Samsung Galaxy S22


The Samsung Galaxy S22 is a series of high-end Android-based smartphones developed, manufactured, and marketed by Samsung Electronics as part of its flagship Galaxy S series, all which were unveiled at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event on February 9, 2022, and were released on February 25, 2022, alongside the Galaxy Tab S8 series. The latter model serves as the official successor to the Galaxy Note 20 and the Note line-up, housing an integrated S-Pen. They collectively serve as the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, except the S21 FE. This series marks the first time to not have a FE model since the release of the Galaxy S20 FE.
The Galaxy S22 was succeeded by the Galaxy S23, which was announced on February 1, 2023.

Lineup

The S22 line consists of three devices: the Galaxy S22, the Galaxy S22+, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra has a screen and the largest battery capacity in the line-up, with a more advanced camera setup and a higher resolution display compared to the S22 and S22+. The latter device also embeds the S Pen, a first in the Galaxy S series after the discontinuation of the Galaxy Note.

Design

The Galaxy S22 series has a design similar to preceding S series phones, with an Infinity-O display containing a circular cutout in the top center for the front selfie camera. All three models now use Gorilla Glass Victus+ for the back panel, unlike the S21 series, which had plastic back. The rear camera array on the S22 and S22+ has a metallic surround, while the S22 Ultra has a separate lens protrusion for each camera element.
Galaxy S22 and S22+Galaxy S22 Ultra
Base colors
Online exclusive colors

Features

Hardware

Chipsets

The S22 line comprises three models with various hardware specifications. Except for some African and all European countries that use the Exynos 2200, with a new GPU with AMD, all models outside these regions use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 including Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, India, Mexico, and the United States.

Display

The S22 series feature "Dynamic AMOLED 2X" displays with HDR10+ support and "dynamic tone mapping" technology. All models use a second-generation ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint sensor.
ModelDisplay sizeDisplay resolutionMax refresh rateVariable refresh rateShape
S222340×1080120 Hz60 Hz to 120 HzCurved sides
S22+2340×1080120 Hz60 Hz to 120 HzCurved sides
S22 Ultra3088×1440120 Hz24 Hz to 120 HzFlat sides

Storage

The S22 and S22+ offer 8 GB of RAM with 128 and 256 GB options for internal storage. The S22 Ultra has 8 GB of RAM with 128 GB as well as a 12 GB option with 256, 512 GB and 1 TB options for internal storage. Unlike the S21 Ultra, the S22 Ultra doesn't feature a model with a 16 GB RAM variant. All three models lack a microSD card slot.

Batteries

The S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra contain integral 3,700 mAh, 4,500 mAh, and 5000 mAh Li-Po batteries respectively. The S22 supports wired charging over USB-C at up to 25 W while the S22+ and S22 Ultra have faster 45W charging. Tests found there's no significant difference between the 25W and 45W charging speeds. All three have Qi inductive charging up to 15W. The phones also have the ability to charge other Qi-compatible devices from the S22's own battery power, which is branded as "Wireless PowerShare," at up to 4.5W.

Connectivity

All three phones support 5G SA/NSA networks. The Galaxy S22 supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, while the Galaxy S22+ and S22 Ultra support Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. The S22+ and S22 Ultra models also support Ultra Wideband for short-range communications similar to Bluetooth. Samsung uses this technology for their new "SmartThings Find" feature and the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag+.

Cameras

The S22 and S22+ have a 50 MP wide sensor, a 10 MP telephoto sensor with 3× optical zoom, and a 12 MP ultrawide sensor. The S22 Ultra retains its predecessor's 108 MP sensor with 12-bit HDR. It also has two 10 MP telephoto sensors with 3× and 10× optical zoom, as well as a 12 MP ultrawide sensor. The front-facing camera uses a 10 MP sensor on the S22 and S22+, and a 40 MP sensor on the S22 Ultra.
The Galaxy S22 series can record HDR10+ video and support HEIF.
Supported video modes
The Galaxy S22 series supports the following video modes:
  • 8K@24fps
  • 4K@30/60fps
  • 1080p@30/60/120/240fps
  • 720p@960fps
Still frames extracted from high resolution footage can act as standalone photographs.

S Pen

The S22 Ultra is the first S series phone to include a built-in S Pen, a hallmark feature of the Galaxy Note series. The S Pen has latency at 2.8 ms, reduced from 26 ms on the Note 20 and 9 ms on the Note 20 Ultra and S21 Ultra, and marked the introduction of an 'AI-based co-ordination prediction system'. The S Pen also supports Air gestures and the Air Action system.

Software

The S22 phones were released with Android 12 with Samsung's One UI software. Samsung Knox is included for enhanced device security, and a separate version exists for enterprise use. Samsung has promised 4 Android OS upgrades and 5 years of security updates.
On October 28, 2022, Samsung began rolling out One UI 5.0 to the Galaxy S22 devices. In August 2024, the Galaxy S22 received the One UI 6.1.1 update based on Android 14, which also comes with the Galaxy Z6 series. This and other versions of One UI newer than 6.0 contain new AI-based features that are exclusive to this and later generations of the Galaxy S series.
In May 2025, the official One UI 7 update based on Android 15 was released for the Galaxy S22 family.
On October 6, 2025, Samsung began rolling out the One UI 8 upgrade with Android 16, which marked the final major operating system upgrade for the series.

Criticism

Performance throttling controversy

Testing performed by benchmarking utility Geekbench and media outlet Android Police reported that Samsung's Game Optimizing Service was throttling the performance of the device significantly in a number of popular apps, but allowing it to run unthrottled for benchmarking utilities; one specific test on the S22+, using a copy of Geekbench 5 that was modified to look like Genshin Impact to the GOS, recorded a loss of 45% in single-core performance and 28% in multi-core performance versus an undisguised copy of the utility. In response, Geekbench has permanently delisted the entire S22, S21 and S10 lineup from its service. Samsung has since released an update allowing S22 users to disable GOS on their devices.