Last year’s Galaxy S21 Ultra was a vast improvement over its predecessor, especially in regions that received the Exynos variants: The phone looked better, ran cooler and faster, and had significantly better cameras. The Galaxy S22 Ultra, then, has the unfortunate task of trying to best one of the greatest phones Samsung has ever made while also trying to prove itself a worthy upgrade for Galaxy Note fans who haven’t had a new device to upgrade to in over a year and a half. So, how does the latest flagship compare to its older sibling? Let’s take a look.
Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Specs
| Galaxy S21 Ultra | Galaxy S22 Ultra | |
| SoC | Snapdragon 888/Exynos 2100 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200 |
| RAM | 12, 16GB | 8, 12GB |
| Storage | 128, 256, 512GB | 128, 256, 512GB, 1TB |
| Display | 6.8-inch 1440 x 3200 OLED @120Hz | 6.8-inch 1440 x 3088 OLED @ 120Hz |
| Cameras | 108MP wide f/1.8 primary, OIS and PDAF; 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide (120° FoV); 10MP f/2.4 3x optical zoom sensor with OIS; 10MP f/4.9, 10x optical zoom with OIS; 100x digital zoom; 40 MP f/2.2 selfie camera | 108MP f/1.8 primary, OIS and PDAF; 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide (120° FoV); 10MP f/2.4 3x optical zoom sensor with OIS; 10MP f/4.9 10x optical zoom with OIS; 100x digital zoom; 40MP f/2.2 selfie camera |
| Battery | 5,000 mAh, 25W fast charging, 15W wireless charging | 5,000mAh, 45W fast charging, 15W wireless charging |
| Measurements | 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm, 227g, IP68 | 163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9 mm, 229g, IP68 |
| Software | One UI 4 / Android 12 | One UI 4.1 / Android 12 |
| Price | Started at $1,199 at launch | Starting at $1,199 |
Glancing over the spec sheet, the two phones look virtually identical. In the S22 Ultra, the chipsets are newer, the charging is slightly faster (sometimes), and the camera hardware is mostly unchanged. The phone is available with a new 1TB tier, too, but there’s a surprising downgrade hidden in the storage options — less RAM than before.
The S21 Ultra featured 12GB of RAM for the 128 and 256GB models, while the 512GB variant saw a whopping 16GB. The S22 Ultra starts at just 8GB for 128GB entry point, while all other options get 12GB. Now, losing the 16GB option isn’t an issue — that’s likely more than you could ever need. But 8GB on the base model doesn’t sit right with me, so I opted to get the 256GB model this year just in case.
Day-to-day performance should be OK, but there’s no way the phone will be able to keep as many apps running in the background, and I’m concerned about long-time performance as the phone reaches the end of its life on Android 16.
Comparing the performance of my Exynos 12/128GB S21 Ultra and 12/256GB S22 Ultra, there’s not much to it. The S22 Ultra stays cooler than the older phone, but other than that, they feel the same. Both devices have more than enough power to browse social media, sort through email and work messages, and play media content.
Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Design and display
Here you’ll find the biggest difference between the two phones. The latest flagship may bear the S series moniker, but the design is unashamedly that of the old Galaxy Note. The corners are sharp and boxy, the screen spills over the sides, and the top and bottom of the frame are entirely flat.
Which design is best is entirely up to you — some people love the industrial design of the Note series, while others prefer the curves of the S series. I prefer the overall look of the S22 Ultra, especially now that it comes in green.
My two main criticisms are the camera layout and speaker placement. The all-metal camera bump on the S21 Ultra looked great and continues to impress on the smaller S22 and S22+. I wish it could’ve remained here. The bottom speaker is a bigger annoyance, though. Because the S Pen sits inside the phone’s left side, the speaker has moved over with it so that the sim slot can sit on the right. If you hold this phone in landscape, your hand will block this speaker. I wish the speaker and S Pen were over on the right, but this isn’t a dealbreaker.
Many were concerned about how comfortable the S22 Ultra would be to hold, but it hasn’t been an issue for me. The sharp corners make the phone feel wider as it doesn’t nestle into the palm as easily, but other than that, it’s been fine. The phone hasn’t been digging in or leaving marks on my skin, and I was used to the way it felt within a day or two.
Looking at the display, things are mostly identical. The S22 Ultra can now achieve a peak brightness of 1,750 nits vs. the S21 Ultra’s 1,500 nits. In reality, you won’t notice it, and the biggest improvement is the refresh rate. The S21 Ultra introduced LTPO technology that allowed its display to vary the refresh rate to anything between 10Hz and 120Hz, depending on what was happening on the screen. The S22 Ultra takes this a step further, with a range of 1Hz to 120Hz. That means significantly improved power consumption when looking at static images or using the Always On Display.
Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Cameras
The cameras look almost identical on both phones, but the S22 Ultra does have some improvements. The 108MP primary sensor has a wider aperture and an improved lens that will allow it to collect more light and hopefully help limit lens flare. Like its predecessor, the S22 Ultra produces 12MP photos using a process called pixel-binning, but there’s a difference this year. In addition to the multiple 12MP images combined into the final result, the S22 captures a full 108MP image that is merged in for added detail.
Image stabilization has also improved, as have the S22 Ultra’s low-light capabilities. Both zoom cameras get all new IMX754 sensors, and even though they’re the same resolution as before, photos look sharper and brighter.
Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Battery and charging
There has been some controversy around the charging speed of the S22 Ultra. The spec sheet says it can reach a maximum speed of 45W, but the results aren’t particularly impressive. More often than not, the phone will charge at the same 25W the S21 Ultra did, so if you do upgrade, I wouldn’t bother buying a more powerful charger for it.
In terms of battery life, my experience so far has been excellent. The battery size is the same as last year at 5,000mAh, but the longevity has been slightly better. When I first got the phone, I was concerned as I was struggling to reach four hours of screen time on Wi-Fi, something even my Fold3 is capable of. Thankfully, this was quickly rectified by an 800MB patch that arrived on the phone’s launch day (my unit arrived almost a week early), and since then, I’ve been reaching seven or eight hours of screen time with mixed Wi-Fi and 5G usage.
Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. Galaxy S21 Ultra: Should you upgrade?
No. The answer is as simple as that unless you fall under a particular set of circumstances. The S22 Ultra is a better phone than its predecessor, but it’s an incremental upgrade. Day to day, you won’t notice the slight boost in performance, and the camera upgrades, while welcome, are minor. The only significant difference this year is slotting the S Pen inside the phone. Spending over $1000 on a minor spec bump isn’t worth it, even with the trade-in deals Samsung offers.
So, why did I decide to upgrade? In some countries, Samsung offers the Samsung Upgrade Program. You pay the retail price of the device split over two years; at the end of the first year, you can send the phone back, end its payment plan, and start a new one for the next phone. For me, upgrading just adds an extra year of payments, and I think that’s worth getting the Note-inspired features and design. If you can get a deal like that through Samsung or your carrier, then you won’t regret upgrading. Otherwise, hang onto your S21 Ultra a bit longer because it’s still a cracking device.
If you plan to buy a phone from the Galaxy S22 range, make sure you check out our top Android and One UI tips and tricks.
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