When you are spending $2000 or more for a phone then there has to be something that makes it special. The Oppo OPPO Find X5 Pro for instance has the insane Hasselblad camera technology in it. Well the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has one trick up its sleeve, well in its s-pen Slot….It has a s-pen.
Sturdy bit of tech
Having played with other phones like the Oppo Find X5 Pro and the Oppo Find X5 Lite, there is something to be said for them being light. Both of those phones don’t feel like you are holding the kind of kit you are. The S22 Ultra does feel like you are holding a solid bit of kit.
This is a weird horses for courses moment because this will appeal to people in different ways. I definitely liked how metalic and sturdy the S22 Ultra felt and it certainly had the solid build that gave me confidence in its build.
The disadvantage to this is that despite being about the same size as the Find X5 Pro, I wasn’t that comfortable using it in one hand. The large phone size is fine because I have massive monster hands, but the weight was enough that it didn’t balance on my fingers well on the go.
But the S-Pen
As previously mentioned, this phone was way more comfortable being used with two hands rather than one. This seems even more by design thanks to that slick little S-Pen in the bottom. A press of a button and you are writing away on your S22 Ultra and swishing through menus with ease.
The biggest benefit to this was when it came to signing PDF’s which I handily did a couple of times when using the phone. If you have tried signing something on your phone with your finger, you know the struggle is real. Again. this device seems like a good fit for a work device.
It has been a while since I have personally used a S-Pen as most touch screens I use my stubby fingers. Seconds in I remembered how slick it can be. This is where it comes down to the use case a bit more though. For the general phone in my pocket, I won’t be getting out the S-Pen a lot as I whip it out, change a song or check a text, flick it back in my pocket.
If you are more of a writer or designer, then this addition will likely make this one your no brainer.
A cracking screen to edit your pictures
One of these use cases for the S-Pen will be if you are likely to be editing your photos on the phone. Of course for that to be relevant you need some sweet ass cameras. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has some powerful cameras with the 108MP main cameras allowing for a 10X Optical zoom. This is truly impressive.
This is where we get back to the right phone for the right people. The insane detail in the pictures definitely mean that if you are design or photo minded then you can do some truly amazing stuff. Shot for shot I prefered the ones I got from the Find X5 Pro with no modification. Both natively are pretty extraordinary though.
The screen itself is insane quality which will also help for those people who are in their designy moods, but also for those watching some Netflix on the train. I mean at a certain point you have good enough quality on a small screen, but I enjoyed watching anime on the way to work on this beast.
Battery Life
One thing I was disappointed in was the battery life. In general usage I was running out of juice by the end of the day. This isn’t so bad when you have had a phone for a year or two and have been thrashing it and installed heaps of apps you don’t use any more, but I found it a touch concerning this early on.
The charging was pretty good. It took about an hour to get a full charge which is fine. Not mind blowing but it will get you enough juice if you are running low to get through a day.
A Galaxy worth exploring
The thing that will make the decision for most is that comfort level. There are a bunch of phones in the price range that have pretty similar specs and have slight variations. Using this for a short period of time I didn’t adjust to it, but it is possible that after a month I might have. I still prefer a lighter phone that sits on the edges of my fingers without being worried I’ll drop it. But for those that will get lots of benefits from the S-Pen, this is a bit of a banger.
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