Launched alongside its siblings the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Galaxy S22 Plus combines aspects of both its compatriots into a form factor that’s larger than the former and more compact than the latter. 

For those seeking a phone with a larger display than the Galaxy S22 but don’t require the sheer power of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Galaxy S22 Plus looks like an ideal Goldilocks of a phone but is it worth the money? Here’s our Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus review where we put it to the test!

What is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus

Broadly speaking, the Galaxy S22 Plus combines aspects of the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Ultra with a performance envelope closer to the former while having a price point that puts it in between both phones.

Considered as the successor to the Galaxy S21 Plus launched last year, the new Galaxy S22 Plus has the customary performance upgrades thanks to the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor which also powers the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S21 Plus, the new Galaxy S22 Plus is slightly slimmer and lighter while being slightly wider and incorporating an upgraded 50MP rear camera array, though the trade-off is that it has slightly reduced battery capacity. 

The chassis of the Galaxy S22 Ultra is also markedly tougher than anything that has come before as it’s made of a tougher Armor Aluminum alloy that was first deployed on the ultra premium Galaxy Z Fold3 last year while the front and rear are further protected by Gorilla Glass Victus+ that are rated to be tougher than conventional Gorilla Glass Victus. 

Out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus features the bare basics which means you get the phone itself, a USB-C charging cable, a SIM ejector pin and a quick start manual but aught else.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus Review – Specifications

While the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra took most of the limelight at Galaxy Unpacked 2022 several weeks ago, the Galaxy S22 Plus turned quite a few heads on account of its finely tuned blend features from the rest of the Galaxy S22 series that aim to make it the ideal everyman flagship phone.

In terms of design, size and specifications, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus is essentially an upscaled Galaxy S22 with a larger 6.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz display that’s bigger by 0.5-inches while featuring a substantially larger 4,500mAh battery.

The Galaxy S22 Plus also incorporates a few tricks from the Galaxy S22 Ultra, including the faster WiFi 6E standard, Ultra Wideband tech along with nippy 45W fast charging though it lacks support for an S Pen stylus. The usuals like Bluetooth 5.2 come as standard across the series.

Our Galaxy S22 Plus review sample came with the aforementioned Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, the very same SoC that also powers its siblings the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Ultra for units sold in Malaysia.

Of note here is that this is the first time in ages that Samsung has used a Snapdragon processor for the flagship Galaxy S series in Malaysia; typically this region usually uses their own Exynos processors which makes for a pleasant surprise indeed.

Alongside the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU, you get the same RAM and storage options as the Galaxy S22 with 8GB RAM and your choice of either 128GB or 256GB non-expandable storage options. Both the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus also retain an identical front 10MP selfie camera and rear 50MP triple camera array. This setup easily lets it go toe to toe with the vast majority of flagship phones by the competition bar a few exceptions.

You can check out the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus in the handy chart below:

Price	RM4,099 (8GB RAM/ 128GB storage) RM4,299 (8GB RAM/256GB storage)
Display	6.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 1080 x 2,340 pixels, Gorilla Glass Victus+, 120Hz, 393ppi
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
OS	Android 12 w/ OneUI 4.1
Memory	8GB RAM / 128GB or 256GB storage
Cameras	50MP F/1.8 w/ Dual Pixel PDAF and OIS + 10MP F/2.4 3x telephoto zoom w/ OIS + 12MP F/2.2 ultra wide angle w/ Super Steady video [rear] / 10MP F/2.2 Dual Pixel PDAF [front]
Battery	4,500mAh w/ 45W charging, 15W wireless charging, 4.5W reverse wireless charging
Size/Weight	157.4 x 75.8 x 7.6mm / 195g

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus Review – Build and Design

In terms of design, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus is aesthetically similar to the smaller Galaxy S22 albeit scaled up to be wider, taller and slightly heavier to accommodate the larger display and battery while retaining the same Contour Cut design that protects the rear triple camera housing. 

Our Galaxy S22 Plus review sample came in a fetching shade of Pink Gold across the flat backplate paved with Gorilla Glass Victus+ with shiny metallic gold trim on the sides and a matching colour scheme on the metallic Contour Cut camera housing. The matte finish on the backplate is pleasantly resistant to fingerprints though the display does require the occasional wipedown.

The rounded top and sides are otherwise bare though the bottom of the phone has a USB-C port, a speaker grille and a dual nano SIM card slot. The right of the phone features a power button and volume rocker.

Up front, our Galaxy S22 Plus review sample has a 6.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz display with an ultrasonic fingerprint reader in the lower quadrant, a tiny punch hole up top for the 10MP selfie camera along with a tiny grille for the speaker up top.  Combined with the additional speaker in the base of the phone, the Galaxy S22 Plus is able to offer up rich stereo sound tuned by Dolby Atmos.

