Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) Display test

Coming to market in February 2022, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) is Samsung’s latest flagship and is packed with all kinds of new and improved features, including an ultra-fast, ultra-thin 4nm processor. and a 108MP main camera. We include key performance results in our display protocol benchmark test here.

Main display specifications:

• 2X AMOLED panel
• Size: 6.8 inch
• Resolution: 1440 x 3088 pixels
• Aspect Ratio: 20: 9, 500 ppi
• Refresh rate: 1–120 Hz adaptive

Learn about SBMARK visualization tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone and other display reviews, SBMARK engineers perform a series of objective and perceptual tests in controlled laboratory and under real-life conditions. This article highlights the most important results of our tests. Please note that we evaluate display attributes using only the device’s built-in display hardware and related still image (gallery) and video apps with default settings. (For in-depth information on how we rate smartphones and other displays, see our articles, “How SBMARK Tests Display Quality” and “A Closer Look at SBMARK Display Tests.”)

Test summary

Samsung’s latest flagship has appeared with very promising specifications, including screen brightness claimed to reach 1750 cd / m2, an adaptive frame rate, and a Vision Booster function that adjusts the tone mapping of the display based on lighting conditions. environmental. We compared the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) with its predecessor, the S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), and with two of its main competitors, the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and the OnePlus 9 Pro.

So what did SBMARK engineers find during testing? Well, first of all yes, the S22 Ultra (Exynos) display measured 1777 cd / m2 in our brightness tests, the brightest smartphone display ever, and thanks to that it shows a strong improvement in readability in sunlight. And secondly, Samsung gets the new highest video score thanks to good brightness, correct tone mapping and good color rendering.

As for the drawbacks, the default brightness of the new device is too low in shady indoor and outdoor conditions; and even if the Eyesight enhancer the function makes details easier to see in some images viewed in sunlight, in others it has a negative impact on color rendering. Finally, the S22 Ultra (Exynos) takes a step back in terms of video frame drop management compared to the S21 Ultra (Exynos), affecting the motion score of the former.

Let’s take a closer look below.

SBMARK uses the device gallery app to show static content (still image) while measuring the device display for brightness, contrast, gamma and impact of blue light, etc.

Compared to its predecessor and its competitors included in this article, the maximum brightness of the S22 Ultra (Exynos) is significantly higher: 1777 cd / m2 versus 1379 cd / m2 for the S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), 1066 cd / m2 for the iPhone 13 Pro Max and 702 cd / m2 for the OnePlus 9 Pro. The result is a screen that offers excellent visibility in sunlight.

Sunlight readability, left to right: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G (Exynos), Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, OnePlus 9 Pro

Photo credit: SBMARK; for illustration only

That said, the new flagship has been tuned in such a way that its default brightness indoors and in shady outdoor conditions is lower than its competitors, making it more difficult to see details, as illustrated below.

Readability inside, left to right: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G (Exynos), Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, OnePlus 9 Pro

Photo credit: SBMARK; for illustration only

Outdoor readability in the shade, left to right: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, OnePlus 9 Pro

Photo credit: SBMARK; for illustration only

However, by lowering the default brightness level in low light conditions, the S22 Ultra (Exynos) makes nighttime reading, web browsing or social media enjoyment more comfortable than the S21 Ultra (Exynos), which used to be a little too bright.

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) is uniform in both brightness and color:

Brightness and color uniformity, left to right: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, OnePlus 9 Pro

Photo credit: SBMARK; for illustration only

SBMARK uses the device gallery app to show static content (still image) when measuring the device display for white point, gamma, uniformity, color fidelity and impact of blue light filter, etc.

In our lab tests, the S22 Ultra (Exynos) demonstrates good overall color fidelity, as shown in tthe graph at the bottom left. It is better than the S21 Ultra (Exynos) and comparable to OnePlus 9 Pro. The center of each circle is the target color; anything outside the circle represents a noticeable difference in color. The farther the arrowhead is out of the circle, the more users will notice the difference between the color on the display and the color of the actual object or graphic next to it. The scatter plot on the right shows that the S22 Ultra (Exynos) shifts towards blue when viewed at an angle.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), 1000 lux color fidelity in the P3 color space

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G (Exynos), white dot on the corner

Under most conditions, the color rendition of the S22 Ultra (Exynos) will please people who like a little saturation, as is expected of a Samsung device.

