Samsung Galaxy S22 Pink 128GB

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus is a 2022 flagship now selling for around $430 unlocked. It has a great 6.6-inch AMOLED display and strong connectivity, but the battery and camera are showing their age. It's a decent buy if you want a Samsung screen on a budget, but newer mid-rangers offer more for the money.

The S22 Plus runs on Samsung's octa-core chip with 8GB of RAM, and in our database it lands in the 34th percentile for performance. That's not great. For everyday scrolling, messaging, and social media, you won't notice much lag. But push it with heavy gaming or multitasking across a bunch of apps and you'll feel the age. It's not slow in a broken way, just slow in a "this was a flagship three years ago" way.

The display is where this phone still earns its keep. The 6.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh sits at the 71st percentile, which translates to well above average. Colors pop, scrolling feels smooth, and it's easily the best part of the phone. The 50MP main camera, on the other hand, lands at the 37th percentile. Photos are fine in good light but struggle when things get dim or busy. Video tops out at 1080p, which feels dated when competitors are pushing 4K and beyond.

Stacked against the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max or Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, the S22 Plus loses on nearly every front except price. Those phones have better cameras, longer battery life, and faster performance. The Pixel 9 Pro XL especially makes the S22 Plus camera look rough. But you're also paying hundreds more for those devices.

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 and Nothing Phone (4a) Pro are more interesting comparisons. The Razr gives you a foldable form factor for not much more money, and the Nothing Phone offers a cleaner software experience with better battery. The S22 Plus beats both on display quality and connectivity, but that's about it. If you're choosing between this and a newer mid-ranger, the mid-ranger probably wins unless you really want that Samsung screen.

At $430 unlocked, the S22 Plus is priced like a mid-range phone but carries some flagship DNA. The problem is that DNA is from 2022. You can find the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL or OnePlus 15 for more money but with dramatically better cameras and batteries. Or you could grab a Nothing Phone (4a) Pro for less and get a fresher experience. The S22 Plus makes sense if you specifically want a Samsung, want that AMOLED screen, and don't care about having the latest camera tech. Otherwise, the value proposition gets shaky fast.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus sits in that weird middle ground of the phone world right now. It's a 2022 flagship that's aged into a mid-range price point, and for around $430 unlocked, it's competing against phones that are either newer or weirder. You get a 6.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 50MP main camera. It's a bar-style Android phone with 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, and an in-display fingerprint sensor. Nothing flashy, but nothing broken either.

People searching for a reliable Samsung phone under $500 will keep running into this one. It's factory unlocked, comes in pink if that's your thing, and still gets the job done for everyday stuff. The question most shoppers have is whether a three-year-old flagship still makes sense when newer mid-rangers exist. And honestly, it depends on what you value. The display is still a standout, but the battery and camera are showing their age.

We pulled this from our database and the numbers tell a mixed story. Connectivity is genuinely strong, the screen holds up well, but performance and camera scores land in the bottom half of what we track. It's not a bad phone. It's just a phone that used to be great and now has to justify its existence against some serious competition.

Skip the S22 Plus if you take a lot of photos or videos. The camera scores in the 37th percentile and the 1080p video cap will frustrate anyone who cares about image quality. Heavy gamers should also look elsewhere, since performance lands in the bottom third. And if you're rough on your gear, the ruggedness score of 29.9 out of 100 is a real concern. For better cameras, check out the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. For better battery and a fresher feel, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro or OnePlus 15 make more sense.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus in 2025? If you find it for around $400 or less and you want a big, beautiful Samsung display with solid connectivity, sure. It's a perfectly fine phone for calls, texts, streaming, and light photography. But if you care about battery life, camera quality, or future-proofing, look elsewhere.

The battery scores in the 54th percentile, which is about average, but average for a 4500mAh cell in 2025 means you'll be reaching for a charger by evening. The camera at the 37th percentile is the real dealbreaker for anyone who takes photos seriously. This phone was a flagship once, and it still feels like one in the hand. It just doesn't perform like one anymore.