Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Announced February 25, 2022
PixelMeter The PixelMeter is our 1–100 aggregate of reviewer scores from trusted publications and creators. Weighted by source tier — not a raw average, and not PetaPixel’s own review.
Reviewer Consensus
Strong
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra merges the S series with Note-inspired design to deliver a powerful, feature-rich Android flagship. Although it offers a stunning display and versatile camera array, the device is quite expensive and suffers from average battery life.
Weighted from 76 reviewer scores
Pros
- Stunning, high-quality display
- Long-term software update support
- Fast performance for demanding tasks
- Versatile camera system with excellent zoom
- Integrated, responsive S Pen
Cons
- High price point
- Underwhelming or inconsistent battery life
- Large, heavy, and cumbersome design
- Lack of microSD expansion and included charger
- Noticeable shutter lag in camera app
- Launch price $1,199.99 (USD)
- Main camera 108MP f/1.8 + 12MP Ultrawide + 10MP 3x Telephoto
- Video 8K 24p
- Display 6.8-inch AMOLED 120Hz
- Chipset Exynos 2200 / Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 8GB, 12GB
What the Reviewers Say
All 76 expert reviews, weighted into the PixelMeter score.
Is this product missing a reputable review? Share a link to a review article or YouTube video for consideration.
- PetaPixel 7.5/10
While photos and video do look great coming from the onboard cameras, the improvements are still incremental, rather than eye-popping.
-
Obviously, people who have this phone don't need to upgrade, but it's just basically the same phone as far as software, battery, cameras are almost the same, performance is the same, but with a design that I prefer and a vibration motor that actually notifies me more often.
- The Verge 9/10
For someone who does plan to make regular use of its powerful but rather niche features, the S22 Ultra will be a phone like no other on the market. Some UI quirks remain, and battery life is disappointing.
-
It is not quite as exciting as some of the new breed of folding phones. But the S22 Ultra is the best Android superphone money can buy and will take some beating this year.
- Android Authority 9/10
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra lacks soul, but is a technical marvel that's close to flawless as a premium Android phone.
-
The S22 Ultra is the true successor to the Galaxy Note line, delivering all the excellent Samsung phone features while making no concessions for size, weight, or price.
-
For those who want more, say a phone that is ready to run Raw photo editing apps, mark up screens and images, create detailed works of art and take zoom photos that will make you the envy of all your iPhone-carrying friends, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is worth every dime.
-
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is easily the most powerful and versatile Android phone this side of a foldable. This is the best display we've tested in a phone, and Samsung's cameras are much improved, especially in low light.
-
Minor gripes aside, the S22 Ultra is still an excellent phone and the best premium Android flagship you can buy.
- Digital Trends 9/10
Unquestionably, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the most multipurpose smartphone you can buy today, and regardless of what you want to do with your phone today, tomorrow, or in two years time, its astonishing ability and varied feature set will have you covered.
- CNET 8.9/10
The Galaxy S22 Ultra is mostly an iterative update to the S21 Ultra, but wrapped in a new Galaxy Note-inspired look.
-
The jury's out on that one, but I can tell you without a doubt that the quality of this newer display is absolutely gorgeous, and it's an improvement and upgrade over our Note 20 Ultras.
- Android Police 9/10
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the best piece of hardware running Android, but it commands a price so high that most people should look elsewhere.
- PhoneArena 8.8/10
At the end of the day, though, this is the one Android phone that we are certain Samsung will update and polish. All else: the refined design, the stunning display, the S Pen, powerful processor, faster charging, these are all great things.
-
If you do and feel it’s time to upgrade, then hell yeah, this phone will take you so far into the future.
-
The Note that isn't a Note, yet it may very well end up being the last Note - Samsung's Galaxy S22 Ultra has some big shoes to fill.
-
Samsung has once again made one of the best overall Android smartphones with the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The phone has a stunning display, a great camera, offers lots of performance and features, and has a good battery life.
