ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO Review: A premium cooler with excellent cooling performance

Having used the ROG Ryujin II 360 for my primary build with an Intel Core i9-12900K, and RTX 2080 Super, I can safely say that this AIO offers excellent cooling performance. I was able to get through even the most demanding workloads without any issues and the operating temperatures were well under acceptable limits. The CPU was idling at around 25°C and was comfortably sitting under 80°C, even under heavy load.

In addition to the reliable cooling performance, the Ryujin II 360 also offers plenty of other exciting features that are worth checking out. As you can see, the 3.5-inch display on top of the CPU water block can be configured to show custom animations, useful CPU metrics, and more. Notably, you also get three high-quality Noctua fans for quiet operation. These fans help keep the overall noise output to a bare minimum, although the cooler tends to be a little loud when the CPU is pushed to its limits.

Add an RGB controller to the mix along with a 6-years warranty, you’re looking at a highly reliable AIO that delivers impressive performance and good customization. If all that sounds good to you then I highly recommend you continue reading to know more about the Ryujin II 360 AIO’s performance and features in detail. But long story short, I think the ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 would be a great choice to cool a high-performance CPU inside a high-end enthusiast PC.

ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO

The ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 is an excellent AIO that offers impressive cooling performance and plenty of good features. It's a little on the expensive side, so we think it's more suited for high-end enthusiast builds.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

Buy from Amazon

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Navigate this review:

• ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO: Pricing & Availability
• ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO: Specifications
• ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO: Design & build quality
• ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO: Cooling Performance
• ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO: Should you buy this?

ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO: Pricing & Availability

• The ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 is available to purchase now for around $310.

The ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 was launched alongside the first batch of the unlocked Alder Lake desktop parts. This particular AIO is readily available on the market right now for around $310. You can follow our buying link to find the best price for it online right now. ASUS also has a smaller 240mm version of this AIO called the Ryujin II 240. That’s more suitable for slightly less powerful chips, but the smaller form-factor will fit inside more PC cases. Not to mention, the smaller cooler will also cost you slightly less. The Ryujin II 240 would be our pick if we were to use some other Alder Lake chips like, say, the 12600K, the 12700, or more.

ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO: Specifications

Before we take a detailed look at the cooler itself and all the features it has to offer, let’s quick glance over the specifications:

Specification	ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO
CPU Socket	Intel: LGA 1700, 1200, 115x, 2011, 2011-3, 2066 AMD: AM4, TR4
LCD Display	3.5″ Full-Color LCD
Radiator	360mm
Radiator Dimensions	121 x 394 x 27 mm
Water block Dimension	78.15 x 87.5 x 81 mm
Fan	Noctua NF-F12 InductrialPPC 2000 PWM Fan 3 x Fan Slots (120mm) 120 x 120 x 25 mm 450 – 2000 RPM +/- 10% 3.94 mmH2O 71.6 CFM / 121.8 m3h 29.7 dB(A) PWM/ DC
Warranty	6 Years

Looking at the specifications, I think it’s safe to say that the bundled Noctua fan kit sets this cooler apart from the competition. The fully customizable 3.5-inch LCD panel is also a great addition. We’ll talk a bit more about both of those things a bit later in this review. Another thing to note about this particular AIO is that it’s compatible with the new LGA1700 CPU socket for 12th gen Intel Alder Lake CPUs. Notably, you also get a 6-years manufacturer warranty, sot that’s awesome too.

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ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO: Design & build quality

• Comes with a fully customizable 3.5-inch LCD.
• Supports LGA1700 CPU socket with included mounting kit.
• Comes with a pre-applied thermal paste (our review unit was used sample, so it didn’t have it).

When it comes to the design, I think the CPU water block makes it look really unique in the AIO space. The fact that it has a 3.5-inch LCD makes it better than a lot of other AIO coolers out there. The Gigabyte Waterforce X360 cooler that we reviewed not too long ago, also had a fully customizable display. That one, however, was quite small in comparison. This display is bigger, letting you glance over a lot more info and allowing you to customize it with images and GIFs of your choice.

You can use the ASUS Armory Crate software to easily customize this panel. I was able to get the cooler to show this neat little GIF image with almost little to no effort whatsoever. You can also choose to select a bunch of preset images or display some important metrics including the CPU temperature. But one thing I wanted to highlight about the cooler is that it’s got a massive water block. It’s definitely way larger than a lot of other Asetek 7 AIOs that are out there. While I didn’t have any clearance issues, you may have some trouble while installing it on your motherboard. I recommend removing the RAM modules to create some space temporarily before trying to install the cooler.

Installing the AIO, otherwise, is a fairly simple task. I didn’t face any issues while getting this up and running on the ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 motherboard. The tubes are also flexible enough to be adjusted according to the orientation of the water block. The length of the tubes is also adequate for most PC cases. Just make sure your PC case of choice has space to mount a 360mm radiator, preferably on the top. I DO NOT recommend buying this AIO if you’re working with a small-sized mini-ITX case. ASUS also makes a 240mm version of this cooler, which I think might be a better fit for SFF cases.

The ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO, as I mentioned earlier, is bundled with three high-quality Noctua NF-F12 InductrialPPC 2000 PWM fans. These 120mm fans are responsible to move the air through the radiator to regulate the temperatures. It’s worth pointing out that these aren’t RGB-enabled fans, so you’ll have to find other sources of RGB lights for your PC case. ASUS is also bundling its ROG Fan Controller to make it easier for you to install all the fans. Noctua, in case you don’t know, is known for its cooling solutions that deliver impressive results while keeping the overall noise output low. These fans definitely live up to the expectations and were generally very quiet throughout my usage. I’d say they were quieter than the fans that were bundled with the Aorus Waterforce X360 AIO.

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ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO: Cooling Performance

• Offers great cooling performance overall.
• A good option to consider for high-end rigs with, say, a Core i9-12900K.

In order to test the ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO, I paired it with an Intel Core i9-12900K. I also tested it with the Intel Core i7-12700, although I’ll only be adding the benchmark numbers recorded with the 12900K in this review in order to be able to draw a comparison with one of our previous tests. I used HWInfo64 to track the real-time core temperature readings, CPU speed, and a couple of readings to see how the CPU performed at any given point in time.

The ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 managed to keep the 12900K cool at times. I was able to record an idle temperature of around 25°C, which is just about what you’d expect from a high-end cooler. Even under heavy load, the Ryujin II 360 managed to keep the 12900K under 85°C. I logged the CPU temperature both while gaming as well as while running some benchmarking applications. While gaming, for instance, the avg temperature of the CPU was about 45°C to 50°C.

Here’s a quick look at a CPU temperature graph while I was running some stress tests:

Even under overclocked conditions, the Core i9-12900K peaked at 56°C while gaming, so it’s safe to say that the Ryujin II 360 was able to keep up the thermal output of the high-end Alder Lake part. Here’s a quick look at the temperature readings to give you a better understanding of the kind of performance you can expect from this AIO:

Test	Recorded Peak Core Temperature (ROG Ryujin II 360)	Recorded Peak Core Temperature (Gigabyte Aorus Waterforce X360)
Idle	25°C	23°C
Gaming	46°C	43°C
Gaming (Overclocked)	56°C	54°C
Stress	86°C	79°C

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ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO: Is it worth buying?

If you are in the market to buy an AIO cooler for your new high-end gaming PC build, then you’re very likely to stumble upon the ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO. If you are planning to use this AIO to cool some high-performance chips like the Core i9-12900K or the AMD Ryzen 5950X, then you won’t be disappointed. The Ryujin II 360 is a stellar AIO that can tame the thermal output of these high-end chips with ease.

Who should buy the ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO?

• Those who are looking for a reliable cooler for high-end CPUs
• Those who want to customize the CPU water block with images, GIFs, etc.

Who should not buy the ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO?

• Don’t buy it if you are working with a small PC case with not enough space for a 360mm radiator.
• Don’t buy this AIO for a mid-range CPU. Consider buying the smaller 240mm version of this AIO instead.

Well, that wraps up my review of the ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO. If you are looking for alternatives, then you can also consider buying the Gigabyte Aorus Waterforce X360 AIO that’s slightly more affordable. You can check out our Aorus Waterforce X360 review to learn more about the other cooler and see how it compares against the Ryujin II 360 when it comes to the feature set. There’s no shortage of AIO coolers on the market and you can find a lot more options in our collection of the best liquid coolers out there.

ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO

The ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 is an excellent AIO that offers impressive cooling performance and plenty of good features. It's a little on the expensive side, so we think it's more suited for high-end enthusiast builds.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

Buy from Amazon

The post ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO Review: A premium cooler with excellent cooling performance appeared first on xda-developers.

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HP Spectre x360 16 review: It’s a lot of computer, but it’s awesome

If you’re looking for a big-screen convertible, the HP Spectre x360 16 is hands down your best option. And I’m not just saying that because big-screen convertibles are incredibly rare. Indeed, Dell made an XPS 15 2-in-1 once…once. With this year’s Spectre x360, HP made the screen even bigger with a 16-inch 16:10 panel instead of a 15.6-inch display.

Most importantly, that big display is OLED, at least on higher-end models. And while the screen is visually appealing, so is the chassis. While HP has abandoned the gem-cut edges of previous models, the Spectre x360 still has the prettiest design in its class. That’s all topped off with a great keyboard.

Ultimately, it comes down to if you want a machine like this. If you’re looking at 16-inch convertibles, you’re in the right place. If you’re looking for great battery life, something lightweight, and so on, I do highly recommend the Spectre x360 14.

HP Spectre x360 16

The HP Spectre x360 is always one of the best convertibles around, with a beautiful design and great experiences. It's always a great choice, and this one is for if you want a big laptop.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

See at HP

Navigate this review:

• HP Spectre x360 16: Pricing and availability
• HP Spectre x360 16: Specs
• Design: The HP Spectre x360 16 is a lot more subtle than its predecessors
• Display: It comes with that sweet OLED, and it’s bigger
• Keyboard: As you’d expect, it’s a spacious deck for a premium keyboard
• Performance: The HP Spectre x360 16 comes with Tiger Lake H35 processors and RTX graphics
• Who should buy the HP Spectre x360 16?

HP Spectre x360 16: Pricing and availability

• The HP Spectre x360 16 currently starts at $1,429.99.

The HP Spectre x360 16 was announced late last year, but it wasn’t available until more recently. As of now, all configurations are available for purchase. At the time of announcement, the starting price was $1,639, but on HP.com right now, it starts at $1,429.99.

