After weeks of leaks and rumours, Samsung's latest S series flagships have finally broken cover. In what has become the norm for the company, Samsung's launched three new phones in the series this year in the form of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Galaxy S22+, and the vanilla Galaxy S22.
Much like the last few years, all three phones in the series are again built using high-end materials and sport flagship-grade hardware, promising a premium experience in all departments — display, design, general performance, gaming, cameras and battery. However, in a major departure from the norm, this year's Ultra offering appears to have been given the Galaxy Note treatment, thereby creating a major distinction between the device, and its siblings — the Galaxy S22+ and the Galaxy S22.
Yes, you read that right!
For the first time ever, core design elements from the now-discontinued Galaxy Note series have made way to the Galaxy S series, with the Galaxy S22 Ultra not only coming with support for Samsung's new S Pen, but also a Note series phone like chassis that has a dedicated resting place for the stylus.
But Samsung's hasn't just stopped there in its attempts to Note-ify the Galaxy S22 Ultra. It has gone one step ahead and made the phone not only a hybrid of the S series and Note series phones from the years gone by. Rather, it has also given the phone a very different camera island that looks nothing like the other Galaxy S series phones from this year.
While we don't have the phones with us yet, product images of the three devices reveal very interesting things. For starters, the Galaxy S22+ and the Galaxy S22 look like incremental design upgrades on the last year's Galaxy S21 series phones. Both the phones have their lenses enclosed within a slightly protruding module. Yes, they now appear to feature a more boxy design as compared to the phones last year and are also being made available in new colours. But, there appears to be no other difference between these new S22 series phones and the S21 series phones in the design department.
On the other hand, the Galaxy S22 Ultra features lenses that are not housed within one unified enclosure, and instead lay independently on the rear panel of the phone. While this is not exactly like the last offering in the Note series — the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra — it does look like a design variation of the same.
Regardless, it's very different from what Samsung has done with the Galaxy S22+ and the Galaxy S22, thereby establishing a clear distinction in the design philosophy of the Ultra and the two other S series phones. This is something that's happening for the first time with the Galaxy S series phones and is a possible hint at the series' future.