Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra: Setting new smartphone standard

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday announced new additions to its Galaxy S series models as the world’s top smartphone maker by volume faces growing competition from Apple Inc. and Chinese companies in both premium and low-end segments.

During its Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event, the South Korean tech giant unveiled its latest smartphones, the Galaxy S22 series, including the much-awaited S22 Ultra with a built-in S Pen stylus, previously available only on Samsung’s Note family of smartphones.

In addition to the three flagship devices, Galaxy S22, S22+ and S22 Ultra, the company also unveiled the Galaxy Tab S8 series, which it said is “the most versatile line of tablets ever.”

Samsung said the new products, equipped with upgraded cameras, a longer-lasting battery and features like a faster loading speed, will help it strengthen its overall mobile phone market leadership and put it on an equal footing with Apple’s high-end line of iPhones.

“The Galaxy S22 Ultra takes the beloved functionality of the Galaxy Note and the most celebrated aspects of the S series, and merges them for a truly unique mobile experience,” said TM Roh, president and head of Samsung’s mobile experience, or MX, division.

“This is a leap forward for mobile technology, setting a new standard for what a smartphone can be.”

MOST POWERFUL S PEN

Samsung said its S Pen stylus on the Galaxy S22 Ultra is the fastest and most responsive of its kind, with 70% lower latency than its previous Note models.

The company’s “nightography” function available on the entire S22 family of devices will allow users to take photos and videos more clearly by letting in more light, drawing out details and capturing colors even at night, it said.

Samsung said its new auto framing feature detects and tracks up to 10 people and automatically adjusts the camera’s focus.

The S22 Ultra is built with a 2.4 um pixel sensor, Samsung’s largest pixel sensor ever, resulting in clearer nighttime videos without flares, it said.

The new phones are secured by its “Knox Vault” security platform, which includes a secure processor and memory that isolates sensitive data like the password, biometrics or blockchain keys from the phone’s main operating system.

The new devices are also built with Armor Aluminum, which Samsung says is the strongest aluminum ever used on a Galaxy smartphone, along with the toughest Corning Gorilla Glass Victus to protect against scratches and accidental drops.

The S22 series phones are powered by Samsung’s latest 4-nanometer processor.

Samsung, also the world’s largest memory chipmaker, said in January it has begun mass production of the new premium mobile processor, which it said offers a console-level gaming experience on smartphones.

GROWING COMPETITION

The launch of the new smartphones comes as Samsung faces growing competition with the likes of China’s Xiaomi as well as Apple.

The company’s smartphone sales growth stood at a mere 1% in 2021, compared with Chinese rivals’ growth rate of between 20% and 30%.

To consolidate its market leadership, Samsung unveiled a series of premium foldable phones at last year’s Unpacked event.

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, global smartphone shipments are forecast to grow to 1.49 billion units in 2022, up 7% from last year.

Samsung is said to be targeting to sell more than 300 million smartphones globally this year.

ECO-FRIENDLY

Samsung said it collaborated with environmental organizations to recover discarded fishing nets and transformed them into high-performance material for its latest smartphones.

The material, used in some of the Galaxy S22 series’ components, contains recycled ocean-bound plastic from discarded fishing nets, according to Samsung.

The new phones also incorporate post-consumer recycled material in their speaker module as well as the inner parts of the power and volume keys.

The Galaxy S22 series will be available for pre-order beginning Feb. 14, with an official global launch scheduled for Feb. 25 starting with select markets, including the US, Europe and Korea.

Pre-orders for the Galaxy Tab S8 series will begin on Feb. 9 at 10 a.m. EST, with an official launch on Feb. 25 starting with markets such as the US, Europe and Korea.

The Galaxy S22 5G phone will retail for 999,900 won ($835), while the most premium S22 Ultra with a 512 GB capacity will be priced at 1.55 million won.

Write to Sung-Soo Bae and Han-Gyeol Seon at baebae@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.