That model comes with an Intel Core i7-11390H, 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 3,072×1,920 touchscreen. The model that HP sent over for review is a bit more specced out though. It has the same Core i7 and 16GB RAM, but the SSD is bumped up to 1TB. This unit also has a 3,840×2,400 OLED display, and it has added dedicated graphics in the form of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050. It comes in at $2,119.99.

Totally specced out, you can get it with 32GB RAM and a 2TB SSD. The total price is $2,859.99.

HP Spectre x360 16: Specs

CPU	Intel Core i7-11390H
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU (4 GB)
Body	14.09 x 9.66 x 0.78 in, 4.45 lb
Display	16″ diagonal, UHD+ (3840 x 2400), OLED, multitouch-enabled, UWVA, anti-reflection, Low Blue Light, 400 nits
Memory	16 GB DDR4-3200 MHz RAM
Storage	1 TB PCIe NVMe TLC M.2 SSD
Battery	6-cell, 83 Wh Li-ion polymer
Keyboard	Full-size, backlit, nightfall black keyboard
Webcam	HP True Vision 5MP IR camera with camera shutter, temporal noise reduction and integrated dual array digital microphones
Connectivity	Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 (2×2) and Bluetooth 5.2 combo (Supporting Gigabit data rate)
Audio	Audio by Bang & Olufsen; Quad speakers; HP Audio Boost
Ports	2 Thunderbolt 4 with USB4 Type-C 40Gbps signaling rate (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge) 1 SuperSpeed USB Type-A 10Gbps signaling rate (HP Sleep and Charge) 1 HDMI 2.0b 1 AC smart pin 1 headphone/microphone combo 1 microSD media card reader
Color	Nightfall Black
Material	Aluminum
OS	Windows 10 Home
Price	$2,119.99

Design: The HP Spectre x360 16 is a lot more subtle than its predecessors

• It’s still pretty, but it’s definitely toned down by a lot.

I’ve been saying for years that the HP Spectre x360 is the sexiest laptop on the market for years now, and while it’s probably still true, the new Spectre x360 16 is significantly less sexy than its predecessors. I think that was intentional, to be honest.

Sharp corners have been replaced by curves, and accents are more subtle.

Previous generations had gem-cut edges and two-tone designs, mixing Nightfall Black with copper accents around the edges, hinges, and touchpad. They were the only Windows PCs that I really felt stood out from the crowd, and they felt great to pull out of a bag in front of people. They were works of art.

The sharp corners have been replaced by curves, and those strong accents are a lot more subtle. On the Nightfall Black model that HP sent me, there’s a thin, silver line that wraps around the border where the curved top and bottom meet. It’s still a pretty machine, but it’s not nearly as flashy.

It also comes in blue, but both colors come with silver accents this time. There’s no silver color, which is a decision that I’m a fan of. There was a year or two when there was no Spectre x360 13 didn’t have a silver color, and I was so upset when it was brought back. I say, death to silver laptops. We have enough of them.

Moving on, there are plenty of ports, as you’d expect from a 16-inch laptop. On the left side, there’s a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port and an HDMI 2.0b port. On the flattened rear corner, there’s a 3.5mm audio jack.

On the right side, there are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one of which is on the rear corner. The purpose of the flattened corner is that the cable is facing away from you, but you can still fold the display back into tablet mode. As you’d expect, you can use any one of these ports for connecting dual 4K monitors, an external GPU if that RTX 3050 isn’t enough when you’re at home, and so on.

There’s also a power port on the right side, since this machine comes with a 135W charger and that’s more than Power Delivery could handle. The USB Type-C ports do charge, albeit slowly while the machine is in use.

Again, the HP Spectre x360 16 is a beautiful machine, but not as much so as its predecessors. I do think that it was toned down on purpose, for what it’s worth. For my personal opinion, I wish it wasn’t, and this design was used for the Envy brand instead.

Display: It comes with that sweet OLED, and it’s bigger

• The display is big and beautiful, with a 4K OLED option.
• There’s a 5MP webcam, which is one of the best around in a laptop.

The HP Spectre x360 16 comes with a, you guessed it, 16-inch display, which is a bit larger than the 15.6-inch screen on the unit it’s replacing. There’s actually even more of a size difference than it sounds like, because the aspect ratio is 16:10 instead of 16:9, and the 16-inch size is measured diagonally. It’s taller, and when a rectangle is measured diagonally, the surface area gets larger the closer you get to a square.

There are three options for the display, two of which are 3,072×1,920. The one I’m reviewing, however, is 3,840×2,400, and it’s OLED. That means that you get true blacks and vibrant colors. The OLED screen is truly a delight to use.

HP Display Control adjusts colors to take OLED to the next level.

Also, if you’re worried about the colors being too vibrant, there’s a built-in app called HP Display Control. This lets you optimize the colors for photo and video editing, web, printing, or you can just leave it on the default, which is optimized for vibrant colors. You can also have it apply a color profile based on which app you’re using.

In my testing, the screen supported 100% sRGB, 89% NTSC, 91% Adobe RGB, and 99% P3. These results are about as good as it gets. It’s an excellent screen for creators.

Brightness maxed out at 390.5 nits, which is fine since this really isn’t the type of machine you’ll be using in direct sunlight a lot. The contrast ratio is about as high as it goes, because that’s the nature of OLED.

