Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: How does it fare almost a year later

Almost a year back, Samsung unveiled its coveted flagship: the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Maintaining its OG form factor, Galaxy S22 Ultra was expected to meet the expectation of both – the S Series users and the Note series users. To appease these two camps, Samsung went all-in terms of hardware and performance. We ran an extensive review of the device over a prolonged period very recently. Here's our take:  

It's fast!

The phone is blazing fast. It can take care of the most multitasking operation without any hiccups. Thanks to the 4 nanometer ultrasmall yet uber fast Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. For Androids, this is the fastest processor commercially available in the market. Most of the graphics-intensive games – were smooth as butter. However, one little caveat that did not escape our attention was a tiny bit of lag in the loading or transition animations on the phone after a long day of usage. The more than adequate RAM and memory of the phone complemented the phone's powerful engine perfectly. 

What an incredible camera!

Out of ten people, nine would say that a camera is a substantially important consideration for them when purchasing a smartphone after the 2020s. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, in this particular aspect, is leaps and bounds ahead. My colleagues and I unequivocally agreed that this is one of the best camera phones money can buy right now, even almost a year after the launch of the phone. Every aspect of the phone- the autofocus (I have been told this is an essential feature from my better half, who takes close-up snaps), colour rendition, saturation, zooming etc. of the back camera is excellent. Though the front camera might not be as feature-rich as the back camera, it still can deliver great snaps. The software processor of the phone also does a stellar job of stitching panoramic photos and cleaning up the noise of the photos taken in night mode. The hi-res and highly responsive super bright display also plays a critical part in appeasing the users. 

One of the best Android experiences

On Android, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra offers one of the best experiences – the credit goes to One UI. This must be admitted that the full credit does not only goes to Samsung; the competition has some role to play here. As OnePlus and Pixel kept dropping the ball in the recent past, One UI, quietly and firmly, has been repositioning itself as one of the cleanest and most intuitive UI in the market. From One UI 3.0 to the latest One UI 5.0, the sleek UI has significantly improved with every iteration, from managing to multitasking apps to offering detailed customisation options to the users. Samsung has also been the leader in pushing updates to its flagships before its competition, making the experience of using a flagship device a bit smoother over some time.  

Room for innovation?

From a design point of view- Samsung has become comfortable with their ways for non-foldable devices. The stale design reeked on their flagships – and S22 Ultra is no exception. Samsung played safe with it- by sticking to the proven form factor and cramming the best features from the Note and S Series. Some consumers might feel indignant about it, some might not even notice that. Innovation in design is something we missed in this device while reviewing it.

Will cost you a queen's ransom!

The best things in life are free. But the things that improve your life come with a hefty price tag. The Galaxy S22 Ultra is no exception. Even a year later, the phone will cost you around Tk. 155k. For most people, this is not an amount you can invest in a phone. Then again, this is not a regular phone- it comes with the latest and most sophisticated hardware available on the market. We recommend buying this phone if Tk. 150k does not put a dent in your pocket or if you need the best smartphone experience on an Android.