Samsung unveiled the brand new Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup today via a virtual Unpacked event that you can watch here (the Unpacked starts at about 1:05:00). You can also read our full review of the Samsung Galaxy S22+ and see if that big screen is worth the extra money.
One of the key takeaways from this year's announcement is that the S22 lineup seems to have completed the elimination of the Samsung Galaxy Note series. But fear not fans of the S Pen, as the stylus is now built into the Ultra model. Let's take a look at some of the S22 lineup's key specs, pricing, and more.
Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup at a glance
| Samsung Galaxy S22 | Samsung Galaxy S22+ | Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Starting at $1,099.99 | Starting at $1,399.99 | Starting at $1,649.99 |
| Cameras | 12MP (Ultra-wide), 50MP (Wide Angle), 10MP (Telephoto, 3x zoom), 10MP (Selfie) | 12MP (Ultra-wide), 50MP (Wide Angle), 10MP (Telephoto, 3x zoom), 10MP (Selfie) | 12MP (Ultra-wide), 108MP (Wide Angle), 10MP (Telephoto, 3x zoom), 10MP (Telephoto, 3x zoom), 40MP (Selfie) |
| Screen | 6.1-inch 120hz display | 6.6-inch 120hz display | 6.8-inch 120hz display (adaptive to 1hz) |
| Colours | Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, Pink Gold, Graphite, Cream, Sky Blue, Cream |
Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, Pink Gold, Graphite, Cream, Sky Blue, Cream |
Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, Burgundy, Graphite, Sky Blue, Red |
When is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Coming Out?
The Samsung Galaxy S22 series can be preordered today, with the lineup available on February 25, 2022. This gives you plenty of time to choose your model, colour, and storage options before making the decision on which to pick up.
How Much Does the Samsung Galaxy S22 Cost?
Samsung Galaxy S22 pricing
| Samsung Galaxy S22 | Samsung Galaxy S22+ | Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 128GB | $1,099.99 | $1,399.99 | $1,649.99 |
| 256GB | $1,169.99 | $1,469.99 | $1,789.99 |
| 512GB | --- | --- | $1,929.99 |
| 1TB | --- | --- | $2,209.99 |
The Samsung Galaxy S22 is $1,099.99 CAD for the 128GB version and $1,169 CAD for the 256GB version. Both storage options feature 8GB of RAM with no option currently available for more. The Samsung Galaxy S22+ also features an equal amount of RAM and is listed at $1399.99 CAD for the 128GB model and $1,469.99 for the 256GB version.
If you're looking to get your hands on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra you have some more storage options available. The S22 Ultra with 128GB costs $1,649.99, the 256GB version costs $1,789.99, the 512GB version costs $1,929.99, and the 1TB version costs a whopping $2,209.99. Unlike the S22 and S22+, the Ultra features 8GB of RAM in the 128GB version and 12GB of RAM in the others.
Samsung is incentivizing preorders by offering the 256GB models of each phone for the respective prices of their 128GB versions. You can also snag the 512GB version of the Ultra for the 256GB model's price. If you need the 1TB of storage, you're stuck paying full price.
Once the S22 lineup is available in stores, you'll have some options for purchasing. You can learn about the differences between financing, leasing, and outright purchasing with our guide on the subject to make the best decision for you.
What's New in the S22?
Design
Let's start with the new look. The four colours of the S22 and S22+ that are available everywhere feature their cameras in the rear top left corner in a vertical alignment with a colour matching camera house. The flat display with the centered hole-punch selfie camera provides a clean, minimalistic look. If you liked the Galaxy S21's design, I'd be willing to bet that you'll love this one.
There are some exclusive colours that can only be obtained by purchasing directly from Samsung. These exclusive Graphite, Cream, Sky Blue, and Violet colours don't feature the same monochromatic camera house, but have similar overall design languages.
The S22 Ultra takes a different approach by having the rear cameras integrated into the phone's hardware. While the lenses themselves protrude from the chassis of the phone, there's no camera bump housing that we've come to expect from smartphones. Some will like this clean look, some may not enjoy it.
The rounded edge display and centered hole-punch selfie camera with its very rectangular design bring back memories of the Galaxy Note series of yesteryear while the built-in inclusion of the S Pen all but confirms the Note line may have run its course.
Due to the lack of the camera housing piece, the Samsung site exclusive Graphite, Sky Blue, and Red Ultra models all look identical outside of colour.
These phones are all protected by Gorilla Glass Victus Plus, which is currently exclusive to the S22 series.
