Why the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra won our Phone of the Year award
Combining the best of Samsung’s S series and the Note phones
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This has been a superb year for smartphones, and yet one of the first flagships that really made a statement in 2022 managed to stay at the top of the pile through it all. TheSamsung Galaxy S22 Ultraproved itself worthy of the Phone of the Year award at theTechRadar Choice Awards 2022sponsored by Sky Broadband, by being able to fend off practically every major competitor that’s followed.
We’ve seen an interesting shift in the last couple of year’s withSamsung’s flagship phone strategy, represented most notably by the company’s decision to shelve its Galaxy Note line and double-down on it’s Galaxy Z foldables. But that move also left the door open for Samsung to further enhance the Galaxy S line, in areas once addressed by the company’s Note series.
As such, the Galaxy S22 Ultra represents the perfect fusion of design and functionality between the Note series and previous Galaxy S entries; tackling every key area – from display, to performance, to camera, to productivity – with an uncompromising approach that landed it at the top of our list of thebest phones.
Samsung somehow managed to improve the already-excellent camera framework established by the previousGalaxy S21 Ultra; serving up vastly-improved zoom, low light, and video capabilities that mean the Galaxy S22 Ultra is also thebest camera phoneout there right now; backed up by a consistency and quality across sensors that’s hard to match, even when compared to the obvious rivals like theiPhone 14 Pro MaxandGoogle Pixel 7 Pro.
The newfound integrated S Pen stylus functionality may seem like a niche feature but it’s a key differentiator in a crowded market of high-end handsets that sets the S22 Ultra apart from its rivals while also expanding its productivity skill set in a way that other devices physically can’t compete with.
Top-notch performance, one of Samsung’s characteristically stellar displays, versatile charging functionality, compatibility with an ever-growing, ever-strengthening ecosystem of adjacent products and update support that outclasses evenGoogle; the Galaxy S22 Ultra, has it all, does it all and sets the standard for what users should expect from a flagship phone experience in 2022.
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Alex joined as TechRadar’s Senior Phones Editor in June 2022, but brings over a decade’s worth of experience to the role, with an expertise in smartphones, tablets and wearables. He’s covered keynotes hosted by the biggest brands and attended the launches for some of the most influential mobile products of the last few years. His experience was amassed at some of the most reputable consumer technology publications out there, including GSMArena, TechAdvisor and Trusted Reviews.
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