Upgrading your Galaxy S22 in 2025? Here are 5 things I would try first

Are you stuck with an older phone like the Galaxy S22 and are aiming for an upgrade this year or in early 2026? It's an exciting time! You have plenty of great things to look forward to and try out once you step into a new mobile era.

I know. I've been there. And as someone who has used the Galaxy S22+ for years and subsequently tried out newer Samsung phones, I know that you will notice some upgrades immediately, while other, subtler improvements will become more evident in time.

Let's focus on the bigger changes and explore a few things you may want to check out first. Here are the five things that I would focus on immediately after upgrading.

It doesn't matter whether you replace your Galaxy S22 with the Galaxy S25 this year or with the Galaxy S26 next year. Either way, you'll switch from a phone that has a slightly curved frame to a newer design based on a flat frame.

This may not seem like a big change, but for some hands, it is. And you'll have to find out yourself. The feel of the phone is different when the frame is flat. It certainly was one of the first things I noticed. And you may find things that you'll love and hate about the newer frame design.

I still think about the S22's curved frame sometimes. In the end, I think that there are pros and cons to both. So, if you can, make your own comparisons and draw your own conclusion.

The Galaxy S22's display looked good in 2022, and it still does today, especially if you don't have something else to compare it with.

However, newer flagship phone displays tend to look different, and you will most likely notice this the first time you pick up your new device.

Newer Galaxy flagships have brighter screens, and in this case, devices like the Galaxy S25 have twice as many nits. The S25's screen peaks at 2,600 nits rather than 1,300 nits.

Brightness perception is logarithmic rather than linear, so you won't literally see a 2x brighter screen on the S25. Still, it is noticeably brighter, and perhaps more importantly, newer phones have a different Vision Booster profile that makes screens look livelier somehow.

I can tell you from experience that my S22's display looks a little dull every time I pick it up after using newer phones for a week or two. The higher brightness and different Vision Booster profile make a noticeable difference. That may be even truer if you're using the natural color profile.

Apart from higher brightness and better Vision Booster, newer premium Samsung displays are technically superior in several other ways, which can lead to exclusive new features.

The ability to show your lock screen wallpaper permanently on the dim Always On Display is exclusive to newer Samsung phones, and more specifically, slab-type flagships.

This feature debuted with the Galaxy S24 and will not be added retroactively to older hardware. Sometimes, new software is deemed incompatible with older hardware.

As such, whether you end up using it or turning it off, the Always On Display wallpaper certainly is among the features I'd check out first on my new Galaxy phone.

Open Settings > Lock screen and AOD > Always On Display > Show Lock screen wallpaper.

Although your Galaxy S22 did get some Galaxy AI capabilities with newer One UI updates, it didn't receive everything. And it never will.

If you are even remotely interested in AI and Galaxy AI, you should check out some of the features you've been missing out on all this time.

My examples of choice include the upgraded Drawing Assist tool that replaced Sketch to Image, the Now Brief app, and/or the Photo Ambient Wallpaper. Your mileage will vary with each.

The Galaxy S22 series will never get these features because the hardware supposedly isn't able to handle this much AI. Either way, you should check them out sooner rather than later on your new phone.

And if you'll wait until the Galaxy S26 goes on sale, you might have even more exclusive AI tools to look forward to.

Last but certainly not least, speaking of performance, newer premium Samsung phones have plenty of it.

The Galaxy S22 was no slouch, and it's still decent enough for its age. But performance gains, even across One UI, will be noticeable the moment you switch to a 2025 or 2026 flagship.

Newer Samsung phones and chips are faster and better optimized. And if you switch from an Exynos 2200-powered Galaxy S22 to a Snapdragon chip, the high level of optimization will probably be even more noticeable.

If your Galaxy S22 is starting to show its age and stutters, the newer phone's smoother UI and faster app loading times may not feel revolutionary but should at least feel refreshing.

Regarding this final question, the answer depends on how much you're willing to spend and how long you can wait before you upgrade.

Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S26 series in a few weeks. It might be wiser to wait for the S26 to go on sale before you upgrade your S22.

On the other hand, this is the holiday shopping season, and you might find awesome discounts on the Galaxy S25 that could be difficult to ignore.

Weigh the pros and cons of these decisions, measure your wallet, and choose wisely. And if you are in a market where Samsung runs a solid trade-in program, see how big a discount you might be able to get if you return your Galaxy S22 this year. Solid holiday discounts might beat waiting for the S26.