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Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
A sensible upgrade
Last year’s flagships are still going strong
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra sports everything you’d expect in a modern Android flagship and an S Pen to boot. It’s since been replaced by the Galaxy S23 Ultra as Samsung’s top-of-the-line flagship, but if you can catch a good sale, the S22 Ultra is a great upgrade from the Note 20 Ultra.
Pros- Ongoing software support
- Better cameras
- Larger battery
Cons- Now a year old
- Sale prices still relatively high
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Source: Samsung
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Nearing retirement
Still a great phone, but starting to show its age
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra was the end of the line for the Note series. With a gorgeous AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 865 mobile platform, and solid 5G connectivity, it was one of the best phones you could buy when it was released, and it’s still a capable device today — but software updates could end any time, and your 2020-era battery may be getting tired. It’s probably time to upgrade.
Pros- Still great performance
- Versatile camera setup
- It’s the last Note phone!
Cons- Unlikely to get future Android updates
- Battery life isn’t great anymore
Last year’s Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was one of the best Android phones of 2022. It’s the spiritual successor to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, sharing numerous features and design elements with the 2020 powerhouse. Each phone has a huge, fast display, plus powerful internals, versatile cameras, and a built-in S Pen. They also both cost an arm and a leg when they were first released with an MSRP of $1,200.
Should you drop the cash and upgrade from the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra to the Galaxy S22 Ultra? Let’s break it down.
Price, availability, and specs
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra launched at an MSRP of $1,200, but that was in 2020. Now several generations old, the Note is out of production and no longer available at retail.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra also launched at an MSRP of $1,200 in early 2022. The 128GB model is typically available for $1,000 lately, and we’ve seen it fall as low as $800 on sale. You can still find it at retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, as well as sold directly from Samsung.
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Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Display 6.8-inch 1440 x 3088 AMOLED @ 120Hz (variable) 6.9-inch 1440 X 3088 AMOLED @ 120Hz RAM 8GB, 12GB 8GB, 12GB Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB Battery 5,000mAh 4,500mAh Operating System Android 12 with One UI 4.1 Android 12 with One UI 4 Front camera 40MP f/2.2, 26mm 10 MP, f/2.2 Rear cameras 108 MP f/1.8 primary, 12 MP f/2.2 ultrawide, 10 MP f/2.4 3x telephoto, 10 MP f/4.9 10x telephoto, 108 MP, f/1.8 primary, 12MP f/3.0 5x telephoto, 12 MP, f/2.2 ultrawide Connectivity 5G mmWave and sub6; Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e; Bluetooth 5.2 Wi-Fi 802.11 A/B/G/N/AC/6E; Bluetooth 5.2; 5G MmWave and Sub6 Dimensions 163.3mm x 77.9mm x 8.9mm, 229g 164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1 mm Weight 229 grams 208g IP Rating IP68 IP68 Micro SD card support No Yes Stylus type S Pen S Pen
Design
The overall designs of the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra are similar. They’re both huge slabs with expansive displays, and each has an S Pen stylus tucked away in the lower left corner. The S22 is a fraction of a millimeter thicker, though, and it’s also 21g heavier than the Note, which is already a very heavy phone.
The main aesthetic difference is around the rear camera hardware. Samsung opted to extend the rear glass panel on the back of the S22 Ultra all the way up to the camera sensors — a look that’s since extended to other S-series phones — so there’s no island-style camera bump floating on the back to house the camera array the way there is on the Note 20 Ultra. As a result, the S22 Ultra lays a bit flatter on a table than the Note 20 Ultra.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra have enormous AMOLED displays, but the Note 20 Ultra is a tenth of an inch bigger at 6.9″. The difference is negligible, especially given the slightly more aggressive curve on the Note. In addition, both phones provide a huge canvas for doodling with the built-in S Pen.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s display is several years more advanced, and that shows in a handful of ways. The refresh rate adjusts intelligently to save power, and you can get the full 120Hz refresh rate at full native resolution (1440p), whereas the Note 20 Ultra has to step down to 60Hz to push all its pixels. The S22 Ultra’s OLED is also slightly brighter — 1,750 vs. 1,500 nits.
The S22 Ultra’s display is a bit more refined, and the materials are a modest step up from the Note 20. Samsung now uses a custom aluminum alloy called “Armor Aluminum” around the phone’s edges, and the front/back glass is Gorilla Glass Victus+. Both are more scratch-resistant than the materials on the Note 20 Ultra.
