It’s very much okay if you’ve never really heard much about the all-new Samsung Galaxy S22, I mean the original S22 without the Plus or Ultra preceding its name.

The Galaxy S22 is the base model or should I say the entry-level variant of the Galaxy S22 series in 2022. The device is a fairly decent smartphone with all the best features and cool design aesthetics you can expect from a base model on a premium-tier flagship in 2022.

It comes packed up with interesting features and nice quirks including the highly anticipated Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset (or Exynos 2200 (4 nm) for European users) which allows the Galaxy S22 to be a really fast smartphone and also slightly expensive.

Samsung offers the new Galaxy S22 in colors such as black, white, green, and pink while there are other special editions with more color options. Samsung claims that some of the materials used in making the device come from recycled materials from the ocean and I’m sure environmental activists will be pleased with those claims.

Elsewhere, the Samsung Galaxy S22 has a rather simplistic design aesthetics in every way possible. First, the camera module looks pretty simpler compared to the previous Galaxy S21 or the entire lineup.

In fact, Samsung has gone a step further by yanking off the asymmetrical bottom chin present in the older Galaxy S series (and very prevalent in Android smartphones).

What we have now is a well-balanced device with symmetrical bezels across the display in all directions. The device comes protected using the recent Gorilla Glass Victus+ just as the slightly high-end Galaxy S22+ and the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Samsung has also continued to yank off important hardware components from its devices and sell more expensive variants instead – I’m talking about the fact that the company yanked off support for microSD to expand the native storage of the Galaxy S22 and that may not sit well with a lot of potential buyers.

As you can see above, the Samsung Galaxy S22 is a great device ridden with cool hardware features that make the device a decent flagship smartphone.

The 3.5mm headphone jack is never coming back on premium-tier smartphones so there is no need to mention its absence on this device either.

Specifications of the Galaxy S22

But overall, the new Samsung Galaxy S22 is a smartphone to look forward to but if you’re wondering whether you should upgrade from your previous Galaxy S21, then you can continue to read before deciding on what to do.

First is the dimension of this device which has gotten shrunk down a little bit. Now, the Galaxy S22 measures about 146 x 70.6 x 7.6 mm (5.75 x 2.78 x 0.30 in) and weighs about 167g or 168g for the 5G mmWave variant. The weight and the size of the device are fairly decent and Samsung has continued to excel in making big phones lightweight.

This time around, the Galaxy S22 is rated IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) thanks to the removal of unnecessary ports on the device (as if there was ever one, to begin with).

The Samsung’s armor aluminum frame is supposed to offer the device all the hardware capabilities it needs to withstand certain pressure and scratches – even though you can literally put a case on your device using third-party options since Samsung has stopped offering silicon cases inside the box.

In terms of the device’s hardware components, you get the current high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset or Exynos 2200 if you are in Europe – both of which are expected to deliver a blazing-fast experience and be able to chunk out a speedy processing prowess.

To put that into perspective, the device has an Octa-core (1×3.00 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.40 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.70 GHz Cortex-A510) with an 8GB of RAM and either a 128GB of internal storage or 256GB of internal storage. Remember I said there is no microSD card support. That’s from a device that can literally shoot an 8K video at 24 frames per second.

As for the device’s connectivity, it comes with 5G network support because this is 2022 right? Those in the United States can get the variant with support for both the Sub6 and mmWave 5G connectivity and that translates to the fact that you get a blazing-fast device that performs excellently on every front.

Medium-sized display

• 6.1-inch AMOLED 2X display
• 120Hz refresh rate
• 1300 nits Peak brightness
• 1080 x 2340 pixels resolution

Samsung excels once again with the display prowess of the Galaxy S22 thanks to the incredible technology used to develop the display. While theSouth Korean tech giant failed to make use of an LTPO technology at all on the device, it’s unfair to acknowledge the fact that the device’s display is very beautiful and clean.

For a 6.1-inch AMOLED panel, you get a crispy display with a super-fast 120Hz refresh rate. While the display’s resolution isn’t in the high-end area compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, you still get a solid 1080P resolution that can be used to consume any information and media anywhere you are – even under direct sunlight, thanks to its 1300 nits of peak brightness.

As mentioned earlier, the display of the Galaxy S22 comes protected with a Gorilla Glass Victus+ in case you find yourself in a tricky situation.

The bezels around the screen are now symmetrical with a tiny hole-punch camera cut out to house the device’s 10MP front-facing camera.

Samsung also included the Vision Booster technology on the Galaxy S22 as well. This is meant to help boost the ambient light sensors built into the device – allowing it to adjust screen settings including contrast and color saturation in order to make content consumption much easier to see both in outdoors and indoor situations.

I think the display quality of the Galaxy S22 is really interesting and that places it right among one of the best affordable premium smartphones you can get in 2022.

Battery Capacity of the Galaxy S22

• 3,700mAh Li-Ion battery
• 25W fast wired charging
• 15W fast wireless charging

Being a medium-sized smartphone with so many components packed into its chassis, the Galaxy S22 is expected to offer a big battery to compensate for that right? NO!

