Samsung galaxy s22 ultra vs s21 ultra – worthy upgrade 2023?

Samsung Recently launched its S series Samsung galaxy s21’s successor Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. There are too many differences between the s 21 ultra and the newly introduced s22 ultra. We have already shared top 9 best features of Samsung galaxy s22 ultra in our previous post, In this article, we are comparing Samsung Galaxy S22 ultra vs s21 Ultra in detail.

Samsung galaxy s21 ultra vs Samsung Galaxy s22 ultra

Lots of people are confusing themselves amongst which one to buy, is the Samsung galaxy s22 Ultra worth upgrading from s21 ultra and so any questions.

Let’s answer them all…

We are going to have a look at every aspect of these phones and get some answers at the end. So we’re gonna look at the build the processor the cameras everything one by one. And at the end, we’re gonna get you a conclusion. So let’s dive in and start with the Specification comparison

Specification Comparison (S22 ultra vs S21 ultra):

samsung galaxy s22 ultra vs s21 ultra specification comparison

BUILD and Design

So when it comes to the build quality we do have a similar overall quality. The only thing is the s22 ultra is now using gorilla glass victus plus on the back and the front.

The s21 ultra uses gorilla glass victus. The victus plus is a 10 to 15 improvement over the older version. But there’s nothing dramatic going on here now one big design change is the shape of the phone.

The s21 ultra has those nice rounded corners. But the s22 ultra now has that boxy professional look of the note series. Looking on the rear you’ll see that the s21 ultra has a different-looking camera array. In fact, I prefer the camera array on the s21 ultra as opposed to the new version. However, these are not big enough changes or differences to make a buying choice. 

Yes, design matters but you don’t just change your phone just based on design. So let’s keep looking at other details. We have ip68 water resistance on both of these phones that’s the same both phones have stereo speakers. They’re going to sound amazing so that is also the same. So basically when it comes to build and design it’s not a category that should make you want to upgrade or not.

Dimensions

The next thing which looks interesting is the dimensions are approximately the same dimensions. The only difference is the design of the phone. One of them is squarish other one is roundish. And I’ll let you know the square corners on the s22 ultra are going to be much sharper.

So it might be a little bit easy to handle the s21 ultra as opposed to the s22 ultra. But I still prefer the looks the front looks off the s22 but the rear looks of the s21 ultra. So that’s a little bit confusing but again not a huge category to worry about. 

DISPLAY

The next thing is the display. So the display is the same exact size 6.8 inches on both of these phones same exact technology. So the quality of the display on both of these phones is almost equal except for one small difference. The s22 ultra is gonna be brighter at 1750 nits of brightness while the s21 ultra is going to be 1500 nits brightness. Where this matter is under direct sunlight or bright daylight.

So you are going to be able to see the screen of the s22 ultra better than the s21 ultra. Now s21 ultra is still plenty visible but s22 ultra is gonna be even better. So if this has ever been a concern to you this is something to pay attention to but the quality of the display under normal lighting conditions is the exact same thing. It’s the same dynamic AMOLED 2x technology though I do want to let you know that the s21 ultra has slightly more pixels than the s 22 ultras. So again not a huge difference in the display department

Processor Memory and Storage

About the processor memory and storage, the s22 ultra now has the latest snapdragon 8 gen 1 processor. You can get up to 12 gigabytes of ram and one terabyte of storage. If you want the Samsung galaxy s21 ultra to have a snapdragon 888 processor you can actually get up to 16 gigabytes of ram. If you have a 512 gigabyte model for the other capacities the lower capacities you get 12 gigabytes of ram.

Neither of these phones has a micro sd expansion option, so basically, the biggest thing here is the processor upgrade and I’ll let you know. Right now the jump from the 888 to snapdragon 8 gen 1 is not going to be mind-blowing in any way. Yes, it is going to be faster as expected two of the most popular benchmarks.

Antutu benchmarks are 26 percent faster on the s22 ultra. However, the geek bench which is also very popular is only around 10 percent faster, so I do not think this is a big performance boost when comparing the s21 to the s22. So again not a very important category unless you want the option to have a phone with one terabyte of storage that’s only going to be the Samsung galaxy s22 ultra and it’s gonna have 12 gigabytes of ram 

SOFTWARE

Talking about the software and honestly, there’s not much to say here. It’s going to be the exact same software experience, both of them are on OneUI 4.0. The s22 ultra has OneUI 4.1 with minimum differences there’s nothing really in there that sets it apart it’s going to be the same exact feature set you’ll get high customizability. You’ve got the Samsung dex wired and wireless and you’ve got all the other fancy features same exact experience.

