lcd panel samsung free sample

The Hisense U8H matches the excellent brightness and color performance of much pricier LCD TVs, and its Google TV smart platform is a welcome addition. But it’s available in only three screen sizes.

The Hisense U8H is the best LCD/LED TV for most people because it delivers the performance of a much pricier TV yet starts at under $1,000, for the smallest (55-inch) screen size. This TV utilizes quantum dots, a full-array backlight with mini-LEDs, and a 120 Hz refresh rate to deliver a great-looking 4K HDR image. It’s compatible with every major HDR format. And it’s equipped with two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 inputs to support 4K 120 Hz gaming from the newest Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Add in the intuitive, fully featured Google TV smart-TV platform, and the U8H’s price-to-performance ratio is of inarguable value.

Chief among the U8H’s many strengths is its impressive peak brightness. When sending it HDR test patterns, I measured an average brightness of 1,500 nits, with peaks just north of 1,800 nits (a measurement of luminance; see TV features, defined for more info). To put that into perspective, consider that the 65-inch version of our budget 4K TV pick (the TCL 5-Series) typically costs around half as much as the 65-inch U8H but achieves only around 30% to 40% of its brightness. On the other side of the coin, the 65-inch version of our upgrade pick (the Samsung QN90B) costs almost twice as much as the 65-inch U8H, but it achieves only nominally higher brightness. Adequate light output creates convincing highlights and image contrast and (when necessary) combats ambient light from lamps or windows. It is a necessity for any TV worth buying—especially if you hope to watch HDR movies or play HDR games—and the U8H simply outpaces most TVs in its price range (and some in the next price bracket up, too).

That’s not to say the U8H has pixel-precise light control—it’s not an OLED TV, after all—but it does a terrific job most of the time. In fact, in our tests, the U8H bested last year’s upgrade pick, the Samsung QN90A, in certain scenarios: The intro to Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix features the filmmaker against a pitch-black backdrop. Though last year’s QN90A failed to maintain perfect control over dimming elements during this scene (the black backdrop brightened distractingly once a sufficient amount of brighter content appeared on screen), the U8H did not. (For the record, the newer QN90B also passed this test.) The U8H’s mini-LEDs also help the screen look uniformly bright: Although the U8H is still not as good as an OLED TV in this respect, it shows very little indication of being a backlight-driven display, even during tricky scenes with large swaths of dim lighting.

What does this mean in real-world terms? It means that the Hisense U8H truly excels as a modern 4K HDR TV, whether you’re watching the latest episode of Rings of Power or playing Overwatch 2. While watching HDR content side by side on the U8H and on our upgrade pick, the Samsung QN90B, I was truly surprised by how similar they looked at times, given that our upgrade pick is much more expensive. That said, though the U8H achieves impressive results where light output and color volume are concerned, it also exhibited some occasional video processing and upscaling issues (see Flaws but not dealbreakers), which videophiles and AV enthusiasts may take umbrage with. But in general, the picture quality punches well above its weight, metaphorically speaking.

In terms of design, the Hisense U8H is not as svelte as our upgrade pick, but it’s plenty sturdy and doesn’t look or feel cheap. Two narrow, metal feet jut out from beneath the panel and steadily hold the TV. They can be attached in two separate spots, either closer in toward the middle of the panel or out toward the edges, to account for different-size TV stands. The feet are also equipped with cable organization clasps—a nice touch for keeping your TV stand free of cable clutter. Though the TV is primarily plastic, its bezels are lined with metal strips, providing a bit more durability in the long run. I moved it around my home, and it was no worse for wear, but we’ll know more after doing some long-term testing.

The Hisense U8H has some difficulties with banding, or areas of uneven gradation, where transitions that should appear smooth instead look like “bands” of color (sometimes also called posterization). Like many current 4K HDR TVs, the U8H uses an 8-bit panel rather than a 10-bit panel, which affects the color decoding and color presentation process. This is usually relevant only with HDR video and games. When playing games on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, I saw a few instances where the content wasn’t rendered correctly and displayed ugly splotches of color on the screen. However, this almost always occurred during static screens (such as a pause menu or loading screen); I rarely spotted it during actual gameplay. Hisense has stated that it would address the problem in a future firmware update, but at the time of writing it was still present. This is a flaw that may give dedicated gamers pause, but we don’t consider it to be a dealbreaker for most people.

Finally, like most TVs that use vertical alignment (VA) LCD panels, the U8H has a limited horizontal viewing angle, which may be a bit annoying if you’re hoping to entertain a large crowd. Our upgrade pick uses a special wide-angle technology to address this.

