Consistently consistent.
Rolling Stones has it. Mercedes is known for it. And Samsung has made it the shining feature of its new Galaxy S22 Ultra.
It’s a flagship device top to bottom, inside out. You demand a feature, it’s there in the Ultra. It’s an answer for anyone who cares about phones… about technology. I do. I won’t bore you with specs because this is the equivalent of a concert grand piano. The best display, processor, camera, speakers… there is even the S Pen complete with a storage silo. Go ahead, shout from the rooftops that the Samsung Note is back... we mean Ultra! The fact is: Samsung has played its hand well by refocusing brand strategy, streamlining its product portfolio. This is the most faultless Galaxy S phone in many years. Instead of just figures, here’s how the phone fits your lifestyle.
A natural palette
At a glance, the phone may not seem like a massive upgrade from the Galaxy S21 Ultra, just like the iPhone 13 Pro Max versus iPhone 12 Pro Max. But it is. Samsung continuously develops new features and software tricks, which all have been perfected and brought to life on this phone. Some of the enhancements are significant.
Photographs retain a natural palette
The main improvements are in and low-light and portrait modes. Almost any phone camera in the market can take excellent daytime shots but are somehow on shaky ground at night (exceptions being the Google Pixel and the iPhone).
There are four cameras on the back — 108MP ultra-wide (f/1.8, focal length 24mm), 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2, focal length 13mm), 10MP 10x telephoto (f/4.9, focal length 230mm), and 10MP 3x telephoto (f/2.4, focal length 69mm).
The cameras offer excellent colour separation
So far we have had Samsung phones that have slightly punchy colours, which have been traded in for a natural palette. The issue with 108MP sensor so far has been details around the edge of photographs. Usually, there is a lot of focus and depth at the centre of the photo but on moving outwards, it reduces. Using software technology, the S22 Ultra takes care of this.
To get the maximum out of the camera, try taking a full 108MP shot. No longer does the phone shoot one high-resolution photo. Instead, Adaptive Pixel technology gets used, combining the full-res shot with the pixel-binned image to give you all the details possible. Even when there is motion involved, photos come out sharp. Further, full 108MP photos help you to crop into parts of the frame without losing details. Keep in mind: These high-res photos take up a lot of space.
Portrait mode now works on pets
Improved several times over is the portrait mode, which now has AI depth mapping that can recognise individual strands of hair — a challenge in the case of subjects with curly hair. The technology delivers in heaps. Portraits now look professional and contrast-y, well separated from the background. And it’s not just applicable to 1x portrait shots, it’s consistent even with 3x portrait snaps.
A big advantage Samsung enjoys over rivals involve the 10x zoom. The camera is not shaky and the telephoto lens picks up brilliant images, which other phones fail at. You will end up with artistic shots using 10x zoom.
Night shot of the Howrah Bridge with no extra image processing
Night shots.
There are many tricks to be spoken about. First, the anti-reflective nano-coated lens that tackle lens flare better than most phones, something you will notice when you point the camera at a light source. Over the course of a few evenings I tried taking night shots at full resolution and with pixel-binning. Almost always, and naturally so, full resolutions shots came out well. Night-mode shots too did a good job and even though it takes two-odd seconds to get a picture, there is a lot of depth in the shadows.
Yet, there’s no end to demands. Instead of nitpicking, here’s a demand: Add something like a “sports/action mode” in which night shots can be taken at reduced shutter speeds. This can be achieved via the Pro mode but that takes some understanding of different factors. A simple point-and-shoot “sports/action mode” will give that same power at the touch of an icon, making it very helpful for street photographers.
Of course, we also need to talk of video. No matter what gimbal-like features rival brands add to its phones, there is no phone in the market that offers such steady videos. Recording in 8K is an overkill but 4K footage is rock solid, combined with an intuitive microphone set-up, which easily picks up audio at a distance as you zoom in. Plus, colour reproduction is the best you get on Android.
Soon, the video-editing software LumaFusion is coming to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, which in turn works seamlessly with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, using which most videos will be shot. I want to see how far video editing can get seamless with frames captured on the Ultra and processed on the Tab S8 Ultra.
Be it direct sunlight, dappled shade, or full shade, filming with the S22 Ultra is easy. There’s more creative freedom than before. Also present, Expert RAW but that merits a separate article. The same goes for the ‘eraser’ tool in photo editing.
Note-worthy social integration
No doubt camera is at the heart of every Galaxy S phone. It is also an important factor when using the S Pen, which returns with its own pouch in the phone, just like it was with the last Note that came out in 2020.
A couple of things to remember. The S Pen, we have been told, has a lower response time, which is difficult to judge because the stylus has always been receptive. And no new Air gestures have been added.
Yet, the integration with the camera is of importance here. So far we have seen the S Pen being used to take notes, convert handwriting to text, and be used as shutter button to take photos or videos using the native camera.
Social media apps like Instagram and especially Snapchat are making full use of the S Pen. When you are using the native camera on both these social media platforms, a few functions, especially video start/stop, can be handled with the S Pen. It’s not so much about Air gestures yet but about the button on the S Pen. Overall, it gives me the feeling that Samsung has brought a time-tested feature of the Note to the social-media generation.
What about the writing experience? It’s good. But I like flat screens more than curved displays; that gives a more notebook-like feel. But that’s like complaining about why the ice-cream cone doesn’t have four scoops of goodies.
Then the other things....
The company has given the phone one of the best 4nm mobile processors — the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It’s super fast, super snappy and can handle the greediest mobile apps in terms of performance — like Google Maps, Tinder, Snapchat and so on — with ease. The question: Is 5,000mAh good enough for a flagship phone. It is for regular usage but if you keep the screen on maximum brightness and use all the flagship features, it will be just about enough for a day. For me shooting videos and pictures are important and yet I got at least a day but usage differs, so it’s a tough question to answer.
What I am sure about is that Samsung has taken the brand and the concept of what a true Android flagship can be to a young generation. There is excellent integration between the camera set-up, the S Pen and platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. It’s also a phone that helps Samsung reassure customers that it has been on the right track for years. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is simply a wonderful package of deep joy; it redefines the flagship smartphone.
AT A GLANCE
The S Pen is back and better than before
Device: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Price: Upwards of Rs 109,999 (without offers)
High notes
• Integration of S Pen with social media platforms
• Night photography at its best
• Adaptive Pixel technology improves output drastically
• Photos have a natural feel
• Latest processor and years of upgrade
• ‘Eraser’ tool in the photo-editing department
• Dual telephoto lens
Muffled notes
• Addition of a separate “action/sports” mode will make street photography easy