Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Galaxy S21: What are the biggest differences?

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Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Milky way S21: What are the biggest differences?

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Now that the Samsung Galaxy S22 is hither, it'south fourth dimension to see what changes Samsung has fabricated from last year's Galaxy S21. On the surface, a Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Galaxy S21 comparison reveals an iterative upgrade. The new model looks similar, offers very similar photographic camera hardware, and promises a minor crash-land in performance thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor.

But in that location are some primal differences between the ii phones that highlight what's new for this twelvemonth'due south flagships. (As for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. Milky way S21 Ultra, that's another comparison.) . Here's how the Milky way S22 differs from the Galaxy S21.

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Galaxy S21: Specs

	Galaxy S22 Plus	Galaxy S22	Milky way S21 Plus	Galaxy S21
Price	$999	$799	$999	$799
Android version	12, 1 UI 4.1	12, One UI four.i	12, 1 UI 4	12, One UI 4
Display	6.half dozen-inch Dynamic AMOLED FHD+	6.1-inch Dynamic AMOLED FHD+	half-dozen.seven-inch Dynamic AMOLED FHD+	6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED FHD+
Refresh rate	48Hz-120Hz	48Hz-120Hz	48-120Hz	48-120Hz
CPU	Snapdragon 8 Gen one	Snapdragon 8 Gen one	Snapdragon 888	Snapdragon 888
RAM	8GB	8GB	8GB	8GB
Storage	128GB, 256GB	128GB, 256GB	128GB, 256GB	128GB, 256GB
Rear cameras	50MP (f/1.8) main, 12MP (f/2.ii) ultrawide, 10MP (f/2.4) 3x telephoto	50MP (f/1.8) main, 12MP (f/2.2) ultrawide, 10MP (f/2.iv) 3x telephoto	12MP (f/1.viii) master, 12MP (f/ii.2) ultrawide, 64MP (f/2.0) 3x hybrid telephoto	12MP (f/i.8) primary, 12MP (f/2.two) ultrawide, 64MP (f/ii.0) 3x hybrid telephoto
Front camera	10MP (f/2.2)	10MP (f/2.ii)	10MP (f/two.2)	10MP (f/2.two)
Video	Up to 8K 24 fps	Upward to 8K 24 fps	Up to 8K 24 fps	Upwards to 8K 24 fps
Battery	4,500 mAh	3,700 mAh	4,800 mAh	iv,000 mAh
Charging	45W wired, 15W wireless	25W wired, 15W wireless	25W wired, 15W wireless	25W wired, 15W wireless
Size	three x 6.ii x 0.3 inches	two.8 x five.seven x 0.three inches	2.98 10 6.36 x 0.31 in	two.80 x 5.97 x 0.31 i
Weight	vi.9 ounces	five.9 ounces	vii.05 ounces	five.96 ounces

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Galaxy S21: Price and availability

(Image credit: Samsung)

Fortunately, Samsung kept the prices the same this year. Available now, the Galaxy S22 starts at $799 but similar the Milky way S21.

And like with the Galaxy S21 series last year, the Galaxy S22 family is available from Samsung, besides equally most electronics retailers and cell phone carriers. Getting your easily on a Galaxy S22 is insanely easy.

The Milky way S22 come in blackness, white, greenish, and Pink Gold color options, with Graphite, Cream, Heaven Blue and Violet bachelor equally online-only options.

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Milky way S21: Design

Right off the bat, you'll notice several similarities between the look of the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S21. Both accept the profile blueprint that blends the camera module seamlessly into the side of the phone. It's a clean look and we're glad to see Samsung bring information technology dorsum for 2022. If anything, the design feels more than refined this time effectually.

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

The S22 isn't as tall as the S21, as Samsung has knocked 0.iii inches off the pinnacle of the new phone to suit a smaller screen. (More on that in a moment.) Every bit a result, any Galaxy S21 instance you lot have is unlikely to fit Samsung's new phone. The new Plus is meanwhile 0.i inches shorter than the S21 Plus.

The new Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 come in black, white, green, and pink golden. Gone is the lavender imperial from the Galaxy S21, which was quite pretty. Simply the new dark-green more than than makes up for information technology.

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Milky way S21: Display

Although the new phones look like to last yr'south, the display sizes differ slightly. The Galaxy S22 has a 6.one-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen versus the Galaxy S21'southward 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED. The Galaxy S22 Plus sports a 6.6-inch AMOLED console, which is smaller than the vi.7-inch screen on the Galaxy S21 Plus.

(Image credit: Samsung)

While the resolutions have remained largely the aforementioned (FHD+), Samsung has improved the refresh rate capabilities for its new phones. The Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus could crank up their refresh rate to 120Hz, but could only drop down to 48Hz. That didn't assist battery life much, since both S21 models performed noticeably worse with their adaptive refresh rate modes active.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Nosotros're not sure why Samsung shrunk the displays for the S22 models, though 0.1 inches is hardly much to get upset about. The almost exciting matter is the wider range for the adaptive refresh rate fashion. A 10Hz to 120Hz range is a good spread and should help the overall experience feel smoother on the Galaxy S22.

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Galaxy S21: Cameras

It looks similar cameras volition be the expanse where the Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Galaxy S21 distinctions are the sharpets. Both phones characteristic a triple lens assortment, yes, but that's about where the similarities end.

The Galaxy S22'due south master sensor is a 50MP (f/1.viii) wide angle lens, whereas the S21 used a 12MP (f/1.8) principal camera. For ultrawides, the S22 and S21 seem to share the aforementioned setup: a 12MP (f/2.two) sensor.

