We’re barely a couple of months away from the launch of Samsung’s upcoming flagship device. Not surprisingly the rumours and leaks are building up. It’s likely to be called the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra in line with the flagship devices from the last two years – the S20 and S21, that also coincide with the calendar year of their launch. Here’s all that we know about one of the most anticipated Android smartphones of 2022:
January or February debut? The Internet is divided: the S21 Ultra arrived early last year, hitting the scene as early as the first half of January. That might suggest that we could see a January debut for the Galaxy S22 Ultra. While @Iceuniverse confirms a January release, a report in SamMobile suggests a mid-February launch. The report also suggests that January will be reserved for the launch of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S21 FE.
Is this where the Note means the Galaxy S flagship series: if Jon Prosser at Front Page tech’s leaked images are anything to go by, the S22 Ultra looks more like a Note series device than a curved Galaxy S device. It also looks thicker making room for the S-Pen that Prosser’s images suggest could be part of the S22 Ultra. While the S21 Ultra offered S-Pen support, it didn’t offer housing for the S-Pen; you had to carry it separately. Samsung didn’t launch a Note device in 2021, a break from a pattern where it would launch the S series flagship in the first quarter of the year and the Note flagship in the third quarter of the year. This year Samsung unleashed two foldables – the Z Flip 3 and the Z Fold 3.
Minimal camera housing: the rear camera lens looks similar to the minimal housing we’ve seen in some of Samsung’s A series devices over the past few months. While the lens array is similar to the S21 Ultra, it’s the housing of the lenses that looks very different. @Iceuniverse suggests that the primary 108MP lens could be improved in the S22 Ultra.
Specs and Pricing: Network insider hinted @TheGalox that the S22 Ultra could see a $50-100 increase across versions. It’s likely to have a starting price of $1299 for a base storage version of 256GB. The S21 Ultra was priced at Rs 1,05,999 in India at launch. The other rumours are around the processor. We could see all versions across the globe powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 898 processor. Typically Samsung’s premium devices feature Exynos processors in most global markets except the US where they are powered by Qualcomm processors.
These rumours come hot on the heels of the latest Smartphone numbers for Q3 2021 from IDC that confirm that Samsung is the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer with a 20.8% global market share in a quarter where supply chain constraints have resulted in a 6.7% decline in YOY global smartphone sales compared to the same quarter last year.