The Spectre x360 16 has narrow bezels on all sides, but HP left a little bit extra space on top because it’s actually using a good webcam. It’s a 5MP webcam that records 1080p video; there’s an IR camera for facial recognition as well. And yes, 1080p video only requires 2.1MP, but this gives the camera room to move around. It has AI features like the ability to focus on you, so if you move, the camera can follow you. It’s pretty great.

The HP Spectre x360 has one of the best webcams in a laptop.

When I think of the premium laptop market, the big two products that cross my mind are the HP Spectre x360 and Dell XPS. It’s worth noting that Dell is not doing this. Dell’s entire XPS lineup still uses HD cameras. Even with Intel’s new Evo spec recommending FHD cameras, the new Dell XPS 13 Plus packs a 0.9MP sensor. Of course, HP hasn’t refreshed its Spectre x360 14 yet either.

Keyboard: As you’d expect, it’s a spacious deck for a premium keyboard

• It’s a solid keyboard, including buttons that you’d normally find on the sides like power, camera guard, and the fingerprint sensor.

HP makes excellent keyboards for its premium laptops, and the Spectre x360 16 is no different. It’s comfortable, it’s accurate, and like the rest of the laptop, it’s pretty.

As you can see from the image, HP went with its recent design of having all buttons on the keyboard. That includes a power button, a camera guard button, and even a fingerprint sensor.

The camera guard is about what you’d expect. You press the button and you’ll see something blocking the sensor. It also disconnects the camera internally. That means that if you have that pressed, you’ll log into a call and it will say that there’s no camera detected. Actually, when HP first introduced the camera guard, it didn’t have a physical blocker at all, only disconnecting it internally, but I guess for a feature based on distrust, that physical barrier was needed.

Note that when the camera is disconnected, you won’t even see it in Device Manager.

The entire Spectre x360 lineup does use Microsoft Precision touchpads, which is a good thing. For every other brand, it goes without saying, but HP was one of the last holdouts on that. It made the switch a few years ago, but it’s still worth mentioning.

Normally for a touchpad like this, I’d say I wish it was a little bit bigger, but I don’t think that’s even possible despite the fact that there seems to be extra real estate. Indeed, whenever I see extra space on the top or bottom of a touchpad, I wonder why the touchpad isn’t larger. But since the front is curved in the way that it is, I suppose it’s as big as it could be.

Performance: The HP Spectre x360 16 comes with Tiger Lake H35 processors and RTX graphics

• The Tiger Lake H35 CPU and RTX 3050 graphics, combined with the beautiful OLED display, make the HP Spectre x360 16 a perfect laptop for creators.
• Battery life is solid for the powerful hardware, but it can struggle, something that’s normal for machines with dedicated graphics.

The HP Spectre x360 16 comes with an Intel Core i7-11390H, which is standard across all models. What’s not standard is graphics, which is Iris Xe in the base model and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 in higher end units. HP sent me the latter, and it comes with 16GB RAM.

This is a machine that’s aimed at creators. As someone who just bought a new camera, I did a lot of editing in Adobe Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, and the Spectre handled my batch exports in Lightroom like a champ. Like I said, this machine is a delight to use. Aside from editing photos, it’s a convertible, so you can use it to draw on the nice big display.

The 35W CPU and RTX graphics make the HP Spectre x360 16 perfect for creators.

Personally, I’m a big fan of the Core i7-11390H, a quad-core 35W CPU. Traditionally, the H-series has been 45W, and in recent years, it’s had more cores. But with 11th-gen, Intel introduced a new 35W tier, with a lineup that’s similar to the U-series but jacked up to 35W. Tiger Lake H35 isn’t as powerful as H45, but I really think that’s fine. It’s not a gaming PC or a mobile workstation. It’s a creator laptop, and not using too much power means better battery life.

Speaking of battery life, I was able to get nearly five hours on this machine. That’s really good when you consider the powerful internals and the high-resolution OLED display. However, it was closer to three and a half hours if I don’t let Windows switch to battery saver in the final 20%. This is all with real-world usage, meaning working in a Chromium browser (Vivaldi), Photoshop, Lightroom, OneNote, Slack, etc.

Remember, while the OLED option is definitely the most beautiful one, the 3K option will save you some battery life. So will things like switching the power slider in Windows to lower options.

For performance benchmarks, I used PCMark 10, 3DMark, VRMark, Geekbench, and Cinebench.

	HP Spectre x360 16 Core i7-11390H, RTX 3050	Surface Laptop Studio Core i7-11370H, RTX A2000	Dell XPS 15 9510 Core i7-11800H, RTX 3050 Ti
PCMark 10	5,254	5,573	5,988
3DMark: Time Spy	3,604	5,075	4,801
Geekbench	1,604 / 5,208	1,546 / 5,826	1,538 / 7,514
Cinebench	1,570 / 5,098	1,504 / 6,283	1,491 / 9,399

Note that the Dell XPS 15 is the only one of the three that uses a 45W H-series processor. That’s why it gets better multi-core scores on CPU tests.

Who should buy the HP Spectre x360 16?

The HP Spectre x360 16, like all Spectre laptops, is a phenomenal device that’s totally worth buying. Of course, it’s not for everyone.

Who should but the HP Spectre x360 16?

• Creators who want something stylish.
• People who want a convertible, but also want a big screen.

