Samsung Galaxy S22+ review

One UI 4.1 on top of Android 12

The Galaxy S22+ ships with the latest One UI 4.1 on top of Android 12. An incremental "point one" upgrade over the One UI 4 the Galaxy S21 generation currently has. Our unit is also running January 1 Google security patches out of the box. Samsung didn't really debut any particular general software addition with the Galaxy S22. Instead, you get the familiar UX with all of its customizability and added-value features. One UI remains one of the most beloved custom Android flavors out there.

As part of its long-term sustainability efforts, Samsung also recently announced that its 2022 and 2021 flagship devices will be receiving four OS updates and five years of security patches. This includes the Galaxy S22 trio and the Galaxy Tab S8 line. Also retroactively benefitting from the move - the Z Fold3, Z Flip3 and the Galaxy S21 family, including the S21 FE. Extra point for effort.

Despite the generally familiar UX, users upgrading from a few-year-old Samsung device might still notice some new additions and changes, but those generally debuted with One UI 4, like new widgets with rich customization options and new emojis and GIFs available on the keyboard. Improved privacy is also part of OneUI 4 with a new privacy dashboard with various controls and new ways for monitoring permissions. Other interesting features, notably Color Palettes, are actually part of the Android 12 core.

Keeping all of this in mind, we'll just do a quick overview. The lock screen looks the same as before with two monochrome shortcuts - dialer and camera.

The under-display fingerprint reader will likely be the primary method of unlocking for most, but you can still use face unlock either instead of or alongside it. It can be more convenient in certain situations, but it generally is less secure since it's just using the selfie camera, meaning tricking it isn't too hard.

Always-on display is available - it's the simplified version from One UI 3. You can choose between a few clock styles or opt for an Image Clock. Music info is also supported. The feature can be always-off, always-on, scheduled, shown only when new notifications are available, or you can opt for tap to show for 10s.

Always-on display options

The lock screen is largely unchanged, as mentioned and also has a whole lot of customization options available.

Lockscreen options

OneUI 4.1 looks even cleaner than v.3.x, but its logic remains the same - there are homescreen, widgets, notification center, task switcher and an app drawer.

OneUI 4.1

Samsung has some nifty Smart Widgets that can combine a few different pieces of data and take up less space. They are also much more customizable. As we mentioned, the Samsung keyboard is now even more feature-rich and customizable than ever with the inclusion of more emojis and stickers.

Smart Widgets and new emojis

One of the new One UI 4 features is Color Palettes. This is the implementation of the vanilla Android 12's Wallpaper colors. There are usually four Color Palette suggestions in addition to the default One UI Blue/Black one. Those are picked automatically by the software, depending on your current wallpaper. The color you choose will become the main one in the newly created theme (think Windows' "accent color").

These accent colors are applied on the dialer, the quick toggles, and other tiny UI bits. You can choose to apply them to the app icons as well.

Color palettes

The dialer allows you to pick between two layouts for the in-call screen. 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.

Dialer

The Settings menu contains a new Privacy Dashboard. Here you can easily see which apps are using some of the most important (for privacy) permissions. You can control the camera and control access across apps, opt for clipboard access alerts (useful if you copy passwords, social security numbers, IBANs, among others), and there is, of course, a full-blown permission manager of you like to dig deeper.

Privacy Dashboard

You get a whole bunch of options for using your Galaxy with other devices to enable various use cases. DeX is the proprietary feature that lets you use the phone as the 'computer' and add a monitor and a keyboard for added productivity - it works wirelessly or over HDMI.

Alternatively, the Link to Windows feature provides you with an interface to your phone from your computer so you can exchange images, manage notifications on your PC or even make calls from it.

Another option along those lines but with more limited potential is Continue apps on other devices. This requires you to be logged in to your Samsung account on both devices, hook them up to the same Wi-Fi network with Bluetooth enabled and use Samsung Internet browser or Samsung Notes. You'll then be able to copy and paste text and images across and open the same tabs in the browser.