Cameras
Low-light performance and video seem to be the two areas that Samsung targeted the most with this release as its branded Nightography, better social media integration, and video stabilization were highlighted throughout the Unpacked. The Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22+ feature a new nano-coated 50MP primary sensor along with a wider OIS stabilization range that should allow for more light, better stability, and better detail across all of your camera uses.
The Nightography features are available across all of the cameras, in portrait mode, and selfie mode on these new phones, which is a very welcome addition. There's nothing worse than zooming in or out in low light and losing all of your image's clarity.
Smoother video is promised thanks to the OIS' increased range and adjustable frame rate selection. The OIS improvements should allow the phone to counteract more shakes and unsteady shooting angles for cleaner and crisper video performance, including in low light. The frame rate selection feature is an interesting addition as it will adjust your video's FPS based on the lighting to produce the best details based on ambient lighting.
All of these camera additions are helped thanks to AI learning that optimizes for subjects and combines the best frames available from a sample of larger MP photos (that include more detail) and lower MP photos (that include more light) when you snap your photos. Samsung is calling this feature Adaptive Pixel and it should result in cleaner camera performance all around.
Ease of use improvements
The Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup features some intriguing new functionality improvements thanks to better communication with social media apps and Google.
Improved social media integration is sure to be one of the highlights for younger buyers as the new camera benefits are available within apps like Snapchat and Instagram. This should help streamline creating and sharing memories with friends and family.
Some of the Google partnership highlights include enhanced Google Duo functionality. You can now call and watch YouTube with your friends, investigate Google Maps with your family, and have an improved overall experience when sharing via Google's applications.
Photos are also able to be stored in OneDrive thanks to a partnership with Microsoft that nets you 6 months of 100GB of storage for free. Having all of your content readily available on all of your devices is a simple way to make your experience with technology seamless and this is a step in the right direction for Samsung users.
These displays should also be extra capable in direct light thanks to Samsung's new Vision Booster algorithm. This algorithm adjusts your display based on the content that it's displaying so that even in direct light, you still have the details that you expect from a high-quality display like these. Often devices will combat direct light by cranking up the brightness of the whole screen, resulting in a very washed out look.
Ultra exclusive features
One of the biggest differences between the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and its counterparts is the inclusion of an S Pen. The S Pen has long been loved by Samsung Galaxy Note users and now makes its way to the S series for the very first time. Samsung is claiming 3x more responsiveness which should make everything from taking notes to doodling smoother than it's been before.
And while the S22 and S22+ received the same nano-coating on their lenses, the S22 Ultra's are bigger and should allow more light and much stronger zoom. The Ultra is also gearing itself towards professionals with its Pro Mode and Expert RAW camera functionality. This gives you complete manual control over your shots and even allows you to edit in Adobe Lightroom straight from your phone.
Samsung recognized that the power of the Ultra was going to result in a lot of heat. To combat this, Samsung engineered a heat dissipation solution that they claim is 3.5x more effective than other cooling systems thanks to the inclusion of a Gel-TIM thermal paste, a Nano-TIM layer, a thin piece of graphite, and a vapor chamber. While the engineering here is impressive and complex, it basically boils down to dissipating heat over a larger area to combat overheating.
Is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Worth the Money?
Alongside some of the more notable features mentioned above, you can also expect some typical gains in overall performance and battery life thanks to the new 4nm processor being used across this series. You're also going to get 5G connectivity, like last year.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE still presents great value at $949.99 CAD. However, for an extra $150 you can get the S22 with its updated design, a better overall camera system, and better social media integration. Plus, you also get a free trial of YouTube premium with your purchase and more storage for free if you pre-order. This makes the Samsung Galaxy S22 a great buy right now.
On the larger end, the S21+ is now at $1,169 CAD (down from $1,399) and the S21 Ultra is $1,539 CAD (down from $1,649.99). The brand new S22+ and S22 Ultra might be more expensive, but their ability to leverage their bigger screens with more power and the new camera system promising significant improvements in a variety of situations, the larger S22 models begin to look very promising. The S22 Ultra, in particular, stands out thanks to the included S Pen, better cooling, and manual camera modes.
Where Can You Buy the S22?
The Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup is currently available for pre-order directly from Samsung as well as major carriers Rogers, Bell, Telus, Fido, Koodo, Shaw, and Freedom.
Notably, the lineup is not currently showing on the Virgin Plus website, but we'll keep an eye out to see if it gets added there and across all the carriers we monitor.
Popular Samsung Galaxy S22+ 5G 128GB Plans
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#1
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Fido 
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#2
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Rogers 
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