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Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. S21: The Biggest Differences to Note

We'll help you decide between the Samsung Galaxy S21 and the brand-new Galaxy S22.

Alexandra Garrett Associate Editor
Alexandra is an associate editor on CNET's Performance Optimization team. She graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, and interned with CNET's Tech and News teams while in school. Prior to joining CNET full time, Alexandra was a breaking news fellow at Newsweek, where she covered current events and politics.
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Alexandra Garrett
5 min read

Samsung's new Galaxy S22 arrived earlier this month at the company's February Unpacked event. You may be wondering how it's different from the Galaxy S21 that impressed us with solid all-around performance when it was released last year. Like 2021's Galaxy S series, the Galaxy S22 series features three phones -- the Galaxy S22, the S22 Plus and S22 Ultra -- and offers a bevy of upgrades. 

Here are all the Galaxy S22 specs and how they compare with those of the Galaxy S21. If you're curious about the earlier Galaxy S-series phones, take a look at how the Galaxy S21 compares with the Galaxy S20, as well as the best Android phones you can buy in 2022.

Watch this: Comparing Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and S21 Ultra specs

Price: The Galaxy S22 costs the same as the S21 

Samsung kept prices fairly consistent with last year's flagship phones. In 2021, the South Korean electronics giant slashed the price of its Galaxy S21 handset by $200 compared with the previous year's flagship, the Galaxy S20. For 128GB of storage, the Galaxy S21 ranged in price from $800 to $1,380, depending on the model. 

For the Galaxy S22 series, the base Galaxy S22 starts at $800 again, the S22 Plus starts at $1,000 and the S22 Ultra costs $1,200 for 128GB of storage, going up to $1,600 for 1 terabyte of storage. (In the UK, the Galaxy S22 starts at £769, the S22 Plus starts at £949 and the S22 Ultra starts at £1,149, going up to £1,499. In Australia, the S22 starts at AU$1,249, the S22 Plus at AU$1,549 and the S22 Ultra at AU$1,849.)

Here's the Galaxy S22 and S21's US pricing, for reference. You can also check out how to buy the new phones here.

Galaxy S22 vs. S21 launch prices


128GB256GB512GB1TB
Galaxy S21 $800$850N/AN/A
Galaxy S21 Plus $1,000$1,050N/AN/A
Galaxy S21 Ultra $1,200$1,250$1,380N/A
Galaxy S22 $800$850N/AN/A
Galaxy S22 Plus $1,000$1,050N/AN/A
Galaxy S22 Ultra $1,200$1,300$1,400$1,600

Galaxy S22 photos: Get a closer look at Samsung's new phones

See all photos

Design: Galaxy S22 gets a new glass and metal design with a smaller display

The Galaxy S22 has a fresh new look that feels more premium and polished. All three new phones have a glass and metal frame that feels like an upgrade over last year's Galaxy S21. The regular S22 and S22 Plus have a rounded shape with metallic edges, while the Galaxy S22 Ultra looks like a Galaxy Note clone. Samsung's high-end Galaxy S22 Ultra also comes with a slot for storing the S Pen -- a first for a Galaxy S device. 

The standard Galaxy S22's display is also slightly smaller than the S21. Samsung's newest flagship line comes in three sizes: 6.1 inches, 6.6 inches and 6.8 inches. In comparison, the standard Galaxy S21 is 6.2 inches, the S21 Plus is 6.7 inches and the S21 Ultra is 6.8 inches.

The Galaxy S22 (146x70.6x7.6mm) is also a little bit thinner than the S21. The shrinkage of the Galaxy S22 is abnormal when you look at Samsung's previous phone models. The tech giant's S series has been steadily growing in size over time from the Galaxy S10 (150x70x7.8mm) to the Galaxy S20 (152x69x7.9mm) and then the Galaxy S21 (152x71x7.9mm). 

Read more: Galaxy S22 Gets Android 12's Material You Design

Samsung S22 and S22 Ultra
Richard Peterson/CNET

Colors: The Galaxy S22 comes in new colors that the S21 didn't offer

The Galaxy S21 came in six colors. This included black, silver, gray and white, as well as a chromelike purple and pink. Samsung added new color options for the Galaxy S22 line: The base Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus comes in black, white, pink gold (one color) and green, while the Galaxy S22 Ultra comes in black, white, green and burgundy. 

