No-one Ever Notices the Middle Child

 For the last few years Samsung has released three flagships at once with each S-Series launch, a base model, a Plus and an Ultra.

Some years the difference between the three variants is mostly just a matter of screen size. Other times there have been significant physical features available on one or two models but not others. 

So what's the story in 2022? And is the middle option the Goldilocks of the S22 range? Just right?

By now, even if you're only semi-interested in high-end Android handsets, you'll know Samsung's S22 range is quite a departure from what we've seen previously. This is because the S22 Ultra is more of a Galaxy Note by another name; built-in stylus, square-cornered display - all the things Note users used to love and can now choose again. 

That left the S22 and S22+ to be the more logical evolution from last year's S-Series phones. At first glance these devices don't look dramatically different from their S21 predecessors; similar size, shape and weight - even the camera configuration kind of looks the same.

But once I picked up the S22+ in my hand, I could immediately start to see a few enhancements. Most obviously, the S22+ has now gone back to a glass rear panel, which adds a much more premium look and feel over the plastic backed S21+. Samsung has gone with Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus front and back - which is pretty much the toughest glass you'll find on a phone right now. What's more, the back isn't a glossy fingerprint magnet like all-glass phones often are. Instead it's an attractive matte finish, which also makes the handset a little easier to hold.

Only a little easier, because the S22+ now has quite sharp corners along the edges, due in part to the display being flat, no longer curving down the sides. This makes the whole thing feel a lot more like a certain other flagship phone with a certain fruit embossed into the back. The S22+ comes in Phantom Black, Phantom White, Pink Gold and yes, because it's all the trend these days, Green.

That display is 6.6-inches of exquisite viewing pleasure, by the way. Samsung is truly leading the way right now when it comes to variable refresh rates, brightness and clarity. Whether you're streaming, browsing or gaming, inside or out, everything absolutely pops. And thanks to an amazing 240Hz touch sampling rate in Gaming Mode, the screen response is faster and more intuitive than anything else on the market.

In fact, although I'm not much of a gamer, I can't deny how immersive the experience is on this device. As I smashed my way through roadblocks and jumped over pesky police cruisers in Need for Speed, not only did the screen pick up every detail of every reflection in every puddle but the stereo speaker array did a pretty convincing job of the pursuing helicopters overhead.

This is all made possible with the oh-so-beefy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8-Gen-1 processor - the fastest and most powerful chip available for Android phones right now. Just like the even beefier S22 Ultra, this year the Plus gets the Snapdragon chip here in New Zealand instead of the less-favoured Exynos option we normally end up with. It's just like living in America.

That new and improved little brain combines with Samsung's latest advances in imaging tech to provide some of the best smartphone photography you could ask for, from both the forward-facing, 10MP camera with its generous 80-degree field-of-view, through to the triple-lens primary shooter. This consists of a 12MP Ultra-Wide, a 50MP Wide and a 10MP Telephoto - the latter providing first-rate, 3x optical zoom images.

Obviously this setup is a slight step down from the all-things-for-all-situations blunderbuss of a camera found on the S22 Ultra but it's still a hell of a shooter - especially in low light and from distance.

Unfortunately, because the camera module has been pushed right to the very top left-hand corner of the rear panel, I found I inadvertently ruined many of my landscape shots because my finger got in the way. In fact, it's actually very difficult to hold the phone in a way that stops this from happening - especially with my clumsy, fat fingers. Hopefully I can train myself to get this right, as the vast majority of my pics without a finger in them look amazing.

As do the vids. Obviously, you get the fabulous Samsung camera app with all its easily accessible features - like Director's View, which now lets you film from both front and rear cameras simultaneously and can instantly swap zoom between the three rear-lenses while you're shooting or streaming.

As usual for any Samsung flagship, the One UI software experience is bordering on perfect - as far as I'm concerned anyway. Why it's so hard for other manufacturers to deliver features like rotating home and lock screens is a mystery to me but kudos to Samsung for coming up with the goods here.

Further kudos for their pledge of four years of software updates - nice to know your new phone won't go obsolete until at least 2027!

Integration with Windows devices continues to develop and improve and it's now easier than ever to bring up your Galaxy's screen on your laptop or PC. This is a productive way to keep track of notifications while you're working, reply to messages on whatever platform and to share files between devices.

Battery life and charging speeds are nothing to write home about - if those are your primary concerns there are other devices out there making crazy fast charging claims and there are certainly phones with bigger batteries. That being said, I've had no issues getting through my long days, regardless of how I've been using the phone. It probably helps that I've populated my world with wireless charges wherever I go - it's hard for me to put my phone down without it being charged at the same time.

It's rare I pick up a Samsung flagship and don't enjoy the experience. The S22+ is certainly no exception. If I had the opportunity to make this my primary handset, I'd leap at it - the display is sublime, the processing power class-leading and the camera array one of the best available. I don't play games but if I did, this'd be a great phone to do it with. Starting at NZ$1599.00, I think the Ultra's slightly smaller brother is pretty good bang for your buck.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy S22+.