Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Phantom Black 128GB

Buy it for the insane zoom and the S Pen, not for speed. A refurbished unit under $400 is one of the best camera deals in mobile right now.

The performance story here is a bit of a split personality. For everyday tasks, the phone feels snappy and handles multitasking with 8GB of RAM without breaking a sweat. But push it with a heavy game like Genshin Impact, and you'll feel the thermal throttling kick in sooner than on newer chips. What surprised us most was the battery life. Despite that power-hungry processor, the 5000mAh cell scored in the 95th percentile in our tests. It comfortably gets through a full day, which is a huge win for a phone with a screen this big and bright. The 45W charging isn't class-leading, but it's fast enough to get you back on your feet quickly.

The S22 Ultra's biggest rival is its own successor, the S23 Ultra, which fixes the performance and efficiency issues with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. If your budget can stretch, just get that. Against the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, the Samsung wins on zoom versatility and raw feature count, but the Pixel destroys it in computational photography and will get software updates for years longer. The OnePlus 13R is a dark horse here, offering a much faster processor for a similar price, but you lose the S Pen and that incredible zoom lens. For the stylus die-hards, there's simply no other choice.

This is where things get interesting. The price spread is wild, ranging from $270 for a refurbished unit to over $1200 for a pristine one. At the high end, you're getting fleeced. Just buy an S23 Ultra. But if you can snag a good condition refurb for under $400, the value proposition flips completely. You're getting a 94th percentile camera system and a top-tier display for less than a mid-range Pixel. The best deal we're seeing is from Best Buy for their refurbished units, which come with a price match guarantee. Skip the 128GB model if you can, the UFS 2.1 storage is a bottleneck.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is the last of a dying breed, and that's exactly why it's still so compelling. Samsung packed a built-in S Pen, a ridiculous 100x zoom camera, and a gorgeous 6.8-inch screen into a phone that refuses to be a boring glass slab. It's a productivity and photography monster that feels more like a spiritual successor to the Note series than just another Galaxy S phone. The one thing to know? You're buying this for the camera and the stylus, not for raw speed. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip is showing its age, landing in a mediocre 36th percentile for performance in our database. But if you don't need to win benchmark races, this phone still delivers a flagship experience for a fraction of the cost of a new S24 Ultra.

If you're looking for a compact phone or the absolute fastest gaming performance, this isn't it. The sharp corners and 228g weight make it a handful, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip is outclassed by newer processors. Go get a OnePlus 13R for speed or a base Galaxy S23 for a more pocketable flagship experience.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is a fantastic phone if you buy it with your eyes wide open. Don't expect class-leading performance or the latest Android updates. Do expect one of the most versatile camera systems ever put in a phone and the only true stylus experience that matters. For a specific kind of power user who loves to zoom, sketch, and sign documents on the go, a refurbished S22 Ultra is a screaming deal. For everyone else, it's a tougher sell against newer, faster mid-rangers.