Why You Can Trust CNET You Can Now Get the Galaxy S22 on Samsung's Refurbished Phones Site
The phone series starts at $619 on the Samsung Certified Re-Newed site.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
If you've been holding out on paying full price for a phone from the Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup, including the Galaxy S22 Plus and Galaxy S22 Ultra, now's your chance to buy a refurbished device from Samsung's official used goods store.
Here are the prices and phones available:
- Galaxy S22 Certified Re-Newed: Starting at $619, with 128GB and 256GB options.
- Galaxy S22 Plus Certified Re-Newed: Starting at $769, with 128GB storage.
- Galaxy S22 Ultra Certified Re-Newed: Starting at $919, with 128GB and 256GB options.
CNET's reviews of the three phones found the Galaxy S22 Plus to be the favorite option, though the Galaxy S22 Ultra offered Samsung Galaxy Note-inspired features including the S Pen stylus and a giant screen. CNET's review of the base model found the Galaxy S22 to have great cameras but a mediocre battery life. Samsung has improved the battery life issues in its latest models in the Galaxy S23 lineup.
As part of the refurbishment process, Samsung says, it tests each phone on 132 different points, with Samsung engineers reassembling the devices from genuine parts, some of them reclaimed from other Galaxy devices. The phones get a new battery, the latest software updates and a new device ID.
Phones bought through Samsung's refurbished store are covered by a one-year warranty, and you can score a credit of up to $180 by trading in your old phone.
The phones were added to Samsung Certified Re-Newed in line with Earth Day on April 22. As of May 2, phones from the Galaxy S21 series will also go down in price on the site. Here's more on the best places to sell your used electronics for 2023.
How to decide whether buying a used Galaxy S22 is worth it
Buying the S22 new from Samsung costs $700 for the base model, $900 for the S22 Plus and $1,200 for the S22 Ultra -- so you'll save $81, $131 or $281, respectively, by buying them refurbished. The savings on the base S22 may not make it worthwhile to you, but the two higher-end models are a better deal.
By comparison with Samsung's latest lineup, however, you'll add at least an extra $100 on top of those savings for each S22 model: The new Samsung Galaxy S23 costs $800 for the base device, $1,000 for the Galaxy S23 Plus and $1,380 for the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Whether you should buy an S22 or S23 depends on where your priorities lie -- on the surface, the S22 and S23 have almost identical designs, including a 6.1-inch AMOLED display and the exact same rear cameras. However, the latest model has a bigger battery, a "Galaxy-optimized" chip that makes it faster and a better front-facing camera.
You can check out CNET's full comparison of specs between the Samsung Galaxy S22 and S23 here to help you make your decision.
