Samsung has been on fire over the last few years creating amazing, high-quality new phones. The Galaxy S22 and the Galaxy S22 Ultra are no exception. For those who are wondering which of these two phones is the best option for them, this article will walk through all of their similarities and differences, as well as my opinions on each phone. If you’d prefer to watch instead of reading, you can watch the YouTube video on the State of Tech YouTube channel linked below. Let’s dive right in.
More details on each phone:
https://www.jerad.link/galaxys22
https://www.jerad.link/galaxys22ultra
Similarities
First, let’s talk about what’s the same between both of these devices. The S22 and the S22 Ultra both have a fingerprint sensor and face recognition to unlock the device. Both screens have a 120hz refresh rate. This makes gaming and scrolling on either phone buttery smooth and amazing. Both phones have aluminum chassis and are both fairly durable as well. Despite their tough bodies, these phones are still prone to scratching. Because of this, I’ve opted to use cases for each of them. If you’re interested in some of the cases I’ve tried, I recently made a couple of new phone case videos on the State of Tech YouTube channel. You can check those out here:
Both phones are IP68 water and dust-resistant. My experience with Samsung’s water and dust ratings has been very good. I’ve taken Samsung phones out on the lake, in pools, and in the ocean, and have found that they stay sealed very well. We’ll talk about cameras later on in this article, but for now, just know that both phones have a 12mp ultra-wide rear camera, both have wide-angle cameras, and both have a 10mp telephoto lens as well. Both phones have fast charging support, wireless charging, and reverse charging capabilities. This allows you to charge other wireless devices directly from the phone itself. I have never really used this feature, but it’s cool nonetheless. Both devices are available with 8GB of ram on the 128Gb and 256GB storage options.
Differences
Now, let’s discuss some of the key differences between these two phones. The most obvious difference is that the 22 has a 6.1” display while the 22 Ultra has a 6.8” display. As you can see from the image below, the difference in screen size is pretty significant.
I’ve noticed that the quality of the display on the S22 Ultra is slightly better than the S22. The resolution is higher on the ultra to match the larger screen size, but it still seems to me like the finer details are just a little bit more impressive with the ultra. I mentioned earlier in this article that the refresh rates on both phones can reach 120hz. What I didn’t mention is that the variable refresh rates are different. These phones don’t stay at 120hz all the time. That would be a drain on the battery and pretty unnecessary. Because of this, the phones automatically adjust the refresh rate based on what you’re doing to match the needs of the activity. The main difference here is that the Ultra has a greater range of refresh rate capabilities. The S22 Ultra can range from 1-120hz while the S22 can only range from 48-120hz.
This wider range on the ultra allows that phone to save even more battery power by lowering the refresh rate as low as possible.
Another difference between these devices is that the ultra offers a 12GB RAM option when you choose the 512GB version of the phone. Now, this isn’t necessarily as impressive as it sounds. Your phone needs more RAM to deal with larger amounts of storage properly. The increase in RAM is mostly present on the ultra to account for that extra storage space on your phone. If you are looking to purchase the most powerful device, that extra RAM might end up benefiting you a bit.
When it comes to camera differences, the Ultra has a few extra features. First, S22 Ultra has a 40mp selfie camera while the S22 only has a 10mp selfie camera. Despite the large difference in resolution, I honestly haven’t noticed much of a difference in quality between the two phones. Here’s a side by side of each phone’s selfie capabilities.
Both cameras take a great selfie, in my opinion!
On the back of the phone, the S22 Ultra has a 108mp wide-angle camera while the S22 has a 50mp wide-angle camera. 50 megapixels is more than enough resolution for a phone camera, and you’re going to get fantastic images out of either camera. I’ll show some image examples later in this article. The S22 Ultra also has two 10mp telephoto cameras with different focal lengths while the S22 only has one.
The ultra also has a much larger battery and can support 45 watts of fast charging. The S22 only offers 25 watts of fast charging. These differences are more subtle than they seem because the ultra is much larger and requires more battery power to achieve the same battery life as the S22.
Lastly, and most obviously, the S22 Ultra comes with the famous S pen, which is a large added bonus that the S22 lacks.
Geekbench Scores
To test that performance of these two phones, I ran a couple of benchmark tests. I found that both of these phones have fantastic processors and technologies inside of them.
Overall, the performance scores on both of these phones are fairly similar. This is impressive because the S22 is so much less expensive that the S22 Ultra. Rest assured that both of these phones are powerhouses and will be able to handle just about anything you throw their way.
Camera Performance
Samsung is known to put amazing cameras inside their phones. The S22 and S22 Ultra are no exception. I took both phones out with me and shot a variety of images and videos with each. Here are some of the images I captured.
What I found with these images is that both cameras have pretty fantastic quality. I was quite impressed with both. In some instances, I noticed that the S22 Ultra looks a bit better when I zoom in really close on an image. This is likely due to the higher mp camera in the ultra. As I mentioned before though, I really have no need for those really high resolution images, and the S22 performed just fine for me.
My Review
My opinion between these two different devices as that I honestly wish that there was an ultra “mini” or something similar. I found that I loved the smaller, more compact size of the S22, but missed the extra features that the Ultra offered. I don’t necessarily need a massive display, but I do love the S pen and the higher performance that you get with the Ultra. I know that’s a lot to ask for in a small phone, but a combination of these two devices would be perfect for me. The best choice for you will largely depend on what you find most important in a phone. If you like a smaller phone that still has great performance, I would go with the S22. If you’re more of a gamer of photographer and really want that extra performance, the ultra will likely be your best option. My official opinion is that you can’t go wrong with either of these phones. I was very happy with both of them, and I think they both have a lot to offer.
Final Thoughts
I hope you found this article helpful as you choose which phone is best for you! You can check out each phone more using these links:
https://www.jerad.link/galaxys22
https://www.jerad.link/galaxys22ultra
Also, check out these Galaxy related videos on the State of Tech YouTube channel!