DeX • Continue apps on other devices • Link to Windows

Other staples of proprietary Samsung software include the Edge panels - the panes that show up when you swipe in from the side and provide tools and shortcuts to apps and contacts. Game launcher, the hub for all your games, which also provides options for limiting distraction when gaming is here to stay as well.

Otherwise, the software package is similar to other Samsung phones, with an in-house Gallery app, the Game Launcher app, and a proprietary file manager. Samsung's Internet web browser is also available on the Galaxy S22+.

Gallery • Game Launcher • File manager • Internet • Edge panel

The Gallery is where you'd find the new Object Eraser feature. Once you enter photo edit mode, you can opt for object eraser from More options. This is a fancier way of saying smart delete - you either paint over an object or tap on it for automatic selection. And then you hope for the best - if the object's surroundings aren't too complex, you will get a good outcome. Otherwise - it's a mixed-bag. Samsung now offers shadow and reflection erasers in beta as well.

Object Eraser now with Shadow and Reflection eraser in Labs tab

Beyond all of this, the S22+ comes loaded with a standard set of apps from Samsung, Microsoft and Google.

Pre-installed apps

Granted, the list has gotten a bit extensive, but there is nothing here that we would consider bloat in the traditional sense. Anything you don't personally like or appreciate having on your device can be easily uninstalled or, failing that - disabled.

If you were wondering, we tried using an S Pen on the S22+ inside Samsung Notes and the rest of the UI, and rather expectedly, it does not work. Hardly a surprise given that Samsung's stylus requires extra display hardware. Still, we thought we would try it as well.

As always, One UI runs incredibly smooth and provides a truly industry-leading custom Android experience, chuck-full of extra features and customizability.

Performance and benchmarks

Chipsets have consistently been one of the more interesting yet less openly-discussed parts of a Samsung flagship launch. At least we think so. The entire Galaxy S22 family is running the same flagship chipset or rather chipsets since, as usual, European countries (check your local retailer just in case) get an Exynos chipset, whereas the rest of the world gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. In this particular case, the new flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

Our Samsung Galaxy S22+ review unit is an SM-S906B/DS in pink with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. That means that at its heart sits Samsung's latest Exynos 2200 flagship chipset. It is a 4nm chip, just like its Qualcomm sibling. One of the first chips to integrate an Armv9 core. The octa-core processor has a single powerful Cortex-X2 core, clocked at up to 2.8GHz, three Cortex-A710 units, working at up to 2.5GHz balancing performance and efficiency, and four Cortex-A510 at up to 1.8GHz little cores for power efficiency. Basically, the same general configuration as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, though with slightly different core clocks.

However, the more interesting bit about the Exynos 2200 is its GPU. The Xclipse 920 is the result of a collaboration between Samsung and AMD and is based on the latter's excellent RDNA2 architecture, as seen on computer GPU solutions. Of course, significantly scaled-down. Currently, that makes it a "one-of-a-kind hybrid graphics processor" that brings advanced features such as ray tracing and variable rate shading on mobile - the first smartphone chip to do so. Though, in order for both exciting technologies to actually work, additional support is necessary from game makers. Alternatively, a driver-level blanket solution to leverage at least some of their benefits is also possible, but there is no real official info on the matter as of yet-a rather underwhelming introduction of otherwise promising hardware. But, we digress.

The brand-new GPU and improved CPU also have a more powerful NPU to keep them company. Compared to the Exynos 2100, the performance has doubled and is allowing more calculations in parallel, improving the overall AI performance. In other specs, the Exynos 2200 supports up to 200MP single camera, 8K video recording, 4K displays at up to 120Hz or QHD+ ones at 144Hz. We already went over the impressive list of connectivity options the S22+ offers as well.

