Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra at the February Unpacked 2022 event. It comes with a slew of features and improvements over its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. For starters, you get an in-built slot for the S Pen, a new camera module, and improved A.I. features, alongside the usual improvements like a new processor. But which one should you buy? Is the Galaxy S22 Ultra worth the upgrade from the S21 Ultra? Here’s our Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra versus Galaxy S21 Ultra comparison, where we break down all the differences between the two devices.

Specs

Design and display

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra looks more like a Galaxy Note than an S-series smartphone. That’s because the device is a combination of both major Samsung flagships — S and the Note. When compared to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the newer model features a linear camera setup where the lenses are built directly upon the body instead of sitting in a camera module. The design refinements make the Galaxy S22 Ultra look sleek and modern, and it uses an armor aluminum frame and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ (both front and back), as well as sporting an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

The new Galaxy S flagship is slightly bigger than the Galaxy S21 Ultra, with the additional width likely due to the space for the S Pen inside. It feels like the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, with the same unclipping and springing out mechanism for the S Pen. Putting the pen back in the phone gives you the same, slick, fluid experience as the Galaxy Note devices. The Galaxy S22 Ultra is beautifully made, and every panel and line is millimeter-perfect in fit and finish.

Coming to the display, like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is equipped with a 6.8-inch AMOLED screen, which supports a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate and a Quad HD+ display (3200 x 1440). Samsung has introduced the new Vision Booster feature, which allows the S22 Ultra’s display brightness to go up to 1,750 nits. Jargon aside, the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s display is a definite improvement when viewing at an angle in bright conditions. While there is not much difference between the two displays, the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s massive screen is glorious, showing stunning colors, deep blacks, and all the features you need.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Performance and battery

As you might expect, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has 2021’s flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 or the Samsung Exynos 2100 in European and Asian regions. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset in North America, South Africa, UAE, and India, while the U.K., Europe, and Korea will get the Exynos 2200-powered 2022 Samsung flagship.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra performed smoothly and speedily in our hands-on where we browsed through Chrome and the Samsung Internet app, played around with the OneUI settings menu, and used the camera app. Like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the S22 Ultra is a really powerful productivity-focused phone. It is likely to perform on par with the latest flagship smartphones. However, the speed bump in performance might not be noticeable over the Snapdragon 888-powered Galaxy S21 Ultra. This new processor may also mean better power efficiency, resulting in better battery life than the predecessor, but that remains to be seen.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra started at 12GB RAM, but you’ll get an 8GB RAM and 128GB storage model of the S22 Ultra for the same price this year, with the availability of 256GB and 512GB storage options. Unfortunately, there’s no microSD card slot on either device. However, the Galaxy S22 Ultra shrugs off just about any task. It played Asphalt 9: Legends and Genshin Impact and multitasked with YouTube playing in a floating window. Plus, it managed all the usual social networking, email, and app tasks without issue or a hint of getting hot or overworked.

Samsung chose to bring the same 5,000mAh battery on the 2022 flagship. While the Galaxy S21 Ultra has support for 25W fast charging, the S22 Ultra gets a bump with 45W fast wired charging. Both smartphones allow for up to 15W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. The introduction of 45W fast charging is a big deal, and it means we can get more charge in less time.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Cameras

Samsung introduced its 108MP sensor on the Galaxy S20 Ultra in 2020 and improved it in 2021 with the 108MP sensor in the Galaxy S21 Ultra. The company is going with the same lens on the S22 Ultra, and it’s accompanied by three additional cameras: One 10MP telephoto lens, another 10MP periscope lens with support for 10x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide camera. This is basically the same setup as the S21 Ultra, so it may be that general performance is on the same level.

But the 2022 Samsung flagship is adding a few new tricks. It’s taking on Apple’s RAW image editing with Samsung’s own Expert Raw app, claimed to deliver a DSLR-like experience with a suite of professional editing tools. The company is also upping the game with additional A.I. capabilities. You get a new “de rigueur portrait mode,” a new video auto framing tool, and more features the company claims will make your images look “professional.”

Samsung is also using Super Clear rear lens glass that removes the reflections sometimes seen in lowlight photos. It has also added a Nightography feature that uses A.I. and the new processor to deliver “spectacular results.” Samsung also told us that the two new telephoto cameras read raw, uncompressed RGB data — so when you zoom at 30x, you can see a four-times sharper, more vivid, and truer-to-life image than before. We doubt you’ll come across a time when the Galaxy S22 Ultra won’t take a brilliant photo.

The 108MP mode has gained a little more functionality with the Detail Enhancer and uses Samsung’s A.I. to increase detail, sharpness, and color in these gigantic photos — and it’s very effective. In a nutshell, the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s cameras have the variety of high-quality optical zoom modes. The main and wide cameras take beautiful photos with vibrant colors and excellent balance, and the newly updated portrait mode is very effective.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Software and updates

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra was launched with Android 11 and the One UI 3.1 interface over the top. Since then, the smartphone has received the Android 12 update with the latest One UI features. Samsung promised three years of major OS updates in 2021, but with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the company is going one step ahead of Google and offers four years of major OS updates with five years of security updates. Considering the S22 Ultra runs the latest Android 12 OS with OneUI 4 on top, it is a pretty significant deal to see that sort of commitment from Samsung.

They’re both likely to get the same updates, though, and at about the same time. This is a tie.

Winner: Tie

Special features

Both the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Galaxy S22 Ultra support the S Pen, but the latter getting an in-built slot for housing the stylus is not the only improvement. The S Pen on the Galaxy S22 Ultra is 70% faster than the S21 Ultra’s (separate) S Pen, making scribbling or writing on the S22 Ultra’s display more natural than ever before. Other new special features include better A.I. optimization in the cameras and a new Nightography mode for better nightlife pictures. Both the phones support the DeX desktop mode, which is great for productivity.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra starts at $1,200 for the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. It can be bought from Samsung, is supported by all major phone networks, and is sold widely by third-party retailers.

For reference, the Galaxy S21 Ultra started at the same price but offered 12GB of RAM in the base variant. You’ll still be able to find it at various retailers, even though it’s officially been discontinued and could be a serious deal if snapped up refurbished.

Overall winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

While the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra initially seems very similar to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, it consists of significant feature bumps to justify the modest upgrade that it is. It comes equipped with a new processor that enables better low-light photography and gives more A.I. capabilities to the cameras while also refining the design and offering a brighter display.

Unquestionably, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the most multipurpose smartphone you can buy today. But is it worth upgrading from the S21 Ultra to the newer model?Probably not, unless there is something wrong with your phone. The camera is not a huge advancement over the S21 Ultra’s, but ultimately, many of the features are small incremental increases and don’t justify buying a whole new phone.