Buyers save for that Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra got some bad news this week in the form of a rumor about the Korean company’s upcoming phone. Instead of being memory-packed like previous top-line Samsung flagships, The Galaxy S22 Ultra is expected to pack just 8GB of RAM in its base model when Samsung launches the new phones next month.
This rumor is likely to prompt the usual gnashing of teeth, which we’d expect only to get louder when Samsung confirms the reduced RAM on the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s expected debut next time Samsung unpacked. But all of the focus on storage ignores a more important part of the same rumor – namely that the S22 Ultra’s price might not change from its predecessor.
Special, Leaker Roland Quandt says the Galaxy S22 Ultra will debut for €1,249, which is the same price in Europe that the Galaxy S21 Ultra was when it arrived a year ago. The difference this time is that the S22 Ultra will have 8GB of RAM, rather than the 12GB of last year’s model, according to Quandt.
Whoever said the S22 series was cheaper didn’t think of Covid, parts shortages and inflation. Actual official EURO prices: S22 8/128GB = 849S22 8/256GB = 899S22+ 8/128GB = 1049S22+ 8/256GB = 1099S22 Ultra 8/ 128GB = 1249S22 Ultra 12/256GB = 1349S22 Ultra 12/512GB = 1449 pic. twitter.com/QRnfrhkzTzJanuary 22, 2022
That’s clearly a downgrade, but I find it hard to ignore the unchanged price. Perhaps that’s because rumors surrounding the Galaxy S22 Ultra pointed to a price increase. In particular, some reports indicated that the The new Ultra could be a $100 premium over last year’s phone. (We assume that the US price will remain unchanged even if the European price doesn’t change from the S21 Ultra to the S22 Ultra.)
Considering the details of the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s price and its reduced storage were leaked at the same time, it’s hard to believe the two articles aren’t related. Components are scarce these days, driving up costs. Assuming Quandt’s claims about storage and price are correct, it’s not too much of a leap to think that Samsung concluded that its best course of action was to offer less RAM if that allowed the phone brand to climb the price line keep.
And you know what? This is a trade I would take any day.
While the Galaxy S22 Ultra may pack less RAM than last year’s model, the phone sounds like it improves the overall experience in other ways. For starters, we’re expecting an upgraded 108-megapixel main camera in the form of a new Super Clear lens. In addition, the S Pen is expected to be integrated into this year’s model – on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung’s stylus was an optional accessory.
A slot for the S Pen makes it much more convenient and useful, as anyone who has ever owned a Galaxy Note phablet will tell you. But it potentially increases the cost of the device, so Samsung will have to find a place to save if it doesn’t want to match the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s price tag Galaxy S20 Ultra Levels of Ridiculousness.
So RAM seems to be an equally good area to make savings in, if that means a lower price. Yes, plenty of onboard storage helps a phone run smoother, especially when it comes to multitasking and switching between apps. But the difference between 8GB of RAM and 12GB is unlikely to be noticeable to most users.
Consider the Galaxy S21 FE, Samsung’s recently released smartphone. As a cost-cutting measure over the rest of the Galaxy S21 range, the FE only has 6GB of RAM. However, since it has the same Snapdragon 888 chipset as the other phones in the S21 range, its performance is within shouting distance of more expensive phones in benchmark tests. For example, on Geekbench 5, the Galaxy S21 FE scored 3,199 on the multi-core test. the Galaxy S21equipped with 8GB of RAM, scored a 3,302, which is better – though not by much and certainly not enough to spot a lag.
We’ll have to wait for the Galaxy S22 Ultra to come out so we can rate it. But with the US version of the phone, it’s likely to run on Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Chipset, I would imagine that the new Samsung phone will be among those The best Android phones for performance, extra RAM or not. A phone like the OnePlus 10 Pro, running on the same silicon and upgraded with more storage, could outperform the Galaxy S22 Ultra on some tests, but not enough to tell a difference in day-to-day use.
At a time when the prices of almost everything are rising, the Galaxy S22 Ultra gives you a phone that’s expected to cost the same as last year’s model. In this climate I would hardly call that a downgrade.