Let's kick things off with some pure CPU tests and GeekBench. Starting with single-core runs, the new Cortex-X2 core manages to shine. Though not incredibly bright, managing an incremental improvement over the Kryo 680 ARM Cortex-X1 based custom cores inside last year's Snapdragon 888 and 888+ flagship chips.

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
  1741
• Apple iPhone 13 Pro
  1709
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1440p)
  1180
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  1165
• Sony Xperia 1 III
  1130
• Sony Xperia Pro-I
  1129
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  1126
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
  1126
• Sony Xperia 5 III
  1117
• Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
  1117
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  1109
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
  1107
• vivo X70 Pro+
  1106
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  1096
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  1095
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
  1091
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
  1032
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  988
• Oppo Find N
  985
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
  979
• Oppo Find X3 Pro
  926
• Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
  906
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
  880
• Oppo Reno7 Pro 5G
  815
• OnePlus Nord 2
  814
• Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G
  813
• Samsung Galaxy Note10+
  776
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
  750
• Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
  688

The difference shrinks even further and even disappears once you engage all of the cores simultaneously. In this scenario, the chart shows some older Snapdragon 888 devices outpace the S22+ and its Exynos 2200. Many of these are either gaming phones or devices with otherwise beefier cooling solutions. This makes a lot of sense since, by far, the biggest limiting factor for performance in an all-core load scenario is heat accumulation. So, this is more of a battle of power and heat management than actual core performance. Not to mention an unrealistic real-words scenario.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
  4706
• Apple iPhone 13 Pro
  4687
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1440p)
  3657
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  3636
• Sony Xperia 5 III
  3549
• Sony Xperia Pro-I
  3540
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  3528
• Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
  3521
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
  3518
• Sony Xperia 1 III
  3515
• Oppo Find N
  3478
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
  3476
• vivo X70 Pro+
  3469
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
  3441
• Oppo Find X3 Pro
  3316
• Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
  3296
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  3294
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  3244
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  3239
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
  3238
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
  3191
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  3049
• OnePlus Nord 2
  2792
• Oppo Reno7 Pro 5G
  2691
• Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G
  2621
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
  2619
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
  2603
• Samsung Galaxy Note10+
  2154
• Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
  2027

This also explains why the Galaxy S22 Ultra consistently manages slightly better CPU numbers than its sibling. It has a fancy re-engineered cooling solution which we can only assume is better at heat management than whatever is inside the S22+, which Samsung doesn't go into in official materials-electing to just praise the S22 Ultra instead. Regardless, the difference is only measurable in synthetic terms and not really translatable to real-world scenarios.

We can't skip to not Apple's continued supremacy in the raw CPU performance department yet again. Whether it, once again, translates to practical, real-world benefits is a whole different discussion, though.

AnTuTu is much more favorable towards the Galaxy S22+. It is also a much more compound benchmark that takes into account the whole UX, including things like memory speed and display resolution.

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  722495
• Oppo Find N
  703131
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  691055
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
  688720
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  657273
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
  657150
• Oppo Find X3 Pro
  656467
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  635918
• Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
  630726
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
  622276
• Sony Xperia 1 III
  607423
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
  596866
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
  584055
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  571312
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  566529
• Oppo Reno7 Pro 5G
  550659
• Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
  543986
• Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G
  524692
• OnePlus Nord 2
  512164
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
  508760
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
  487908
• Samsung Galaxy Note10+
  438622
• Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
  341212

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1440p)
  968359
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1080p)
  940400
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  886916
• vivo X70 Pro+
  837833
• Oppo Find N
  822513
• Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
  801691
• Apple iPhone 13 Pro
  794348
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
  794016
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  752218
• Sony Xperia 1 III
  749132
• Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
  735588
• Sony Xperia Pro-I
  725839
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  719696
• Sony Xperia 5 III
  708394
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
  682223
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
  650829
• OnePlus Nord 2
  598022

While the Galaxy S22 Ultra manages a slightly higher score than its S22 sibling in this chart, the comparison isn't as straight-forward as you might think. Even when experimenting with lower 1080p resolution settings on the Ultra to "even the playing field" it remains far from even and AnTuTu simply takes too many variables into account. Regardless, the S22+ is near the top of the chart where it rightfully belongs.

