(Pocket-lint) – Samsung’s Galaxy S21 range – consisting of the standard S21, S21+ and the S21 Ultra – was revealed in January 2021, meaning its successors are due to be revealed soon, in early February.
There are plenty of rumours surrounding the S22 range, expected to be the Galaxy S22, S22+ and S22 Ultra. We’ve covered the two former models in a separate feature, but here we are focusing on everything we’ve heard so far about the top-of-the-range Ultra model.
Release date and price
Samsung has confirmed it’s next Galaxy Unpacked for the Galaxy S22 series will take place on 9 February 2022. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra was revealed in January 2021, though this was earlier than the company’s typical timeline for its Galaxy S series launch. Prior to 2021, the range was revealed in February and made available by March.
Though unconfirmed, the S22 series’ on-sale date is rumoured to be 21 February, with stores expected to receive handsets from 24 February – prior to Mobile World Congress 2022 kicking off.
In terms of price, the Galaxy S21 Ultra started at £1149 in the UK and $1199 in the US. It’s likely the respective S22 Ultra successor will keep within a similar ballpark, but it’s too early to say for now. Rumours claim it will start at €1249, with the top model costing €1449.
Design
- Prominent camera housing
- S Pen built-in?
- Punch hole camera
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is rumoured to see a bigger design change in terms of the rear camera housing than the standard S22 models compared to their predecessors.
Leaked renders suggest the S22 Ultra will offer quite a prominent camera housing with three lenses and a flash unit within a square, with a fourth lens sitting below, making for an unusual look. There have also been real-life leaked images suggesting the S22 Ultra won’t have a separate camera housing at all, with just raised camera lenses on the rear and renders from well-known leaker Evan Blass suggest this too, making it all the more likely.
There has also been the suggestion of a built-in S Pen stylus – with the real-life images and leaked press renders supporting this – which it’s believed won’t be a feature of the standard S22 and S22 Plus models.
We’d expect a premium handset in the S22 Ultra, with a glass rear, and leaked renders suggest a punch-hole camera in the centre of the top of the display, rather than an under-display camera like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 offers. Waterproofing is expected, as is USB Type-C charging.
Display
- 6.81-inch, Quad HD+ resolution
- 120Hz variable refresh rate
- Slimmer bezels?
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a 6.8-inch display. Rumours suggest Samsung could reduce the size of its displays in the S22 range, so it’s not currently clear what screen size the S22 Ultra may offer. There are claims of slimmer bezels and more rounded corners too.
We’d expect the S22 Ultra to continue to offer a higher resolution and a curved-edge display, than the standard S22 and S22+’s flatter panels, though that’s speculation for now.
Support for HDR and a variable 120Hz refresh rate are expected on the S22 Ultra, much like the S21 Ultra offers.
Hardware and specs
- Next-gen Qualcomm Snapdragon and Exynos chipsets
- At least 12GB RAM
- No charger in box
At the moment, it’s not clear what the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will offer in terms of hardware, though it’s likely to have the next flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon processor on board – the 8 Gen 1 – or the next-gen Exynos 2200 chipset with AMD, depending on the region. All S22 handsets will be 5G compatible based on their use of these platforms.
In terms of other specs, rumours claim there will be three models, an 8GB RAM and 128GB storage model, a 12GB RAM and 256GB storage model and a 12GB RAM and 512GB storage model. Threre was talk of a 1TB storage option, though the latest rumour doesn’t mention this model. MicroSD support is also not expected.
We’d expect the S22 to offer support for fast charging (45W is rumoured) and fast wireless charging. Samsung has confirmed that the charger will not come in the box though – a move Apple made for its iPhone 12 series and continued with for the iPhone 13 series – with only the cable included.
Rumours claim the Galaxy S22 Ultra will have a 5000mAh battery – just like the S21 Ultra – making it the biggest capacity in the series.
Camera
- 200MP sensor rumoured, 108MP more likely
- Similar setup to S21 Ultra
We know Samsung has been working on a 200-megapixel camera sensor, the ISOCELL HP1, which was initially rumoured could first appear in the Galaxy S22 Ultra. However, it now seems more likely this will be an improved 108-megapixel sensor instead.
Other rumours suggest Samsung is looking at sensor shift technology, like the iPhone 13 range offers, and there’s been some chatter about a new periscope lens that can move the lenses freely between 3x and 10x zoom, also coming to the S22 Ultra.