Who should not buy the HP Spectre x360 16?

• Customers who prioritize portability and want something lightweight.
• Productivity-focused users that would be better served by something with a U-series processor.

The bottom line is that this is a phenomenal laptop for creators and artists. That’s also why I say it’s not for everyone. The HP Spectre x360 16 is a lot of computer. If you’re looking for something that weighs three pounds and is comfortable to carry around, this isn’t it. This thing is big, weighing over four pounds. It’s awesome, but you have to want that particular kind of awesome.

The post HP Spectre x360 16 review: It’s a lot of computer, but it’s awesome appeared first on xda-developers.

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Samsung Galaxy S22 Review: Good choice for most people, but not revolutionary

Samsung finally revealed the Galaxy S22 series in February, with three models to choose from: the regular Galaxy S22, the Galaxy S22 Plus, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Most of the attention has been on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, mostly because it’s another Note-style phone and it has been a year and a half since the last Galaxy Note phones hit store shelves. However, at a starting price of $799.99, the entry-level Galaxy S22 is the one to buy if you want a top-tier Android phone without paying over a thousand dollars.

This year’s Galaxy S22 isn’t too different from the Galaxy S21, which in turn was only a minor revision from the Galaxy S20 — I should know, I’ve used all three of them. You get the same fast Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset as all the other Galaxy S22 phones (and Exynos 2200 in some regions), three rear cameras, a 6.1-inch AMOLED screen, and four Android OS updates (plus five years of security patches).

The Galaxy S22 is one of the best bang-for-your-buck smartphones available right now, especially given the extended software support, but there’s no denying there are a few missed opportunities here.

Samsung Galaxy S22

The cheapest Galaxy S22 phone still packs a punch.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

Buy at Samsung

Navigate this review:

• Samsung Galaxy S22 pricing and availability
• Samsung Galaxy S22 specifications
• Design and display: The compact flagship
• Cameras: Not bad at all
• Software: Android 12 and One UI 4
• Performance and battery life: Fast phone, small battery
• Should you buy the Galaxy S22?

Samsung Galaxy S22: Pricing and Availability

• The Galaxy S22 starts at $799 in the United States, with 8GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
• There’s also a 256GB model, with the same amount of RAM.

This is the cheapest phone in Samsung’s Galaxy S22 lineup, with a starting price of $799. That’s $200 cheaper than the Galaxy S22 Plus, and $400 cheaper than the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The base model gives you 128GB of storage and 8GB RAM — there’s no microSD card in this phone, so the internal storage is all you get. If that’s not enough, there’s an $899 option with 256GB of storage and the same amount of RAM.

No matter where you buy the Galaxy S22, there are four main colors available: Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green (why does Green not get to be Phantom?), and Pink Gold. There are four additional colors only available through Samsung.com: Graphite, Cream, Sky Blue, and Violet.

Most stores and carriers selling the Galaxy S22 also offer various trade-in promotions and discounts that can drop the final price significantly. Samsung promises “up to $700” of trade-in credit on its online store, though that much credit requires trading in a Galaxy S21 Plus, Note 20 Ultra, or another high-end phone in near-perfect condition.

Samsung Galaxy S22: Specifications

Specification	Samsung Galaxy S22
Build	IP68 water and dust resistance
Dimensions & Weight	70.6 x 146 x 7.6mm 167g for non-mmWave model 16g for mmWave model
Display	6.1-inch AMOLED 2X Display 2340 x 1080, 425 ppi HDR10+ certified 120Hz refresh rate Always On Display
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (US, select other regions) Samsung Exynos 2200 (most other countries)
RAM & Storage	128/256GB internal storage 8GB LPDDR5 RAM
Battery & Charging	3,700mAh battery 25W USB PD 3.0 PPS wired charging Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 (only available with Samsung Super Fast Wireless Charger and Super Fast Wireless Charger Duo) Wireless PowerShare (reverse wireless charging)
Security	Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor
Rear Cameras	50MP main (F/1.8, 1.0μm, 85˚ FOV), binned to 12MP 12MP ultra-wide (F/2.2/1.4μm/120˚ FOV) 10MP telephoto (F2.4/1.0μm/36˚ FOV)
Front Camera	10MP  (F2.2/1.22μm/80˚ FOV)
Port(s)	USB Type-C No headphone jack No microSD card slot
Audio	Stereo speakers Bluetooth Dual Audio
Connectivity	5G: Non-Standalone (NSA), Standalone (SA), Sub6 / mmWave LTE: Enhanced 4×4 MIMO, Up to 7CA, LTE Cat.20 Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4/5/6GHz) Bluetooth v5.2 NFC GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou
Software	Android 12 with One UI 4.1 Four major Android OS updates promised Five years of security patches
Other Features	Samsung Pay (MST in some countries, NFC)

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Design and Display: The compact flagship

• One of the smallest flagship Android phones currently available.
• The flat display means a better fit for screen protectors and cases, and the AMOLED panel looks great.
• There’s no microSD card or headphone jack, same as the Galaxy S21 series.

The Galaxy S22 is your typical flagship-class slab of glass and aluminum. It’s one of the smallest Android phones you can buy with high-end hardware at the moment, at just 6.1 inches across the display, but that’s not saying much — the only competition there is the 5.9-inch Asus Zenfone 8. I personally prefer smaller devices, so the compact size is a win for me, though I wish it was even smaller (the iPhone 13 is 5.4 inches). If you want a Samsung phone with a larger screen, you’ll have to spend a bit more on the Galaxy S22 Plus, or drop back into the world of mid-range devices and buy the 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy A52.

