When it comes to the battery life, things are a bit underwhelming as it's relatively unchanged from the S21 Plus. In short, this is as good as it gets – colours looked great and I was particularly impressed with the specular highlights when watching 4K HDR content on Netflix. Clinging to a time when the most expensive version of a flagship would simply get you a bigger screen, a bigger battery and not much else, its arrival is a particularly tough sell this year. It’s much easier to hold in one hand than the Ultra, too, and it’s only a smidge wider and taller than the iPhone 13 Pro’s dimensions.

S22 Plus review: Bigger and better? Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus review: Bigger and better?

Some of the S22’s components have been manufactured using repurposed fishing nets, while the volume of the packaging (made from fully recyclable materials) has been reduced by 19%.But the owners of a 2020 model phone or older could certainly find something attractive in it to upgrade to it and we're here to describe the new enhancements they might like to have. Its design doesn’t feel comfortable in your hand, and its software feels slower than on rival phones. One difference between this and the S21 Plus is the material - while that device was clad in plastic, this newer one uses glass, in particular Corning Gorilla Glass Victus Plus which is a hardy version of the material. But when we used an 80W charger on the phone, it still took over two hours to power from empty to full. Samsung could've done more here, in our opinion, but seeing that they have maintained the same performance is also a relief compared to some other 2022 phones on the market.

Samsung Galaxy S22+ 5G Mobile Phone 256GB SIM Free Android

Even better, your phone doesn’t drain quickly as the Samsung Galaxy S22 promises an all-day battery! The Contour Cut camera bump is fairly distinct and chic, as far as smartphone lens mounts go at least, but it certainly makes the phone look distinct. Android 12’s big feature is Material You, which lets you recolor aspects of the user interface to match your wallpaper, and that’s also here, to an extent, though it doesn’t affect too many aspects of the home screen and menus. The front-facing camera might sound iffy at just 10MP, but in practice images looked great, with vibrant colors and clear features.Compared to the Xiaomi 12 Pro, OnePlus 10 Pro or Realme GT 2 Pro, or even affordable and capable alternatives like the Moto G200, Realme GT and OnePlus Nord 2, this is a really tough sell. The different animations for swiping between menus, opening apps and unlocking the phone all take a little longer than we’d like, and together these factors make navigating the phone feel sluggish.

S22 Plus review | TechRadar Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus review | TechRadar

Wired USB-C charging speeds have increased to 45W from 25W, which in our tests achieved 50% charge from zero in roughly 25 minutes. That’s not 45W charging, and we’re not the only reviewers who’ve found issues with Samsung’s claims of 45W charging. Come to think of it, battery life was also down on the S22 Ultra, so it’s quite obvious that the Exynos 2200 just isn’t as power-efficient as the previous Exynos 2100. If, however, you're looking for the perfect Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus audio partner, you may want to check out our Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro review. It combines a 50MP wide-angle lens with a 12MP ultra-wide-angle and 10MP telephoto camera to give you zoom for days.

The Galaxy S22 Plus went on sale February 25 in the US, March 3 in Australia and March 11 in the UK. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus has the same four cameras as its non-Plus counterpart: that’s a 50MP f/1. Additionally, there are several colour options including Phantom Black, Phantom White, Pink Gold, Cream, Violet and Green to choose from. And in many other areas, this is a powerful phone, with a top-end chipset, decent battery life and great main camera.