I hate to say this but a 4,500mAh battery isn’t outrageous on a Galaxy S22 but Samsung opted for a 3,700mAh Li-Ion battery which is good but not perfect. Although the device is well optimized to perform and consumes less power while delivering its best.

The device also supports 25W fast wired charging or 15W wireless charging and 4.5W reverse charging.

On paper, the battery component is good enough and that’s a fact but on the other hand, in a real-life experience, the battery of the Galaxy S22 isn’t bad at all as it performs as it should.

At the end of the day, the battery size doesn’t really matter but your usage of your smartphone is what will determine how often you have to recharge; also remember that smartphone batteries lose their capacity as time gets by.

Camera capacity of the Galaxy S22

• Triple rear camera setup
• 50MP, 10MP, and 12MP
• Can record up to 8K@24fps

This is the interesting part of the device and that’s the camera. On the record, you get a triple rear set up just like the previous model and that is comprised of a 50MP wide primary sensor with features such as an f/1.8 aperture with dual pixel PDAF, and optic image stabilization or OIS, then another 10MP telephoto sensor with OIS, f/2.4 aperture, capable of 3x optical zoom and then another 12MP ultrawide sensor with an f/2.2 aperture with Super Steady Video capacity.

The device is capable of shooting up to 8K videos at 24 frames per second but other video recording capacity includes 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, and 720p@960fps.

At the front is a single 10MP wide sensor that can also do 4K@30/60fps and 1080p@30fps.

The camera output of the Galaxy S22 is very practical and it performs very great even under low-light situations thanks to the device’s big sensors. although you don’t get the extra periscope lens that scales up the zoom capacity of the device, a decent 3x optical zoom might be a good base-line for a base model even though there are alternatives from other manufacturers that performs really well at a lower price point compared to the Galaxy S22.

The new Nightography feature is slightly magical but won’t radically change a night shot that sucks into a shiny still picture or video. While this feature will certainly improve your night shots, the output of the Galaxy S22 and the previous Galaxy S21 seems quite similar in many ways.

There is also the new auto-framing feature that is able to track up to 10 subjects at the same time while being able to adjust the camera’s focus and framing in other to help capture a better video using your Galaxy S22. There is also OIS support on the main sensor which is in place to help the shakiness and bumpiness while shooting a video.

To take your photography prowess to the next level, there is a new AI Stereo Depth Map process that is able to distinguish between the subject and the background in order to enhance portrait shots and give you the needed bokeh effect.

OneUI 4.1 based on Android 12

• OneUI 4.1 based on Android 12
• About 5 years of support from Samsung

The new Samsung Galaxy S22 is powered by the company’s software update called OneUI 4.1 based on the current Android 12 update. The interface is very much improved now and comes loaded with interesting features that you’ll need to get the most out of your device in every way possible.

You get all the latest software and security patches for Android on your Galaxy S22. Also, you get all of Google’s apps and privacy setups and extra home screen customization options.

The device comes with improved storing capacity and cloud sync to help store up data such as digital IDs, credit card information, travel document info and so much more with just a click.

There is also the new live sharing feature on Google Duo that allows you to stream videos to other people on the call just like Apple’s SharePlay features in iOS 15.

The Bottomline

The Samsung Galaxy S22 isn’t a bad device at all and it has all the interesting quirks ad features you’d expect from a high-end smartphone like this. While it’s not a radical upgrade from the previous Galaxy S21, one can argue that it’s a perfect upgrade that fixes some important issues on the previous model.

Personally, I think the Galaxy S21 is a perfect base model of a flagship device with its enhanced design aesthetics and improved hardware components. I also like the fact that Samsung is going to be offering lengthy software support on this device and that means it will be here for a pretty decent amount of time.

Should you drop your Galaxy S21 for the Galaxy S22? NO! but you can step up to the Galaxy S22+ if that’s within your budget range as it offers some slight improvement over the base model including more storage options and so forth.

As for the device’s price point, it currently costs about US$700 to own. Also, sales already started on Feb. 25th which was over a month ago.

Galaxy S22 versus?

The Galaxy S22 is one of the best smartphones money can buy in 2022 but it’s not the ultimate best as there are some with lower price points that still offer great features despite that. Below, we compare the Samsung Galaxy S22 against other devices we think it can match in 2022.

Galaxy S21 FE

From the back, the Galaxy S21 FE looks similar to the Galaxy S21 and S22 but turning it around, the bezels on the bottom of the display says otherwise. For a US$700 smartphone with base-level features, the Galaxy S21 FE might be a good alternative for those who have already purchased one.

While upgrading to a newer Galaxy S22 won’t necessarily change your life altogether, the new device certainly offers some interesting quirks and features that you can expect from a modern device.

Did I also mention that the Galaxy S21 FE costs about US$700 even though that price should have dropped significantly since the release of the Galaxy S22?

Galaxy S21

Even after one year, the Galaxy S21 is still doing just fine and has everything you’d expect from a premium-tier smartphone because it’s a premium smartphone.

I won’t personally advise throwing away your Galaxy S21 for the new S22 but if you care about some basic upgrades and hates the bottom bezel just like I do, then you can opt for the symmetrical Galaxy S22 which is quite affordable and offer the top of the line specifications out of the box.