  3.3

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Poco X3 Pro
  38
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  28
• Realme 8
  18
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G
  17
• Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  16
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
  16
• Realme 8 Pro
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A52
  15
• Realme 8s 5G
  14
• Poco M4 Pro 5G
  13
• Realme 8 5G
  13
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  12
• Realme 8i
  11
• Samsung Galaxy A32
  8.1
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  7.9
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  6.1
• Poco M3
  5.9
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  5

To be fair the Mali-G52 MC2 GPU is hardly a powerhouse. That being said, it has more than enough "oomph" for casual gaming, with lighter titles even exceeding 60fps and taking advantage of its 90Hz refresh rate. In fact, with some quality compromises, we even managed to exceed 60fps in PUBG Mobile.

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Poco X3 Pro
  27
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  20
• Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
  11
• Realme 8 Pro
  11
• Realme 8
  11
• Samsung Galaxy A52
  10
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  9.4
• Realme 8s 5G
  8.9
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  7.8
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  5.3
• Samsung Galaxy A32
  4.4
• Poco M3
  4.1
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  3.8
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  3.5

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Poco X3 Pro
  26
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  19
• Realme 8
  12
• Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
  11
• Realme 8 Pro
  11
• Samsung Galaxy A52
  10
• Realme 8s 5G
  9.7
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  9.2
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  8.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  5.6
• Samsung Galaxy A32
  5
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  4.6
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  3.5
• Poco M3
  2.8

3DMark paints a similar and mostly unimpressive picture overall. In fact, numbers are even rougher here on account of the QHD test resolution.

3DMark SSE ES 3.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  5010
• Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
  2638
• Realme 8
  2610
• Realme 8s 5G
  2567
• Samsung Galaxy A52
  2529
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  2391
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  1471
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  1361
• Samsung Galaxy A32
  1323
• Poco M3
  1175
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  438
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  365

3DMark SSE Vulkan 1.0 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  4231
• Realme 8
  2639
• Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
  2509
• Realme 8s 5G
  2439
• Samsung Galaxy A52
  2406
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  2257
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  1383
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  1372
• Samsung Galaxy A32
  1371
• Poco M3
  1106
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  612
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  489

All things considered the MediaTek Helio G80 is decent enough to provide a perfectly fluent experience with regular daily tasks on the Galaxy A22. OneUI runs smoothly without a hitch and with very minimal stutters and slowdowns. That, however, is pretty much true for most somewhat recent mobile chips and is hardly a major achievement. The fact remains that if you are after the best possible performance on a tight budget there are much better options than the Samsung Galaxy A22.