SAMSUNG have unpacked (heh) their latest mobile device offerings as part of Samsung Unpacked 2022, with a new smartphone and tablet being the major focus.
The flagship product from the announcement is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, which the company describes as “offering the ultimate S Series experience yet” and “[Reimagining] the mobile experience by merging the best Galaxy features of the Note and S series”.
The Android phone, which goes on sale in Australia from March 4th, will have a 6.8-inch Edge QHD+ dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate, boosting to a 240Hz touch sampling rate in Game Mode.
A 4NM processor is powering the unit, which has either 8 or 12GB of RAM and 128 or 256GB of storage, depending which version the purchaser opts for, as well as a 5000mAh battery.
One of the aspects Samsung are keen to highlight is the addition of the S Pen from the Note range to the S22 Ultra, which (according to Samsung) turns the device into “more than a phone”.
“It embraces the legacy of the Note while opening up new ways to be creative and get things done. The result is a mobile experience unlike any before,” the official announcement said.
Having not had a chance to get any hands on time with the device I don’t know how significant the pen’s addition to the unit is, but Samsung certainly feel it’s important.
One area of the phone that does seem worth getting excited about is its camera array – it has a 12MP F2.2 Ultra-Wide Camera with a 120˚ field of view, a 108MP wide camera with dual camera focus and an 85˚field of view, a 10MP telephoto camera with a 36˚field of view and 3x optical zoom, a second 10MP telephoto camera with 10x optical zoom and an 11˚ field of view, and a 40MP front “selfie” F2.2 camera with an 80˚ field of view.
Per Samsung:
With Galaxy S22 Ultra, you can capture footage that’s instantly post-worthy – in many lighting
conditions. Advanced Nightography features available on the entire S22 family of devices allow you to snag crisp, clear videos on both the front and back cameras, whether you’re recording during the day or night.
S22 Ultra is built with a 2.4um pixel sensor – Samsung’s largest pixel sensor ever, enabling its camera lenses to capture more light and data, helping to optimise the lighting and detail of your video clips.
Plus, S22 Ultra’s advanced Super Clear Glass lens helps you take smooth and clear nighttime videos without flares. Meanwhile, video Auto Framing ensures your camera always captures exactly who you want, whether that’s one person or ten.
With zooming capabilities that will get you 100x closer to the action6, Galaxy S22 Ultra isn’t just Samsung’s most powerful camera, it’s also the smartest. Packed with new AI supported features like Portrait Mode, Galaxy S22 Ultra is built to make every photo look professional. With S22 Ultra’s robust intelligent camera capabilities, your phone does the heavy lifting, so you always capture stunning photos and video in any lighting.
Whether you’re an amateur or a professional photographer, Galaxy S22 Ultra gives you all the tools you need to snap a beautiful shot every time. Like Galaxy S22 and S22+, Galaxy S22 Ultra offers exclusive access to the Expert RAW app, which features a comprehensive suite of in-camera editing tools that deliver a DSLR-like experience and let you enjoy more creative control.
With the ability to save photos in RAW format up to 16bit, you can take more control over your edits with more of your images’ data. And just like a DSLR camera, you can brighten or darken your photos with ISO settings and shutter speed, adjust white balance to make your photo more warm or cool, and manually focus on your desired subject to get your images looking the way you want.
As someone who takes a lot of photos this does look appealing – while I think we can all agree the basic “point-and-shoot” mode in most decent smartphones has been excellent for many years now, the ability to really fiddle around with the settings has still had some catching up to do, and based on what I’ve seen from the Samsung virtual pre-brief the new camera setup in the S22 Ultra looks very promising indeed.
Of course, being a flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra isn’t cheap, with prices starting from AUD$1,849 for the version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage and going up to AUD$2,249 for the version with 12GB RAM and 1TB storage. There are, of course, two less premium-priced tiers of Galaxy S22 (the S22 and S22+) available as well.
Deals from the telcos will also be available, are pre-order deals from Samsung themselves; these include
Samsung Australia IT & Mobile vice-president Garry McGregor said the Galaxy S22 range represented Samsung anticipating the needs of tomorrow with the technology being brought to market today.
“S22 and S22+ bring the best for those who want to create – dynamic cameras, enhanced image processing and bright displays make for a beautifully designed and powerful smartphone,” he said.
“The S22 Ultra brings the very best of S Series and the DNA of Note together in a whole new experience. The built-in S-Pen is set to unleash new productivity and creative possibilities.
“We know Australians’ smartphone usage has increased by 40% after another year of prolonged pandemic living. Because of this and extended working from home arrangements, 44% of people purchasing a new smartphone are buying premium because they need higher
performance devices.
“People also use their smartphone for escapism through entertainment and other leisure activities so having a device that powers both work and play has never been more important.
“Samsung is known for working in lock step with our partners to deliver premium experiences for our customers like no one else. Whether it’s getting the fastest mobile network performance from our telco partners or market leading pre-order offers – now has never been a better time to purchase a smartphone.”
Also announced at Samsung Unpacked 2022 was the company’s newest tablet, the Galaxy Tab S8. The flagship version, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, is powered by a 4NM processor and features a 14.6-inch, 2960 x 1848, (WQXGA+) 240ppi Super AMOLED screen with a 11,200mAh battery.
I was very impressed with the Galaxy Tab S7+ when I reviewed it last year so have no doubt its successor will be extremely good as well.
As with the S22 phones, the Galaxy Tab S8 series will officially launch in Australia on March 4 and is available for pre-order now. Samsung have also said those who pre-order the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra will receive the new Book Cover Keyboard, and those who order the Tab S8+ or Tab S8 will receive a Book Cover Keyboard Slim.
For more details on the Samsung Galaxy S22 series and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8 series, visit https://www.samsung.com/au/
