Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra design leaks show big changes — Note fans will love it

Renders of alleged Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra design
(Image credit: @OnLeaks/@UniverseIce)

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). 

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.

Renders of alleged Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus design

(Image credit: @OnLeaks/@91Mobiles)

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. 

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. 

Renders of alleged Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra design

(Image credit: @OnLeaks/@Digit.in)

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. 

Sean Riley

Sean Riley has been covering tech professionally for over a decade now. Most of that time was as a freelancer covering varied topics including phones, wearables, tablets, smart home devices, laptops, AR, VR, mobile payments, fintech, and more.  Sean is the resident mobile expert at Laptop Mag, specializing in phones and wearables, you'll find plenty of news, reviews, how-to, and opinion pieces on these subjects from him here. But Laptop Mag has also proven a perfect fit for that broad range of interests with reviews and news on the latest laptops, VR games, and computer accessories along with coverage on everything from NFTs to cybersecurity and more.