The Galaxy S22 has nearly all the pieces I would like in a cellphone. The design and construct high quality are eye-catching sufficient to make it really feel price its $800 value. The display screen is luminous, and the digicam takes images with vibrant colours that really feel extra correct than these taken on Samsung’s older telephones. There’s only one drawback: the Galaxy S22 offers me battery anxiousness. It delivers the all-day battery life Samsung claims to supply, however typically simply barely. I’ve been utilizing the Galaxy S22 as my every day cellphone for the final month, and my opinion hasn’t modified a lot from my preliminary overview in February. Four months later, the Galaxy S22 nonetheless appears like the correct cellphone for individuals who favor smaller gadgets and need a high-quality display screen and digicam. Just pack a charger for those who anticipate having a protracted day. Read extra: How iOS 16 and Android 13 Could Change the Future of SmartphonesBattery anxiousnessSamsung’s Galaxy S22
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The greatest method to describe the Galaxy S22’s battery is that it offers me a degree of uncertainty I’d quite not have. It manages to final all day generally, however there are moments when I’m undecided if it will make it. The battery carried out the perfect once I did not commute to the workplace and had the refresh charge set to straightforward with the always-on show turned off. I had roughly between 60% and simply over 70% of my battery left by about 9 p.m. throughout these days. But on longer and busier days spent within the workplace, the battery can dip all the way down to the 30s or 40s by round 9 p.m. with those self same settings.Increasing the display screen’s refresh charge and activating always-on show mode — options that make the Galaxy S22 really feel quicker and extra handy — drains the battery quicker. I had 28% left by 9:43 p.m. on Father’s Day, once I spent the afternoon and early night at my household’s home with my cellphone principally tucked away in my pocket apart from taking a couple of images. The Galaxy S22’s battery life is lengthy sufficient for a mean day. But I would like the reassurance of realizing I will not be stranded with out the power to name an Uber or discover instructions house after a late evening out. I even borrowed a colleague’s USB-C cable to energy up my Galaxy S22 throughout a latest all-day work occasion once I forgot to pack my very own charger. (The battery share had dropped to the 60s by the afternoon and I nonetheless had a protracted evening forward of me). Luckily, the Galaxy S22 prices fairly shortly so I’m sometimes in a position to replenish a good quantity of juice in round 20 minutes. The Galaxy S22 helps 25-watt quick charging, however the appropriate energy adapter is offered individually. You also can see which apps are hogging your battery’s sources within the settings menu, which could possibly be useful if you wish to optimize its longevity. Read extra: Best Android Phones to Buy in 2022A brilliant display screen and compact designSamsung’s Galaxy S22 has a brilliant, vibrant display screen
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To be trustworthy, I’m undecided how the Galaxy S22’s show brightness compares to that of its predecessor. What I do know, nevertheless, is that I by no means wanted to show the brightness above a few quarter of its most setting. That made it straightforward to see the show in direct daylight and meant I did not have to fret about draining the battery even quicker. The Galaxy S22’s design was considered one of its most hanging components once I reviewed the cellphone 4 months in the past, and that also holds true. The Galaxy S22’s vibrant inexperienced shade and matte brushed steel design make me wish to flaunt this cellphone as an alternative of hiding it with a case. It appears like an enormous step up from the $700 Galaxy S21 FE, which is $100 cheaper. But as I wrote again in February, what actually units this cellphone aside is its compact dimension. You do not come throughout Android telephones with 6.1-inch screens that usually immediately, apart from the Sony Xperia 5 III and upcoming Google Pixel 6A. The Galaxy S22 could even be the tiniest cellphone in Samsung’s lineup throughout the Galaxy S and A sequence. It’s straightforward to squeeze into small pockets and function with one hand, however those that watch quite a lot of video or learn books on their cellphone may favor the roomier S22 Plus or S22 Ultra. Read extra: Galaxy Watch 5 Rumors: Samsung Might Fix Our Battery ComplaintsA high quality digicam with simpler controlsThe Galaxy S22’s triple-lens digicam.
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The Galaxy S22’s triple-lens digicam represents an improve over the S21’s, particularly relating to low-light images. But I additionally actually get pleasure from the best way the system’s 50-megapixel sensor takes images in brilliant daylight situations, too. I’ve traditionally felt like Samsung’s telephones exaggerated shade, leading to photos that had been daring however did not at all times really feel pure. The Galaxy S22 does a greater job of hanging that stability in comparison with older Samsung telephones in my view. Take a have a look at among the images under to see the Galaxy S22’s digicam in motion.The Galaxy S22 did an ideal job of isolating the topic on this picture.
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The Galaxy S22 appears to seize shade precisely.
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Another instance of how the Galaxy S22’s digicam captures shade.
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The Galaxy S22 is nice at capturing sweeping panorama photographs, too.
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Check out my full evaluations of the Galaxy S22, S22 Plus and S22 Ultra for a deeper dive into how the Galaxy S22’s cameras examine to these on competing telephones and different Samsung gadgets. One of my favourite digicam modifications truly has nothing to do with the Galaxy S22 particularly. One UI 4, the most recent model of Samsung’s cell software program, launched new controls for switching between the cellphone’s lenses that makes it a lot simpler to see the precise zoom degree. The outdated model of the digicam app used tree-shaped icons to characterize the diploma of zoom. Now, Samsung has changed these symbols with precise numbers, very similar to the iPhone. One UI 4 is accessible on the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S21 and the corporate has stated it is coming to older telephones just like the S20 lineup, S10 sequence and Note 20 gadgets amongst different Galaxy telephones.Read extra: Is Samsung’s 45-Watt Charger Worth It? We Put It to the TestOverall thoughtsRevisiting the Galaxy S22 4 months later has bolstered the impressions I developed when initially testing the cellphone again in February. The Galaxy S22’s enticing appears to be like, brilliant display screen and succesful digicam make it a stable all-around alternative, particularly for many who favor smaller telephones. But battery life stays a weak level. If you are something like me, you will wish to maintain a charger or battery pack useful throughout lengthy days and tweak the cellphone’s settings to get probably the most out of it.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Specs
Galaxy S22
Display dimension, decision
6.1″ Dynamic AMOLED 2x; FHD+ (1080×2340); 120 Hz
Pixel density
425 pixels per inch
Dimensions (Millimeters)
70.6 x 146 x 7.6 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)
167 g (168 g for mmWave mannequin)
Mobile software program (at launch)
Android 12
Camera
50-megapixel (broad), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 10-megapixel (telephoto)
Front-facing digicam
10-megapixel
Video seize
8K
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 gen 1
RAM/Storage
8GB RAM + 128GB 8GB RAM + 256GB
Expandable storage
None
Battery/Charger
3,700 mAh
Fingerprint sensor
In-display
Connector
USB-C
Headphone jack
No
Special options
5G (mmw/Sub6), 120Hz show, IP68 ranking, 25W wired charging, Wireless PowerShare