Looking for a phone that can keep up with your active lifestyle? Considering the new Samsung Galaxy S22 series?

Each year, people are waiting longer to upgrade to the newest version of their smartphones. Users are putting more time and effort into researching the newest handset to figure out if it's really for them or not—and often, they're surprised by what they find. Will you be?

We'll cover everything: the Samsung Galaxy battery life, screen and size, color and shape, and its capabilities.

Read on to make sure you're not in the dark before you go upgrading—or you could be in for an unpleasant surprise.

Samsung Galaxy Battery and Charging

Before discussing the design and features of the S22 line, let's ask this question: What's up with the battery choices, Samsung?

Samsung has always been the more "sensible" smartphone choice. On average, they tend to be less fragile and prone to breakage (depending on your lifestyle) than an iPhone and feature a longer, healthier battery life.

The general rule is that as each series releases, and technology advances, Samsung upgrades its battery specs to get more superior with each edition.

That doesn't seem to be the case this time around.

If you spend a lot of time outdoors (like we do, throwing phones out of moving cars or running them over to test just how durable our phone cases are), you're probably looking for a phone that will stay charged the whole day, right?

We've got bad news for you: that might not be the Galaxy S22 series.

Battery Life: A Comparison

When the S21 series came out, it featured a 4000mAh battery. According to the Samsung website, with constant internet usage (on  WiFi) the battery life was up to 15 hours.

The S21 Plus and S21 Ultra had a 4800mAh battery and up to 17 hours, and a 5000 mAh battery and up to 18 hours under the same usage, respectively.

However, it looks like the S22 has had a battery downgrade. The battery in the S22 is 3700mAh—300mAh less than its S21 predecessor.

The S22+ has suffered the same fate with a typical capacity of 4,500mAh—again, 300mAh less than the S21+.

Things are looking up for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra which keeps its battery capacity of 5000mAh.

So, what does this all mean in non-tech terms?

Well, the battery life could be better. It won't affect it so much that the phone isn't worth it and it'll still last you the whole day without having to charge it, but fans and tech wizards were expecting Samsung to increase the battery life this time around—not decrease it.

On February 9th 2022, at Samsung's “official unpacking”, we learned more about the S22 line. Samsung gave us more details about the specs, design, and the price—starting at just $849.

What About Charging Speeds?

Past iterations of Samsung phones were notoriously slow at charging. Apple had a monopoly on quick charging speeds at that time and it was one of Samsung's biggest downfalls.

We're very happy to report that this is not the case for the S22 series and hasn't been an issue for Samsung phones for a while!

The Samsung Galaxy S22 charges at 25W, and it'll take 70 minutes to charge from zero to a full battery.

The Plus and the Ultra charge at 45W. The Plus will take one hour to charge from zero to a full battery.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Processors

It's not all doom and gloom, though. Samsung is swapping slightly larger batteries to make room for their new and improved processors.

There are two processor options for the new series of phones:

There's the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, their flagship processor. The S21 series featured Snapdragon processors and widely received praise and positive responses to its speed and capabilities. Their website boasts "ultra-advanced AI" and 4x faster speed than the previous processor.

There's also the Samsung Exynos 2200, Samsung's own processor which uses ray tracing for an enhanced gaming experience. Ray tracing is a revolutionary technique that renders and manipulates light, depth, shadows, reflections, and refractions to create visually stunning animation and graphics.

With 70% of Americans playing games on at least one mobile device, this is a smart move by Samsung to encourage mobile gamers to test their mettle against the newest processors.

There are two processors because some countries will have the Snapdragon version, and some will have the Exynos version. They're both great processors with similar capabilities, so don't worry: you won't be losing out either way.

It seems like Samsung is playing a game of give-and-take, trying to balance the scales as evenly as possible. For some people, top-of-the-line battery life is a make-or-break feature but others might not mind a slight dip in battery efficiency if there are other benefits.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Specs

Color

For color options, we're looking at black, green, pink gold, and white for the S22 and S22+. Some phones are available in beige, violet, blue, and gray but these are exclusive to a handful of stores.

For the Galaxy S22 Ultra, Samsung has swapped the mellow pink gold for a striking dark red.

Screen and Design

The S22 screen is 6.1 inches, the same size as the S21. It features an AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diodes) 120hz screen.

The S22+ has the same features except the screen is bigger, as expected, at 6.5 inches.

The S22 Ultra also has the same features but the screen is 6.8 inches.

The Ultra looks quite different from the other S22 phones. It's more rectangular and doesn't have rounded corners.

It's also got a built-in S Pen, to Galaxy Note fans’ surprise, making the phone look and feel like an S-series and Galaxy Note lovechild.

The screens are made from Gorilla Glass Victus, just like in the S21 range. If you work a manual labor job, are in the military or in training, do sports, or have an active lifestyle chances are your phone is accident-prone. Having a phone that doesn't have a fragile screen is a must when considering which one to buy.

Camera

The Samsung series has often led the charge with great camera specs. If you're outside a lot and find yourself with beautiful views, a Samsung phone might be something to consider.

The S22 and S22+ have the same camera specs: a 50MP main camera with a 12MP wide-angle lens and a 10MP telephoto lens which features a 3x optical zoom for long-distance photography. The selfie camera also has 10MP.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, of course, offers far stronger camera specs.

It features a 108MP main camera, also with a 12MP wide-angle lens. It has two 10MP telephoto lenses: one with 3x optical zoom, and one with a much more powerful 10x zoom. The front camera features 40MP.

Protection

We've already covered Samsung's smart screen choice but what about the rest of the phone?

In the past, Samsung has made a habit of making phones with plastic or aluminum backs, which dent and scuff very easily. Now, it looks like they might be going for the more “premium” look, following in Apple's footsteps with glass backs.

They look lovely but what happens when you drop your glass phone on a hard surface, or it gets knocked against a piece of machinery, or slips out of your pocket while you're out for a run? It shatters, that's what!

Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. But if it does, you want to know that without even looking at it, your phone will be dent-free and still in that like-new condition.

Samsung Galaxy S22: Is It for You?

In general, Samsung phones are well made and fun to use. There are pros and cons to the brand, and phone choice often comes down to personal preference and durability.

If you're considering an S22 phone, weigh up the factors: the Samsung Galaxy battery is slightly reduced in this series but the processors are a step forward into the future.