If everything goes to schedule, the Samsung Galaxy S22 series of phones should be the first flagships we see in 2022 – and a new leak gives us some clues as to the chipsets that are going to be powering these phones.
Reputable tipster Max Weinbach says that all three models – the Galaxy S22, the Galaxy S22 Plus and the Galaxy S22 Ultra – are going to come with either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 898 or the Samsung Exynos 2200 chipset, depending on where in the world they're being sold.
Don't worry if those names sound unfamiliar – neither the Qualcomm nor the Samsung processor has been announced yet – but those specs are pretty much what we would expect for the Galaxy S22, given previous models in the series.
oh yeah s22, s22+, s22 ultra is gonna have an exynos 2200 and a snapdragon 898 versionfound it a few weeks agoOctober 22, 2021
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What we know so far
We're starting to get a much clearer picture of what the Galaxy S22 phones are going to offer when Samsung unveils them. Based on leaked renders, it looks as though the Ultra model is going to look substantially different to the other two Galaxy S22 handsets.
Screens with 120Hz refresh rates are likely to be standard across the board, with the S22 and S22 Plus having slightly smaller screens than last time (6.06 inches and 6.55 inches) and the S22 Ultra having a bigger one (6.81 inches) compared to its predecessor.
As for when we're actually going to see these phones, that's a matter of some contention: it was thought that there would be a launch in January 2022, a year after the Galaxy S21 devices appeared, but the latest rumors suggest the S22 series will be pushed back.
Analysis: a tale of two chipsets
If you're new to the Galaxy S series then having the same phone available with two different processors might seem strange – but it's been par for the course in recent years as Samsung manages its gadget production and supply chains across the globe.
The Galaxy S21 phones came with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 CPU in the US and China, and a Samsung Exynos 2100 CPU everywhere else, for example. That Samsung would do the same again this year has been predicted before, so this latest leak isn't really going to raise any eyebrows.
It's an unusual strategy, but a sensible one, considering the ongoing global chip shortage that's restricting electronics production at the moment. Indeed, supply chain pressures are rumored to be forcing Samsung to make the Snapdragon version of its Galaxy flagships available in more regions this time around.
The question most people have is how performance will be affected. Traditionally, the Exynos and Snapdragon models of these phones are pretty similar in terms of power, so we're hoping Samsung pulls off the same trick again in 2022.