Read more: Everything Announced at Samsung's Unpacked Event

Watch this: Samsung Galaxy S22 first look: Hands-on with all 3 new phones

Camera: The difference between the Galaxy S22 and S21

The Galaxy S22 Ultra and S21 Ultra's camera specs look quite similar on paper. Both have a quadruple-lens main camera with a 108-megapixel main sensor, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and two 10-megapixel telephoto lenses. The high-end models of Samsung's recent flagship phones also both sport a 40-megapixel selfie camera. The field of view on the wide and telephoto lenses, however, is a little bit wider on the Galaxy S22 Ultra than the S21 Ultra. 

Despite these seeming fairly similar, Samsung promises there are other camera upgrades that should make the new phones better at taking pictures at night and framing multiple subjects at once. 

For the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus, both phones have a 50-megapixel wide, 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10-megapixel telephoto camera. The regular and plus models of both the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S20 featured a 12-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide and a 64-megapixel telephoto camera, in comparison.

Prior to the Galaxy S22 lineup's big reveal, rumors suggested the S22 Ultra could come with a 200-megapixel main camera. This would have been the highest pixel count available for a Samsung phone. Samsung Exynos, the electronic company's division for chipmaking, even flaunted a 200-megapixel phone camera in a March 2021 teaser tweet. This wasn't the case. But maybe bigger camera updates could be coming to Samsung's Galaxy S family in the future. 

Read moreThe Galaxy S22 Ultra Fails to Excite This Pro Photographer. And That's a Problem

Processor: The Galaxy S22 comes with a new and improved chip

The Galaxy S22 got a processing boost compared with the Galaxy S21 line. The newest addition to Samsung's Galaxy S family runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. The Galaxy S21, by comparison, runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, the same processor that powers the Galaxy S21 FE. 

Qualcomm confirmed in December that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is built by Samsung Foundry using its latest 4-nanometer process. Samsung also makes its own line of Exynos processors, but those chips are usually available only in certain areas -- not including the US. 

Read more: Galaxy S22 vs. Galaxy S21 FE: All the Differences

Watch this: Samsung's Unpacked event in 11 minutes

Charging: Galaxy S22 Plus and Ultra support 45-watt charging, offering faster power-up times

Samsung upgraded the Galaxy S22 Plus and S22 Ultra with up to 45-watt wired charging support. This means the higher-end S22 models offer faster charging times over the standard S22, as well the Galaxy S21 lineup. 

In terms of battery capacity, the standard Galaxy S21 has a larger 4,000-mAh battery. The standard Galaxy S22 has a battery capacity of 3,700 mAh, in comparison. But keep in mind that the Galaxy S22 is also smaller than the Galaxy S21.

Read more:Samsung Galaxy S21: What to Know About Battery Life and Battery Sizes

What's in the box: Still no charger included with the S22 or S21

Samsung confirmed last year that, starting with the Galaxy S21 line, future smartphones won't include chargers or headphones in the box. This includes the Galaxy S22. 

With the Galaxy S22 Ultra, however, Samsung includes the S Pen with the phone. This is unlike years past where you needed to buy the S Pen separately from the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

For more, take a look at how to choose the best Galaxy S21 model for you and CNET's review of the Galaxy S21 FE.

Galaxy S22 vs. S21


Samsung Galaxy S22Samsung Galaxy S21
Display size 6.1 inches6.2 inches
Dimensions 70.6x146x7.6mm71.2x151.7x7.9mm
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Snapdragon 888 or 64-bit octa-core processor
Cameras 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP telephoto12MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide, 64MP telephoto
Battery 3,700-mAh4,000-mAh
Charging support 45W25W
Starting price (US) $800$800
Starting price (GBP) £769£769
Starting price (AUD) AU$1,249AU$1,249
Richard Peterson/CNET

Samsung's newest flagship phone costs $800. Preorder at the link below to get it by Feb. 25.

Nic Henry/CNET

Samsung's 2021 phone is still good, but wait for the price to drop following the S22 becoming available.