On a spec basis, the Galaxy S22 Ultra might just be the best Samsung phone of 2022, especially when considering its bonkers camera system with 10x optical zoom and the inclusion of the S Pen. However, outside the spec vacuum and in the real world, we appear to gravitate more toward the Galaxy S22 or the Galaxy S22+ for slightly different reasons — which goes to show that raw specs aren't always the answer to a better user experience.
We already named the Galaxy S22 Ultra the best phone of the year because of its rich feature set, so we can't give that title to another device. What we can do is pick a personal favorite. Spoiler alert: it's not the Galaxy S22 Ultra. But the question remains. Is it the Galaxy S22 or the Galaxy S22+?
We picked one of these 2022 Samsung flagships as our favorite S-series device of the year and explained our reasoning in a new Galaxy S22 & S22+ year-end review video, which you can watch below. As usual, we looked at these phones across different areas, including design, display, camera, performance, battery life, and software, but we've done so while looking back at our experience using these devices for the past ten months.
The Galaxy S22+ still got it
You might recall that we deemed the Galaxy S22+ “just right” in our original review earlier this year, as it hit a sweet spot between pricing and features, all the while borrowing a couple of things from the Galaxy S22 Ultra without compromising the new flat design.
As it turns out, our opinion hasn't changed over the past ten months, and the Galaxy S22+ remains our personal-favorite S-series phone of the year. Although the base Galaxy S22 model is good in its own right and even shares many characteristics with the S22+, Plus variant is fantastic and brings a few extra upgrades, including a brighter and larger screen and a battery that offers improved battery life and 45W charging capabilities.
In our eyes, the Galaxy S22+ is the near-perfect phone. It's not too big, and it's not small enough that it needs to sacrifice some quality-of-life features. It's also as flat as the base model rather than borrowing the unwieldy design of the Ultra variant, and it simply seems to hit the sweet spot across the board. It's a well-balanced flagship phone in all areas.
In conclusion, the base Galaxy S22 is no slouch, but we have to pick the Galaxy S22+ as our favorite S-series Samsung phone of 2022. If you want to hear more of our thoughts on the Galaxy S22 and S22+, don't forget to check out our full review video below.
SamsungGalaxy S22
