Think about the smartphone world in early 2026. We were all still a bit weird from… well, you know. The S22 wasn’t just another phone; it was a signal that normal life was creeping back.
Samsung bet big on making the small phone cool again with the base S22. Remember that? It had a flat screen, a compact body, and felt like a rebellion against the giant “phablets” everyone else was selling.
And the S22 Ultra? Oh boy. That thing was a Frankenstein monster in the best way—it literally swallowed the Note series whole. It came with a built-in S Pen slot, which was a huge flex at the time.
The “wait, what year is it?” test
Here’s a fun game: compare the S22’s launch to the iPhone 13 series, which dropped just five months earlier. The iPhone 13 felt like a safe, refined sequel. The S22 felt like Samsung threw a wild party with three very different guests.
You had the regular S22 (the cute one), the S22+ (the responsible older sibling), and the S22 Ultra (the one who shows up with a laser show). That variety is rare now—most phones just come in two sizes.
And let’s not forget the chip drama. Depending on where you lived, your S22 had either a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or Samsung’s own Exynos 2200. Gamers in Europe still complain about that Exynos chip overheating after twenty minutes of Minecraft.
Samsung Galaxy S22 deals and SIM-free prices including S22+ and Ultra
