Samsung has announced its long-awaited S22 series – we’re getting the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the S22 and S22+ and the Galaxy Tab has also made a comeback with the S8 series. But the real star of the show (at least according to Samsung) is the Note’s, oops, I mean S22 Ultra’s, S Pen.
During the press briefing, we heard the phrase ‘S Pen’ a lot. President and head of MX Business at Samsung Electronics, TM Roh, said Samsung was “breaking the rules by bringing a built-in S Pen to a Galaxy S Series device”. And Stephanie Choi, Samsung’s executive VP of marketing, called the S Pen out as the first feature when detailing the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
The S21 had capability for an S Pen, but this time there’s a little slot for you to store it in (or lose it out of).
Apparently the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has an S Pen
“To make our most powerful Ultra model ever, we tapped into our Galaxy Note DNA to bring a built-in S Pen to our S Series,” Choi said. “Galaxy S22 Ultra combines the power and productivity of Galaxy Note and the camera legacy of the S Series to set an epic new standard.”
Introducing the Galaxy S22 Ultra, Choi touched on the upgraded camera (more on that below) as producing the “brightest, smoothest video” and that the phone’s “nightography” features were exceptional this year. But she also said that: “When inspiration strikes, you can use your S Pen to instantly write down your thoughts in Samsung Notes”.
Samsung’s brand marketing spokesperson Adrian Wilson also touted the S Pen, calling it a beloved fan favourite. But he also said it was the start of an all-new era for the S Series.
While battery capacity remains 5,000mAh, latency has been reduced from 9ms to 2.8ms – this means writing will appear smoother and more natural. This, Wilson said, is thanks to AI-based coordinate prediction tech (and an upgrade to Wacom’s handwriting component).
“We have adapted a multi-point algorithm that can predict multiple coordinate paths at once for quicker response,” he said.
There’s also a new handwriting to text feature, with support for 88 languages on the Galaxy S22 Ultra. While on note-writing, Samsung Notes also gets an upgrade, with Quick Note allowing you to attach or link content in a Pop Up note while in apps like Gallery and Samsung Internet.
The camera, the actual star of the S22 Ultra
The camera system on the S22 Ultra is pretty decent, there’s actually five of them: 12MP ultra-wide camera, 108MP wide camera, 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, another 10MP telephoto camera but this time with 10x optical zoom and a 40MP front-facing, or, ‘selfie’ camera.
Other Galaxy S22 Ultra specs
In addition to the five-camera system and the S Pen, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is also packing:
- Display: 6.8-inch Edge QHD+, dynamic AMOLED 2x display, 120Hz refresh rate, eye comfort shield.
- Security: ultrasonic fingerprint.
- Dimensions: 77.9 x 163.3 x 8.9mm (the iPhone 13 Pro Max is 78.1 x 160.8 x 7.65mm and the Google Pixel 6 Pro is 75.9 x 163.9 x 8.9mm).
- Weight: 229 grams (the iPhone 13 Pro Max weighs 240 grams and the Google Pixel 6 Pro comes in at 210 grams).
- Memory: 12GB + 1TB, 12GB + 512GB, 12GB + 256GB and 8GB + 128GB.
- Battery: 5,000mAh
- Charging: up to 45W wired, 15W wireless. Samsung reckons the Galaxy S22 Ultra can charge up to 50 per cent in less than 20 minutes.
- OS: Android 12
- Network & connectivity: 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth v 5.2.
- Colours: burgundy, phantom black and phantom white.
- Anything else? IP68 water resistance and support for Samsung Pay.
The return of the Note-like Ultra
Samsung in 2020 broke out the “Ultra” adjective for the first time on the Galaxy S20 Ultra. That phone was certainly ambitious, but between its hefty price tag and features that didn’t quite live up to expectations, Samsung’s super premium phone felt less like an Ultra and more like a Galaxy S20++.
2021’s S21 Ultra, however, saw Samsung get some things right.
Gizmodo writer Florence went hands-on with the Galaxy S22 Ultra and its smaller siblings, the Galaxy S22 and S22+, and though she said she didn’t get to put the phones through their paces (stay tuned for the review), she did get to check out the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s Note-like functions. It’s safe to say that if you’ve been missing the Note, Florence says the Ultra checks basically every box.
Pricing
Galaxy S22 Ultra is available in four different configurations, in burgundy, phantom black and phantom white. Pricing is as follows:
- 8GB + 128GB RRP $1,849
- 12GB + 256GB RRP $1,999
- 12GB + 512GB RRP 2,149
- 12GB + 1TB RRP $2,449
We will link you to preorder info from the major telcos as soon as they make that available.