As exciting as it is, the Xclipse 920 GPU inside the Exynos 2200 does not instantly strike as amazing, let alone amazingly better.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1080p)
  51
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  50
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
  43
• Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
  40
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
  38
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  38
• Sony Xperia 5 III
  37
• Sony Xperia 1 III
  36
• Sony Xperia Pro-I
  36
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  34
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
  33
• Oppo Find N
  32
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
  31
• Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
  30
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1440p)
  30
• OnePlus Nord 2
  30
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
  25
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  25
• vivo X70 Pro+
  25
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
  24
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  24
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  23
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
  23
• Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
  17
• Samsung Galaxy Note10+
  16

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1080p)
  32
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1440p)
  31
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  31
• Oppo Find N
  31
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
  28
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  28
• Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
  28
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
  27
• Sony Xperia 1 III
  27
• Sony Xperia 5 III
  27
• vivo X70 Pro+
  27
• Sony Xperia Pro-I
  27
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
  26
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
  25
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  25
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  24
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  22
• OnePlus Nord 2
  21
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
  20
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  20

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 13 Pro
  60
• Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
  55
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  51
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1080p)
  46
• Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
  42
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  38
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
  37
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  34
• Oppo Find N
  33
• Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
  30
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
  29
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
  29
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1440p)
  29
• Sony Xperia 5 III
  29
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  27
• OnePlus Nord 2
  26
• vivo X70 Pro+
  26
• Sony Xperia Pro-I
  26
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  25
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
  25
• Sony Xperia 1 III
  24
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
  23
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
  20
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
  18
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  18
• Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
  14
• Samsung Galaxy Note10+
  13

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
  50
• Apple iPhone 13 Pro
  50
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1440p)
  35
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1080p)
  34
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  34
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  31
• Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
  31
• Oppo Find N
  30
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
  29
• Sony Xperia 5 III
  29
• vivo X70 Pro+
  29
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
  28
• Sony Xperia 1 III
  28
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
  26
• Sony Xperia Pro-I
  26
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  25
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  25
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  23
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
  22
• OnePlus Nord 2
  20
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  19
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
  14

In some rendering scenario, particularly, seemingly with newer graphical APIs, the Xclipse 920 posts solid frame rates both on and off screen. However, it is bad in terms of consistency. We had to run and re-run most of these graphical tests multiple times in hopes of getting consistent numbers and never quite did.

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1080p)
  69
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  68
• Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
  60
• Apple iPhone 13 Pro
  60
• Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
  59
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  56
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
  54
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
  54
• Sony Xperia 1 III
  54
• Sony Xperia 5 III
  53
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  51
• Sony Xperia Pro-I
  51
• Oppo Find N
  51
• Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
  45
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
  42
• Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G
  42
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
  40
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  38
• OnePlus Nord 2
  38
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1440p)
  37
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  36
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
  35
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
  34
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
  33
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  33
• Oppo Find X3 Pro
  33
• vivo X70 Pro+
  33
• Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
  25
• Samsung Galaxy Note10+
  24

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
  121
• Apple iPhone 13 Pro
  119
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1440p)
  76
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1080p)
  76
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  76
• Oppo Find N
  73
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  70
• Oppo Find X3 Pro
  70
• Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
  70
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
  69
• Sony Xperia 5 III
  69
• Sony Xperia Pro-I
  69
• Sony Xperia 1 III
  68
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
  66
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  66
• vivo X70 Pro+
  66
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
  64
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
  60
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  57
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  57
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  55
• Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
  52
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
  50
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
  50
• Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G
  48
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
  46
• OnePlus Nord 2
  46
• Samsung Galaxy Note10+
  43
• Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
  29

Worse still, many of the GFXBench tests had obvious graphical artifacts like texture flickers and broken shadows while running on the S22+ and the S22 Ultra with the same Exynos 2200 chipset. The latter, by the way, also struggled to get consistent numbers.