It’s believed the Galaxy S22 Ultra will feature a quad rear camera setup, consisting of that 108MP main sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, a 12MP ultra-wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture, and two 10MP telephoto lenses – one with an f/4.9 aperture and 10x zoom, the other with f/2.4 aperture and 3x zoom. If true, it looks like there won’t be a huge amount of difference in the camera setup to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, beyond that ‘improved’ 108MP sensor anyway.
It’s claimed the S22 Ultra could come with a button in the camera app that will enhance detail, colour and brightness using AI though.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra rumours: Here’s everything we have heard so far
This is everything we have heard so far about the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
2 February 2022: Samsung Galaxy S22 marketing images break cover, reveal key specs
MySmartPrice published a number of images showing what appears to be marketing images of the Galaxy S22 range. The images were originally published by Evan Blass, who has a great track record.
26 January 2022: Best Samsung Galaxy S22 pictures leak yet – renders appear ahead of confirmed 9 February event
Samsung confirmed the next Galaxy Unpacked will take place on 9 Febraury, while Evan Blass posted press renders of all three devices before removing them due to a “report from the copyright holder”.
25 January 2022: Samsung Galaxy S22 launch date and time leaks, not long now
Evan Blass tweeted an image of the Galaxy Unpacked invite with a date of 9 Febraury 2022 and a time of 15:00, though the time zone is currently unknown.
24 January 2022: Samsung Galaxy S22 prices and storage options leak
WinFuture’s Ronald Quandt has suggested European prices and variants of the S22 range.
Whoever said S22 series was to be cheaper, didn’t think of Covid, parts shortages and inflation.
Actual official EURO prices:
S22 8/128GB = 849
S22 8/256GB = 899
S22+ 8/128GB = 1049
S22+ 8/256GB = 1099
S22 Ultra 8/128GB = 1249
S22 Ultra 12/256GB = 1349
S22 Ultra 12/512GB = 1449 pic.twitter.com/QRnfrhkzTz— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) January 22, 2022
15 January 2022: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could come with 1TB storage
Leaker Ishan Agarwal has claimed the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will come in a 1TB storage option, though it might be region dependant.
I can confirm that there will be a Galaxy S22 Ultra variant with 1TB Storage but Samsung might release it in only select regions. Important European markets will surely get it. https://t.co/QSaed40FPD
— Ishan Agarwal (@ishanagarwal24) January 15, 2022
11 January 2022: 8 February Unpacked confirmed
Korea’s DDaily confirms with Samsung that Unpacked will happen on 8 February, with handsets rumoured to be on sale as soon as 21 February.
10 January 2022: Samsung Galaxy S22 Unpacked launch event could be 8 February
According to a recent report, Samsung Galaxy Unpacked could take place on 8 February.
31 December 2021: Galaxy S22 Ultra leak shows Samsung’s next flagship with an S Pen at its side
Leaker Evan Blass shared some press renders of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, supporting previous leaks in terms of design.
30 December 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra colours revealed in wonderful renders
Technizo Concept created some renders for LetsGoDigital of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra showing the device off in black, white, green, burgundy red and rosé / purple colour options.
29 December 2021: Samsung Galaxy Ultra 22 hands-on pics leak shows camera and much more
Twitter user @hypark22 posted some hands on images of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
#GalaxyS22Ultra pic.twitter.com/593ZUofl3T
— JY(지현) (@hypark22) December 26, 2021
23 December 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra might have an AI detail enhancement button
Leaker Ice Universe has claimed the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could come with an AI detail enhancement button in the camera app.
In the 108MP mode of S22 ultra, a new button appears in the lower right corner of the page, which is the AI detail enhancement button. After opening it, your photos have more details, colors and brightness than ordinary 108MP. pic.twitter.com/QAhJTbUa36
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) December 23, 2021
18 November 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra appears on benchmark, behind Apple
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra appeared on a Geekbench website (spotted by MySmartPrice) with the model number SM-S908B.
8 November 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra leak reveals built-in S Pen and release date
Jon Prosser published some images to his Twitter account revealing the Galaxy S22 Ultra in the flesh and a release date.
3 November 2021: S22 Ultra images surface, showing similarities to Note 20 Ultra
Another tweet from @UniverseIce gives us an up close look at the Samsung S22 Ultra. The leaker says that the S22 Ultra screen will have a smaller curvature than that of the Note 20 Ultra and could be more similar to the Note 10+.
The fully evolved Note20 Ultra, it is called S22 Ultra pic.twitter.com/RkKYawREqK
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) November 2, 2021
27 October 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra camera specs have leaked in full, there’s not much change
According to a tweet from @UniverseIce on Twitter, the S22 Ultra’s camera system will take the same approach as the S21 Ultra, offering a quad camera system with two zoom lenses.
