With no new Note released in 2021 and S22 Ultra equipped with a Stylus, it seems like we have a successor to the iconic series
Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2022 Event unveiled the Galaxy S22 line-up, among which is the new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. More than just an upgrade to the previous S21 Ultra, it is being called the successor to the Galaxy Note series. Reports at the end of 2021 claimed that Samsung discontinued the production of Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
Galaxy S22 Ultra has it all and more
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra incorporates a built-in S-pen Stylus. It has square-shaped corners and a boxy design just like the Note instead of rounded corners like in the Galaxy S21 Ultra. With a 6.8 inch screen and 5 cameras to offer, the model has some transformative upgrades that make it a perfect competitor in the premium mobile market.
- Faster Processor
Galaxy S22 Ultra runs on the fastest chip ever in a Galaxy, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the United States and 4nm Exynos in India and some other parts of the world. This chip enables optimized photography, videography and gaming experience for the user.
- Brighter Display
With an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz to keep things smooth like its predecessor, the phone’s 6.8 inch AMOLED 2X Display goes up to 1750 nits peak brightness, making it a lot easier to see the screen even in direct sunlight.
- ‘Nightography’ and other Camera Upgrades
The specs of the cameras remain mostly the same as Galaxy S21 Ultra: a 40 megapixel selfie camera, 12 megapixel ultra wide camera, 108 megapixel wide-angle camera and two telephoto cameras with 3x and 10x zoom. A major upgrade, however, is that their 108 megapixel camera now has their biggest pixel sensor yet to detect low light. As a result, users can take high-resolution night-mode pictures and videos rather than choosing to go for either high-resolution or night-mode. The portrait mode has also seen better performance thanks to the better processor.
- Improved Support Policy
The S22 generation also brings improvement in Samsung’s software support policy, as it now guarantees four generations of software upgrades as opposed to the three generations before.
Galaxy S22 Ultra has its front and rear equipped with Gorilla Glass Victor+ and is IP68 Water Resistant along with the Stylus. Its other features include a 5000 mAh Battery with fast 45W wired charging, 15W wireless charging and 1TB storage capacity.
The integrated S-pen Stylus is not just an addition mirroring the Note series, it is faster than ever before, which might actually make it a lot more desirable. The Stylus’ latency is now reduced from 9 milliseconds to only 2.8 milliseconds. This makes the user experience a lot more fluid. The phone also senses the Stylus’ air actions for purposes like swiping through pictures.
While Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has all the features of a top-tier phone, it also stands apart from its competitors like Apple, OnePlus and Google because of its Stylus. This merge of the Note’s most recognizable feature with the S series has reduced the variety of high-end phones in the Samsung line-ups, which can make it easier for the consumer to make a choice when there are already so many options available out there. Working on the most innovative features of their products in one rather than spreading them into two models with lack of other impressive features in both can also be a boon in the overall quality. The question is does this make up for the disappearance of the Note entirely, given how iconic the product became in itself even with its niche users.
To keep up with the competition from its rivals like Apple, Samsung is shifting its focus. Instead of releasing two flagships every year, they are now focusing on one flagship series, that is the S series, along with foldables. This two-track strategy would continue until there is another major breakthrough, according to Samsung’s mobile chief TM Roh.
It’s a result of the pandemic. People want to upgrade to better smart-phones for functions like video calls and gaming now more than ever, and seek high-end premium models to use for these purposes. This has pushed the smartphone companies out of their limits to innovate and deliver better products.
Samsung is working hard on improving their foldables. Other mobiles like the Oppo Find N have proven that there is a future for flexible screens out there, and at the same time it makes Samsung stand apart from its other competitors. Samsung is also investing in Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality to establish a foothold in the Metaverse. These changes in the company’s focus and product lines have sparked excitement to see more innovations in the coming time. Only time can tell if the end of the Note will make for a note-worthy future for Samsung.
