Samsung’s next flagship phone will be here sooner than you think, especially when all of the Galaxy S24 Ultra rumors swirling around paint a clear picture of what we can expect. Therefore, it’s a good time to explore the topic around a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra versus Galaxy S22 Ultra comparison.
Naturally, anyone who’s still holding on to the Galaxy S22 Ultra could be swayed enough to make the upgrade once the Galaxy S24 Ultra is unveiled. Or perhaps, you might be undecided right now about which phone to pick if you’re coming from an entirely different Android smartphone brand.
While the Galaxy S22 Ultra is almost a couple of years old at this point, it still holds up nicely against some of the best Android phones around today. And with all the epic deals we’ve been seeing around the S22 Ultra, the savings could be substantial enough to choose it over Sammy’s upcoming flagship. Although, meaty upgrades around the camera and new AI features could make a compelling argument for the S24 Ultra.
Regardless of where you sit, we’ll dial into all that we know about the upcoming S24 Ultra and see how it handles against the older S22 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Specifications
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Price and availability
When it comes to savings, you’ll naturally find more discounts with the Galaxy S22 Ultra. It initially launched in February 2022 for $1,199, but nowadays you can find several deals for much less. For example, Best Buy’s selling it for as low as $399, which is insane because you don’t find phones in this price range with quadruple cameras — or top-of-the-line specs.
Meanwhile, we can expect the Galaxy S24 Ultra to launch at the same $1,199 premium to match previous models. But given how we saw price increases with a couple of its main rivals, the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 8 Pro, it could be possible to go up to follow the trend. We certainly hope that’s not the case.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Design
While we don’t expect a huge shift with the design language of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it’s tipped to get a minor facelift with Samsung potentially swapping out the aluminum frame for titanium, similar to what Apple did for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This swap would not only increase its durability, but it also would contribute to making the phone much lighter.
That’s important because the Galaxy S22 Ultra feels dense at 8.04 ounces.
Beyond that, the latest leaked images of the Galaxy S24 Ultra indicate that it’s wider than the current S23 Ultra — with slightly less rounded edges. If these are to be believed, then it’ll be interesting to see if the S24 Ultra does turn out to be lighter (or just as light) as the S22 Ultra.
Of course, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is distinguished for its quadruple cameras, which we suspect to see as well with the new model. And lastly, the S Pen seems to be a definite fit for the upcoming flagship, but there’s no indication if Samsung’s going to be tweaking it in any way to differentiate from the existing functions already found with the S22 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Display
So far, it doesn’t appear that Sammy’s going to be increasing the size of its display or resolution for the Galaxy S24 Ultra — so that would keep it at a 6.8-inches QHD AMOLED. Instead, we’ll perhaps see bigger changes around its peak brightness output.
Considering how the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 8 Pro featured brighter screens than their predecessors, we expect Samsung to follow suit. Word has it that the S24 Ultra’s panel could shine as bright as 2,500 nits, which would easily beat the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s peak rating of 1,359 nits in our testing. That’s important to know because the Galaxy S23 Ultra reached a lower mark of 1,225 nits.
Aside from that, there’s also a rumor hinting at a faster display refresh rate with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Galaxy S22 Ultra’s 120Hz refresh rate is already oh-so smooth, so we can imagine what a 144Hz adaptive refresh rate would look like with the two next to one another. This could result in smoother navigation and gameplay for the S24 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Cameras
Every year it seems like the camera specs in Samsung’s flagship series keep on getting better — much like how the S23 Ultra’s main 200MP camera is a pixel cruncher compared to the 108MP one in the S22 Ultra before it. We expect to get a quadruple camera arrangement with the S24 Ultra, consisting of a main 200MP camera, 12MP ultrawide, and two telephoto cameras.
Given the two-year gap we’ll probably have between the S22 Ultra and S24 Ultra, there could be an immense difference in performance between them — thanks partly to newer techniques and image processing.
What really could be interesting is how the S24 Ultra’s long range telephoto camera compares because instead of expecting a similar 10x telephoto camera as the S22 Ultra, the rumors allude to a shorter 5x telephoto one — which would supplement the other 3x telephoto camera. You might find this strange, but considering how AI and other photo processing techniques have drastically improved, this 5x telephoto camera could possibly produce better results than the 10x telephoto camera in the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
We’re confident about this because we’ve seen it already in the iPhone 15’s 2x telephoto camera, along with how we saw the Pixel 8 Pro’s 5x telephoto camera record videos that were just as good as the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 10x telephoto.
In any event, Samsung could be widening the gap for its new phone with the help of artificial intelligence. It’s unknown what could make an appearance with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but Samsung has already teased the potential of Samsung Gauss, which is an on-device generative AI model that could give the S24 Ultra its own set of editing magic.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Performance
Two generations is wide enough for the Galaxy S24 Ultra to flex its muscle power. That’s because it’s probably going to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which easily showed significant gains in leaked benchmark tests. And if that’s not enough, there could be a variant of the Galaxy S24 Ultra running the Exynos 2400.
Whatever the outcome, both chipsets are expected to outperform the S22 Ultra’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. Since the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is built with AI in mind, it could make processes run faster on the S24 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Battery life and charging
While it’s no slouch in the battery life department, it’s unlikely for the S22 Ultra to outlast the forthcoming S24 Ultra — even though the S22 Ultra held up nicely in our battery benchmark test with a time of 10 hours and 18 minutes. That’s mainly due to the expected power management optimizations of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, while rumors about a stacked battery system could lengthen the divide amongst the two.
On the other hand, we’re dying to know if Samsung will be making any meaningful improvements to the S24 Ultra’s recharging abilities due to incorporating a stacked battery system. Meaning, we could potentially see upwards of 65W wired charging with the S24 Ultra — versus the 45W wired charging of the S22 Ultra. Now as much as we’d love to see wireless charging improved for the S24 Ultra, that prospect doesn’t line up to the rumors. In fact, we could continue to see the same 15W wireless charging speed.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Verdict
Everything about the Galaxy S24 Ultra should be better than the Galaxy S22 Ultra given the two year gap. That's enough time to notice huge disparities in every category, but what's probably the biggest incentive for the Galaxy S24 Ultra would be new AI-assisted experiences that could have the most impact between these two phones.
But then again, sales and discounts have already made the Galaxy S22 Ultra attractive. You'll absolutely save a lot more money by choosing the two year old model. If saving money is top priority for you, then you can't go wrong going with the S22 Ultra.
