Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra dilemma — more RAM or no price change?

(Image credit: LetsGoDigital / Giuseppe Spinelli)

Shoppers saving up for the Samsung Milky way S22 Ultra got some bad news this calendar week in the form of a rumor about the Korean firm's upcoming telephone. Instead of coming packed with memory as previous top-line Samsung flagships take, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is simply expected to include 8GB of RAM in its base model when Samsung launches the new phones next month.

This rumor's likely to produce the usual gnashing of teeth, which we'd expect to only get louder should Samsung ostend the reduced RAM when at the Galaxy S22 Ultra'due south expected debut at the next Samsung Unpacked. But all the focus on memory ignores a more important function of that same rumor — namely that the price of the S22 Ultra may not change from its predecessor.

Specifically, leaker Roland Quandt says the Galaxy S22 Ultra is going to debut at €ane,249, which is the same price in Europe that the Galaxy S21 Ultra featured when it arrived a year agone. The difference this fourth dimension effectually is that the S22 Ultra will have 8GB of RAM, according to Quandt, and not the 12GB establish in last twelvemonth's model.

Whoever said S22 series was to be cheaper, didn't call back of Covid, parts shortages and inflation.Actual official EURO prices:S22 8/128GB = 849S22 viii/256GB = 899S22+ 8/128GB = 1049S22+ 8/256GB = 1099S22 Ultra eight/128GB = 1249S22 Ultra 12/256GB = 1349S22 Ultra 12/512GB = 1449 motion picture.twitter.com/QRnfrhkzTzJanuary 22, 2022

That'due south clearly a downgrade, but I observe information technology hard to overlook the unchanged cost. Maybe that's because rumors surrounding the Galaxy S22 Ultra had been pointing toward a price hike. Specifically, some reports suggested that the new Ultra could come at a $100 premium over concluding twelvemonth'due south phone. (Nosotros're assuming that if the European toll isn't going to alter from the S21 Ultra to the S22 Ultra, the U.S. cost will stay put, as well.)

Considering that the details about the Galaxy S22 Ultra'south price and its reduced memory take leaked meantime, it'southward hard to believe the two items are unconnected. Components are in brusk supply these solar day, driving costs upward. Assuming Quandt'southward claims nigh retention and toll are accurate, it isn't too big a leap to think that Samsung concluded its best course of activeness was to offer less RAM if that allowed the phone make to concur the line on prices.

And you know what? That'south a trade I would make every day.

While the Galaxy S22 Ultra may pack less RAM than last yr'due south model did, the telephone sounds like it's improving the overall feel in other ways. For starters, nosotros're expecting an enhanced 108MP main camera in the form of a new Super Clear lens. Aslope that Super Clear lens, Samsung is teasing a "night-breaking" camera, which should make for some great low-light photography. What's more, the Southward Pen is expected to come integrated into this year's model — with the Milky way S21 Ultra, Samsung'due south stylus was an optional accessory.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra render — (Image credit: LetsGoDigital)

Including a slot to firm the S Pen makes information technology much more than practical and useful every bit anyone who'due south ever owned a Galaxy Note phablet will tell yous. But it potentially adds on to the cost of the device, and then Samsung has to find someplace to cut back if information technology doesn't desire the Galaxy S22 Ultra toll tag reaching Galaxy S20 Ultra levels of ridiculousness.

RAM, then, seems similar every bit practiced an area as any in which to cut dorsum if it means a lower price. Yep, having lots of onboard memory helps a phone run more smoothly, particularly when information technology comes to multitasking and switching between apps. But the difference betwixt 8GB of RAM and 12GB isn't likely something most users are going to notice.

Consider the Galaxy S21 Iron, Samsung'due south recently released smartphone. Every bit a cost-cutting measure from the balance of the Galaxy S21 lineup, the Iron simply features 6GB of RAM. But because it has the same Snapdragon 888 chipset as the other phones in the S21 lineup, its functioning on benchmark tests is inside shouting distance of more expensive phones. On Geekbench five, for example, the Galaxy S21 Fe posted a 3,199 result on the multicore test. The Milky way S21, equipped with 8GB of RAM, turned in a iii,302 score, which is better — though non by a lot and certainly not by plenty that you lot're going to spot a lag.

We'll need to look for the Galaxy S22 Ultra to come out so that we can benchmark it. But with the U.Southward version of the phone probable to run on Qualcomm'due south superlative-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, I'd imagine the new Samsung telephone will be among the best Android phones for performance, extra RAM or not. A phone like the OnePlus 10 Pro that runs on the same silicon and gets upgraded with more retentivity might outpace the Galaxy S22 Ultra on some tests, merely not enough to spot a difference in everyday apply.

Meanwhile, at a time when prices are ascension on just nigh everything, you'd be getting a phone in the Milky way S22 Ultra that'due south expected to cost the aforementioned as last year's model. In this climate, I'd inappreciably phone call that a downgrade.

Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom's Guide. He has stiff opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics and former movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.