From all the leaks and rumors so far, it looks like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could be the biggest phone of early 2022, if not the entire year. And we’re going to find out just how big in a few hours.
As the head of the Samsung Galaxy S22 series, the Ultra will join a standard S22 model and the Plus-sized variant, following the pattern set by the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S21 ranges.
However, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will be the model to watch, as the other two phones are looking like incremental upgrades over their predecessors. (If you’d like to know more about those phones, check out our Galaxy S22 vs. Galaxy S22 Plus comparison.) Rumors have been pointing to the Ultra as the spiritual successor to the Galaxy Note line, which means a Galaxy Note-like design along with an integrated S Pen. And Samsung has all but conceded that it’s drawn heavily on the Note for inspiration.
But don’t think of the Galaxy S22 Ultra as a rehashed Galaxy Note — the new phone could see plenty of other exclusive features. Here’s what we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and why it’s the phone to watch.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra news (Updated February 9)
As the rumors correctly predicted, Samsung plans to hold a Galaxy Unpacked event today, February 9, with the show getting underway at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT. Samsung hasn’t said what’s debuting at the show, but the invitation showing a box with an S inside suggests the Galaxy S lineup should be high on the list of possibilities.
Pre-orders may also open today, followed by the Galaxy S22 rumored release date on the February 25. However, a report from South Korea, citing sources within Samsung, says that the phone ships on February 24. Whoever’s right, it’s clear the Galaxy S22 Ultra is going to be in users’ hands by the end of next month.
And another leak revealed claimed prices in Euros, with the Galaxy S22 Ultra starting at €1,249 for the 8GB/128GB version, €1,349 for12GB/256GB, and €1,449 for the top-end 12GB/512GB.
That’s a lot, even for a flagship phone. And with competition tight, thanks to the likes of the Google Pixel 6 Pro coming in at $899, Samsung would really need to prove why its flagship is worth so much more. To be fair, the Galaxy S22 Plus might be more of a direct competitor to the Pixel 6 Pro, though we have a Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. Pixel 6 Pro comparison to help you see how the phones could measure up.
“You loved the unparalleled creativity and efficiency of the Galaxy Note series, which enabled you to switch from gaming nirvana to high-octane productivity in the blink of an eye,” Roh wrote in a blog post. “You raved about the lifelike S Pen, which many say rivals putting ink to paper. And we haven’t forgotten about these experiences you love.”
Like the Note, the side edges of the display are set to be curved but only gently, which should make the phone comfortable but not too slippery to hold. And in keeping with the Note DNA, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is set to have an S Pen holder, which will be a notable upgrade over the S21 Ultra; that phone had to use an optional case to hold its S Pen.
(Image credit: Yogesh Brar/Twitter)
Another major change that seems very likely is that Samsung won’t use a protruding module for its rear camera array. Rather, the cameras will be integrated into its chassis in a P-shape. These appear to stick out a little from the back of the phone but don’t seem as prominent as a dedicated module.
(Image credit: Evan Blass)
The leaker Evan Blass has posted renders of the Galaxy S22 colors, including the Galaxy S22 Ultra. These include black, white, green and red.
Backing up these design rumors was another leak by Blass, this time of what appears to be Samsung Galaxy S22 marketing material for Italy. They hammer home the design changes as well as shed light on the specs. Do note due to copyright issues, we can’t post the leaked images here so you’ll need to follow Blass on Twitter or subscribe to his email substack to get a glimpse at them.
A punch hole cut-out for the front-facing camera has been shown off in renders and leaked images, likely down to Samsung having yet to perfect the under-display camera for use in its non-folding Galaxy phones.
A 120Hz LTPO panel is also expected, following on from the one found in the S21 Ultra. It’s also expected to be adaptive, scaling all the way down to 1Hz when a high-refresh rate isn’t needed. There’s no word on whether it’ll use a LTPO 2.0 display like the one on the OnePlus 10 Pro, which offers a smoother overall experience.
Based on rumored specs alone, the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s cameras look like having the same megapixel counts as those on the Galaxy S21 Ultra. If that’s the case, it’ll have a 108MP main camera plus two 10MP telephoto cameras with 3x and 10 optical zoom, and an ultra-wide camera that’s likely to come in at 12MP.
But megapixels aside, these cameras are tipped to have improved sensors and capabilities, including an AI enhancement mode for the 108MP camera which could lead to more detail and brightness from its shots.
