Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22 renders leak out, hint at a Galaxy Note 22 Ultra

Diligent Samsung Galaxy S22 rumor watchers will have spotted the unofficial Galaxy S22 Ultra renders that leaked out online yesterday – and they’ve now been joined by images of the Galaxy S22 Plus and the standard Galaxy S22 from the same source.

Seasoned tipster @OnLeaks has posted renders of the Plus model (with 91mobiles) and standard model (with Zouton), using information sourced from insiders familiar with what Samsung is planning for its flagship phone range in early 2022.

These new unofficial renders look a lot like the designs we saw with the current Galaxy S21 series – as opposed to the Galaxy S22 Ultra renders that surfaced 24 hours ago. And that has us wondering whether Samsung is planning a shake-up for the S series next year.

All change

There are now rumors and leaks to back up the theory of such a shake-up too. Well-known leaker @chunvn8888 has revealed that the Galaxy S22 Plus may well be called the Galaxy S22 Pro, and that the Galaxy S22 Ultra could be named the Galaxy Note 22 Ultra. Oh, and the Galaxy S22 will still be called the Galaxy S22.

That’s right – it looks as though the S series Ultra phone is going to become the new Note. We’ve heard plenty of rumors that the S22 Ultra would act as a Note replacement, and it now appears that the name is going to get switched over as well.

It would at least explain why the Galaxy S22 Ultra renders that we saw yesterday look so different from these latest pictures in terms of the design of the phone. We’re expecting all of these handsets to make their debut in January 2022, when we should get answers to the many questions we’ve got.

Analysis: a Samsung phone for everyone

Samsung makes an awful lot of handsets at the moment, from foldable flagships to affordable mid-rangers, but it seems as though the company is looking to bring some clarity to its device line-up next year.

With the cancelation of the Galaxy Note 21, we wondered whether we would ever see the Note again. For now at least, it seems the answer is yes – albeit a rebranded Galaxy S22 device. All the signs are pointing to this Ultra phone having S Pen support, and (unlike the Galaxy S21 Ultra) an integrated slot for the stylus.

Having three Galaxy S phones every year has felt like quite a stretch sometimes. The differences between the phones – and indeed these phones and previous Notes released in the same year – hasn’t always been significant or easy to spot.

It actually makes a lot of sense to go with two S series phones and then spin off the third to replace the Note. It’s going to be interesting to see how Samsung positions these devices when they finally see the light of day, and we’re already counting down the months to the start of 2022.