No matter how you feel about the smaller size, there’s no denying the front display itself is excellent. The Galaxy S22 is a typical high-quality Samsung AMOLED screen, with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 (425 ppi) and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. If you want to conserve battery (more on battery life later), or just don’t want the smoother animations for any other reason, you can set the display back to a 60Hz refresh rate in the settings. The screen also supports HDR10+, so video content always looks great, and there’s a small hole at the top for the 10MP front camera. Thankfully, the display is completely flat, instead of the curved design found on the Galaxy S22 Ultra and some other phones — a flat display makes installing screen protectors much easier.

The frame of the Galaxy S22 is made from aluminum, with a glossy finish covering all four sides. It’s less rounded than the sides of the Galaxy S21 but isn’t quite as blocky as the iPhone 13. The volume and power buttons are located on the right side, and the bottom has the USB Type-C port, loudspeaker, and SIM card tray. Just like last year’s Galaxy S21 series, there is no microSD card slot and no headphone jack. Not everyone cares about that, but it’s absolutely ridiculous that nearly all phones under $100 have both of those features, and this $800-900 phone does not.

Samsung is using glass for the back of the Galaxy S22, which I’m also disappointed about. Both the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Fan Edition had plastic rear coverings, which helped reduce the device’s weight and improved durability. Though, opinion might differ on this as many people prefer a glass or metal back on premium devices — opinions can be subjective, and that’s alright. The camera array is found on the top-left side, with three cameras and a single LED flash.

I also received some of Samsung’s official cases for the Galaxy S22, seen below. The silicone case offers a gripper feel, and I love the red color option.

Silicone Case

The leather case is your typical genuine leather smartphone case — nothing special there.

Leather Case

Samsung has also brought the S-View case back this year, which is a cover with a small window on the front for the display. The panel can display a clock, incoming calls, and other basic functions (sort of like the small outer display on the Galaxy Z Flip).

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Cameras: Not bad at all

• The Galaxy S22 has a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP telephoto.
• Photo and video quality are good, but zoom photos won’t look nearly as good as with the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

The Galaxy S22 has three rear cameras: a 12MP main camera (actually 50MP, but with binned pixels), a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP telephoto. That’s almost the same setup as the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 FE, though the Galaxy S21 had a 64MP telephoto. If you want that higher resolution telephoto camera, you have to go for one of the phones in the Galaxy S21 series as the camera setup is the same on the Galaxy S22 Plus as well.

Samsung still pumps up color saturation on its cameras more than some other smartphone manufacturers, but the results from the main 12MP camera are still sharp and detailed. Indoor or outdoor, light or dark, the Galaxy S22 is up to the task. Even low-light performance is usually solid (seemingly comparable to the Galaxy S22 Ultra), and in areas that are almost completely dark, you can switch the camera to Night Mode to improve image brightness. I rarely had to use the dedicated Night Mode, though.

Click here for full-resolution photos

The telephoto lens is also decent, but the 3x optical zoom definitely won’t come close to the abilities of the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Photos of farther away objects still look decent, especially if you can manage to stay under 5x zoom, and the camera also comes in handy for zooming in on subjects close to you (almost like a macro).

My dog Daisy was standing a few feet away from me in the below photos, which isn’t much of a challenge for any telephoto lens, but I was still impressed by how much detail was still present at 10x zoom. Again, the telephoto on the Galaxy S22 Ultra is significantly more powerful, but the regular Galaxy S22 isn’t shabby here.

The camera app has many different alternate modes, though most of them are available on every other recent Samsung phone. You can switch to Pro Mode or Pro Video for traditional camera settings (manual focus, more shutter speed options, etc.), Slow Motion and Super Slo-Mo, Night Mode for better photos in low-light conditions, and so on.

Portrait Mode is one of the more useful modes, giving you a blurred background on photos and video. As long as your subject is relatively still and around 5-7 feet away (~1.5-2 m), you shouldn’t have a problem capturing a great photo. There’s also a slider in the settings for changing the intensity of the effect, and there are a few different options for colors and backgrounds, as seen below.

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Software: Android 12 and One UI 4

• The Galaxy S22 has Android 12 and One UI 4.1 out of the box.
• Samsung is promising four major Android OS upgrades, and five years of security updates.
• Google and Samsung are working more closely together on software.

If you’ve used any Samsung phone in the past few years, you’ll feel right at home here. The Galaxy S22 is running Android 12 out of the box, the latest available version, with One UI 4.1 on top. Samsung’s One UI changes nearly every aspect of Android, and has many built-in applications that serve the same functions as Google’s own applications. This approach definitely isn’t for everyone, especially if you’re a fan of the software experience on Google Pixel phones or other devices that stay close to “stock” Android. I ended up using a mix of Samsung and Google’s applications (Gmail for email, Samsung Calendar for calendar, etc.).

Samsung and Google have been collaborating more closely over the past two years, which has led to a few changes with the software on the Galaxy S22. Google Messages has replaced the Samsung Messages app for handling SMS texts (which was previously only true for Galaxy S phones outside the US), complete with support for Google’s implementation of RCS. If you text other people that are using Google Messages, which is available on all Android devices, you get some iMessage-like features such as read receipts and larger file sizes for attachments.