Perhaps better than any other phone maker, Samsung is able to produce appealing handsets at just about every price point – and the Galaxy A13, the follow-up to 2021"s Galaxy A12, comes in at just about the cheapest price point there is. That"s really the headline feature here: the low price. It starts at a mere $189.99 / £179.99 / AU$329.

You can save yourself around $1,000 (or £1,000 or AU$1,500) by buying this phone instead of the lowest spec"d version of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra – that"s a massive saving of course, but you"re also making some pretty major compromises along the way. It"s all a question of what you want from a smartphone... and how much you have to spend.

Buying Samsung means you"re guaranteed to be able to tick certain boxes of course, including solid build quality and a competent (and relatively recent) version of Android. If you"re already in the Samsung ecosystem and are used to its One UI software, then you"re probably going to want to continue that.

If you want value for money and you want Samsung, then the Galaxy A13 is worth a serious look. There are plenty of competing phones even at this low, low price point however, including the likes of the Moto G22 and the Nokia G21.

We also might soon see the Samsung Galaxy A14, with a launch around March 2023 looking likely - so if you"re not in a hurry then you might want to consider waiting for that.

Can we interest you in the Samsung Galaxy A13? It"s out and available to buy now, and it"s yours for $189.99 / £179.99 / AU$329 – there really aren"t many phones at all that come in at a lower price point than that.

In the UK, you can pick up the phone from a number of different retailers, including Argos(opens in new tab) and Tesco Mobile(opens in new tab). It"s also available direct from Samsung(opens in new tab) in certain markets.

You can pick up the Samsung Galaxy A13 in black, white, peach or blue, depending on the part of the world you"re in, and it was the white version that we had in to review. The design is all very basic and plastic, as you would expect at this price point, but it"s also nicely curved and really well put together.

In other words, it feels like a phone that"s going to last, and we like the way that the rear camera module is embedded into the back of the phone, up in the top left corner – something Samsung is doing in all of its Galaxy handsets this year.

You get the volume controls on the right as you look at the phone, and just underneath is the power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor – we tend to prefer these sensors to be built into the screen, but it"s hardly a deal-breaker. There"s a USB-C port down at the bottom and next to it Samsung has also found room for a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Samsung Galaxy A13 comes with a 6.6-inch, 2408 x 1080 LCD screen that does a decent job with websites, photos, videos and games. It"s suitably bright, vivid and crisp, and while there"s no support for HDR or anything above a 60Hz refresh rate, we didn"t have any real complaints about the display.

It"s worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G available in the US has a completely different - and lower resolution - screen, but we"re specifically looking at the 4G model here.

There are four of them in total: a 50MP wide one, a 5MP ultrawide one, a 2MP macro one and a 2MP depth one. Note that the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G available in the US lacks the ultrawide snapper - so you gain 5G at the expense of a camera.

There"s no doubt that spending a bit more money is going to get you a phone camera that captures significantly better pictures, but at the same time the Samsung Galaxy A13 isn"t going to let you down most of the time. As you"ll see from the samples we"ve included below, the camera performance is probably better than you would expect from such an inexpensive phone.

Our Samsung Galaxy A13 review unit came with an Exynos 850 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which you can expand via a microSD card if necessary.

Out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy A13 runs Android 12 with One UI 4.1 on top. As variations on Android go, One UI is one of the better ones, and you get plenty of additional customization options that Google doesn"t include as standard (everything from interface themes to memory management).

As usual with Samsung phones, you get a pile of apps that are really just inferior duplicates of everything that Google provides – including apps for notes, calendars, contacts, photos and videos, and a web browser. Samsung"s own apps for smart home management and fitness tracking are included too.

Samsung has been improving in recent years when it comes to prompt Android updates, so you can at least be assured that the Galaxy A13 will be well supported with patches and upgrades for a while.

You need an affordable phoneYou won"t find many brand new smartphones for less than the price of the Samsung Galaxy A13, so it"s perfect for those of you who are wanting to spend as little as possible.

You want a decent cameraThe quad-lens camera on the back of the Samsung Galaxy A13 isn"t exactly going to wow you, but it"s one of the best snappers at this price level and can take pretty good shots.

You"re a Samsung fanThe Samsung One UI skin for Android isn"t for everyone, but it does give you plenty in the way of customizations, as well as Samsung apps to replace most of the Google defaults.

