Samsung Galaxy S22’s two cheaper models, Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus, are queuing up for some solid upgrades according to rumors. While not quite as dramatic as the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s rumors of upgrades, the S22 and S22 Plus are tipped for notable changes to their cameras, chips and screen that should make the two phones significantly better.
By offering some tempting features at a competitive price, we expect one of the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus (or maybe even both) to be on our list of best phones. Phones like Google Pixel 6 or iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro are just in the same price range that we expect for the S22 and S22 Plus, so it will be tough competition.
We are not going to find out which features are right and which are not before the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event, which is rumored on February 9th. So for now, you can see below for the changes we will be most excited about if they come true.
50 MP main camera with Adaptive Pixel
After using 12 MP main cameras since the Galaxy S7 (except the latest Ultra models), Samsung is rumored to be switching to 50 MP main cameras. Assuming that it is the Samsung GN1 sensor that goes into these phones, it will provide more detailed and attractive images. After all, it’s the same sensor found in Google Pixel 6.
However, there is more to be excited about than just the sensor. Another part of this rumor is that this will be an “Adaptive Pixel” camera, which supposedly means that the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus will be able to take pictures in both lower and higher resolutions. Lower resolutions from camera sensors are not unique; this is what is known as pixel-binning, and creates larger virtual pixels from the sensor right to capture enhanced brightness from a scene. Extrapolating smaller images to create larger ones is not something we have seen before as a built-in smartphone camera option, so it will be interesting to see what Samsung wants with this capability.
Galaxy S22: a camera with 3x optical zoom
Another shooting feature to get excited about is the alleged addition of a camera with 3x optical zoom. The previously few Galaxy S phones (again excluding the Ultra models) offered only 3x hybrid zoom using a mix of optical and digital zoom. But this year, rumors seem to be saying that it is fully optical magnification.
This is remarkable as it comes close to, or even beats, much more expensive phones’ camera cameras. For example, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max have 3x zoom. The OnePlus 10 Pro has a slightly more powerful 3.3x magnification for its camcorder, and the Pixel 6 Pro handles 4x zoom. It will be difficult to find higher magnification on a phone in this price range.
A new compact size for the S22 and S22 Plus
Virtually every phone made today qualifies as a “phablet”. However, the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus reverse the trend of continuous size increases by reportedly shrinking slightly – from 6.2 to 6.06 inches in the case of the S22 and from 6.7 to 6.5 inches for the S22 Plus.
A smaller size probably means a smaller battery, so we’ll keep a close eye on what it means for battery life if we get our fingers in these phones and find out the rumors are true. But for users with small hands or pockets, it may be worth having this size reduction.
New Exynos 2200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chips
As expected, there is a new generation of chipsets tipped for the Galaxy S22. And yes, there are two: either the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 if you’re in the US, or the Samsung Exynos 2200 if you’ve somewhere else. Both of these have produced some impressively leaked benchmarks that should ensure that the S22 and S22 Plus offer some of the best performance figures of the year.
However, there is a unique added benefit to the S22 handsets equipped with the Exynos 2200 chip: AMD graphics. The Xclipse 920 GPU in the Exynos 2200 uses RDNA 2 architecture to offer enhanced power and ray-tracing graphics, which can place the S22 series at the top of the best gaming phones in a way that none of the current phones can match.
Galaxy S22: improved adaptive screen refresh rate
An adaptive refresh rate is important for flagship phones to have as it balances power consumption towards a smooth user experience. While this was a feature that the S21 and S21 Plus had last year, it may get an improvement this year.
It would come in the form of the S22 Plus (and possibly base S22) using LTPO monitors. Using this instead of LTPS monitors like last year, the S22 and S22 Plus could be able to drop to a 1Hz refresh rate, instead of the minimum 48Hz that the S21 and S21 Plus can handle. This would mean even more savings on battery life, while keeping the screen as responsive as before.