S22 Ultra camera
108mp Improved version of HM3 main 1 / 1.33 “0.8 um F1.8 FOV 85
12MP 0.6X sony 1/2.55″ 1.4um F2.2 FOV 120
10MP 10X new sony 1/3.52″ 1.12um F4.9 FOV 11
10MP 3X new sony 1/3.52″ 1.12um F2.4 FOV 36— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) October 26, 2021
25 October 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could come with 45W fast charging
Samsung’s 2022 flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will come equipped with 45W fast charging support and a 5,000mAh battery, according to leaks from Ice Universe.
S22 Ultra 45W 5000mAh
35 min 70%— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) October 23, 2021
22 October 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup tipped to feature separate versions with Exynos and Qualcomm chips – again
Tech reporter Max Weinbach suggests the upcoming Samsung S22 flagship phones will again include models which feature both Qualcomm and Exynos chips.
oh yeah s22, s22+, s22 ultra is gonna have an exynos 2200 and a snapdragon 898 version
found it a few weeks ago
— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) October 22, 2021
24 September 2021: This is what the Galaxy S22 Ultra will look like, launching early 2022
Leaker @OnLeaks published a series of renders with @digitindia showing an early look of what is said to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Sooo… Here comes your very first and early look at the #Samsung #GalaxyS22Ultra and its quite “unique” rear camera housing design! (360° video + stunning 5K renders + dimensions)
On behalf of @digitindia -> https://t.co/vBGM3WJfru pic.twitter.com/YDqfFrVGLW
— Steve H.McFly (@OnLeaks) September 24, 2021
24 September 2021: Samsung Galaxy Note no more? Built-in S Pen for Galaxy S22 rumour suggests so
Leaker Ice Universe claimed on Twitter that the Galaxy S22 Ultra will have a stowaway S Pen.
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) September 23, 2021
17 September 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 to feature smaller battery than S21?
GalaxyClub reported that the battery capacity of the Galaxy S22 series will be smaller than that of the Galaxy S21 series. Only the Galaxy S22 Ultra is reported to remain the same.
14 September 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 won’t have an under-display camera says tipster
Leaker Ice Universe claimed on Twitter that Samsung will opt for a hole punch camera rather than an under display camera for the Galaxy S22 range.
It can be confirmed that the Galaxy S22 series still uses Hole, and still uses the same camera area design as the S21
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) September 14, 2021
17 August 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 series leak details camera, battery and display specs
Leaker Ice Universe revealed some details of what was expected to be coming to the Samsung Galaxy S22 range in terms of display, camera and battery specifications.
16 June 2021: All three Samsung Galaxy S22 series phones to see reduction in size?
Twitter user @MauriQHD suggested that Samsung will downsize all three models in the Galaxy S22 family, compared to the S21 series. Meaning: the regular S22, S22 Plus and S22 Ultra will all have smaller screens than their predecessors.
6 May 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra tipped to have “best” zoom camera yet
Leaker Ice Universe revealed on Weibo that Samsung’s electromechanics and semiconductor arms have joined forces on a new continuous zoom solution that could be adopted by next year’s flagship.
It uses a periscope lens unit that can move the lenses freely between 3X and 10X zoom, greatly increasing the optical zoom capabilities.
27 April 2021: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could have a 200MP camera
Samsung is said to be working on a 200-megapixel camera that could come to the S22 Ultra.
27 April 2021: Samsung’s upcoming phones could launch with super-speedy 65W charging
A Samsung 65W fast charging adapter appeared on India’s BIS database which works similarly to FCC or TENAA. The charger suggests Samsung could be looking to offer 65W fast charging to future smartphones, like the S22.
19 April 2021: No ToF sensor on Samsung Galaxy S22
Sammobile reported that ET News claimed Samsung has chosen not to include a ToF sensor on the Galaxy S22 models.
12 April 2021: Is Samsung working on its own sensor shift phone camera?
Samsung is hoping to build sensor shift technology into its upcoming smartphone cameras according to report on Dutch site, Galaxy Club.
12 April 2021: A Samsung and Olympus collaboration could be on the cards
Reports are circulating that Samsung has been in discussions with Olympus over the possibility of collaborating on smartphone camera tech.
15 January 2021: No chargers in box for future models
In a Q&A report on Samsung’s Mobile Press page, Samsung confirmed it would not include chargers in the box for future devices.
15 October 2020: Samsung claimed to be working on new Exynos processors
Leaker Ice Universe claimed on Twitter that Samsung was working on new Exynos processors, including the 9855 and 9925 – the latter of which may be with AMD GPU.
Writing by Britta O’Boyle.
