Samsung beefs up Galaxy phone line-up with stylus, bigger storage

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Samsung Electronics announced the latest generation of its flagship smartphone family and its largest tablet yet, upgrading its hardware line-up with new screen sizes, better cameras and more storage to better compete with Apple.

The Suwon-based company announced its Android-powered Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+ and Galaxy S22 Ultra phones at a virtual Unpacked event, maintaining starting prices of $1,178 to $1,998 (Singapore prices), depending on model. Pre-orders start immediately ahead of a Feb 25 release.

The 6.8-inch Ultra edition adds an integrated stylus, a more advanced chip and up to 1TB of on-board storage, matching the iPhone 13 Pro's maximum storage spec. With a large display and stylus capabilities, the S22 Ultra effectively takes over the role of Samsung's former Galaxy Note line, which is being discontinued, Samsung mobile chief T.M. Roh said in an interview.

"We're integrating the most beloved Note features into more device categories, including the S Series, tablets, Z Fold, Galaxy Book and beyond," Mr Roh said as part of the announcement. "This enables everyone to get more from their mobile experience and marks the next chapter of the Note legacy."

This comes months after Samsung opted not to release a new Note in August. The company bet on its foldables filling the void and saw the move pay off with its sales of the category growing several times over and raising its average selling price for mobile devices.

“In the near term, our operation will focus on a two-track strategy: flagship S series in the first half of the year and innovative foldable lineup in the second half,” said Mr Roh. “We will keep this strategy until there’s another major breakthrough and we are working hard to make it happen.”

Said IDC analyst Bryan Ma: “The Note series was getting a bit long in the tooth, and it was a clear choice to absorb the S-Pen into the mainstream S-series, especially when the company could now rely on its successful foldable line-up in the second half of the year.”

The South Korean tech giant sees the growing number of foldable devices from competitors this year as confirmation that it made the right strategic decision early on, according to Mr Roh. The company expects the industry and app ecosystem to grow as a result. 

Many of the new models are likely to use Samsung flexible displays in their designs, such as the Oppo Find N announced in December.

Samsung consolidated its mobile and consumer electronics businesses into a single division late last year as part of a company-wide reorganisation. It did so in order to create a more cohesive ecosystem of products, the company said.

Making its devices work seamlessly together is aimed at helping Samsung fend off competition from Chinese rivals like Xiaomi and Oppo while also addressing the challenge of Amazon.com's Alexa voice assistant, which now spans everything from smart speakers to thermostats.

Samsung will take an approach closer to Amazon's than Apple's by opening its ecosystem to external partners and hardware makers.

The new Galaxy phones each have several camera upgrades, including improvements to auto framing, video stability, night mode and high-dynamic range photography. There is also a new 50-megapixel wide camera on the S22 and S22+.

These handsets mark the retail debut of Samsung's Exynos 2200 processor, which includes Advanced Micro Devices graphics and is built at a 4nm process, an improvement on the 5nm technology used in flagship smartphones today, including those from Apple.

Alongside the new devices, Samsung is touting a feature called Google Duo Live Sharing, which is similar to Apple's recently introduced SharePlay and will let two Samsung device users watch video content together remotely.

The new phones also include an updated version of Samsung's OneUI interface, which customises the Android user experience.

Samsung also rolled out three new tablets: the Tab S8, S8+ and S8 Ultra in 11-inch, 12.4-inch and 14.6-inch screen sizes.

The S8 Ultra means Samsung now has one of the biggest tablets on the market. Apple's largest iPad measures in at 12.9 inches, though the company is exploring larger models, Bloomberg News has reported.

The new Tab devices have faster processors, improved front-facing cameras and more memory. Storage capacities - 128GB, 256GB and 512GB - remain the same.