It’s hard to stay on top, especially in a market teeming with innovation and competition. It gets even more difficult when it’s been a tough year defined by insecurity, shortages, and a looming economic downturn. But it’s not equally bad for everyone and for Samsung it was really great. It has 9 of the top 20 phones in our database this year. Samsung has launched a diverse portfolio of midrangers, flagships, accessories, and even some capable tablets.
So let’s take a look at some of Samsung’s winners, as well as some of the inevitable losers. Let’s start at the top.
Winner: Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was our readers’ most popular phone of 2022. You can’t get enough of Samsung’s flagship and for good reason. There’s hardly a better display out there, and there isn’t one with S Pen support. All cameras on the Galaxy S22 Ultra have autofocus, you get a macro-ready ultrawide and two zooms, one of which goes further than any of the competition.
Whether it’s the nostalgic design of the Galaxy Note or some Samsung pixie dust, the Galaxy S22 Ultra has been hugely popular and people love it – a winner for Samsung.
Winner: Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4
The Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4 may look the same as their predecessors, but they’re better everyday phones in several important ways. The Galaxy Z Fold4 has a better 50MP main camera and a much better 3x telephoto lens than its predecessor, while the Galaxy Z Flip4 has a much needed battery and charging speed boost.
Even better, Samsung kicked off Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4 sales with pre-order bonuses, buyback promotions, and carrier deals that made the pair accessible and popular.
Losers: Galaxy Watch5 and Watch5 Pro
Alongside the new foldables, Samsung has launched its Galaxy Watch5 series. They brought in new colors and coated all three sizes in sapphire crystal which was a nice touch. But the new smartwatches use the same Exynos W920 chip and sensors as the Galaxy Watch4, which makes the intelligence of the new watches on the same level as the old ones.
The Galaxy Watch5 Pro boosted the battery by 40% and brought a different, arguably “pro-er” design, but did away with the rotating bezel that was arguably the Galaxy Watch’s most recognizable feature – power users will tell you it’s irreplaceable.
Winners: Galaxy A and M series
Like every recent year, Samsung’s mid-range range was in high demand. Both the Galaxy M series and the A series have made small improvements over their predecessors, but have kept the underlying philosophy intact: good user experience at a great price.
Samsung’s inherent advantage in market availability has ensured it has kept the Galaxy A and M phones well ahead of most mid-range competitors in most global markets.
Losers: Galaxy S22 and S22+
Ultra aside, the Galaxy S22 series was disappointing as an upgrade over the S21. Samsung has brought glass back to the smaller S22’s back panel and there’s been the generational upgrade in the chipset, but the cameras haven’t been a significant step up. We would have liked to see autofocus on the ultrawide camera, and we’ll have to see it on the Galaxy S23 series or we’ll deduct points.
It seems that no one was interested in upgrading to the Galaxy S22/S22+ and they did more to increase interest in the competitor’s phones which is not a big win.
Loser: Galaxy S22 FE
The Galaxy FE edition is traditionally a big winner for Samsung. Last year’s Galaxy S21 FE 5G came out in early January, making many fans happy. But in the summer of 2022 we received reports that Samsung decided to stop work on an upcoming Galaxy S22 FE to increase the supply of the S22 Ultra. And judging by the lack of leaks, a Galaxy S22 FE definitely isn’t happening.
Losers: Galaxy tablet
Samsung is by far the leader in global Android tablet market share for 2022, hovering around 30%, which is nothing to scoff at. But Apple sits at about 60% and that’s just in terms of market share. If we look at the revenue, Samsung is nowhere near Apple.
So yeah, being second isn’t the worst thing, but for a company of Samsung Mobile’s stature, that’s a loss.
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