Now the camera is mostly the same although we do have some improvements on the s22 ultra.

Camera

Let’s just quickly talk about the camera specs and basically, it’s the same specs both phones have. The same 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera 108-megapixel wide camera is going to be the main camera with the same image sensor size. And then you have two telephoto cameras 10 megapixels each both phones have a 100 times hybrid zoom capability so if everything is the same what are the improvements.

galaxy S21 ultra and galaxy s22 ultra camera specs

So we do have some under the hood upgrades to the hardware that makes it maybe 10 to 20 percent better. But we also have a lot of software improvements on the s22 ultra with the faster chip. You’re able to do more processing on the photos and get better results.

This is going to be obvious when you even zoom in to a subject far away maybe with 50 times zoom. And the s22 ultra is going to yield crisper and sharper photos. Not dramatically better but noticeably better.

When it comes to nighttime the s22 ultra is going to outperform the s21 ultra and finally, one big thing is if you like recording an 8k the s21 and 22 both do it but the s22 ultra now has 8k HDR recording. 

So I would say there’s maybe 20 percent improvement in the camera department with the s22 ultra. And one more thing the night videography is going to be better so you’re going to get better low light videos as well with the s22 ultra.

So if the camera is very very important to you it’s something you use all the time you might want to focus on this camera category but remember the s21 ultra already is a beast of a camera.

S-pen

Now, where we do have a big difference is the s pen. Now the s22 ultra comes with the s pen in the chassis. With the s21 ultra, you have to buy the s pen separately. And also the s pen in the s22 ultra is going to be more advanced. Because it does have Bluetooth functionality so you can control your device with the s pen remotely with the s22 ultra.

With the s21 ultra, you can do that as well but then you have to go out there and buy the s pen pro which is going to cost you additional money. So the s pen with the s22 ultra is much more convenient and advanced out of the box. And also has lower latency, so when you write something you’re going to feel it’s going to be a little bit more realistic and smoother.

But nothing dramatic unless you are a serious artist that does use the s pen and people do to sketch some real artwork in that case the difference is gonna be more noticeable but if you’re just an average consumer just jotting some notes down sketching something here and there you’re not gonna notice the difference the biggest thing is the convenience of having the s pen in the chassis on the go at all times with you without having to buy bulky cases.

Battery

All right so let’s move on to the battery life and the battery features. So we have the same exact battery size 5000 mAh battery. Approximately it’s going to be the same battery life. However, the s22 ultra does have some tweaks to its display that might give you a little bit extra. Nothing dramatic maybe 15 minutes maybe 30 minutes and if you’re not a heavy user maybe one hour but you will see a slight improvement in battery life on the s22 ultra.

Despite the same battery capacity other than that, the Samsung galaxy s22 ultra now has 45 watts super fast charging. S21 ultra is limited to 25 watts super fast charging. So the s22 ultra can charge from 0 to 100 within 45 to 50 minutes. S21 ultra is gonna take one hour and a couple of minutes on top of that. But they both have fast wireless charging they both have reverse wireless charging.

Recommended Article: 7 Ways to Improve Phones Battery Life

Security

Next, up biometrics and security both have the same exact in-display fingerprint sensor that works the same quickly and securely and they both have the face id no changes here exactly the same.

Conclusion

We talked about every little thing so let’s do a quick summary and see if it is worth the upgrade. When it comes to building and design nothing major. In the case of dimensions nothing major. When it comes to display you do have a brighter display on the s22 ultra and the refresh rate is a little bit more intelligent which will give you that slight boost on the battery side.

But other than that the same display quality same display size. The software is the same we talked about the s pen s22 ultra with the built-in pen is much better. Some camera improvements and faster charging are basically all there is to it. So if you do upgrade do check the list below

samsung galaxy s21 ultra vs s22 ultra summary

These are the improvements you’re getting listed on the image. Are they important enough to do the upgrade? Personally for me if I was an average consumer probably not. But if I was a thick enthusiast which I am and i have to have the latest and greatest, I would make the upgrade.

So the answer is most people probably don’t need to upgrade. But some people can if they want the latest and greatest. You’re not going to see a dramatic improvement over the s21 ultra.

But if you are using a different android device and want to select Samsung S22 ultra, frankly speaking, it’s the best you can get for now.

Computer Engineer by profession, Loves to talk about latest technical stuff


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