While we're a few months away at least from the reveal of the Samsung Galaxy S22, rumors, leaks and renders for the next Android flagship from Samsung are coming thick and fast. And the latest new comes in the form a new Galaxy S22 Ultra renders.
And they look very nice, all thanks to the adoption of a "waterdrop" design for the largest phone expected in the Galaxy S22 series. This design imagines all five rear cameras on the rumored Galaxy S22 Ultra to be separate rather than in a camera bump or module. While the cameras look like they protrude from the phone's back a little, if this design comes to fruition, there'll be less of a camera bump than the one we saw in the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.
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How legit are these renders? Well they were created by render artist Parvez "Technizio Concept" in conjunction with LetsGoDigital, which consulted with Korean source "Super Roader" and then gave the details to Khan to bring to life.
So there's arguably something behind this concept. After all it does imagine a deinsg that looks like it has the DNA of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Given there's not going to be a Samsung Galaxy Note Ultra 21, the phablet phone will live on in the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
However, this design does row against that of other renders we've seen so far. If you haven't been keeping up with the rumors, there's already been two previous concepts of how the rear camera of the Galaxy S22 Ultra would look. Initially, there was the "P"-shaped block design, a blend of the familiar in-line and rectangular camera blocks seen on many modern smartphones.
Then there was the "11" design which split the cameras across two parallel lines. Now this design suggests there won't be a block at all, just the lenses sitting flush with the back of the phone.
This design is a pretty unique look among Android smartphones, which all tend to use rectangular or oblong-shaped camera blocks to house their rear sensors. It should also make for a more symmetrical device that doesn't rock annoyingly when you tap it when it's laid down flat, and could feel lighter due to the lack of excess material over the cameras. It may even feel perfectly balanced in your hand if Samsung arranges the weight of the internal components correctly.
Samsung's already been experimenting with a design like this on its cheaper devices. The Galaxy A32 looks an awful lot like this new camera bump-less concept, although it likely uses smaller, less advanced cameras than we'll see on the Galaxy S22 series. Making this work with flagship-grade sensors and up to two telephoto lenses (as has been rumored) would be a much bigger feat of engineering, although one that Samsung is no doubt capable of managing if this leaked design is real.
The only flagship phone we know of with this kind of rear camera arrangement is the LG Velvet. In our review of it last year we commented on how unique the design was in comparison to the camera block design, and how the non-protruding cameras made for an overall smoother-looking phone. The Velvet's quality didn't stop LG from quitting the phone game altogether, but you can't deny the phone's a handsome slab of glass.
FrontTron, a leaker with a strong track record, responded positively to this concept, giving it additional credibility. Veteran leaker Ice Universe also tweeted that the "P" and "11" designs previously promoted by leakers (including themselves) weren't quite accurate, and then responded "100% !" to LGD's post. They then followed up with another post suggesting the new design is to help save weight added from the addition of a built-in S Pen stylus.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra possible colors and specs
Also part of Super Roader's leak are the colors of the Galaxy S22 Ultra. He mentions burgundy red, white and black as the colorways that Samsung will supposedly offer.
The name of the phone is seemingly confirmed as the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Since the phone is suggested to feature an included S Pen, some suspected that Samsung would market this phone as a Galaxy Note model.
Like the current Galaxy S21 Ultra, we are anticipating the S22 Ultra to use a 6.8-inch display, and to be equipped with a 108MP main camera, alongside 12MP ultrawide, 3x telephoto and 10x telephoto sensors and a laser autofocus on the back, with a 40MP selfie camera on the front. We're expecting another large 5,000 mAh battery in the Ultra model, and potentially up to 45W or 65W charging, although it may have disappointing 25W charging once again.
The S22 series as a whole may make use of a new Exynos 2200 chipset with AMD graphics, or the Snapdragon 895 in certain countries. The three expected models: Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra, have all seemingly had their schematics and precise measurements leaked, and the S22 Ultra should be the definite standout.
Update: a new Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus leak reveals all about the cameras.