Despite its larger size compared to the Galaxy S22, our Galaxy S22 Plus review sample was still comfortable enough to use one-handed and the premium materials and top-shelf finish used in its construction lent it a wonderful tactility that mere plastic or cheaper laminates could not achieve. 

While the smaller Galaxy S22 was naturally easier to pocket and more compact, the Galaxy S22’s larger size and additional screen real estate make it a better fit for those with larger hands and a more viable choice when you need more screen real estate such as when you’re going through a spreadsheet, e-book or movie. 

In keeping with its flagship status, the Galaxy S22 Plus is also rated for IP68 water and dust resistance. Add in the Armor Aluminum and Gorilla Glass Victus+ used in its construction and it’s easily one of the most robustly made flagship phones out of the box currently in the market.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus Review – Performance and Benchmarks

Our Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus review sample has an identical processor to the Galaxy S22 that we reviewed earlier and has a similar 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage though it has a slightly larger 4,500mAh battery with faster 45W wired charging. For thoroughness, here’s how it scores in benchmarks

3DMark Wild Life	9,258
3DMark Wild Life Unlimited	10,059
3DMark Wild Life Extreme	2,536
3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited	2,245
Geekbench 5 single-core score	1,211
Geekbench 5 multi-core score	3,316
Geekbench 5 OpenCL score	5,896
Geekbench 5 Vulkan score	5,932
PCMark Work 3.0 score	13,355
PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test	12 hours 53 minutes

One particular feature to note is that the Galaxy S22 Plus is able to assign anywhere from 2GB up to 8GB of its storage space as VRAM which significantly enhances its ability to multitask. For science, we tested it with the full assigned 8GB VRAM for synthetic benchmarks.

As expected, the Galaxy S22 Plus has a similar performance envelope as the smaller Galaxy S22 for most synthetic benchmarks with scores that fall close to it save for the battery life test. 

Under practical field tests, the Galaxy S22 Plus didn’t disappoint and the 0.5-inches of extra screen real estate made it a preferred choice for watching movies and gaming in tandem with its stereo speakers. When suitably propped up, it’s fantastic for Netflix bingeing on the go. Daylight clarity was great too.

The Galaxy S22 Plus has longer battery life by over an hour and 30 minutes versus the smaller Galaxy S22 when subjected to PCMark’s Work battery life test.

This isn’t a strictly apple for apples test though as the Galaxy S22 Plus has a larger display with a commensurately higher battery drain which doesn’t radically alter the outcome even though it has a larger 4,500mAh battery versus the 3,700mAh one in the Galaxy S22 which has a smaller display.

Under practical field conditions, the Galaxy S22 Plus is comfortably able to comfortably last through a full day of heavy use with texting, emails, social media, voice calls and web browsing along with liberal use of Spotify and a few matches of PUBG with the need for a top up after sundown.

While the Galaxy S22 Plus has a larger 4,500mAh battery, it also has faster 45W charging versus the Galaxy S22’s smaller sized 3,700mAh battery and more modest 25W charging limit.

While a 45W charger from Samsung does exist, we weren’t able to gain access to one for review and opted for a UGREEN Gan 65W fast charger which also supports the phone’s Power Delivery 3.0 standard and managed to get a ‘Super Fast Charging’ indicator. It got to 70% in about 30 minutes and managed to be fully juiced in just over an hour.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus Review – Cameras

Our Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus review sample has the same camera setup as the smaller Galaxy S22. You get a triple camera array on the back built around a primary 50MP F/1.8 camera that is optically stabilised and which has Dual Pixel PDAF, a secondary 12MP F/2.2 ultra wide angle camera with Super Steady video support for up to 1080p video and a 10MP F/2.4 telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. Combined, this highly capable setup is capable of capturing up to 8K@24fps video and hybrid Space Zoom at up to 30x. 

Up front, our Galaxy S22 Plus review unit also has the same identical 10MP front facing selfie camera with the ability to snag up to 4K@60fps video. 

After taking it around for a whirl, it delivered the same excellent  performance as the smaller Galaxy S22 though the ergonomics of wielding a slightly heavier and bigger phone mean that the Galaxy S22 Plus isn’t as quick on the draw as its smaller sibling. You can check out our prior Galaxy S22 review where we covered the cameras in more detail here.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus?

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus blends the most sought after features asked of a smartphone with the craftsmanship expected of a flagship phone. The finely tuned blend of a high quality 120Hz AMOLED display, top-shelf performance and an excellent camera array makes it an early contender for one of, if not the best everyman flagship phone for 2022.

If you need something more compact, the svelte Galaxy S22 beckons while if you’re seeking an S Pen stylus and a far more powerful camera array, the Galaxy S22 Ultra awaits.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus review sample courtesy of Samsung Malaysia. For more details please visit Samsung’s official website at https://www.samsung.com/my/smartphones/galaxy-s22/buy/