-
If you can deal with the average battery life, this is the new flagship Android phone to rule them all – and that’s before taking into account the new S Pen.
-
This is the everything phone priced at the everything phone price.
-
It's the best experience you can find on an Android phone today, and that is my take on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
-
If you're in the market for a great camera packed into one of the most powerful experiences you can get on a conventional flat smartphone with Galaxy Note capabilities, then this should totally be your phone.
-
The Galaxy S22 Ultra takes a very good phone from last year, and makes a few tweaks. The result is the best traditional smartphone that Samsung has ever made.
-
I think it ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of people.
-
It's very expensive which will put some people off, but if you're willing to spend the money, you won't regret it.
-
If you’ve still got last year’s S21 Ultra in your hands, you might want to hold on to it for at least a little while longer. However, if you’re looking for the very best that Android can muster and are blessed with deep pockets, you can’t do any better than the S22 Ultra.
-
The target audience for the Galaxy S22 Ultra, then, feels more narrow than ever. If you want the S-Pen, or the biggest display, but you don't want to go the whole-hog with a foldable, then Samsung is holding nothing back.
- Creative Bloq 9/10
Its real strength is in the photography department though, as it’s the best Android camera phone on the market.
- How-To Geek 9/10
If you want the best Android phone with all the features, the Galaxy S22 Ultra delivers in spades.
-
There’s a lot to love about the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra; it looks premium, the WQHD+ AMOLED display is top-notch, the cameras are among the best around right now and, for the first time, the Ultra model has a built-in S Pen – just like the Note line.
-
Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra is the smartphone to consider if you can swallow the exorbitant $1,200 starting price tag.
-
It is an incredible phone and I'm having a really good time with it.
-
The Galaxy S22 Ultra is good but don't let its convoluted naming scheme fool you — it's not out of this world.
- IGN 8/10
It’s a little hard to get excited for a phone that’s not doing much new, especially when it costs so much more than many competent competitors, but Samsung didn’t need to change much to make another great phone.
-
[T]his is one of the best around right now, churning out gorgeous photos nine times out of ten with little real effort.
-
As for me, I can confidently say that the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Camera has made its anchor to be the default best of the best of Android smartphones to use and of course it will be in my pocket daily as well.
-
I'm going on record right now, after all the things that I said I don't like, this is still easily, easily my favorite phone.
-
This is actually Samsung's best flagship device to date.
-
The S22 Ultra is as good as it's ever been, but that doesn't necessarily make it better than the S21 Ultra. It has a lot of great features, fantastic cameras and a deliciously good screen, but there's a distinct lack of pizazz with this update.
-
One thing I can say for certain about the S22 Ultra is that it does a near perfect job of being a great flagship, and if I weren’t a content creator, I would’ve stuck with it for at least another year, because it still performs as good as the day I started using it...
-
The Galaxy S22 Ultra is expensive, but it's also an excellent flagship phone that now gives both Galaxy S fans and Galaxy Note fans what they want.
-
To sum it up, Samsung has taken the best out of the Note lineup and merged it with the S series to finally arrive at the ultimate all-in-one superphone. It ticks all the boxes of features we truly want or need in a smartphone.
-
The Galaxy S22 Ultra is like improving the Galaxy S21 Ultra, which is really my personal perfect phone for the year 2021. And then Samsung just took this phone, added an S Pen inside the phone and voila the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
-
[...] Samsung, once again, hit a home run with this device. The S22 Ultra is the most premium-looking and feeling phone around.
-
All right, so final thoughts about this S22 Ultra: it's the best all-around smartphone right now.
-
[T]his might be my favorite Samsung device ever released. It's got the incredible design language that I loved from the Note lineup, the best Samsung software ever released, four amazing cameras with that 10x lens being a highlight in particular [...]
-
So all in all, I would say this is a lovely, fully fledged flagship phone.
