When compared to the iPhone X, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered Galaxy S22 Ultra offers respectable advances in performance.
However, benchmark tests show that the new $1,199 Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is slower than Apple’s newest iPhone 13 Pro Max. That may seem familiar, but Apple’s A15 Bionic processor maintains its performance advantage.
However, it doesn’t mean that the Galaxy S22 Ultra isn’t a powerful device. With 12GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, our device sailed through a broad variety of tests. A $100 price increase will get you 12GB of RAM on the S22 Ultra, although 8GB is included on the basic model.
During the Galaxy S22 pre-order period, which ends on February 24, you may upgrade to the 256GB/12GB model for the same price as the entry-level 128GB/8GB S22 Ultra variant.
This is how the Galaxy S22 Ultra compares against the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the $1,000 Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, and the $800 Google Pixel 6 Pro in our benchmark testing.
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Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Geekbench 5
| Processor | Geekbench 5 single core score | Geekbench 5 multicore score | |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 | 1,240 | 3,392 |
| Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | Snapdragon 888 | 1,123 | 3,440 |
| Google Pixel 6 Pro | Google Tensor | 1,027 | 2,760 |
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | A15 Bionic | 1,720 | 4,549 |
Using Geekbench 5, you can see your CPU’s single-core and dual-core performance levels. Compared to the Galaxy S21 Ultra (1,123) and the Google Pixel 6 Pro (1,000), the Galaxy S22 Ultra achieved 1,240 on the single-core phase of the test (1,027). The iPhone 13 Pro Max, on the other hand, concluded with a score of 1,720.
However, our Galaxy S22 Ultra review device scored 3,392 instead of 3,440 on the multi-core test, which is odd since the S21 Ultra scored 3,440. The Pixel 6 Pro’s Tensor chip still lags behind the newer Ultra, which has a faster processor (2,760). The iPhone 13 Pro Max once again led the field, scoring 4,549.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: 3DMark Wild Life (graphics)
| Score | Frames per second | |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | 9,984 | 59.8 fps |
| Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | 5,739 | 34.4 fps |
| Google Pixel 6 Pro | 6,682 | 40 fps |
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | 11,418 | 68.4 fps |
In order to test graphics performance, we use the 3DMark Wild Life Test. We like to use the Unlimited component of the test to get a better sense of a phone’s real GPU capabilities since it runs off screen.
With an average 3DMark rating of 9,984 and a frame rate of 58.5 frames per second (fps), the Galaxy S22 Ultra performed much better than the Galaxy S21 Ultra in this test. Compare this to the S21 Ultra’s 5,739 and 34.4 fps.
Aside with beating the Google Pixel 6 Pro’s score of 6,682 and 40 fps, the S22 Ultra also outperforms its rivals. Despite this, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is the clear winner, averaging 11,418 fps and 68.4 frames per second.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Video encoding test
| Adobe Premiere Rush transcode time (Mins:Secs) | |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | 0:47.43 |
| Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | 1:02 |
| Google Pixel 6 Pro | 00:48 |
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | 0:25 |
Other than that, we put your phone through its paces in simulated real-world situations. The Adobe Premiere Rush programme is used to transcode the video in this case. We convert a 4K movie to 1080p and time how long each phone takes to complete the process.
With a time of 47 seconds, the S22 Ultra surpassed the S21 Ultra, which took 1 minute and 2 seconds to do the same objective. The S22 Ultra took 48 seconds to complete the test, whilst the iPhone 13 Pro took just 25 seconds.
Geekbench ML (machine learning)
| CPU | GPU | NPU | |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | 434 | 2,039 | 3,132 |
| Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | 425 | 1,675 | 1,118 |
| Google Pixel 6 Pro | 300 | 1,376 | 1,745 |
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | 915 | 1,587 | 2,663 |
Every phone manufacturer, including Samsung, now boasts about their devices’ machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. In other words, how good is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the S22 Ultra?
Computer vision and natural language processing tests from the Geekbench ML app were used to simulate real-world machine learning tasks and applications. The tests evaluate the performance of a phone’s CPU, GPU, and NPU in terms of machine learning.
In this test, the Galaxy S22 Ultra surprised everyone by finishing ahead of the iPhone 13 Pro Max with CPU scores of 434, GPU scores of 2,039, and NPU scores of 3,132. The iPhone had a higher CPU score of 915, but a lower GPU score of 1,587 and a lower NPU score (2,663). The Tensor chip in the Pixel 6 Pro was beaten by Samsung in all three tests.
The S22 Ultra’s NPU performance was roughly three times that of the S21 Ultra.
Benchmark results for the Samsung Galaxy S22: the short and sweet of it
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s average numbers might tell you a lot about its performance, but they don’t tell the whole storey. My first impressions of the phone are that it is really responsive, and we’ll have to wait and see how it performs in our tests of the S22 Ultra display and battery life.
On the other hand, the S22 Ultra’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU offers much more GPU power than the S21 Ultra and encodes video significantly quicker. Single-core Geekbench scores were quicker than the S21 Ultra, but I’m not sure why the multi-core scores were lower. To be sure, we’ll do more testing.
In terms of performance, Samsung hasn’t yet surpassed the iPhone 13 Pro Max. If you are looking for the best CPU, graphics card and video encoding, Apple’s A15 Bionic chip is still the best. It did fall behind in several machine learning tests, though.