I think the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is still worth buying – and here's why

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
(Image credit: Future)

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra may be last year's tech, but that doesn't mean it should be put out to pasture.

For those of you thinking about what makes the best camera phone for photography or looking for the best Android phone out there, the most important question for many is, "Does it have a good camera?"

When we compared the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra with the then-latest iPhone, the iPhone 13 Pro, we found that looking at the specs on paper, it’s the Samsung that has the most impressive camera and lens lineup. 

The main camera on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra boasts a whopping 108MP resolution and is paired with an f/1.8 lens. As well as this, there’s a 12MP ultra-wide angle f/2.2 lens, plus two telephoto lenses, both paired with 10MP sensors. You get a 3x f/2.2 lens and a 10x f/4.9 lens and on top of that, digital zoom – called Space Zoom by Samsung – that gives you up to 100x zoom. 

So for any photography situation you come across in your day-to-day life, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has you covered – and thanks to that amazing resolution, you can even crop in on some images and still keep a good amount of detail.

No phone does more than the Galaxy S22 Ultra in its category. Yes it is a generation old as we write this, but don't let that put you off as this is a phone that really blows the socks off a lot on the market. Its camera zooms further, its screen shines brighter, its S-Pen is more responsive, and all the while the S22 Ultra doesn’t miss out on fundamentals like wireless charging. 

While it was the most expensive phone on the market at the time, however, now the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the same price as a mid-tier device but with flagship specs. Furthermore, its feature set reflects its price today, and from an imaging point of view, its quad-camera makes it the most complete photography experience on a smartphone to date. 

This means if I was the in the market for a new phone and I didn't want to spend the astronomical price of the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, I would honestly consider the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra for half the price, with close to current-gen specs.

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Sebastian Oakley
Ecommerce Editor

For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.


He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing.  He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association. 


He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.