-
Samsung have been slowly but noticeably improving the way that they process images, and this year, I feel, they're are much more vibrant and sharper with less of that distortion from that main lens.
-
[I]'ve been loving this device. Like I said, it's not a perfect device, but it's really, really good, very, very enjoyable, and I can definitely recommend it.
-
So after three months, I can very comfortably say that if you want the best Android has to offer, then the S22 Ultra is the phone that offers it.
-
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is a device asking you to forget about money in exchange for the ultimate mobile experience. It’s flashy, extremely powerful and offering some of the highest specs available in pretty much every category… but with a price tag exceeding [...]
-
Now back to the S22 Ultra, this camera system has been very impressive. The image quality is excellent and Samsung took care of some overexposure issues with an upgrade earlier this year.
-
In my opinion this is a little bit better; it's got more features than the iPhone 13 Pro Max, for example, it's got the reverse wireless charging, the S Pen, and all that stuff for similar price, so in my opinion this would be the best smartphone on the market right now.
-
If you ask me that, in 2022, which phone offers the best performance, the best cameras, the best software, the best looks, basically which phone is the best do-it-all device, I would say look no further than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G.
-
So if you're looking for a smartphone right now, I think the best phone to get if you're looking for something strong in the cameras is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
-
If you were looking for a new Galaxy Note, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is probably the closest you’ll get right now.
-
All in all, I think this is a brilliant device for those looking to step up their productivity game with the S Pen while having possibly the best display, brilliant camera system, and a powerhouse processor.
-
The Galaxy S22 Ultra is a wholesome package despite minor letdowns.
-
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is officially my favourite Android phone, and as a Galaxy Note lover, it’s the phone that easily replaces the last phone that I loved this much, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
-
[T]his is surprisingly a very interesting phone for me.
-
[T]hey pretty much nailed it with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Camera system.
-
It's honestly amazing and if you were thinking about picking one up I think it's genuinely a no-brainer.
-
The Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G is currently the ultimate smartphone.
-
The one thing that kept coming to my mind after using it on a day-to-day basis was this one simple statement that I feel ripped up the S22 Ultra pretty perfectly, and that statement is I think that the Galaxy S22 Ultra is the best phone that you can get in 2022.
-
My final thoughts, absolutely love the S22 Ultra. Samsung has been doing a great job especially in 2022 with their other devices as well and for me Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Camera is on the top five of my favorite smartphones for this year.
-
It's not the perfect phone out there, but I do believe it's probably one of the best phones still, and I just want to see some improvements in the next series, and I really hope that Samsung are going to follow up on this.
-
Have I loved it very subjectively?
-
[T]he Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Camera is going to give you one of the best camera setups you can buy strictly from a smartphone, and while Samsung likes to advertise big improvements year over year [...] there isn't a whole lot that needed any improvements.
-
[T]he S22 Ultra is in my opinion probably the best smartphone available on the market currently right now.
-
The story is still the same, phones really aren't going to be replacing my bigger larger cameras anytime soon, but this one, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Camera, really, really does make a case for getting rid of cameras like this one.
-
So to kind of sum up this video, what I'll definitely tell you is I think the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is a very, very good phone.
-
[I]t is worth considering the S23 Ultra just for that massive improvement in battery life, plus of course an extra year of Android updates, plus a slightly better camera, better performance.
-
[T]he Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will be a great option for you guys to scoop up especially around this time because you can at least get those discounted rates that we all know these phones go down to that you can save a couple coins [...]
-
You got pro video mode, so if you're looking for the best device for taking pictures and making videos then I would highly recommend this if you don't mind all the things that I've mentioned about before.
-
I fully recommend this phone to anyone looking for an absolute power beast with all the crazy features, and that software support makes it extra good.
-
I haven't encountered any crashes, any bugginess, really anything that would make me hesitate to recommend it to you.
-
You get a phone with basically all Flagship features plus the S Pen, software experience, and longevity. This is one of the best choices out there today in 2023.