Our best guess is that currently there are some driver issues with the Exynos 2200 and particularly its Xclipse 920 GPU still left to iron out. We only hope that the process of doing so isn't hindered by the fact that another party - AMD is involved in the development process.

That being said, nothing we encountered was actually deal-breaking. Even the performance numbers themselves, shaky as they are, are not bad at all.

3DMark, for instance, ran a lot smoother and with no hiccups compared to GFXBench and with much more consistent results. This also shows in the great results posted by both the S22+ and S22 Ultra.

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
  9751
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (1440p)
  7437
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  7405
• Oppo Find N
  5928
• Sony Xperia 1 III
  5807
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
  5757
• Sony Xperia Pro-I
  5753
• Sony Xperia 5 III
  5742
• OnePlus 9 Pro
  5701
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
  5691
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
  5676
• Oppo Find X3 Pro
  5653
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
  5635
• Asus ROG Phone 5s Pro
  5556
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  5547
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  5432
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
  5412
• vivo X70 Pro+
  5332
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
  5261
• Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G
  4236
• OnePlus Nord 2
  4224
• Oppo Reno7 Pro 5G
  4219
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
  4194

There is clearly great potential in the Exynos 2200 and its Xclipse 920 GPU. Sure some issues apparently still need to be worked out, but even in its current state, it is a truly powerful chipset all around. Plus, ray tracing and variable ray shading have the potential to take this hardware from great to amazing, given the right support.

We chose to remain positive on the matter. Though, having said that, we are also quite confident that things will be a lot more straightforward with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 version of the Galaxy S22 family. Granted, minus all the fancy promises RDNA2 brings to the table, but with a lot more stability and proven consistency.

Thermal throttling

Naturally, we couldn't in good consciousness not try some torture testing on the Exynos 2200 to judge its thermal-throttling behavior. For this, we turned to the excellent CPU Throttling test app throwing a totally unreasonable in terms of real-world usage 20 simultaneous threads at the CPU first for 15 minutes and then a full hour.

CPU Throttling test

The Exynos 2200 throttled down to 65 to 63% of its full performance by the end of these runs - not ideal in terms of performance loss, but also not far from what we have come to expect from modern flagship silicon.

More importantly, the S22+ managed to ramp down its performance gradually and gracefully, avoiding sudden jarring drops down, which lead to stutters. Honestly, that is the most crucial aspect of a thermal performance profile on a smartphone, in our view. Sudden drops in performance cause stutters in-game and ruin the experience. A graceful and controlled ramp-down as heat builds up will likely not be felt by the player at all, especially given how adaptable and scalable modern mobile game engines are.

In terms of surface heat, the S22+ does get a bit toasty under prolonged load but never actually uncomfortable to the touch, which is a lot more than what we can say about some of the other devices we've tested with comparable performance characteristics. We are talking about gaming phones in particular.

Left: Galaxy S22+ • Right: Galaxy S22

All things considered, it hardly comes as a surprise that the Exynos 2200-powered Galaxy S22+ is an excellent all-around performer. It chews through everything you can throw at it and does so with impressive stability. One UI 4.1 is slick and feature-rich and runs incredibly smooth on the S22+.

Samsung has always gone to great lengths to ensure the best possible parity between its Snapdragon and Exynos regional variants. Admittedly, this has presented varying degrees of challenge over the years and was handled with varying degrees of success. But never in an actually disappointing way. In its current state, the Exynos 2200 and particularly its Xclipse 920 GPU are shaping up are one of the more challenging chips for Samsung to deal with. Despite the small issues here and there and some shaky early GPU numbers, we like the overall performance and chose to remain hopeful that future updates will only polish the already solid experience further.