Software
The software experience on the Note 20 Ultra and the Galaxy S22 Ultra is nearly identical for the time being: both phones run Android 13 and One UI 5.1. The Note is unlikely to see another Android version update, however.
Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is guaranteed Android version updates through what we assume will be Android 16 in early 2026 and security patches for an additional year after that. If you’ve got a Note 20 Ultra and you’re worried about software longevity, this is a good year to upgrade.
Performance & connectivity
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is a few years older, and while the phone’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset was top of the line when it launched, it’s a few generations behind the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra packs. That means the newer S22 Ultra is the faster device.
Performance out of the older Note 20 Ultra isn’t too far behind, though, and the phone can handle the vast majority of things you’d want to use it for. It also has 12GB of RAM across the board, while the S22 Ultra starts at 8GB in the base model. So, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra may be able to hold more memory than the S22 Ultra, giving it a potential edge in multitasking performance.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra both have 5G connectivity in the United States, but the newer S22 Ultra enjoys access to more bands thanks to its newer Snapdragon X65 modem. If it’s a 5G signal in North America, the Galaxy S22 can latch on mmWave, low-band, and everything in between. The Note 20 is no slouch, but its older X55 modem doesn’t support some newer frequencies, such as 3.45Ghz and C-bands that will be vital on AT&T and Verizon going forward.
The X65 modem inside the Note 20 Ultra has a theoretical max speed of 10Gbps, while the X55 modem in the Note 20 Ultra tops out at 7.5Gbps over 5G. It’s unlikely you’ll ever see peak download speeds on either device, but the point is that the newer S22 Ultra can latch onto more 5G bands and supports higher download speeds than the Note 20 Ultra.
Battery life & charging
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s battery packs in 5,000mAh of juice, a 500mAh gain over the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra’s 4,500mAh cell. The added battery capacity helps support the S22’s more advanced hardware and brighter screen, but both phones last about a day. Well, the Note did when it launched, anyway — after this long, your battery might be on the outs.
Samsung claims 45W charging speeds on the S22 Ultra, much higher than the 25W max charging of the Note. However, the overall charging speeds aren’t very different in real life; the S22 Ultra’s 45W charging only kicks in when the phone’s battery is nearly empty. Both phones support wireless charging at up to 15 watts.
Cameras
Samsung’s “Ultra” branding guarantees the best camera hardware money can buy, but even flagship cameras don’t stay on top forever. The Note 20 Ultra’s triple-camera array is still respectable, but the S22 has it outclassed. The primary sensors in each phone are 108MP Samsung ISOCELL units, but the one in the S22 Ultra has two additional generations of progress — HM1 vs. HM3. Samsung says you’ll get brighter, sharper pictures on the S22 Ultra thanks to the refined sensor, enhanced photo processing, and re-engineered camera glass.
Left: Primary camera sample from the Note 20 Ultra. Right: Primary camera sample from the S22 Ultra.
The zoom levels are where the S22 Ultra really pulls ahead. The Note 20 Ultra has one 5x optical zoom level, but the S22 Ultra has two: 3x and 10x. This lets you get more photos at a distance without resorting to digital zoom, and the S22 will really let you push the zoom. The Note 20 topped out at 50x “hybrid zoom,” but the S22 Ultra has 100x support. These photos won’t look great, but other phones can’t even hope to snag a shot from so far away.
Left: 5x optical zoom on the Note 20 Ultra. Right: 10x optical zoom on the S22 Ultra.
Should you upgrade?
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra launched at $1,200, the same MSRP as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. It’s a lot of money for a phone, but if you spent big to get the S Pen back in 2020, now’s your chance to do it again.
The Galaxy Note 20 is still a capable phone today, but it’s nearing the end of its software update lifespan, and two generations of upgrades to display and camera tech make an appreciable difference. Don’t let the name fool you — the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra really is a proper successor to the Galaxy Note line. If you need that sweet stylus action wrapped up in high-end components, the S22 Ultra is a good option if you can find it on sale.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is one of the best phones on the market today. Thanks to features like its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset and refined camera array, it makes an excellent upgrade from the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Be aware that the S23 series is coming soon, however, meaning it’s not a great time to pay full price for an S22.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra landed in February, though, and it carries the same $1,200 retail price tag. The newer S23 is a very minor upgrade over the S22 — design and performance are largely the same — but if you can get the newer phone at a discount through your carrier, it may be a better deal. Otherwise, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is a great upgrade from the Note 20 Ultra, just not at full price.
