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Marques Brownlee - Galaxy S22 Review: The iPhone of Android!

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Author: Marques Brownlee
Categories: Science
Tags: science
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 08:10 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: The Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22+ are the default Android flagships to buy, the phone equivalent of the "boring but quietly excellent" San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns, with no major weaknesses. The reviewer says the S22 is the most compact phone in its class, the S22+ is the stronger battery and charging choice, and the camera upgrade is solid rather than revolutionary.

Key Points

  • The phones are smaller than last year's models: the S22+ shrank from 6.7 to 6.6 inches and the S22 from 6.2 to 6.1 inches; combined with flat sides, tiny symmetrical bezels and glass on the back (replacing plastic), the S22 feels unusually compact.
  • Displays are flat 1080p, 120 Hz adaptive AMOLED panels, not LTPO; Samsung revised its spec sheet to say the refresh rate runs 48 to 120 Hz, with 10 Hz being only the data transfer rate.
  • Battery life is "fine, not amazing": David testing the S22+ got about a day and a half, while the reviewer's S22 ended normal days with 10 to 20% left, though heavy navigation or gaming drains it fast.
  • The 50 MP main, 10 MP ultrawide, and 10 MP 3x telephoto cameras produce consistently balanced, reliable photos, with the telephoto especially solid and the ultrawide softer than the main camera.
  • Samsung's One UI has become one of the most stable and feature-rich Android experiences, and it gets four years of software updates, longer than Google's three-year Pixel promise.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions: If you want fast charging, the S22+ supports 45 W charging, but no charger is included, so budget about $50 extra for the 45 W charger. The S22 only supports 25 W. 8K video on the S22 series still shoots at 24 fps with no 30 fps option, though the reviewer wishes Samsung would add one since other phones support it; 8K no longer punches into a 3x crop, now using an even smaller crop than the Ultra uses. Expect the S22's ultrawide to be softer than the main camera in general lighting.
  • The S22 series' vibration motor changed from a Z-axis to an X-axis design, making the vibrations weaker in a pocket or on a table, so some notifications may be missed even with vibration intensity set to maximum.
  • In adaptive refresh mode, some apps such as Waze, Google Maps, and the Galaxy Store drop to 60 Hz on purpose.
  • Google Duo's watch-YouTube-together feature launched first on the Galaxy S22 and S22 Ultra, with no timeline for Pixel or other Android phones.
  • Samsung's cameras include Nightography for night detail, AI stereo portrait improvements, Space Zoom, stability locking, auto-framing for up to 10 faces, and a separate Expert RAW app.

Bottom Line

The Galaxy S22 series is a low-risk, highly recommended Android flagship with few flaws, and the reviewer names the iPhone 13 and Galaxy S22+ as his first recommendations to a stranger asking what phone to buy.