The rumored SuperClear Lens has been given more detail in a leak from Evan Blass, which indicate the lens will be fitted to the main 108MP camera and is described in the marketing material translated from Italian as offering “brighter shots without reflections or glare.” Camera lenses can’t help but distort the light that passes through them on the way to the sensor that actually captures the image in front of you, so this new lens that Samsung is using is claiming to reduce or even eliminate this common problem.
Along with that Super Clear lens, Samsung has already begun teasing a “night-breaking” camera that should take exceptional photos in low-light situations.
The selfie camera is expected to come in at 40MP. Again, no step up in specs here, but we can be fairly confident that Samsung will have made some effort to improve the computational photography capabilities across the S22 Ultra’s entire camera suite.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra S Pen
As noted above, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is expected to ship with an included S Pen, just like the Galaxy Note of old. This is a departure from Samsung’s approach with the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold where the S Pen was treated as an optional accessory. Presumably, including the S Pen with the S22 Ultra will lead to tighter integration between stylus and phone, though leaks about new S Pen capabilities have been minimal, thus far.
This is where things get complicated; it’s looking likely that the Galaxy S22 Ultra will have two different chipsets.
In the U.S. and China, the Galaxy S22 Ultra has been tipped to use Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. That chip has a new Kryo CPU that offers 20% faster performance than the Snapdragon 888 and which sucks up 30% less power. On the GPU side, Qualcomm says the Adreno processor will offer a 30% speed boost while being 25% more efficient than its predecessor. A solid upgrade all around, then, but not exactly needle shifting.
And the Exynos 2200 chip could buck the performance trend even further thanks to its new Xclipse 920 GPU. This graphics processor uses AMD’s RDNA 2 GPU architecture, which is the same tech that underpins the GPUs in the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
(Image credit: Samsung)
Now, we doubt you’ll be running the best Xbox Series X games or the best PS5 games on the Galaxy S22 Ultra with ray tracing enabled. But we can expect a notable boost in gaming performance, perhaps being able to run true console-quality games on the phone with a few tweaks in settings.
Reputable tech leaker Ice Universe posted alleged Wild Life results on Twitter showing the performance of one Exynos 2200 configuration. The graphics benchmark results yielded a score of 8,134 with an average of 50.3 frames per second; very impressive for an Android phone.
Other benchmarks have been less encouraging. Leaked Geekbench 5 results posted to Twitter suggest that the Galaxy S22 Ultra will not be much of an improvement over the S21 Ultra — in fact, the numbers of an Exynos 2200-powered model were worse than the ones for a Galaxy S21 Ultra running on an Exynos 2100. Since benchmarks of unreleased phones don’t always reflect actual performance, we wouldn’t suggest pressing the panic button just yet.
Another round of benchmarks recorded less than a week before the phone’s expected launch show that it’s a close race between the Snapdragon and Exynos versions. However the test used in this benchmark doesn’t take graphical performance into account, which is where the RDNA-enhanced Exynos chip could excel.
A leaker has published which regions will get phones with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and which will get the Exynoss 2200-powered S22 Ultra. As expected, the Americas are in line to get Qualcomm’s chip while Europe is slated for the Exynos silicon. It’s a mix of chipsets in other regions, according to this source.
Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra is expected to keep the 5,000 mAh size of its predecessor. But one report has the phone set to get a smaller battery measuring in at 4,855 mAh. If this is the case, then we’d suspect Samsung will have worked hard on battery and performance efficiency in order to not see overall battery life compromised.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra endured 11 hours and 25 minutes of web surfing over 5G in our tests in 60Hz mode, and 10:07 in adaptive mode. We’d expect the S22 Ultra to match that or beat it.
The most recent report we’ve seen says that the Galaxy S22 Ultra will offer faster 45W charging. This would be a boost from the 25W charging on the S21 Ultra. We don’t know how quickly you’ll get to 50% or 100% as a result, but we look forward to testing it.
Without a doubt, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the phone we at Tom’s Guide are most excited about right now. Not only do the rumors point towards an impressive specs sheet, but the addition of a new Exynos chip with literal game-changing graphics is tantalizing. For the two lower-tier models, here are the top 5 rumored Samsung S22 and S22 Plus upgrades we want to see.
And that’s before we consider that the phone will almost certainly be a successor to the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra in all but name. It could be the handset to show that Samsung is still the king of big flagship phones, despite having placed a lot of its focus on foldables recently.
As such, we’d be relatively confident that the Galaxy S22 Ultra will be one of the most exciting phones of 2022 and a likely contender for a spot on our best phones list.
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
