We’re about a month away from the rumored unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup – or possibly less, according to rumors of a Feb. 8 or Feb. 9 release date. We know the new flagship line will be unveiled at the next Unpacked event in February. Preorders for the new devices, which include the rumored Galaxy S22, S22 Plus, and S22 Ultra, are already available. According to rumors, the S22 phones will be released with upgraded features on the inside and outside, including new colors and an Android 12 operating system. However, the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s base model may have less memory than its predecessor.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 were introduced at Samsung’s August event, along with the company’s latest smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 4, and the Galaxy Buds 2. Samsung demonstrated more ways to customize its foldable phones in October, and the Galaxy S21 FE was released in the first week of January. Despite compiling all of the latest rumors and gossip, we’re still waiting for Samsung to announce an exact release date for the Galaxy S22.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 impressed us with its solid overall performance and better feature-to-price ratio than the S20. The Galaxy S21 Ultra wowed us with its incredible camera setup and ability to capture stunning zoomed-in shots. So, what about the sequel series? Here’s what we think the Galaxy S22 will include.
The Galaxy S20 line’s sales did not impress, and it’s likely that this had a lot to do with the generally high prices, combined with widespread financial uncertainty for many people as a result of the pandemic. By replacing glass back panels with toughened plastic, the S21 offered handsets at slightly lower prices. Here are all of the distinctions between the Galaxy S21 and S20.
At launch, the base S20 cost $1,000 in the United States, while the base S21 cost $800. While we don’t expect Samsung to make the S22 line any cheaper, we do believe it’s a safe bet that the company will try to match the approximate price of the S21, rather than raising it back to S20 levels. According to FrontTron, Samsung may be upgrading the S22 lineup with 65-watt charging support. The source revealed on Twitter in July that Rainbow RGB, a rumored code name for the S22 series, is testing 65-watt fast charging. If this rumor is correct, the S22 will have significantly faster charging times than the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy Note 20 lineups, both of which have 25-watt charging.
According to Ice Universe, the Galaxy S22 Ultra will also support 45-watt fast charging. According to the tipster, this is enough to charge the phone to 70% in 35 minutes.
In its S series phones, Samsung typically uses both Qualcomm Snapdragon chips and its own Exynos processors, depending on region, and we fully expect it to do so again in the S22 line. However, it’s safe to assume that the next generation of both chips, possibly the Snapdragon 895 and the Exynos 2200, will be used.
According to rumors, the hero S22 Ultra will receive the most exciting camera upgrades this time around. That’s good to hear, because while the S21 Ultra’s camera is excellent, it wasn’t a significant upgrade over its predecessor.
Based on a teaser tweet from Samsung’s own Exynos account showing a 200-megapixel phone camera, previous rumors suggest that it will be the first Samsung phone with a whopping 200-megapixel resolution. That would be a significant improvement over the already pixel-dense 108-megapixel S21 Ultra, allowing for sharper zoomed-in images.
Wireless charging, NFC for contactless payments, 5G connectivity, and in-display fingerprint scanners are all safe bets for all S22 models. It’s also likely that Samsung will continue to offer 128GB of base storage on all models, with upgrades to 256GB or even 500GB available for those who need more space.
Don’t expect to expand that storage, though, as the S21 series removed the option to add microSD cards. That was a real disappointment, particularly on the S21 Ultra, as its high-resolution images and 8K videos take up a lot of space. Fingers crossed for a return, but don’t get your hopes up.