(Epitome credit: Tom'southward Guide)

For telephoto, the phones once over again diverge. On the newer telephone, you get a 10MP (f/2.four) shooter with a full 3x optical zoom, while the S21 sports a 64MP hybrid 3x (f/two.0) sensor. Don't get lost in the megapixel count, still, since the S22 has a larger sensor to allow for more light. And around front end, the Galaxy S22 has a 10MP (f/2.2) forepart-facing photographic camera, but like the Galaxy S21's 10MP (f/two.2).

In terms of software, the Galaxy S22 has more in common with the Milky way S21. Samsung is going all-in on computational photography, including upgrades to the portrait and night modes. Information technology's very likely that the Milky way S21 volition get these aforementioned features down the line via a software update, once the S22 has had some time to shine on its own.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Other S21 features return to the S22, like Zoom Lock and Director Mode. Arguably, photos from the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S21 will look similar plenty to most people, though the newer telephone ought to surge alee with nighttime and portrait mode performance. In the latter's case, Samsung has mentioned a stereo depth map, significant that the bokeh effect volition exist smarter and account for more human-like aspects, like pilus. Pet portraits ought to improve, as well.

The Galaxy S22 and Milky way S21 volition share the aforementioned max digital zoom at 30x. With Zoom Lock, the phones can intelligently stabilize your zoomed-in epitome in the viewfinder, helping to land a amend shot. But unless Samsung has improved the algorithm that cleans up the concluding paradigm, we're not certain that a 30x epitome volition look all that adept. Samsung could take a page out of Google's Super Res Zoom book (which turns to software to drastically meliorate digitally zoomed images).

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Galaxy S21: Performance and battery life

As with any new generation of device, the Galaxy S22 volition patently sport some stronger operation cheers to the latest chip from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. In some international markets, the Galaxy S22 is expected to feature Samsung's own Exynos 2200 chip.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The new system-on-chip isn't a huge leap over the Snapdragon 888, the processor that the Galaxy S21 uses. In certain benchmarks, the performance boost is marginal at best. And that means Qualcomm all the same hasn't defenseless upward to Apple tree's own A15 Bionic bit (the 1 in the iPhone 13 and what we wait to come across in the upcoming budget-friendly iPhone SE 3). The official jury is still out on the Galaxy S22's benchmarks, only we'll take those in the coming days.

Benchmarks only tell one story, and we wait that most people volition hardly detect a difference in operation between the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S21. That'southward how single-generation CPU leaps piece of work. If you're coming from Galaxy S20, S10, or an even older phone, that's when you'll detect a boost.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

For batteries, the Galaxy S22 features a 3,700 mAh power pack, compared to the Galaxy S21's larger 4,000 mAh battery. The Galaxy S22 Plus is powered past a 4,500 mAh battery, which is smaller than the Galaxy S21 Plus' 4,800 mAh.

These smaller batteries give united states suspension, considering that the non-Ultra Galaxy S21 models weren't exactly stellar in terms of battery life. In fact, the regular Milky way S21 in its adaptive refresh charge per unit manner was downright awful in the Tom's Guide battery life examination.

(Epitome credit: Tom's Guide)

We hope Samsung has made some improvements hither, but nosotros're yet left wondering why Samsung would choose to use smaller batteries in the S22 and S22 Plus. (The Galaxy S22 Ultra has the same five,000 mAh power pack equally the Galaxy S21 Ultra.)

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Galaxy S21: Software

The good news here is that the software feel between the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S21 ought to be the same, at least for the nearly office. That's because the S21 already has Android 12 and One UI 4 — the S22 will launch with the same Android version and One UI four.ane.

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

Plain, when we reviewed the Galaxy S21 series, we analyzed an older software version. Just based on our experience with One UI 4, the Galaxy S22 will certainly accept a lot to say when it comes to Android. That'south because Android 12 introduced a host of new customization and privacy features, all of which Samsung has seemingly adopted and tweaked.

One area where the Milky way S22 will stand alee is in its support lifespan. That'due south because information technology'due south a newer device. Samsung has a 3 twelvemonth/4 year standard update policy for all of its phones. Only according to the press release we received, Samsung is bumping up that schedule to 4 years of Android updates. Samsung likewise says this policy will apply retroactively to the Galaxy S21.

Samsung Milky way S22 vs. Galaxy S21: Outlook

As you can see, the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S21 share a lot similarities. From familiar designs to analogous software experiences, the new Galaxy S model don't stand up out likewise much from their predecessors — the Galaxy S22 Ultra is some other story.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

If you're rocking a Galaxy S21 or Milky way S21 Plus, you likely won't demand to rush out to buy a Galaxy S22. Yous'll hardly detect the difference in performance, and we accept nonetheless to encounter how the cameras compare. Odds are, you'll get like versions of the new camera software features later, also.

But if you're coming from something older, like the Milky way S20, then this upgrade might be worth information technology (though our review will have the final say). You'll go a newer device with a better screen (and refresh rate) and longer support. The performance jump will depend on what telephone you're coming from. Be certain to check out our best Galaxy S22 deals folio before you make your purchase, only to ensure you become the best offer possible.

Jordan is the Phones Editor for Tom's Guide, roofing all things phone-related. He'south written about phones for over five years and plans to go on for a long while to come. He loves nada more than relaxing in his domicile with a book, game, or his latest personal writing project. Jordan likes finding new things to dive into, from books and games to new mechanical keyboard switches and fun keycap sets. Jordan tends to lurk on social media, but you can best reach him on Twitter.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/samsung-galaxy-s22-vs-galaxy-s21

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