Samsung Galaxy S22 live blog: Better cameras, new Ultra replaces Note with S Pen
Samsung took to the Unpacked stage to announce its newest phones, tablets and software updates.
It isn't quite spring, but that isn't stopping Samsung from kicking off one of its biggest events of the year to announce its next Galaxy phones. This year, the company's new phones are the Samsung Galaxy S22 series, and start at $800 (£769 or approximately AU$1,450).
The entry-level Samsung Galaxy S22 promises better cameras, stronger glass and better screens. Samsung also announced the Galaxy S22 Plus, starting at $1,000 (£949), and the top-spec Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra at $1,200 (£1,149).
Samsung's event marks the unofficial kickoff of new phone season, which will shift into high gear with Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month. MWC organizers are hoping to keep at least part of the show in person, after CES was held both online and on the ground in Las Vegas last month. And the S22 will help set the bar for 2022's best phones.
We're covering Samsung Unpacked live as it happens, so scroll down for our latest updates and expert commentary on everything shown at the event.
Wrapping up Unpacked
And that's a wrap. As expected, the Galaxy S22 lineup and Galaxy Tab S8 family were the stars of the show. Check out our additional coverage above for more information.
Galaxy
Ocean plastic in your phones
Samsung is incorporating ocean plastic, specifically fishing nets, into phones. It won't affect any big parts yet, just the S22 Ultra's S Pen sheath and a plate under the volume and power buttons on all three S22 phones. But it's a promising start.
Samsung's sustainability efforts
The Galaxy S22 incorporates repurposed fishing nets, Samsung says. The packaging is also made with 100% recycled paper. The company is also extending OS upgrades to four generations so that people keep using their phones for longer.
Ocean plastic recycling
Privacy and security
Now we're hearing about privacy and security. "We will respect what you're willing to share or not and follow your lead," Samsung says. It's showing features like the privacy dashboard that breaks down app permissions and the ability to hide your precise location from certain apps. Again, this isn't new, but Samsung seems to be reiterating these features in light of its new smartphones.
File sync and more new features
One UI is Samsung's Android skin, and One UI 4 has a few new tricks, mostly in auto-suggestions for adding calendar dates and file synchronization between Samsung Notes and other Samsung apps.
One UI 4
Now we're hearing about One UI 4, which is essentially Samsung's software features. The update itself isn't new, but Samsung seems to be touting how it works on its new phones and tablets.
One UI 4
Watch features
The Google Assistant is coming to the Galaxy Watch 4
Samsung also announced that the Google Assistant is finally coming to the Galaxy Watch 4 in the coming months. Samsung also announced some new health features and colored watch faces. Read more about Galaxy Watch 4 updates.
Galaxy Watch
Summing up the Tab S8 lineup
To sum it up, the Tab S8 series comes in three sizes. Preorders start today, and the Ultra starts at $1,099. The Plus begins at $899 while the smaller regular Tab S8 starts at $699.
Tab S8 prices
Tab S8 specs
Expandable storage
Samsung's iPad Pro alternative
The Galaxy Tab S8 can record in 4K in both the front and rear cameras. Samsung is clearly targeting creative types, another sign that it's positioning this as an iPad Pro alternative for Android users.
Tab S8 video editing
Tab S8 Ultra's ultrawide camera
The front-facing ultrawide camera on the Tab S8 Ultra automatically shifts to whoever's in the frame, something we loved in the iPad Pro 2021. This feature is actually in the S22 phones, too, though it's only on the rear cameras when you capture video -- it's not for video chats, as the tablet's seems to be.
The S Pen and S Notes
The tablets also come with an S Pen for note taking. Now Samsung is giving us an overview of what's new with its S Notes app. You can now display two pages side-by-side and sync notes faster across devices. You can also grab content from websites and add it directly to S Notes. This seems like a big effort to remain competitive with the Apple Pencil.
S22 Ultra price
Tab S8 Ultra multitasking
The Tab S8 Ultra lets you split the screen into up to three apps and click-to-drag them around to resize and rearrange. Helpful!
The Tab S8 Ultra seems designed for work and video calls
We're seeing the Tab S8 Ultra being used in multiwindow mode. Samsung is seemingly positioning this as a device for working, entertainment and video chatting. There are dual cameras on the front for video calls, one of which is an ultrawide camera.
Tab S8 Ultra gaming
The Galaxy Tab S8, S8 Plus and S8 Ultra
There are three new tablets, and we're starting with the Tab S8 Ultra. It has a 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display. That makes it bigger than many laptops.
Tab S8 Ultra
Borrowing Batman to pitch tablets
First Bridgerton and now Batman? The Tab S8 is certainly one way to watch The Batman, coming out later this year.
The Galaxy Tab S8 series
Samsung is moving onto its new tablets, the Galaxy Tab S8 series. Based on what we're seeing so far, the design looks very iPad-like, with flat metal edges.
Summing up the Galaxy S22 Ultra
The biggest improvements are the S-Pen, new design, 4-nanometer processor and various night photography features (the latter of which should be available on all Galaxy S22 phones). It's up for preorder today and starts at $1,200.
S22 Ultra specs
Samsung products
Expert Raw photography app
Now we're hearing about an Expert Raw app that gives you full control of the camera lenses. Apple also has a feature aimed at pro photographers called ProRaw, so this might be similar.
Expert Raw
Better stabilization for the Galaxy S22 Ultra's camera
We're also hearing about the improved stabilization we should be seeing in the S22 Ultra to adjust shaky frames. The camera should be able to adjust individual frames even in low light conditions, Samsung says.
Auto frame rate
'Night solution' feature for taking photos in the dark
Night solution uses multiframe processing to remove frames that have noise or blur in dark scenarios, and then combines the remaining frames. It works with the telephoto lens, front camera and in portrait mode, too.
Multiframe night shots
The 'most powerful AI camera yet'
Samsung is talking up the artificial intelligence that works on the backend to enhance image quality on the Galaxy S22 Ultra. We're hearing about how the Galaxy S22 Ultra should be better at taking photos at night and in the dark.
108-megapixel sensor
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's camera
Now we're hearing about the phone's new camera. The new phone uses a feature called Adaptive Pixel, which combines the detail from the phone's 108-megapixel sensor with brightness from a process known as "pixel binning." In English, that term means the camera combines the data from multiple pixels to create one larger pixel.
Camera
The Galaxy S22 Ultra's processor
The new phone is powered by a 4-nanometer processor, which should boost machine learning performance, says Samsung. Aside from raw performance, these type of advancements usually help with photography features that rely on machine learning too.
S22 Ultra chip
The Galaxy S22 Ultra's display
The Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 6.8-inch screen, making it the biggest new Galaxy S22 phone of the bunch. It can crank its screen's refresh rate up to 120Hz, just like last year's S21 Ultra.
Samsung is also talking up a new feature called Vision Booster for the display, which considers the light intensity of your surroundings to improve visibility.
6.8-inch display
The S22 Ultra is the first Galaxy S phone with an S-Pen
If you weren't already convinced that this is essentially a new Galaxy Note, Samsung confirmed that it will come with an embedded S-Pen. That means you won't have to buy it separately, and there's a slot in the phone for storing it.
Samsung also says it's made improvements to the way the S-Pen works. It should be better at predicting where you're about to draw or scribble next.
S Pen
The Galaxy S22 Ultra is here
Now we're getting a look at the Galaxy S22 Ultra. As we expected, it's very Galaxy Note-inspired and has sharp edges just like the Galaxy Note.
S22 at $800, S22 Plus at $1,000
Finally, prices: the Samsung Galaxy S22 costs $800, and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus costs $1,000. (In the UK they start at £769 and £949, respectively -- add £50 to double the 128GB storage.) Funnily enough, that makes the S22 the new middle child considering the $700 S21 FE that launched a month ago -- though it packs last year's specs.
S22 Ultra
The Galaxy S22's camera is the biggest upgrade
So to sum it up, it seems like the new 50-megapixel camera and telephoto lens are the big upgrades to expect from the Galaxy S22. It starts at $800 while the Plus model starts at $1,000, and preorders start today.
S22 prices
S22 specs
Camera specs?
The Galaxy S22 range's cameras have had a few tweaks, but mostly on the lower two phones. The Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus have improved their main cameras to 50 megapixels for sharper photos, but the 64-megapixel telephoto seen on last year's S21 has been downgraded to a 10-megapixel lens, though it still has a 3x optical zoom.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has virtually unchanged cameras from last year, so the big changes are in the software, which we've dived deep on here. They're still powerful cameras, just with a bit better software this time around.
Read more: The Galaxy S22 Ultra fails to excite this pro photographer. And that's a problem
Portrait mode is getting better on the S22
Portrait mode on the Galaxy S22 is also supposed to get a big upgrade. Samsung says the new phone will be better at separating subjects from the background.
The Galaxy S22, S22 Plus and S22 Ultra revealed
The standard Samsung Galaxy S22 packs top-tier specs with a smaller 6.1-inch screen, top specs and cameras, with 25-watt wired charging and a 3,700-mAh battery. The Galaxy S22 Plus is the larger 6.6-inch model with a few more premium extras, like faster 45-watt wired charging and a bigger 4,500-mAh battery.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has the best specs and cameras, as expected. New this year is a dedicated S Pen stylus slot, which makes it feel even more like a Galaxy Note in all but name.
S22 night photography
The Galaxy S22 has a new camera with a bigger sensor
It's here, the Galaxy S22. Samsung is talking up the bigger new sensor that can take in more light. Samsung is also showing off new optical image stabilization and the camera's ability to analyze four times as much data. There's also a new design.
S22 camera
S22 color options
Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus
Camera upgrades
As we expected, it sounds like photography will be a big focus. This whole Bridgerton video is all about teasing the Galaxy S22's camera improvements.
Samsung meets Bridgerton
It looks like Samsung is kicking things off with a Bridgerton-inspired video to introduce the Galaxy S22. "We need better lighting," one of the characters says.
A focus on sustainability
Samsung is talking about the ways in which it's improving its environmental footprint. Every new product announced today uses ocean-bound plastics, says Samsung's TM Roh.
Samsung Unpacked has started
Samsung Unpacked is officially underway. We're minutes away from seeing the reveal of the Samsung Galaxy S22 phones and much more, but if you're just tuning in, here's how to watch Samsung's first reveal event of the year.
The S22 Unpacked stream teaser
The Galaxy S22 Ultra is rumored to be a Note replacement
All rumors and leaks point to the Galaxy S22 Ultra being a full replacement for the Galaxy Note. We haven't seen a new Galaxy Note since 2020, so it wouldn't be surprising if Samsung took this direction.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra is rumored to come with a built-in S Pen and a new Note-like design with sharper corners, according to the leaks we've seen over the past few months. Check out our full roundup if you want to get a better sense of what we're expecting.
Galaxy S22: What do we know?
We're minutes away from the Samsung Unpacked kickoff, and we've heard plenty about the soon-to-be-revealed Samsung Galaxy S22 phones.
First, we still expect three phones with the standard Galaxy S22, S22 Plus and the S22 Ultra (sorry to fans of the Samsung Galaxy S10E). Among all the rumors, we've heard that the S22 Ultra will get the best camera upgrades, though there seems to be better night photography in store with something called "Nightography."
While we expect the phones to pack the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset that Qualcomm announced back in December, it will be interesting to see if there will be any other spec upgrades, including whether expandable storage will return. Faster charging, a 200-megapixel camera and other wild rumors abound, so check out everything we've heard before the phones are officially unveiled.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy S22 rumors: Accidental Amazon listing reveals Nightography
Also expected: Galaxy Tab S8
In addition to the Samsung Galaxy S22 range, the other device we're expecting is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8.
A rumor has suggested the brand's next flagship tablet will come in an 11-inch base model, a larger 12.4-inch Tab S8 Plus, and a new 14.6-inch Tab S8 Ultra. Samsung hasn't said what's coming in the new edition to warrant the "Ultra" name, nor what's been improved in the new tablet line, but we've also heard all models will get Wi-Fi 6E and go on sale Feb. 25.
How to watch Samsung Unpacked
Good morning! We're gearing up for Samsung Unpacked, where we expect to see the Samsung Galaxy S22 phones officially revealed along with a few other surprises.
The event is an online-only event, but there are plenty of ways to watch. The Samsung Unpacked start time is 7 a.m. PT (10 a.m. ET), and we expect it to last around an hour. You can watch the event on YouTube, Samsung's website and even its metaverse, if that's your fancy.
Read more: Samsung's Galaxy S22 Unpacked event is today: How to watch it live
Galaxy S22 lineup expected
We're expecting to see the Galaxy S22 lineup at today's event. But Samsung just launched the Galaxy S21 FE in January. So one of the big questions is whether the Galaxy S22 lineup will make the S21 FE feel obsolete already.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review: A great $700 phone that comes at an awkward time
Here's everything announced so far
Samsung Galaxy S22 series
- Samsung Galaxy S22 first look video: Hands on with all 3 new phones
- Galaxy S22 Ultra: Samsung's $1,200 luxury phone fully replaces the Note
- Samsung is phasing out the Galaxy Note, and it's about time
- Google Duo live sharing lets you watch YouTube with friends and work with them too
- Galaxy S22 gets Android 12's Material You design, so you can change all the colors
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. Pixel 6 Pro: Specs compared
- The Galaxy S22 Ultra fails to excite this pro photographer. And that's a problem
- AT&T's Galaxy S22 offer allows for $800 off even if you trade in an older, broken phone