Since the Note series was discontinued, Samsung’s flagship S series has always been the daily smartphone I have always used. Although at the same time, it seemed like a no brainer to tell someone to just go with the top of line S series to be totally “satisfied” if they are looking for the best, this year is a little different because there have been lots of other excellent Android smartphones that could rival the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
And after two whole months of using this Galaxy S22 Ultra, while I am not surprised, it’s still my daily smartphone, and it remains to be my biggest recommendation if you want a smartphone that doesn’t have any comprises whatsoever, but before that; as usual, for every long-term smartphone or gadget review, I won’t be talking about the specs or going on too technical about the phone; hence, this article will be based on my overall daily experience.
Hardware
I am not going to lie; if you ask me which smartphone’s finish is my all-time favorite, I won’t hesitate to say that it’s the Samsung Galaxy S10+ because of its ceramic finish and adding to the fact that the white color version made me appreciate the finish more. And while the Galaxy S20 Ultra and the Galaxy S21 Ultra had some decent smartphone finish, I wouldn’t say that it was my ultimate favorite; however, when I saw the White Galaxy S22 Ultra, my heart skipped a beat, and I was in love once again!
The matte finish at the back was not only very aesthetically lovely but just holding it felt great that I didn’t even use a phone cover ever since I purchased the phone.
As it stands, the phone had no issues with any buttons sounding like it was clicky or overused, the mechanism of taking the S Pen out and in and the build of the S Pen itself was also really great, even with me using the S Pen every day, and yesIi am one of those who uses the S Pen A LOT as I do know some who only use it occasionally. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is still ever so reliable, stil the best compared to any other smartphone out right now. It is super responsive, but there was never a point when it didn’t read my fingerprint, even when my fingers were wet.
So overall, it’s nice to know that there were no complaints or issues that I faced from a hardware and build quality perspective.
Display
Smartphone displays are getting extremely competitive these days. The simple and obvious answer to that is because the impressive ones are manufactured and created by Samsung, so in case you didn’t know, now you know.
While other companies like LG and BOE come at a close second place, you will find them miles ahead if you review phones like me or simply compare those displays with Samsung manufactured screen smartphones. With that being said, I humbly feel that Samsung has always saved the best of themselves because the screen on the Galaxy S22 Ultra surpasses their predecessors and, at this point in time, every other smartphone that is released. The Dynamic AMOLED 2X display first introduced in their Fold devices has continued to impress; the adaptive screen refresh rate is one of the industry’s best, and the automatic brightness sensors are simply top notch.
Coupled with the fantastic stereo speakers, it was loud enough to watch occasional YouTube videos and several Netflix series without worrying if I needed to pair it with an earphone or any Bluetooth speakers nearby. When it comes to my daily usage for non-video consumption, the 6.8 inches does sound like it’s too big on paper. Still, the overall navigation on OneUI 4.1 just made using the phone every day such a pleasant experience, and it is undoubtedly one of the main reasons anyone should consider getting the phone.
Cameras
I have been using Samsung devices since the Galaxy Note 2, so I have seen how much the images and the camera app have genuinely grown to be the best, whether you just want to quickly take a photo or dive into the Pro features that the phone has.
The confidence that I had using the Portrait Mode was second to none as I could guarantee to have the best image possible, and Samsung was NOT kidding about the impressive capabilities that the Nightography mode had because not only I could confidently take photos at night but even videos as well.
And while it is nice that there are many software features on the camera end, like the Director’s View, Portrait Video, the cool Magic Eraser, and more, what I found myself using a lot is the Portrait Video during my IG Stories, as it didn’t look like it was taken on the phone as the subject focus to background blur looked flawless.
Another crucial thing to note is that if you ever wondered if the videos were too compressed on Instagram, I am happy to report that they don’t anymore because FINALLY, Instagram has given some love to Samsung users compared to typically being only optimized on iOS devices. So if you have anyone who tells you that Instagram is never good on an Android smartphone, you can say to them, not on the Galaxy S22 Ultra anymore!
Software
In case you have missed it, I wrote an entire article on why I think that Samsung’s OneUI is the ultimate best Android Skin, and using the phone entering two months has even reiterated my belief on how well and perfectly optimized the phone was.
And I have never experienced such frequent software updates on any phone as to how the Galaxy S22 Ultra was pushed. It reminded me of how Blackmagic always released an update to fix even the tiniest bugs to any huge issues that users have experienced. This affirms that Samsung is looking at providing the best user experience for the long term. And while other brands do have their ecosystem in check, if you are a Windows user, there is nothing like how the Samsung Dex links with the phone and how there are fantastic continuity features like on the S Pen, which brings me to the next topic that I would like to talk about
S Pen
When the S Pen was announced as an added accessory to the S21 Ultra, I was very close to getting it, but because of the added bulk of the S Pen case and me worrying that I would lose the S Pen, I opted out and decided to just live without it.
Enter the Galaxy S22; when Samsung announced that the S Pen was returning in a way that was very reminiscent of the discontinued Note series, I was super excited, but I also wondered if I would use it because of how I didn’t use an S Pen for a year with the S21 Ultra.
But my, oh my, how I have truly missed it to the point that I even intentionally use the S Pen to navigate and scroll through the phone just for the sake of not having any fingerprints on the screen, and just like OneUI software, I also did a dedicated tip and trick video on the S Pen, so do check that out if you haven’t because in there I have mentioned about who amazingly useful the S Pen is for our daily lives, and it was undoubtedly for me.
Battery
One of the biggest complaints that most Android smartphone users have is how the phone never held their battery health very well. The usual complaint was that their phone’s battery life was miles better than how it is after using the phone for half a year and sometimes less.
And what’s interesting is that with the new software updates, I saw a slight average increase of screen on time daily where with the maximum QHD+ resolution, the 120-hertz adaptive display, and with dark mode turned on, I got an average of 6 hours and 45 minutes, and this is with me watching videos when I am doing my cardio in the gym and playing some Genshin Impact while I am getting my YouTube videos rendered. So with that, it was pretty apparent that I went with that high QHD+ resolution instead of going down to FHD+. Yes, that would significantly save your battery, but I rather have a slightly less screen on time instead of sacrificing the excellent display resolution and quality that the phone has! And here is where I got an average of 6 hours and 25 minutes when I was at 10% battery, even with playing Genshin Impact for 1 hour and 27 minutes
Conclusion
So with that, I can conclude my two months’ daily experience using the Galaxy S22 Ultra was being a smartphone that just gives you the utmost reliability. Its a phone that has boosted my productivity thanks to the S Pen, of course; the screen is such a beautiful thing to look at every day, and while I did recommend the phone to you when I reviewed the phone two months ago, I would totally recommend it to you right now if you ever consider making this next smartphone purchase
