The Galaxy S20 signified Samsung’s renewed focus on innovating and the ensuing months have given us plenty to believe that the company is committed to this vision. The Galaxy S22 is the company’s latest and greatest, and if you sat out the S21, it’s probably already enticing you to ditch your S20. Should you though?
The Galaxy S22 is six months old now, and it’s still a fantastic smartphone. The 6.1-inch display makes it pocketable and easy to use with one hand without sacrificing features. While it lost out to the bigger S22 Ultra in our list of favorite phones this year, the baby Galaxy S22 packs the latest specs and can go toe to toe with any other flagship. But Samsung’s flagship phones have been excellent for years now, which raises a question regarding the S22 — is it worth upgrading to from an older Galaxy smartphone?
The Galaxy S22 doesn’t change much from last year’s Galaxy S21, save for some improved cameras. Seeing as the S21 still has three-and-a-half years of software support left, it isn’t worth upgrading just yet. But what if you own a two-and-a-half-year-old Galaxy S20? Whether you should upgrade now gets more complicated, so let’s break it down.
| Samsung Galaxy S20 | Samsung Galaxy S22 | |
|---|---|---|
| SoC | Snapdragon 865 (or Exynos 990 internationally) | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (or Exynos 2200 internationally) |
| RAM | 8GB or 12GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, microSD card slot | 128GB or 256GB, no microSD card slot |
| Display | 6.2-inch AMOLED (3200×1440), 563 ppi, HDR10+, 1200 nits, 120Hz@FHD/60Hz@QHD, Gorilla Glass 6 | 6.1-inch AMOLED (1080 x 2340), 425ppi, HDR10+, 1300 nits, 120Hz, Gorilla Glass Victus+ |
| Rear cameras | 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76″, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 64 MP, f/2.0, 29mm (telephoto), 1/1.72″, 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 1.1x optical zoom, 3x hybrid zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55″ 1.4µm, Super Steady video | 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.94″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55″ 1.4µm, Super Steady vid |
| Front camera | 10 MP (f/2.2, 26mm, PDAF) | 10 MP (f/2.2, 26mm, PDAF) |
| Battery | 4,000 mAh (25W fast charging, 15W wireless charging, 4.5W reverse wireless charging) | 3,700 mAh (25W fast charging, 15W wireless charging, 4.5W reverse wireless charging) |
| Software | One UI 2.5 (Android 10), 3-year Android OS updates promise | One UI 4.0 (Android 12) 4-year Android updates promise |
| Other | Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, IP68, stereo speakers | Ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, IP68, stereo speakers, |
| Dimensions | 151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9 mm | 146 x 70.6 x 7.6 mm |
| Weight | 163g | 167g |
| Price | Started at $999 at launch | Starts at $799 |
The S20 has aged well, with the Snapdragon 865 and 12GB of RAM keeping things smooth. It has a gorgeous 6.2-inch QHD AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is still among the best. The newer S22 has a 6.1-inch FHD+ 120Hz display which we very much like, and it’s a little brighter at 1300 nits (vs. 1200 nits of the S20.)
However, you definitely can’t deny that the S22 looks a lot better than the S20. I wasn’t a big fan of the S20’s design – probably Samsung’s worst since the S5 – because it didn’t exude any of Samsung’s idiosyncrasies. The S22, on the other hand, with the unique camera module, is a stunner through and through. Not to forget, you can get it in up to eight colors too. Another area where the S22 shines is the in-display fingerprint sensor, which is quicker and more accurate than the one used in the S20.
Speaking of the camera, there are some differences to consider here. The S20 rocks a 12MP primary, 12MP ultrawide, and a 64MP telephoto camera (1.1x optical zoom), whereas the S22 boasts of a 50MP primary, 10MP telephoto (3x optical zoom), and a 12MP ultrawide (reasonably similar to the S20’s). It’s easy to get lost in the megapixel count, but the S22 will offer better shots with the telephoto sensor. As for the primary sensor, although the S22 boasts more pixels and has a more powerful chip for image processing, the S20 has a larger sensor size that captures more light. Despite this, results from both phones should be pretty similar in daylight. However, Samsung did tout better low-light performance and better edge detection in portraits for the S22.
If you were unhappy with the S20’s battery endurance, the S22 will not be a relief. It features a 3,700mAh battery that’s a tad smaller than the 4,000mAh unit on the S20. This doesn’t immediately put the latter at an advantage, though, since it also has more pixels to power (when used in QHD mode), and the S22 is technically powered by a more efficient chipset. In practice, though, the S22’s battery life has been disappointing, and if you’re looking for a massive jump when upgrading from the S20, you’re likely in for a disappointment. Things also haven’t changed even on the charging front, with both phones supporting 25W fast wired charging, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.
One aspect that the S22 dominates in – unsurprisingly – is software support. With the S22, Samsung promises four years of Android upgrades and five years of security updates. The S20, which will get three Android updates (it’s already running Android 12 right now) – and four years of security updates, indeed wasn’t a letdown, but it’ll only ever get Android 13 officially. Now that Samsung is testing Android 13 on the S22 series, the S20 won’t be too far behind, and next year it’ll only have security patches to look forward to before it reaches the end of software support.
Because One UI 5 is still in beta, both the S20 and S22 are currently running the same stable version of One UI 4.1, and most software features are the same. The S22 debuted Smart Calendar and a host of other new software tricks, most of which game to the Galaxy S20 in an update. While the devices enjoy software parity now and will do again when they’re both updated to One UI 5/Android 13, that will change moving into next year is One UI 5.1 and beyond is released.
It’s also worth highlighting that the S22 loses the MicroSD Card slot and 1440p display mode found on the S20, although it makes up for that with faster UFS storage, Gorilla Glass Victus, and a more efficient display.
If you’re looking for a flagship phone that doesn’t breach the $1000 mark, the S22 is surely a great phone to consider. However, if you’re holding an S20 in your hand and don’t see anything wrong with it, it does make sense to stick with it. The S22 offers a better design, an upgraded camera setup, longer software support, and a slightly brighter display, but none of these upgrades scream, “Oh, I’ve got to get this phone!”
With the S22 being an incremental upgrade over the S21, it’s reasonable to expect that Samsung’s saving some surprises for the next Galaxy S flagship. The Galaxy S20 still has enough chops and software support to make the wait till then a breeze, especially as we move further into the last half of 2022. The Galaxy S23 will likely launch in Q1 2023, which isn’t too far away at this point. On the other hand, your S20’s battery could be giving up after more than two years of use, and the much-improved cameras on the S22 may be catching your eye. If that’s the case, you won’t regret upgrading to the new phone, especially when it’s discounted as regularly as it is now.
