Tech Review: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Packs it All but at a Hefty Price Tag

Each quarter (or sooner), the mobile phone market gets even more competitive than anyone can imagine, going beyond any tech pundit’s predictions. Often, from the layperson’s perspective, it stagnates when it comes to offering better features and almost always ends up becoming heavier on the wallet. 

With “epic standard” as part of its slogan, Samsung has been steadily getting it right when it comes to high-end and high-functioning smartphones (which aren’t made by Apple or OnePlus). The S21 series of phones, for example, offer good speed, formidable battery life and an excellent camera, all operating on Android. 

The S22 Ultra sits on top of the new range released earlier this year. Like the S21 Ultra, it’s got curved sides and pretty much immediately feels like a slab of a phone. At about 228 grams, the heaviness of the S22 Ultra is evident when you hold it in one hand. 

Boasting a 6.8-inch display, the graphics and vibrancy of the S22 Ultra is likely to be unmatched. If you’re one of those people who puts your phone on a slightly lower brightness level (or opts to keep your screen auto-adjusting), we’d highly recommend just turning up the brightness bar to at least the halfway point and treat your eyes to an AMOLED-aided dynamism that Samsung can really tout as the best among smartphones in this range. 

Worrying about battery life might be a concern for anyone who tinkers with screen settings, but the S22 Ultra comes with a 5000 mAh battery that charges at 45W. The catch, however, is that the charging adaptor doesn’t come packaged with the phone and we only get the USB-C cable, so you’d have to cough up extra money to buy it. 

Increasingly, smartphones are willingly (and only on rare occasions, unknowingly) targeting content creators with their camera features, processor speed to handle all kinds of video and photo editing apps, and more. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra talks about being optimal for all kinds of immersive gameplay with its screen size and 12GB RAM (plus, standard fare additions like “gaming mode”), but this phone is best suited for visual content creators. 

A total of five cameras are present on it, ranging from a 108-megapixel wide lens, to a periscope telephoto by Sony (10-megapixel) and a front-facing 40-megapixel one. There’s also an ultrawide camera lens by Sony on the back, coming in at 12 megapixel. This might make the S22 Ultra look like it has too many eyes (or, as one friend put it, a multi-hob stove), but in the end, all these ensure that every time you’re taking a photo or video, you’re likely to get the best one. 

We tested the camera(s) at Bacardi NH7 Weekender festival in Pune in March, and its zoom levels coupled with megapixel mania doesn’t disappoint. Even whilst standing way at the back, the S22 Ultra’s camera is precise and powerful and the pro-mode options are all kinds of fun. It gives you a nice (sometimes grainy, but that’s on you and the lighting around you) picture of all that’s in the frame. The stable/super steady video mode is slightly limiting but it wouldn’t stop anyone from hitting the record button. 

In terms of creating, Samsung also has one more ace up its sleeve with the S22 Ultra – a built-in S pen. While some of us might know it as a stylus – back when it went out of style – Samsung’s S pen has been changing the game in its own way for years now. It was part of the Galaxy Note series, but this is the first time an S pen has made its way into an S series phone. 

All this is likely another shot at making styluses cool again, but this built-in S pen is present on the bottom left of the phone, brought into action with a click that’s nostalgic but also clever. With air gestures and loaded with AI functionality to keep guessing moves, you can flick and swish your way through the phone with ease, probably when your fingers are a bit tired out from trying to reach every corner of this 6.8-inch screen. 

Another key feature for creators – and anyone trying to find a replacement for their entire PC/laptop/Macbook – is the internal storage, which is available all the way up to 1TB.

On the audio front, the sound is bright and while it can’t deliver on all fronts, it can be loud and clear. The mic picked up sound fairly well while recording concert videos but it might not be the best in its price bracket.

Occasionally prone to heating like most heavy-duty smartphones that are packed with these many features, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is still an agile thing – one that can mostly handle all your needs. 

Available in phantom black and burgundy, the phone variants start at ₹1,09,999 for 256GB storage and 12GB RAM, ₹1,18,999 for 512GB storage, and 12GB RAM, ₹1,34,999 for 1TB storage and 12GB RAM.

You can buy the S22 Ultra  on Samsung’s website or on Amazon.