Google Duo also has a few features currently exclusive to the Galaxy S22 and Tab S8 series. You can use “Live Share” to stream your phone’s screen to other people in a Duo call, similar to Apple SharePlay, and YouTube videos are playable from inside the Google Messages application. Google apps also look more “at home” than ever on Samsung devices with the introduction of Android 12’s dynamic themes — for example, Gmail and the Play Store will use the same accent colors from your wallpaper as Samsung’s Phone app and quick settings panel.

As always with Galaxy devices, it’s not too difficult to revert to a more “stock” experience. You can replace Samsung’s home screen launcher with something like Lawnchair 2 or Action Launcher, install Gboard to replace Samsung Keyboard, and so on. You’ll still see Samsung’s design language in the Setting and other core system functions, but the Galaxy S22 can still get close to the Pixel experience.

I received the carrier-unlocked Galaxy S22 to review, so there isn’t any carrier bloat. However, Samsung still installs a handful of Microsoft applications (such as OneDrive and Windows Your Phone), Facebook, Netflix, and a few others. Some of Samsung’s usual apps can probably be described as bloatware too, like Samsung TV Plus. Most of these can be uninstalled completely.

Samsung is promising four major Android OS updates for the Galaxy S22, as well as five years of security patches, which is currently the longest software support you can get on an Android phone (tied with the Pixel 6’s security updates) outside of installing custom ROMs. That should mean the Galaxy S22 will receive Android 13, 14, 15, and 16 when they become available. However, Google is currently planning an interim Android 12L release, and it’s not clear if Samsung will roll that out to any of its devices and include it as one of the major updates.

I did notice a few minor software bugs with the Galaxy S22. Plugging the phone into my car for Android Auto resulted in the location indicator rapidly flashing, as seen in the embedded tweet below. I also noticed the phone frequently switching between LTE and 5G on my Ting phone service (which uses T-Mobile’s network) in some locations, but I’ve had issues with T-Mobile’s 5G on other phones, so I won’t pin that on Samsung.

This is what happens when I use Android Auto with the Galaxy S22. Never seen this before on any other phones… pic.twitter.com/rgcKUzcq3y

— Corbin Davenport (@corbindavenport) March 3, 2022

In summary, if you’ve used a Samsung phone in the past few years, you won’t notice much difference here. The longer support cycle is excellent, and now that Samsung has seemingly ripped out the last remaining advertisements from One UI (at least on my US model), I don’t have many complaints with Samsung’s take on Android. If you have an adverse opinion on Samsung’s UX skin from its TouchWiz days, One UI is worth a shot as it can turn your opinion around.

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Performance and Battery life: Fast phone, small battery

• The Galaxy S22 uses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset in the United States and a few other countries, and an Exynos 2200 chip everywhere else.
• All versions of the phone have 8GB RAM.
• The 3,7000mAh battery might be too small for demanding smartphone owners.

The Galaxy S22 uses Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset for smartphones, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. That means everything from gaming to scrolling through Twitter is fast and responsive, especially paired with that 120Hz display. Both models of the Galaxy S22 (128GB and 256GB storage) have the same 8GB RAM, which is the same amount found in all versions of the Galaxy S22 Plus and most Galaxy S22 Ultra variants. In most countries outside of the United States, Samsung is using an Exynos 2220 chipset instead of a Snapdragon — I haven’t tested an Exynos S22, but the Exynos Galaxy S22 Ultra is definitely having problems. My colleague Adam comments that the Snapdragon Galaxy S22 series is better than the Exynos Galaxy S22 series, so people in regions where Exynos is the only choice should explore other options.

Depending on how you use your smartphone, you might be running for a charger before the end of the day.

Battery life is more of a grey area. The Galaxy S22 has a battery capacity of 3,700mAh, which is a bit below what you would find on most other smartphones, due to the phone’s more compact size. The Galaxy S22 Plus has a much larger 4,500mAh battery, while the Galaxy S22 Ultra goes even further to 5,000mAh. Depending on how you use your smartphone, there’s a good chance you might be running for a charger before the end of the day.

I work from home and don’t play many mobile games, and I always have Always-On Display turned off, so battery life usually isn’t a problem for me with any smartphone. My usual mix of checking emails and work messages, doom-scrolling on Twitter, streaming YouTube videos, and web browsing still left me with 30-40% left at the end of every day. However, if you frequently play games or leave your phone’s screen on for 3+ hours on most days, this is not the smartphone for you. My colleague Aamir uses his phone heavily for games like Genshin Impact, and apps like Instagram, Slack, and more, and he has had the phone die even before the evening on a weekend. Run Spotify in the background, use Google Maps for a while for navigation, and you will soon be hit with battery anxiety for the rest of your day.

Charging the Galaxy S22 takes about 50 minutes with a 25W charger, which is nothing to write home about in this era where 65W charging on phones has become a norm and companies are working on 150W charging. But for what it is worth, we’ve also spotted that the Galaxy S22 Plus and the Galaxy S22 Ultra don’t really offer any tangible benefits with their “faster” 45W charging. So the Galaxy S22 series as a whole is disappointing when it comes to charging. The Galaxy S22 offers the poorest experience within the series, with short battery life and slow charging, and we hope Samsung considers upgrading these aspects of the phone.

