Test aborted on the Galaxy S22 Ultra: why I'm sending it back

Nine days after receiving the brand-new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, my hands-on review was supposed to be right here. Instead, I’m telling you why I’m packing the device back into a box. As always, I paid for it myself, so this is my very honest and slightly annoyed opinion.

The expectation

In mid-February, Samsung presented the new 2022 Galaxy S lineup with enormous fanfare, led by the flagship Galaxy S22 Ultra. It was supposed to bring a better display, a better camera and better performance, the usual advertising slogans. The year before, Samsung was still able to fully deliver on them with the Galaxy S21 Ultra. This year, disillusionment set in quickly for me.

The problems

Instead of better performance than last year, the operating system on my Galaxy S22 Ultra is very prone to errors. It lags and stutters everywhere.

• Scrolling and apps: The 120 Hertz display is bright and great, but there is no smooth scrolling anywhere to speak of. Apps open with an enormous delay. In normal use, that can really drive you insane.
• Camera: The photos are fabulously good. The camera plays in a league of its own. But then I open the video camera, and the whole picture stutters and jerks to an unbearable degree.
• Side panel: The last straw was a bug that makes the side panel crash as soon as I want to add apps.

Even a factory reset fixed nothing, and Samsung support couldn’t help me at all. Samsung did release an update after launch, but it didn’t improve anything at all on my device.

Price and context

For a smartphone that costs €1,149, this is absolutely unacceptable. I looked at other reviews, and the abysmal performance doesn’t occur only for me. Whether the cause is unfinished software or the Exynos processor Samsung used doesn’t matter to me. This shouldn’t happen even on a midrange smartphone, let alone a flagship.

I am aware that the problems are very pronounced for me, paired with further bugs. I have also read comments from users who have few or no problems with their S22 Ultra. So I don’t want to spoil the phone for anyone who is still waiting for theirs. Maybe I simply got a Monday unit.

Verdict: return and replacement

For now, I’m sending the Galaxy S22 Ultra back and having it exchanged for a replacement. I am 100 percent sure that Samsung will fix the problems with one or, if we’re unlucky, several updates. Until then, I’m setting the device aside and not testing any further, because it wouldn’t produce a good result.

Instead, on my channel I’m turning to the Galaxy Z Fold 3, which I haven’t tested yet. Unboxing and hands-on review will follow shortly.