The Samsung Galaxy Note series is over. Well, not quite. Officially, the Galaxy Note line-up ended. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 launching in 2020. Which is their new flagship Galaxy S series.
It has all the features of a Galaxy Note device – a large QHD+ display. Fast performance, high-end cameras and of course the built-in S-Pen. Read my review to find out.
Box contents
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Smartphone 12GB RAM, 256GB Storage Edition in Burgundy Color
- USB Type-C to C Cable
- SIM ejector
- Quick Start Guide and Warranty information
What display does S22 Ultra use?
Before, the ‘Ultra’ variant of the smartphone shared a similar design. With its younger siblings. Which is to say that the design of the S22 is very premium. The edges are curved front and back, and the railings are made of metal, which feels great to hold in my hands. The back panel is made of glass. And it has the same beautiful frosted glass finish that does a nice job of hiding fingerprints. Yet, the metal railing has a glossy finish, and it immediately picks up fingerprints. Something I was disappointed by was the chipped paint near the S-Pen hole.
The power button and volume button can be found on the right edge and on the bottom edge. There is a speaker grill, USB Type-C port, dual SIM slot and of course the S-Pen. The edges are bare except for the microphone cut-outs and several antenna cut-outs.
Like the Galaxy S22 and S22+. The S22 Ultra features an Armor Aluminum frame designed to provide structural strength. to the device. For added protection, the front. Back glass panels are made of Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus+. The phone definitely feels thick and heavy. Which is understandable considering it weighs 228gms. The phone is quite large with its 6.9-inch display. And I wouldn’t recommend this phone for anyone with small hands.
The S22 Ultra features a 6.8-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a resolution of 3088 x 1440. And supports a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It has a greatest brightness of 1750 nits. Which is currently the highest of any smartphone display. And I have to say, the brightness is impressive. The panel does an excellent job of HDR content on both YouTube and Netflix.
The panel uses the latest LTPO 2.0 technology. which allows the refresh rate to dynamically change anywhere between 1Hz and 120Hz. This feature is exclusive to the S22 Ultra and is absent on the S22+ and S22. This results in smoother animations while navigating the UI. Scrolling through webpages, and of course, it improves the gaming experience. I hope Samsung improves this behavior in future updates.
Camera
Various camera specifications of the S22 Ultra are as follows:
- 108MP rear camera with LED Flash, OIS, f/1.8 aperture
- 12MP 120° Ultra Wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture
- 10MP Telephoto lens for 3x zoom, f/2.4 aperture, OIS
- 10MP Periscope lens for 10x zoom, f/4.9 aperture
- 40MP front camera with f/2.2 aperture
The default camera app on the S22 Ultra is mostly unchanged. All the most useful options are available at the top. And all the various zoom options are available near the bottom. The 108MP mode can be found in the aspect ratio menu and switching. Between the different modes is a simple left or right swipe. Other features of the camera app.
In terms of camera quality, the S22 Ultra performs surprisingly well. In good lighting conditions. The primary camera produces beautiful shots with plenty of sharpness. Plenty of dynamic range, good exposure and saturated colors. In difficult lighting conditions. the S22 Ultra still does a nice job of capturing detail and eliminating noise.
When it comes to smartphone portrait shots. You can shoot with the main camera or the 3x lens and both are excellent. . Samsung has reportedly improved its algorithms to detect depth around a person’s hair. And it seems to be working well.
When shooting with the main 108MP sensor. The S22 Ultra uses a technique called salt-binning. that will combine pixels and output a 12MP photo. Interestingly, the resolution from each rear sensor is 12MP. even from the 10MP telephoto lens. This suggests that Samsung is combining the output from many lenses to improve image quality. And I have to say, it works well.
Telephoto lenses, both 3x and 10x, produce impressive shots with plenty of detail and sharpness. I really liked the 3x zoom in particular and I used it often. In terms of digital zoom. shots at 30x zoom were usable and at 100x zoom. . Yet, the shots are a bit too sharp and slightly oversaturated. It seems that Samsung is compensating for the low quality sensor with powerful processing.
The front 40MP front facing camera outputs 10MP images. After quad-binning and produces great photos too. Lots of detail and skin tones were really nice. Portrait shots were particularly impressive with pleasing-looking bokeh.
In terms of video, the S22 Ultra is one of the best in the smartphone industry, right up there with the Apple iPhone 13 Pro. The rear camera can shoot up to 8K@24fps and the phone can shoot HDR10+ in 4K@30fps mode. . One of the few drawbacks of the S22 Ultra is the lack of support for Dolby Vision recording.
Here are some sample photos and videos from the S22 Ultra:
