Is It Worth Paying Extra for the Galaxy S22 Ultra?

Samsung released three Galaxy S22 models—the standard S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra. As the name implies, the Ultra is the most premium model, and the price reflects that. So is it worth paying more for it?

You can think of the standard Galaxy S22 as the “baseline” model. Each model after the standard S22 gets a little bigger and adds more features. At launch in February 2022, the Ultra model cost $400 more than the S22 and $200 more than the S22+.

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Spec for Spec

Let’s start things off by comparing the raw specifications of the Galaxy S22 Ultra against its smaller, cheaper siblings. There are a lot of things you’ll get no matter which model you choose.

All three Galaxy S22 models have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, at least 8GB of RAM, at least 256GB of storage, a 12MP ultrawide camera, a 3x telephoto camera, wireless charging, IP68 water resistance, and Android 12 with One UI 4.

Setting aside the display and extra cameras, the main specs you can upgrade by going with the Ultra model are RAM (12GB) and storage (up to 1TB). Of course, the bigger Ultra model also has the largest battery of the bunch (5,000mAh).

So if you’re looking at just the basics, you can get many features of the Galaxy S22 Ultra on the standard S22 and S22+. However, that’s ignoring the things that really set it apart.

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Bigger Display

First and foremost, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is massive. It has a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with QHD+ resolution (1440×3088) and 120Hz refresh rate. That’s bigger and higher resolution than the other two models.

Beyond size and resolution, there are a couple of more subtle differences. The Ultra’s display can be adjusted between 1-120Hz, whereas the other two can go from 10-120Hz. The Galaxy S22 Ultra’s display can also get brighter in direct sunlight.

Unless you are hardcore about display quality, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is probably not worth the extra money just for the display alone. The Galaxy S22+ has a very similar display and it’s only 0.2-inches smaller.

More Cameras

Cameras is where the Galaxy S22 Ultra starts to pull away from the other two models a bit more. The Ultra has five total cameras compared to the four on the S22+ and standard S22.

The main camera on the S22 Ultra is 108MP, which is double the megapixels of the main cameras on the other two models. In addition to the 3x telephoto camera that all three models have, the Ultra also has a 10x telephoto camera.

The Ultra’s front-facing camera is also much bigger, coming in at 40MP compared to 10MP on the other two.

Having more cameras is always a good thing on smartphones. The Ultra gives you a lot of flexibility to get any shot. With two telephoto lenses, you can zoom in at two different distances without losing quality to digital zoom. On the software side, the Ultra also allows you to shoot in RAW.

If you care a lot about cameras and getting the best photos you can, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is certainly worth the upgrade over the other two models.

S Pen

The last major difference between the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the other models is the S Pen. The Galaxy S21 Ultra supported the S Pen, but it wasn’t built-in to the phone. The S22 Ultra has a slot for the S Pen, making it much more convenient.

Samsung killed the Note series in 2021, so the Galaxy S22 Ultra is essentially the Galaxy Note 22. You don’t have to worry about carrying around a loose S Pen and losing it. You get all the great S Pen software features from the Note series as well.

This one is pretty easy. If you’ve been itching for a new Galaxy Note, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is definitely worth paying extra. The massive 6.8-inch display is a great canvas for stylus usage.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is not a cheap phone. In fact, at launch, it was one of the most expensive Android phones you can buy. You are getting a lot for that price tag, though. If cameras or the S Pen are important to you, it’s probably worth shelling out the extra cash. Four years of major Android updates from Samsung will help keep the phone kicking for a long time.