Weekly poll: Samsung Galaxy S22 series - hot or not?

While Samsung believes the future is in foldables, the rigid Galaxy S phones are still best-sellers. Three new models are coming to stores soon – you can already pre-order them and the first units will ship out on February 25 (a couple of weeks from now).

In case you missed it, our Samsung Unpacked coverage wrap-up is a gateway to specs, prices and other details. Speaking of prices, they are the same as last year in Europe and the US, despite rumors of a possible price hike. One rumor that did prove true is that India is getting the Snapdragon versions of the phones. By the looks of it, only Europe is getting the Exynos 2200 models.

Is that good or bad? We were surprised to see no mention of ray tracing in the S22 promo materials as it is the Exynos’ killer feature. We guess we’ll just have to wait until we can test the phones to see how the new 4nm chips perform and how Samsung handled the cooling.

One area where Samsung is unrivaled by any company other than Apple is software support – the new Galaxy S22 (as well as S21) models will receive 4 OS updates and 5 years total of security patches. That beats even Google’s commitment for the Pixel 6 line, which will get 5 years of patches but is only promised 3 OS updates. Come on, Google.

We know some of you would rather miss out on the pre-order deals and go through several reviews before deciding which phone is right for them, especially with prices circling the $1,000 mark. Right now you can check out our hands-on review, including a hands-on video with the S22 and S22+ and an S22 Ultra video. More in-depth reviews are coming soon, but based on what you’ve seen so far, which phone caught your eye?

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the new Note in all but name. The stylus is now sheathed into the phone, instead of awkwardly fitting into case as with the S21 Ultra. Samsung also improved the display, reducing latency for the S Pen to just 2.8 ms, increasing peak brightness to a wild 1,750 nits and dropping the minimum refresh rate to just 1Hz (the max is still 120Hz).

The camera bump is now gone, now only the protective Super Clear Glass sticks out the back. But the cameras themselves are almost the same as last year – “almost” as in the focal lengths of the telephoto modules are a few millimeters shorter and the sensors are slightly smaller. Samsung is promising notable improvements in image quality, but they will be all down to image processing.

Camera specs: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra • Galaxy S21 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S22+ is slightly smaller than its predecessor and the same goes for the Galaxy S22. Both have more compact bodies and smaller batteries. Only the Plus model got upgraded to 45W fast charging, however. Their displays are a tenth of an inch smaller, but brighter and have reduced the minimum refresh rate to 10 Hz (down from 48 Hz).

Unlike the Ultra, the S22 and S22+ did get improved camera hardware. It starts with a larger, sharper 50 MP 1/1.56” sensor (up from 12 MP, 1/1.76”) and a proper telephoto lens with a 70 mm lens (3x magnification) and a 10 MP sensor. The ultra wide cam is the same as last year, as is the selfie cam.

Camera specs: Galaxy S22/S22+ • Galaxy S21/S21+

Which Galaxy S22 model jumped to the top of your shortlist? Or did Samsung drop the ball with this generation?

If you're having troubles with the embedded poll above, try casting your vote here.