In sunlight, in addition to excellent readability, the colors on the S22 Ultra (Exynos) complexion are faithful, especially when compared to the OnePlus9 Pro, which has a reddish complexion rendering:

Sunlight Skin Tone Rendering, Left to Right: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, OnePlus 9 Pro

Photo credit: SBMARK; for illustration only

But even in bright sunlight, however, the S22 Ultra (Exynos) aggressively pushes the saturation to its maximum level, with the effect that all shades of color disappear in many images, as illustrated in the example above. bottom left.

Color rendering in sunlight, clockwise from top left: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), OnePlus 9 Pro, Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Photo credit: SBMARK; for illustration only

Color rendering of sunflowers in sunlight, clockwise from top left: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), OnePlus 9 Pro, Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Photo credit: SBMARK; for illustration only

SBMARK uses your device’s video app (or browser) to show dynamic content while measuring your device’s display for brightness, contrast, gamma and color.

The device we started our tests with showed a serious problem affecting the display’s video playback. Meanwhile, on February 25, Samsung released a firmware update that fixed the widespread problem. This review reflects the test results of the updated firmware.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) offers very good overall video performance, with good brightness, good contrast management (albeit slightly dark in dark tones) and good color rendering. It is brighter than the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos) and the contrast is more natural than the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which shows too much contrast, as you can see in the image below.

Low-light video brightness, clockwise from top left: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, OnePlus 9 Pro

Photo credit: SBMARK; for illustration only

The highlights are well handled and the colors are very faithful on the S22 Ultra (Exynos) as seen in the photo below. Both the S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos) and iPhone 13 Pro Max, however, also show accurate colors, but show a blue and yellow cast respectively, while the S22 Ultra (Exynos) is the more neutral of the three smartphones.

Low-light video brightness, clockwise from top left: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, OnePlus 9 Pro

Photo credit: SBMARK; for illustration only

The excellent tone mapping of the S22 Ultra (Exynos) and its adapted brightness qualify it for the top slot in the Video attribute.

For motion, although it handles frame drops a little better than its predecessor during gaming, the S22 Ultra (Exynos) scores lower than the S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos) and its competitors due to frame drops during video playback. In the test images of the S22 Ultra (Exynos) at 30 fps and 60 fps in a row, the ideal result would be smooth gray fields; instead, you can see many brighter and darker squares which are indicative of frame drops.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G (Exynos), the frame drops to 30 fps

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G (Exynos), the frame drops to 60 fps

Samsung promotes an adaptive refresh rate for the S22 Ultra (Exynos), but our tests show that it doesn’t really adapt to 1Hz / 10Hz. You can see in the first graph below that the device’s refresh rate adjusts to the content. video (in this case, when playing YouTube videos): The refresh rate of the S22 Ultra (Exynos) is exactly the same as the video.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), frame rate adaptation to YouTube video playback

But when we compared the menu display of the S22 Ultra (Exynos) with that of the S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos) indoors, we saw that the S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos) lowered the frame rate to 10Hz, while the S22 Ultra (Exynos) remained at 120Hz, as shown in this graph:

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Exynos, yellow) and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos, gray), frame rate adaptation when displaying the menu

Furthermore, we were never able to see the S22 Ultra’s (Exynos) frame rate drop below 24 Hz in any of the tests we conducted.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) is just a bit slower than the S21 Ultra for touch response time while gaming, much like the iPhone 13 Pro Max and faster than the OnePlus 9 Pro, but users hardly they will notice these kinds of differences.

Even acknowledging the improved performance over its predecessor, we note that the S22 Ultra (Exynos) still has some difficulty detecting long touches on the edges and corners of its curved screen. The S22 Ultra (Exynos) showed a little more accuracy along the edges when we tested it after turning it off protection from accidental contact mode (on by default), but the improvement was not particularly significant.

While not part of our protocol, our engineers also tested the touch response of the S22 Ultra (Exynos) using its S Pen; report that touching with the S Pen is both pleasant and precise.

The flicker control remains the same on the S22 Ultra (Exynos) and the older S21 Ultra (Exynos), meaning if you are sensitive to flicker, you may want to avoid this device.

Ghost touches are very common, with or without the protection from accidental contact option activated. However, aliasing has improved slightly over the S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos).

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), aka

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos), aka