Galaxy S22 Ultra rumors: What we’ve heard about Samsung’s next high-end phone

Samsung hasn’t launched a new Galaxy Note since 2020, but that doesn’t mean fans should lose hope. With rumors suggesting a built-in stylus and gigantic screen are in store for the Galaxy S22 Ultra, Samsung’s next high-end phone could be the Note sequel we’ve been waiting for. That’s if the rumors and reports turn out to be true, of course.

We’ll have to wait until Samsung announces its expected Galaxy S22 lineup to know what the new Ultra phone has to offer. That announcement shouldn’t be too far away considering the Galaxy S21 series debuted about a year ago in January 2021.

Here’s everything we’re expecting to see from the Galaxy S22 Ultra based on rumors and leaks. In addition to the features mentioned below, we’re also expecting the S22 Ultra to support both versions of 5G, just like its predecessor. For a broader overview of what we might see from the entire Galaxy lineup, check out our Galaxy S22 rumor roundup.

A Note-like design with a giant screen and built-in stylus

Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra may get a new design with boxy edges that more closely resembles its Note series. That’s according to a variety of leaks, including images from Indian tech site Digit and well-known leaker Steven Hemmerstoffer, better known by his Twitter alias @OnLeaks. A similar design is visible in a reportedly leaked promotional poster for the new phone published by LetsGoDigital and photos from tech blog 91Mobiles.

For comparison’s sake, here’s a photo of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

But perhaps the biggest characteristic the Galaxy S22 Ultra is expected to inherit from the Note is an included stylus. The images from Digit show a slot for Samsung’s S Pen stylus, and the renderings published by LetsGoDigital and 91Mobiles also feature the stylus pictured alongside the phone.

If you need more evidence suggesting the S22 Ultra will come with an S Pen and a new Note-like design, check out these videos from Hemmerstoffer and the YouTube channel Unbox Therapy, both of which claim to show dummy units of Samsung’s Galaxy S22 lineup. (The Unbox Therapy video was delisted and reuploaded to a different channel.)

The Galaxy S21 Ultra was the first Galaxy S phone to support the S Pen, but there’s no place to store the stylus and you need to buy it separately. Based on the leaks, it sounds like Samsung might change that by including the S Pen in the box this year and adding a storage slot to the phone itself.

Following in the footsteps of the S21 Ultra and S20 Ultra, the S22 Ultra is expected to be the biggest phone in Samsung’s new lineup. The Galaxy S22 Ultra could have a 6.8-inch screen with a dynamic AMOLED panel, according to a leak from deals site MySmartPrice and leaker Ishan Agarwal. That would make it roughly the same size as the current Galaxy S21 Ultra. Like its predecessor, it’s also supposed to have the ability to crank the screen’s refresh rate up to 120Hz.

A new P-shaped camera bump with better zoom

If you’ve seen the leaked images above, you’ve probably noticed another standout feature: a new P-shaped camera bump. If the leaks turn out to be accurate, the Galaxy S22 Ultra will have a redesigned camera module with multiple lenses. While the lenses on the current Galaxy S21 Ultra are housed in a rectangular unit, the leaks suggest Samsung could opt for a P-shaped camera cutout on the S22 Ultra.

But one of the biggest improvements we’re expecting to see in the S22 Ultra’s camera comes down to its zooming capabilities. According to Ice Universe (via SamMobile), another reputable leaker, the Galaxy S22 Ultra will have an improved periscope camera lens capable of continuous zoom. That should result in crisper images compared to the fixed camera lenses on the S21 Ultra.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is expected to come with a quadruple-lens main camera just like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, but reports are mixed on the resolution of its telephoto lenses. A separate post from Ice Universe (via GSM Arena) indicates the S22 Ultra will come with a 108-megapixel main lens, 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens and two 12-megapixel telephoto lenses. Meanwhile, the leak from MySmartPrice and Agarwal suggests that the two telephoto lenses will have a 10-megapixel sensor instead.

In addition to the camera specs, MySmartPrice and Agarwal also speculate the Galaxy S22 Ultra will come in four colors: white, black, burgundy and green.

Processor, battery life and other key details

Samsung usually uses its own Exynos chips and Qualcomm’s processors in its phones, depending on the region, and it’ll likely do the same this year. If the Galaxy S22 Ultra runs on Samsung’s new Exynos 2200 processor, it could be a gaming powerhouse. The chip includes a brand new graphics processing unit that it built in collaboration with AMD, which the company claims will bring a big boost to gaming and overall graphics performance.

Other markets are likely to get a version of the S22 Ultra that runs on Qualcomm’s latest processor. That will likely mean the US version of the S22 series will run on Qualcomm’s recently announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which the chipmaker says should bring improvements such as the ability to capture 8K video at 30 frames per second and 30% faster graphics rendering.

When it comes to battery life, the S22 Ultra is expected to have a lot in common with its predecessor. The S22 Ultra will reportedly have a 5,000-mAh battery, just like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, according to the MySmartPrice leak, and 45-watt fast charging.

Samsung’s Ultra phones also typically include more memory and storage than their less expensive siblings. If Samsung keeps the same approach as last year, the cheapest version of the S22 Ultra will likely come with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Other options would include a model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage and a high-end version with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

Release date and pricing

We don’t know when Samsung will release the Galaxy S22 lineup, or how much the new phones will cost. Samsung announced the Galaxy S21 lineup in mid-January last year, but the Galaxy S20 family debuted in February 2020 while the Galaxy S10 series came in February 2019. Although the timing varies, there’s a chance Samsung could continue this pattern and announce its new phones in February.

As for pricing, we can expect the Galaxy S22 Ultra to be the most expensive phone in Samsung’s new lineup. What’s less clear is exactly how much it would cost. The Galaxy S21 Ultra starts at $1,200 without a device trade-in, so Samsung could offer the S22 Ultra for a similar price.

All told, the Galaxy S22 Ultra seems like it could be a viable successor to Samsung’s popular Galaxy Note. That could also make it easier for Samsung to distinguish the Ultra from the regular Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus, although we won’t know for sure until Samsung makes an announcement.