Galaxy S22 Ultra tips and tricks: my top 10 and two pro tips

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is not only Samsung’s flagship smartphone but also something special in terms of functionality and performance. Here are my ten tips and tricks, plus two pro tips that took my usage to a new level. One of them helps especially those who are still struggling with the S22 Ultra’s performance.

The 10 tips

1. Pin notes to the always-on display. With the S Pen, you can write on the lock screen, which is not new and often useful. But after saving, the note disappears into the Notes app. So I find it handy that you can pin important notes to the always-on display so you always have them in front of you.
2. Brightness slider after one swipe. Until now, you had to pull down the notification panel twice, and on the second pull you often open a notification by accident. In the notification panel settings, you can set the slider to appear on the first swipe.
3. Turn on extra brightness. The display reaches a maximum of 1,750 nits. When the slider is all the way up, you can turn on Extra brightness under Display. Then it is very easy to read even in direct sunlight, and at night you light up the whole neighborhood. Adaptive brightness has to be turned off for that.
4. Increase video brightness. If adaptive brightness stops the display from getting quite as bright during the day, you can increase the screen brightness specifically for videos under Advanced features. You decide which apps the extra brightness should apply to.
5. Save app pairs. You can open split-screen view manually. But you can also save the chosen app pairing to open it again faster next time. For example, I love the combination of YouTube and OneNote.
6. Timer as a thumbnail. When you set a timer, a small image stays on the screen and is shown on top of all other apps. That way I always keep an eye on the remaining time without switching to the Clock app.
7. Change the font. Samsung is known for customization, with themes from the Galaxy Store. If you only want small changes, choose a new font under Display, Font size and style. The Galaxy Store also offers fonts to download, without having to apply a whole theme.
8. Combine emojis. The Samsung keyboard can now combine emojis with each other. Google’s Gboard keyboard has had this for a while as Emoji Kitchen. You become a kid again.
9. 108 megapixels and detail view. In the camera, you can set a resolution of 108 megapixels at the top left in 4:3 format, which makes an enormous difference. If that is not enough for you, turn on the detail view to the right of the shutter button for extra contrast and even better resolution.
10. Remove reflections from photos. Everyone knows by now that you can erase objects or people from the background in the camera app, because it was promoted so heavily. But there is another function: it lets you remove reflections from a photo.

The 2 pro tips

Pro tip 1: limit the battery to 85%. This improves the longevity of the battery. Under Settings, Battery and device care, Battery, More battery settings, you can set the battery to charge only up to 85% to extend its lifespan. That is my sustainability tip.

Pro tip 2: remove animations. This boosts performance, and switching between apps goes up to the speed of light. You can find it under Settings, Accessibility, Visibility enhancements. Admittedly, without animations, using the phone takes some getting used to at first because the response is very abrupt. After a short adjustment, I enjoy the fast, no-frills switching between apps. Since I turned the animations off, I haven’t had any performance problems. Definitely give this a try.