Galaxy S22 Ultra photo leak appears to show the S-Pen

Samsung might just revive the S-Pen with the Galaxy S22 Ultra after all. Front Page Tech has obtained photos of what it claims are the first live photos of the (apparently finished) S22 Ultra, and it’s effectively the new Galaxy Note. There’s an S-Pen, a slot to hold the stylus and even a less-rounded design reminiscent of Notes past.

Unlike previous 3D renders, however, there’s no P-shaped camera hump. Samsung reportedly needed a thicker design to accommodate the S-Pen, allowing lenses that are far more flush with the body. You might have to forego significant camera upgrades, though. The S22 Ultra will supposedly still revolve around a 108MP main sensor joined by a 12MP ultra-wide shooter, a 10MP 3X telephoto cam and a 10MP 10X telephoto.

Separately, FPT‘s Jon Prosser claimed Samsung would take pre-orders for the Galaxy S22 family on February 8th ahead of a February 18th release. We’d treat those dates as tentative no matter how reliable they are (the timing could easily change at this stage), but they hint the S21’s January debut was more of a one-off than the start of a trend.

If the leak is accurate, it helps explain Samsung’s decision to skip a Galaxy Note update in 2021. The company wasn’t so much ‘killing’ the Note as moving it into the Galaxy S line. The company may reserve its summer phone launches for foldables like the Z Fold 3. While that may be a hassle if you’ve been patiently waiting for a new Note, it beats having to either give up built-in S-Pen functionality or settling for a “good enough” optional equipment.