The Samsung Galaxy S22 is a small phone with a big heart. Yes, it has a few shortcomings, but there’s a lot to like here for its asking price.
Samsung Galaxy S22, the most affordable device in the company’s 2022 flagship series, has flown under the radar. The Korean electronics giant reserved all the fancy stuff for the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which also carries the heavy Note legacy on its shoulders. But that doesn’t mean the vanilla Galaxy S22 deserves to live in its shadow. In fact, this is one unassuming phone that hits heavier than its weight. Here’s the nitty-gritty about the phone before you decide to give Samsung a few hundred dollars from your wallet. The Galaxy S22 hasn’t seen anything in terms of aesthetic refinements. For folks coming from the Galaxy S21, Samsung’s latest flagship looks plain boring given the virtually indistinguishable design. But put it against any other flagship phone out there, and the Galaxy S22 will hold its own. The Phantom White trim that we have for review is quite stunning, thanks to the pearly white rear panel that provides a subtle contrast against the metallic luster on the rails and camera island. The phone is also up for grabs in a stunning phantom black shade, alongside green and sand pink colors. But it’s the white that really exudes a distinct aura of a premium device with a minimalist appeal. But it’s not just about the looks. The build quality is top-notch as well. Samsung has eschewed the Galaxy S21’s plastic rear panel in favor of a glass sheet that is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus on top. After having used the device for over three weeks without any protective cover, I couldn’t find any scuff marks on the rear panel. However, the display was another story. After a few days of use, it had visible signs of minor scraping all across. The Galaxy S22’s display is another beautiful sight, with uniformly thin bezels on all sides. It looks gorgeous and puts the notch-loving iPhones to shame. The power and volume buttons offer a satisfactory click and are placed comfortably within reach. Of course, it helps that the Galaxy S22’s form factor is refreshingly compact and tips the scales at just 167 grams. Packing a 6.1-inch screen, the Galaxy S22 is not exactly small. But compared to the beefy Max and Ultra class phones out there, the Galaxy S22 presents itself as one of those rare phones that won’t stretch your palms or fingers too much. Falling in the same size territory as the Pixel 4a and iPhone 13, the Galaxy S22 offers an unbeatable mix of terrific in-hand feel and pocketable size. Samsung has also switched to using an X-axis haptic motor for its latest flagship. The vibration feedback is smoother and evenly distributed throughout the whole body, but the intensity has taken a hit. Comparing it against the Galaxy S21, there is a tangible difference, but it’s a subjective debate. Some users prefer a stronger and localized vibration feedback, while others prefer a softer but more uniform haptic response. Personally, I prefer the Galaxy S22 in this instance. Samsung has also made a few compromises to achieve that relatively compact form factor. The 3.5mm headphone jack is again a no-show, as is the microSD card slot for storage expansion. And yes, the camera bump still makes the phone wobble when it’s lying on a flat surface. Samsung has armed the Galaxy S22 with an upgraded 50-megapixel main camera, assisted by a 12-megapixel ultrawide snapper, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom output. Selfie duties are handled by a 10-megapixel main camera. To put it simply, these cameras mean business. The main camera produces crisp pictures with impressive colors, tight contrast, plenty of details, and sharpness. Samsung has apparently tweaked the color chemistry this year, as the “Signature Samsung Saturation” has been toned down significantly. Colors are a lot closer to the real shades of an object, and far from the oversaturated mess of older Samsung phones. Surface details are retained well and subject separation is also on point. I was particularly dazzled by the portrait mode. The camera did an impressive job at edge detection and rendered a nice depth of field effect. Even the studio lightning effects for portrait shots turned out to be in the same league as the iPhones. Moreover, the telephoto camera also did an impressive job capturing portrait shots. The ultrawide camera was no different, retaining color uniformity against scenes captured by the main camera. However, one area where it faltered was the warping, especially with linear elements in the image. Take a look at the indoor shot clicked by the Galaxy S22 and its Ultra variant (below), both of which employ the same ultrawide camera hardware, but only one has that weird warping effect around the edges. Despite being sharp and well-exposed, the ultrawide photo taken with the S22 looks as if its angular symmetry has been crushed. There is no macro camera here, but the main camera takes some stunning close-up photos. If you want to go closer, the telephoto camera is your friend. The zoom camera does a commendable job at macro photography. Just make sure that you have really stable hands or the phone is rested against fixed support, because the focus lock gets finicky at close range. It’s great to see that Samsung has ported night mode support for all three cameras, but it’s the 50-megapixel main snapper that brings the best out of this lowlight photography trick. The main camera succeeds at discerning objects in the frame, even in extremely dark scenarios, and brought out colors with a healthy accuracy. The ultrawide camera takes a couple of seconds longer to capture night mode shots, but the results are not as dramatic as those captured by the main camera. The 3x telephoto camera goes a little too aggressive at boosting the contrast, which also results in a more grainy picture at the cost of illumination. On the positive side, the surface textures appear more legible. Of course, Samsung has also baked in a smorgasbord of camera tricks such as Single Take, portrait video, Director’s View, and Super Slow-Mo, among others. Director’s view lets you capture a scene from both the front and back, offering the convenience of using all three rear cameras. The 10-megapixel selfie camera also does an acceptable job, but compared to the rear cameras, it has a tendency to lighten the skin tone and boost the saturation even without any filters.
