An alleged dummy unit of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has surfaced and it looks like the largest next-gen Galaxy phone could have a rather Note-like design.
Pigtou and David of xleaks7 have released images and video of a dummy phone that reportedly shows off the design Galaxy S22 Ultra. With a blockier rectangular design, squared-off corners and an interesting P-shaped rear camera module, the dummy unit looks like the lovechild of a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
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This design does make a lot of sense as previous rumors have claimed the Galaxy S22 Ultra is set to become a Galaxy Note replacement with a built-in stylus.
However, there's no sign of a compartment for the stylus on this model, which could indicate the stylus will be a separate or case-mounted accessory, as it is for the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
The overall size of the phone, though hard to see in these images, is also tipped to be slightly smaller than the current Galaxy S21 Ultra. That will be good news for anyone who finds the current model a bit too large.
Helping the phone's ergonomics will be the curved left and right edges, visible in a couple of the images. These could help the phone sit better in your hand, but not everyone likes curved displays since they can be susceptible to accidental touches.
The cameras on the back of the phone are arranged in a 'P' shape, seemingly a blend of the common linear and rectangular camera arrays we see on other Android phones. We expect this block to contain four cameras like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, consisting of main, ultrawide and dual telephoto sensors.
Other rumors have filled in more details of what we can look forward to on Samsung's next flagship phone. The Galaxy S22 line is believed to be powered by a new chipset with AMD ray-tracing graphics, which could prove invaluable for mobile gamers.
Samsung may also be improving the phone's photography chops by refining the 108MP camera of the S21 Ultra for the S22 Ultra, and introducing a 50MP main sensor on the S22 and S22 Plus models.
Samsung's Galaxy Note could live on in S22 Ultra
While we can't verify the legitimacy of this dummy unit, it does have a whiff of credibility about it, especially when it seems to back up other rumors of the Galaxy S22 integrating Note phone DNA. But regardless, we're rather excited.
The Galaxy Note phones might not be for everyone, but they are still some of the best Android phones, so it was a little sad to hear that the Galaxy Note 21 isn't happening and the Galaxy Notre line is basically dead. But seeing it live on in the Galaxy S22 Ultra could be music to our ears.
The Galaxy S20 Ultra and Galaxy S21 Ultra have always felt a bit like Note phones posing as oversized S-line handsets. So making them into pseudo Note successors makes sense. It also removed the annoying need to weigh up getting an Ultra Galaxy phone or waiting for an unannounced Note phone to pop up some six months later.
In some ways, if these rumors are legitimate, it means Samsung's line of standard flagship phones is tightened up, leaving it with more room in the year to concentrate on foldables and the successor to the impressive Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.
Of course, this is all speculation and we're not quite sure when the Galaxy S22 series will launch. One expected window is around January or February, which correlates with previous Galaxy S launch periods. An alternative rumor states that we may actually see a December launch for the S22 series. That could make it easier for Samsung to compete with the iPhone 13 or Google Pixel 6, but would mean the Galaxy S21 won't even be a year old before being replaced.
Either way, the Samsung Galaxy S22 is looking like a line up of phones that could set the standard for 2022 Android handsets.
