Samsung Galaxy S22 release date, price, news and leaks Samsung Galaxy S22

The Samsung Galaxy S21Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra have only recently hit shop shelves – most of those shelves are virtual owing to the Covid-19 pandemic – but we’re already starting to hear about the Samsung Galaxy S22 range, and considering what the company could improve for the phones.Other upcoming phones

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Little is known about what Samsung will be concocting for its next flagship S-range smartphone, and we’re likely to hear of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 before we hear about the S22, but with the Samsung Galaxy Note 21 likely cancelled, the S22 could be Samsung's next mainstream flagship.

Below is where we’ll be collating all the leaks, rumors and news we hear about the Samsung Galaxy S22 until its launch, likely in early 2022. We’ll be keeping track of details of the Galaxy S22 release date, price, features and much more.

Then below that you'll find our ultimate wish list of what we want to see Samsung improve for its next Galaxy S flagship range.Latest news

Camera rumors: it looks as though the Galaxy S22 isn’t going to bring back the 3D time-of-flight (ToF) sensor that we last saw on the Galaxy S20 phone series.

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? The 2022 flagship Samsung phone
  • When is it out? Probably early 2022, maybe January
  • What will it cost? Expect $799 / £769 / AU$1,249 and up

Samsung Galaxy S22 release date and price

Little is known about the Samsung Galaxy S22 release date, but we’d expect Samsung to follow a similar schedule to its 2021 plans where the company pulled forward its launch compared to previous years and revealed the phone in mid-January.

Does that mean we’ll see the Samsung Galaxy S22 series in January 2022? There’s no guarantee, and Samsung may decide to default back to its usual spot of releasing in February or March. That said, the company may even bring the launch forward and announce the handsets even earlier.

Samsung Galaxy S21
(Image credit: TechRadar)

An earlier launch is especially possible since it looks like there probably won't be a Samsung Galaxy Note 21, meaning there will have been a big gap between mainstream (read: non-foldable) Samsung flagships.

Basically, no-one knows yet what to expect from Samsung but we’ll be sure to provide more details when leaks start giving us a clearer expectation of the release date.

It’s similar for the price, so we don't know anything for sure yet but we’d expect around the same price as the Galaxy S21 range. The Samsung Galaxy S21 starts at $799 / £769 / AU$1,249, the S21 Plus starts at $999 / £949 / AU$1,549 and the S21 Ultra starts at $1,199 / £1,149 / AU$1,849.

Below you can see a variety of top deals that are currently available on Samsung's 2021 flagship series.

News and leaks

When it comes to the rear camera on the Galaxy S22, it sounds very much like it won't have a 3D time-of-flight (ToF) sensor on it. That's no real surprise – it wasn't on the Galaxy S21 either – but it might disappoint those who wanted it to make a return.

We’re yet to hear anything else specifically about the Samsung Galaxy S22 in terms of what specs to expect. We can glean a few pieces of information from some wider Samsung leaks though.

For example, one leak suggested Samsung is already working on its Exynos 9855 chipset, and it’s expected that this will be ready for the 2022 handset. Little is known about that chip, but it gives us an idea of the model to expect.

Samsung has also confirmed that it won’t be including chargers in the box with future smartphones, so you should expect to buy a separate charger alongside your Samsung flagship if you’re not already equipped with one. 

What we want to see

While we wait to hear more about the Samsung Galaxy S22, we've put our heads together to think of some improvements we'd like to see the company make in its next flagship series.

1. Bring back microSD support 

This is a simple one, and it's a clear step down from Samsung, as the company has almost always offered microSD support in its smartphones. For those unclear on the situation, the Samsung Galaxy S21 range doesn't feature a microSD card slot, meaning you won't be able to expand the storage.

Bought the 128GB Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra? You're stuck with that amount of storage no matter how long you use the phone. This is the case from other brands such as Apple, but we preferred it when Samsung offered the option to expand your storage.

2. Include better storage options 

Samsung Galaxy S21
The Samsung Galaxy S21 (Image credit: TechRadar)

On the topic of storage, the Galaxy S22 range should offer further storage options for people to choose from. That's especially true if the company does decide it doesn't want to offer microSD card support again.

The Galaxy S21, for example, is just available in 128GB and 256GB storage sizes. If you want more space, you've got to opt for the larger Galaxy S21 Ultra.

3. Drop the price further 

The Samsung Galaxy S21 range dropped in price compared to 2020's smartphones, and that's an admirable feat from the company, but we'd like to see the prices drop even further in 2022.

Of course, this is a big ask. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is full of top-end tech, and it's unlikely the company will be able to drop the price down any further than it did with 2021's phone.

That said, there were a lot of spec drops when comparing the Galaxy S21 to the Galaxy S20. If the company continues to offer slightly lower specs than we're used to, we'd like to see the price drop down further to reflect that.

4. Make the standard editions more exciting 

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus (Image credit: Future)

The Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus may not be the most exciting smartphones, but they're still a great choice. We gave each of them four stars on TechRadar, and we went up to four and a half stars for the slightly more innovative Galaxy S21 Ultra.

We don't know how, but we'd like to see some more features trickle down to those two cheaper handsets that are almost certain to launch in 2022. We'd like to see the company bring top-end features like S Pen stylus support or the 100x digital zoom telephoto camera.

The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus were a bit of a downgrade on their predecessors, so we'd like to see Samsung make the next models a touch more exciting when they arrive in 2022.

5. Avoid Glasstic

This isn't something that everyone cares about, but the Galaxy S21 moved away from a glass rear and switched to a Glasstic back. That's Samsung's own name for a plastic and glass hybrid, and it doesn't feel as premium.

Both the Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra stuck with glass, and we'd like to see the company opt for that material on every Samsung Galaxy S22 model considering the price of these smartphones.

6. Increased stylus support on the Ultra 

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
An S Pen working with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Image credit: Samsung)

You no longer have to buy a Galaxy Note smartphone to experience the benefits of a Samsung stylus; you can now opt for the Galaxy S21 Ultra. We found the stylus experience to be helpful, and for those who want to have the accessory it's a great option.

That said, the S Pen support isn't as extensive as it is on the Galaxy Note range. You have to opt for the S Pen Pro, for example, to be able to get some features, but that isn't yet available. We're hoping in 2022 that Samsung's S Pen functionality for its S series will be more fully formed.