Update: The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has also been tipped to have 1TB of onboard storage, meaning it could challenge the iPhone 13 Pro.
As we start looking forward to 2022, our attention is shifting to Samsung and the Galaxy S22. Rumor has it that Samsung's latest flagship will launch in early February, bringing the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip to a large portion of the US market.
But a new report from SamMobile claims that Samsung aims to keep the Galaxy S22's starting price at the same $799 that the Galaxy S21 debuted at earlier this spring. That's an admirable goal, because for $799, the Galaxy S21 is a stellar device. Although the OnePlus 9 and Pixel 6 both cost less, the S21 remains a great value even before you factor in carrier and trade-in deals.
SamMobile didn't specify if the Galaxy S22 Plus (or Pro) or S22 Ultra will also keep the same prices as their S21 counterparts ($999 and $1,199, respectively). We find it hard to imagine Samsung raising the price on the middle child, but with all of the rumored features coming to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the top-tier phone could cost a bit more than this year.
Of course, if the Galaxy S22 sticks to the $799 price point this report claims, then that leaves the Galaxy S21 FE in a strange spot. Rumors suggest the budget flagship will cost $699, just $100 less than the newer (and arguably better) Galaxy S22.
We've spoken at length about how Samsung should have dropped the Galaxy S21 FE from its plans months ago, but the Korean phone maker has pushed ahead — likely hoping to capitalize on the good will that the Galaxy S20 FE built. Remember, however, that the S20 FE came out at hundreds less than the base model Galaxy S20 in 2020. A $599 price for the S21 FE would make more sense.
With the Galaxy S21 series' aggressive price cuts — remember, the phone debuted at $200 less than the Galaxy S20's original price — the Galaxy S21 FE could be a tough sell. The Galaxy S21 already came in a plastic body to cut costs, so that leaves the question of what else Samsung would cut for the FE version. We imagine the total RAM might get knocked down to 6GB, but that leaves little else that wouldn't compromise on the phone's overall quality.
Right now, we believe that Samsung will announce the Galaxy S21 FE at CES 2022 in January and the Galaxy S22 in early February. The highlight of the latter is, of course, the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which we have yet to get our hands on. That's not to mention the rumored Galaxy Note-ified Galaxy S22 Ultra, which might include a built-in S Pen like the retired Galaxy Note series.
