Same like last year's version, this year's Galaxy S22 series comes in three different sizes: the Samsung Galaxy S22 (6.1-inch), the Samsung Galaxy S22+ (6.6-inch) and the big boy, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (6.8-inch).

We got to test the big boy, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, out for a couple of days, and here’s what we love about it:

#1 It still looks and feels premium

Just like its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is still very much a premium phone. It is still made of high quality material, and it has a pretty good weight to it. The Galaxy S22 Ultra feels really premium to the touch.

While the Galaxy S21 Ultra has rounded corners, the Galaxy S22 Ultra now has a more squared off, candy bar design that older Galaxy phones sport. The design actually reminds us a lot of the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra, and that’s not a bad thing.

The biggest change about this year’s phone is the camera module at the back (or the lack thereof). Gone is the module housing that you can find in last year’s Galaxy S21 Ultra. The Galaxy S22 Ultra’s quad cameras now peak out directly from the glass back. It definitely needs a little getting used to, but after some time, we kinda like the minimalist look at the back without the camera module housing.

Speaking of the back, we got the phone in the Phantom White colour, and we have to say, the colour doesn’t look really premium. While it has that matte finishing and touch to it, the Phantom White colourway lacks the pizzaz and the glimmer of the other colours, especially when compared to last year’s offerings.

#2 It has a built-in S Pen

Yep, you heard that right; the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra now has a built-in S Pen. The S Pen has always been an accessory for the Galaxy S-series’ older and more expensive brother, the Galaxy Note series, but this year, you’ll get one with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Long story short: the S Pen works well with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. Its 6.8-inch screen provides a good canvas for you to scribble notes on the go. The software works well, and during our tests, there’s no lag whatsoever.

It’s basically just pop out the pen and start writing - just like you would with a traditional notebook and pen.

We particularly love how Samsung enables us to take out the S Pen and immediately scribble a note without unlocking the phone first. This feature could save lives, let us tell you that.

#3 The oh-so-gorgeous display screen

Like we mentioned above, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra boasts a 6.8-inch AMOLED display, which is just absolutely lovely to look at. Everything on the screen looks more vibrant and sharp, and thanks to the high refresh rate, scrolling through the home screen is smoother too.

According to Samsung, the brightness of the Galaxy S22 Ultra screen can go up to 1,750 nits - which, in layman’s terms, is super bright. We’re not exaggerating, but dragging the brightness slider to 100 percent will hurt your eyes (we know, because we tried). We felt most comfortable with the screen at 30 to 40 percent brightness.

But the bright screen does come in handy under direct sunlight. While a majority of the phones would struggle, we had no problems reading and using this phone directly under the sun when we were outside.

#4 Performance is still top notch

The review unit we got was powered by the Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. While the numbers won't blow you away, we are happy to report that the amount of RAM is sufficient.

The performance is still pretty snappy, and during our tests, we did not experience any slow down, lag or hiccup whatsoever.

As for the battery life, we can happily report that it takes a lot to kill the phone. We constantly have around 40 to 50 percent of battery life left when we plug it into the charger at the end of the day. On days where we game more than usual (‘NFS No Limits’, FTW!), we still have 20 to 30 percent left, so it takes quite a lot to drain the 5,000 mAh battery found in the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Side note: the phone does get a little warm after an intense gaming session.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra lives up to its name as a true flagship smartphone.

With an improved battery life, the gorgeous display screen, the premium look and feel of the smartphone and of course, the inclusion of the S Pen, it smashes the bar set by its predecessor by quite a bit.

If you’re looking for a smartphone that has the total package, you really can’t go wrong with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.