Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra in 2024: Is it a wise choice to get a secondhand unit of the phone. We find out here.
Let’s be real, all the AI hype around Samsung‘s latest flagships is fun. But for those who prioritize practicality and budget (like yours truly), older flagships can offer much better value. You can get them for a comparatively lower price and enjoy all the benefits of a top-tier phone.
With this in mind, I bought my Galaxy S22 Ultra last year (in May 2023) when the S23 Ultra was the hot new thing in the market. Honestly, the upgrades on the S23 didn’t seem substantial enough which is why I leaned toward the S22 Ultra. Now, almost a year and a half later, I have to say I am mostly satisfied with this phone.
While buying a brand new S22 Ultra in 2024 wouldn’t be the most sensible choice, you can likely find its secondhand unit at the price of a premium mid-range if not a mid-range phone. For those considering a secondhand S22 Ultra in 2024, I wanted to share my experience with how the device has held up and whether it’s still a wise choice to get one.
Just to be clear, I’m not comparing it to the newer Galaxy S23 or S24 models—I haven’t used them, so I can’t offer that perspective. This is purely a take on the S22 Ultra and just that.S22 Ultra battery didn’t age well
Let’s start with the negatives so we can end this on a sweet note.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this phone is its battery life—it’s outright bad. Not a breaking news, I know. The S22 Ultra got slammed for this during its initial days, and it hasn’t gotten any better with age or software updates.
Mine’s got the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, infamous for overheating and inefficiency (thanks, Samsung Foundry!). So on average, I get around 4-5 hours of battery life before I have to replug to fuel it.
I’ll include a screen-on-time and battery activity graph to share my usage patterns. But just keep in mind that I often had to sneak in mid-day top-ups (represented by green bars in the first image) to keep the phone up for a day.
To clarify further, I’ve also attached screen-on-time figures since the last charge, and you can see the battery dropped from 100% to 40% in just 2 hours and 52 minutes of screen-on time.
I’m not a gamer, and I wouldn’t call myself a power user too. Spotify, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube… these are the kinds of apps I use mostly on my smartphone. I snap a few photos or videos occasionally, but the camera stays hardly open for 30 minutes a day.
Even so, the battery life is pretty disappointing. What’s more bothersome is the ideal battery drain situation on this thing; the phone can lose around 10-12% of its charge overnight.
