Despite all the hate the Galaxy S22 Ultra received initially, or rather, the Exynos 2200 chip did, Samsung's 2022 flagship phone has grown into somewhat of an icon in my eyes. And if you're not very interested in Galaxy AI yet, I'd say you can still get at least one or two years of decent usage out of this device — even if it runs on the Exynos 2200 SoC.
The truth is that the Exynos 2200 performs a whole lot better now than it did at launch. Even if early criticism of this SoC may have been deserved, things got better quickly. More importantly, at the moment, the Exynos 2200 is a pretty competent chip after seasons of optimization. It offers a smooth experience on the Galaxy S22 series even today when paired with One UI 6.0.
If you're rocking the Galaxy S22 Ultra as we speak, the thought of an upgrade may have crossed your mind. The Galaxy S24 Ultra unveiled in January might seem exciting enough to be worth an upgrade, assuming you can afford it or find a great trade-in deal for your Galaxy S22 Ultra.
However, if you don't want to spend the extra cash on a new Galaxy S24 Ultra or don't care about being at the cutting edge of mobile tech, I'd say you need not lose sleep over it. You should be fine using the Galaxy S22 Ultra for one or two more years. And that's even truer if you aren't interested in jumping on the Galaxy AI bandwagon early on.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is great, but the Galaxy S22 Ultra is far from obsolete
The Galaxy S24 Ultra offers numerous upgrades, including a brighter display, a titanium frame, Gorilla Glass Armor screen protection with higher scratch resistance and anti-reflective properties, a superior 200MP primary camera, battery life gains, and a faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip no matter the market.
That may sound like a lot, and it is. But in my eyes, the two main reasons you'd want to upgrade from the Galaxy S22 Ultra to the S24 Ultra are the flat display and Galaxy AI.
First, Galaxy AI. The Galaxy S22 series is unlikely to receive Galaxy AI through firmware updates. But if you don't want to jump on the AI phone bandwagon right now, you can probably keep using the Galaxy S22 Ultra comfortably for one or two more years and take advantage of its four OS upgrade policy to Android 16.
As for the flat display, if you're an avid S Pen user, you're bound to find the Galaxy S24 Ultra's flat screen very appealing, and I understand why. I've been arguing against curved screens for S Pen devices for years.
Then again, if you rarely use the S Pen and enjoy the curved design of the S22 Ultra, you can probably relish it a while longer and skip this year's upgrade. Especially now that Samsung appears fully committed to flat screens, and curved displays are becoming a rarity.
In conclusion, I believe the Galaxy S22 Ultra represents the beginning of the current era of Galaxy S Ultra phones. It is an icon in its own right and still has some life left. Upgrading to the Galaxy S24 Ultra might be worth it for many users, but if you like getting the most value out of your phones, I'd say you can still enjoy the Galaxy S22 Ultra for at least one more year or more.
Regardless of which SoC your Galaxy S22 Ultra uses, the phone should still perform well enough for 2024. And, in theory, at least, the battery shouldn't have lost too much of its capacity. The camera probably won't let you down, either. So, all in all, don't feel pressed if you can't upgrade just yet or if you feel like you should get more value out of your 2022 model. You still can.
