Samsung Galaxy S22 Review: A Great Phone Held Back by Short Battery Life

Speaker 1: Samsung's galaxy S 22 has a great camera, a new look and a smaller screen, but is it the right new phone for you? Here's how to decide Speaker 1: The galaxy S 22 is the smallest and cheapest phone in Samsung's new lineup. It starts at $800 and comes with a 6.1 inch screen. That's slightly smaller than last year's galaxy S 21 and considerably smaller than the other new phone Samsung launched this [00:00:30] year. That includes the galaxy S 21 Fe galaxy S 22 plus. And of course the giant galaxy S 22 ultra, if you're trying to decide which of Samsung's new phones is right for you, the biggest factors to consider are price and screen size. Yes, there are many other differences between these devices, but price and screen size are definitely the biggest ones. And no matter which new galaxy phone you buy, you're bound to notice some camera improvements. Speaker 1: The camera [00:01:00] is one of the biggest changes on this year's galaxy phones, the regular S 22 and S 22 plus have both been upgraded to a 50 megapixel main sensor, which is quite a jump from the S 21 S 12 megapixel camera. I've spent a couple of weeks testing, both the S 22 and S 22 plus, and I've consistently seen improvements in color and detail and all three new galaxy phones are also better at taking photos in the dark. I witnessed these improvements across the board when comparing photos taken [00:01:30] on the galaxy S 22 and the galaxy S 21 Fe look at this photo of a bouquet of flowers. The galaxy S 22 does a better job of keeping the pedals in focus. The same was true for photos taking with the telephoto lens. The galaxy S 22 zoom lens has a slightly sharper resolution than the S 21 FES. Speaker 1: And the difference is certainly noticeable. And of course, don't forget about the improvements to lowlight photography. This photo was taken in my apartment with all of the lights turned off [00:02:00] and you can tell the galaxy S 22 just did a better job, but there is one area where the galaxy S 21 F Fe actually did better than the S 22. The selfie camera, the galaxy S 21 Fe has a 32 megapixel front camera. While the S 22 has a 10 megapixel selfie camera as a result, the S 21 Fe's photo looks sharper. You can learn more about at the galaxy S 22 S camera performance in our full written review. Speaker 1: [00:02:30] The entire galaxy S 22 lineup has a brand new look that looks and feels more elegant than last year's S 21. I didn't mind the galaxy S 20 one's more metallic finish, but the S 22 S glass frame just has a more polished look that you can really notice when seeing the devices in person. Of course, none of this matters if you just plan to cover it with a case, but some people care about having a phone that doesn't feel cheap. If they're going to spend close to $1,000, the galaxy S 22, certainly won't disappoint [00:03:00] that crowd. That's one of the biggest differences between the galaxy S 22 and the galaxy S 21 Fe, which is $100 cheaper than the galaxy S 22 Samson launched the S 21 Fe in January, just before the galaxy S 22. It has a simple design that most people probably won't mind, but does feel bland in comparison to the S 22, the galaxy S 22 and S 22 plus on the other hand are pretty much identical other than their size, the galaxy S 21 F E falls, right [00:03:30] in between the two, since its screen is bigger than the S 22 S but smaller than the S 22 pluses, that makes the galaxy S 22 feel like the right choice for people who prefer smaller sized phones. Speaker 1: If you were a fan of the galaxy S 10 from 2019, you'll probably like the galaxy S 22, both phones are around the same size except the S 22 has flat edges. So they feel surprisingly similar. The galaxy S 22 feels a little too cramped for me personally, after switching from the 22 [00:04:00] plus, especially when typing, but I'm not the audience for smaller phones since I tend to prefer medium size devices. But I do think that this is one of the best executions of a smaller device that I've seen yet. It's just a hair thinner and lighter than the iPhone 13, but has the same size screen when it comes to display quality, not much changed since last year, the galaxy S 22 has an ADE screen, just like the galaxy S 21 and S 21 F E Samsung also added a new feature [00:04:30] called vision booster, which is supposed to match the display to the lighting in your surroundings. But I didn't notice much of a difference when using the galaxy S 22 lineup alongside galaxy S 21, Speaker 1: The entire galaxy S 22 lineup runs on Qualcomm's new Snapdragon, eight gen one processor performance is just what you'd expect from a new phone apps run smoothly. The interface feels slick and the camera launches quickly. It also scored slightly [00:05:00] higher than the Galax, the S 21 Fe in benchmarks that test general computing performance and graphics performance, but processor upgrades are more about new features than raw performance. These days. It's part of why the galaxy S 22 can take better photos compared to the phones. Predecessors, all three new galaxy devices also have a 120 Hertz display with which also makes them feel a bit faster. The galaxy S 22, isn't the best when it comes to battery life, but it'll probably last long enough to get you [00:05:30] through a full day. It lasted for 15 hours and 21 minutes during CEDS battery test, which involves continuously playing video and airplane mode. Speaker 1: The galaxy S 22 lineup runs on Android 12, and Samsung's one UI four.one software, one UI 4.1 is a smaller update to one UI four. The bigger systemwide update that launched in late 2021. It brings refinements to a bunch of different areas of Samsung's operating system, including widgets and [00:06:00] custom color palettes. But one of my favorites is the switch from icons to numbers to represent the zoom level in the camera app. The update isn't exclusive to the galaxy S 22, but it's nice that buyers will have it right out of the box. There's also good news for people who don't grade their phones very often. Samsung is committing to four generations of Android software updates, meaning your phone won't feel out of date too soon. Speaker 1: The galaxy S 22 S improved [00:06:30] camera and fresh design, make it feel like a modest butt appreciated update. I'd recommend upgrading if you own a phone that's more than two years old. The year over year improvements are more incremental. So it's not worth spending hundreds of dollars just yet. If you're trying to decide which galaxy S 22 to buy, think about your size preferences and how much you're willing to spend the galaxy S 22 is the best choice for people who don't want to spend too much and to refer smaller phones, but you'll have to [00:07:00] compromise on battery life. The galaxy S 22 plus is probably the right balance of size and battery life for most people. And the galaxy S 22 ultra is for people who want the biggest phone possible along with other extras, like an Spen stylist and a better zoom lens, but at $1,200, it's one of the most expense of phones that Samsung sells. Speaker 1: You might also be wondering whether you should buy the galaxy S 22 or the galaxy S 21 Fe, if you prefer smaller phones and don't mind paying a little extra for a better camera, [00:07:30] the galaxy S 22 is the right choice. But if you'd rather have a bigger screen and save some money, check out the galaxy S 21 Fe. So what do you think of the galaxy S 22, let us know in the comments and don't forget to check out the links in the description for our full written review. Thanks for watching. And I'll see you next time.