Now that the iPhone 13 is out the rumor mill is ready to move on to its next target and given that the Pixel 6 is all but announced, that means the Samsung Galaxy S22 is in its crosshairs.
A series of design leaks for the Galaxy S22 lineup popped up over the last few days with @OnLeaks kicking them off. And then a second set based on @UniverseIce feedback on a second prototype design for the Galaxy S22 Ultra appeared (via Notebookcheck).
- Best smartphones in 2021
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review: The first foldable you should buy
- The best phone deals in September 2021
From a design standpoint, the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus renders are virtually indistinguishable from the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus. Both reflect the Contour Cut Camera housing that was introduced this year and include the now-familiar front-facing hole-punch camera on the nearly bezel-less display.
Now that people have seen the atrocious results from the under-display camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 3, it should come as no surprise at all that it isn't considered ready for prime time placement in the S series. Other rumored specs include a 50MP primary camera, upgraded fast charging (possibly 65W), and of course the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra is where things get much more interesting and honestly completely baffling to me. The two prototype designs shared by @OnLeaks break away from the new camera housing, something that at long last gives Samsung phones a unique and easily identifiable profile.
Following @UniverseIce comments on my #GalaxyS22Ultra, I asked my sources to investigate. Seems a prototype w/ uniform body frame indeed exist but I got no confirmation on the camera housing design. Nonetheless, here two updated renders depicting these prospective differences. pic.twitter.com/14bNzFxqDPSeptember 26, 2021
One design moves the camera array back in from the edge of the phone with an array of five cameras that looks a bit like a boxy letter "P." The alternative essentially mirrors that design, but splits the array into two parts with a triple camera stack that looks identical to what we had on the Galaxy S20 and then a much smaller array for the other two. It's hard to imagine from a manufacturing standpoint that the second design would make it through, but stranger things have happened.
As for the rest of the Galaxy S22 Ultra design in this leak, this would clearly explain the lack of a Galaxy Note this year as the Galaxy S22 Ultra takes on the Note's flat top and bottom with rounded sides look and most importantly adds a silo to house the S Pen. While Samsung has been pushing S Pen support in other devices, there is no question that being able to store the S Pen in the phone is a critical part of the appeal.
Note fans will likely be ecstatic if this rumored design comes to pass, this is the return of the Note in all but name. Galaxy S Ultra fans might be less enamored with it given the rumored poor response to S Pen support on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, but perhaps this will be another chance to win them over.