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Should you buy the Galaxy S22?

Samsung’s latest entry-level Galaxy S phone is in an interesting position this year. It’s at the same $799 price as last year’s Galaxy S21, but it has a slightly smaller display and a worse telephoto camera. Between the increasing number of options in the $600 range (such as the Galaxy S21 FE and Google Pixel 6), and the smaller battery, the Galaxy S22 definitely isn’t for everyone.

You should buy the Galaxy S22 if…

• You want a compact Android flagship smartphone — the Galaxy S22 isn’t exactly small, but it’s nearly as small as you can get for good.
• You’re looking for the cheapest Galaxy phone with the latest flagship-class Snapdragon chipset and a capable camera.
• You plan on keeping their phone for several years — Samsung is promising five years of security patches, and four major Android updates.

You shouldn’t buy the Galaxy S22 if…

• You use your smartphone all day, or frequently play intense mobile games — get the Galaxy S22 Plus instead, or another phone with a larger battery or better charging.
• You already have a Galaxy S21.
• You want a more “stock” Android software, or just don’t like Samsung One UI.

Here’s hoping Samsung can bring more improvements to the base model Galaxy S phone next year, whether that means more cameras, the return of the microSD card slot, or some other functionality.

Samsung Galaxy S22

The Samsung Galaxy S22 is the entry flagship for 2022, bringing over top of the line performance and camera capabilities in a form that fits many pockets and budgets.

Buy from Samsung.com

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Hands-on with the Astro Slide 5G: Slider in your hand, Debian in your pocket

In the smartphone world, we pretty much only have two choices of devices when it comes to operating systems — iPhone and Android. However, Planet Computers has been finding a bit of a niche with past devices such as the Gemini and the Cosmo Communicator. Now it’s back again, this time with the Astro Slide 5G, and it packs some updated specifications and the ability to run popular Linux distributions, instead of (or even alongside) Android 11 if you prefer.

We managed to get some hands-on time at the company’s stand at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and it’s a fun little device that has a very different focus when compared to other devices powered by similar chipsets. Officially, there is planned support for Sailfish OS, Debian, and Kali Linux.

Astro Slide 5G: Specifications

Specification	Astro Slide 5G
Display	6.53 inch, 2340 x 1080 pixel
Processor	MediaTek Dimensity 800 (4 x Cortex-A76 + 4 X Cortex-A55)
GPU	ARM Mali-G57 MC4
RAM	8GB LPDDR4x
Storage	128GB
Cameras	48MP rear, 13MP front
Speakers	Stereo
Ports	2 x USB-C, 3.5m audio, microSD card slot
Wireless	5G (global), WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, FM radio, GPS, GLONASS
Battery	3,500 mAh
Charging	10W Wireless + fast charging (wired)
Biometrics	Fingerprint sensor (on side of phone)
Keyboard	Backlit, slide-out, mechanical, with support for 24 language layouts
Dimensions	164mm x 76.6mm x 15mm
Weight	300 grams

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Astro Slide 5G: Design and First Impressions

The Astro Slide 5G is aimed at a very different user to most. It doesn’t have the highest-end specifications, and the bezels on the front are pretty big. Not to mention how bulky the phone looks too, which can certainly put off some users.

However, all of that is because the company’s focus is on both the QWERTY keyboard and the phone’s software. You can pick up an Astro Slide 5G that runs Android out of the box, but then you can get Ubuntu Touch, Sailfish OS, or other popular Linux distributions too. Furthermore, they can be dual-booted so that you don’t need to lock yourself into one particular platform if you have different needs. We were able to play around with two devices — one with Android 11, and one with Ubuntu Touch.

The Astro Slide 5G is pretty thick thanks to the strange form factor. Not only does it have a screen that needs to be able to slide out and prop up against the body of the phone, but there are also a pair of USB-C ports — one at the top and one at the bottom. I asked for the reasoning behind this, and I was told that often, power users wanted the ability to have a dedicated USB-C port for data transfer while charging at the same time. For example, charging while also using a USB-C to ethernet adapter for wired network access. Given that you can run Linux distributions on your phone, it makes sense that device owners may have power-user requirements like these.

The hinge snapping back feels robust and strong, though I wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable constantly clacking it back and forth. It feels like while it can certainly take a beating, the plastic may snap if it’s used too harshly. I was scared of breaking the phone when trying to open and close it, as it felt like I was very close to accidentally snapping something I shouldn’t have.

All in all, this phone is aimed at a very specific type of user. I found typing on the QWERTY keyboard comfortable, and I could definitely see myself getting used to it. I was also shown how useful it can be when managing Excel spreadsheets, documents, and more, and I can see how it can be a useful device for businesspeople.

It’s bulky, and it’s definitely a different phone to most form-factors, but from my usage, I can see how it’s a useful device that’s sought after for those who fall into that particular niche. It’s the company’s third phone, and it’s a definite improvement over its past outings.

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Astro Slide 5G: Pricing and availability

The Astro Slide 5G is available for pre-order right now on both the company’s website and through Indiegogo. It retails for £853.20 inclusive of VAT. it ships in April 2022, and there are a lot of different keyboards for a lot of different regions to choose from. You can check out the company’s website below if you’re interested.

Purchase the Astro Slide 5G

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