Hands-on Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra impressions make it sound sumptuous

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (Image credit: Aakash Jhaveri)

Samsung isn’t announcing the Galaxy S22 Ultra until February 9, but some lucky people are already getting access to it, and one of those people has shared their impressions.

A Verizon sales rep posted on Reddit under the name iSmokeGSCookies, claiming that they’ve seen and held the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, and answering questions.

They claimed that the phone looks a lot like the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, but seems slimmer and lighter, though slightly wider than the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. The phone apparently has a matte finish on its glass back which “looked amazing in person,” and apparently the S Pen stylus is the same size as the one that comes with the Note 20 Ultra.

They also said that the Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery, and that the base model comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but that there are also 256GB and 512GB models, both of which have 12GB of RAM.

The front-facing camera is apparently 40MP, while the rear camera apparently has larger sensors than the Galaxy S21 Ultra, but supposedly the “same software”, which, to be honest, seems unlikely, since Samsung often adds tweaks and features.

There unsurprisingly apparently won’t be a microSD card slot or a headphone port, and they saw the phone in black but were supposedly told there would be other shades too. Finally, there’s said to be no charger in the box, and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will apparently hit stores on February 25, which we’ve heard before.

Indeed, we’ve heard most of this before, but this is the first time we’re getting impressions of how the S22 Ultra looks and feels in the flesh. Of course, we’d take all of this with a pinch of salt – while it’s believable that a Verizon employee would have seen the phone, they haven’t provided any evidence of this.


Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

It sounds very different to the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Image credit: Aakash Jhaveri)

Analysis: this could be the premium flagship Samsung needs

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was always going to be a top-end phone, and for a while now it’s sounded like it would be the most interesting model in the range too, but it’s only with these impressions that we’re getting a sense of just how premium it might really look and feel.

From iSmokeGSCookies comments, it sounds like they were thoroughly impressed with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra from a design and build standpoint, calling it “amazing” and “an easy sell”, and comparing the finish to the iPhone 13 Pro.

This is reassuring, as it’s sure to be a very expensive phone, and with the standard Galaxy S22 and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus seemingly looking a lot like their predecessors, they might not exactly wow most buyers. But based on these impressions the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra probably will.

Via BGR

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.