You want 5GAt the time of writing, there"s no 5G variant of the Samsung Galaxy A13 in the UK or Australian markets, while in the US the 5G model is a quite different phone, so this isn"t a phone to get if you want next-gen connectivity speeds.

You need top performanceThe Samsung Galaxy A13 makes use of a slow processor and not much in the way of RAM. You"ll be able to get by with this, but not much more than that.

You"d like premium extrasSometimes, you get what you pay for – and the Samsung Galaxy A13 lacks some of the extras you might be looking for, including wireless charging and a waterproof design.

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it"s on our radar.Samsung Galaxy A13: Price Comparison

Samsung Electronics is expected to ink a 3-trillion-won ($2.5 billion) deal with LG Display to buy organic light emitting diode (OLED) and liquid crystal display (LCD) panels next year, according to market analysts.

If the deal goes through, that will be the first time that the world’s largest TV maker has used OLED panels, a high-end panel type with better contrast than LCDs, manufactured by LG Display, 37.9 percent owned by Samsung"s rival LG Electronics.

“LG Display is set to supply LCD and OLED panels in a deal worth 3 trillion won annually to Samsung Electronics beginning next year,” said Jeff Kim, an analyst at KB Securities, in a report, raising the display maker’s target price to 28,000 won from 25,000 won.

“As of December 2021, [Samsung Electronics] is expected to have already completed product development and planning for OLED TVs, for which LG Display’s WOLED panels are likely to be employed, indicating that the rollout (in North America and Europe) is likely to be in the first half of 2022,” the analyst wrote in the report.

The possible deal will likely consist of 2 million OLED panels and 5 million LCD panels, according to Yi Choong-hoon, head of display-focused market tracker UB Industry Research.

The speculation surfaced earlier this month on the assumption that the new OLED panels manufactured by Samsung Display won’t likely be sufficient for Samsung Electronics" needs, given that it only started mass-producing large-sized OLED panels last month.

The OLED panels produced by Samsung Display — dubbed QD Display — deploy a blue OLED layer as a light source and a color filter consisting of quantum dots to enhance luminance.

“Given Samsung Display’s limited QD-OLED panel capacity, a partnership between LG Display and Samsung Electronics for large-sized OLED panels is likely to continue for more than three years,” Kim predicted.

Multiple local media outlets speculated that the electronics maker will debut OLED lines at the CES 2022 trade show in Las Vegas next month, although a spokesperson at Samsung Electronics denied the speculation.

Samsung Electronics is close to ordering millions of OLED TV panels from LG Display, according to new reports from MTN, ETNews,and Seoul Economic Daily. Officials reportedly met recently to agree to the deal, which would see 1 million panels supplied to Samsung in the second half of this year, rising to 4 million panels next year. If the deal is finalized, it would be the first time Samsung has bought OLED panels from its South Korean rival and market leader. TVs with LG’s OLED panels consistently rate amongst the best in professional reviews.

Samsung exited the OLED TV market over half a decade ago. Today, LG Display supplies OLED panels to a variety of TV manufacturers including Sony, Vizio, and Hisense, as well as LG Electronics. Last year LG Display announced an expansion of its OLED production lines, and market research firm TrendForce says its production capacity is due to further increase in the second quarter of this year. MTN reports that LG Display’s total OLED TV panel production capacity is around 8 million units this year.

Today’s reports are the latest indication of Samsung’s shift away from LCD panels, which it currently uses across its television lineup. Even its QLED TVs still use LCD panels behind that quantum dot layer. Last year Samsung Display announced it would stop producing LCD panels in the face of stiff price competition from Chinese competitors, however it reportedly postponed this shutdown after the pandemic led to a rise in demand.

While falling LCD panel prices were believed to be behind last year’s move, MTN reports that the trend is reversing this year. LCD panels are reportedly growing more expensive, prompting Samsung to explore alternatives.

While Samsung Electronics plans to buy panels from LG Display, its own display division is believed to be working on Quantum Dot OLED (QD-OLED) TV panels. A report from South Korean publication The Elec this week says Samsung Display is currently working on a prototype TV using the technology, which will be sent to potential customers like Samsung Electronics after it’s produced in June. However, QD-OLED panel samples sent to Samsung Electronics in January was reportedly criticized for their low brightness.

QD-OLED isn’t the only new display technology on Samsung’s horizon. It recently commercialized a new display type called Micro LED, which uses an array of tiny self-emissive LEDs to produce an image. Although Samsung has released the technology in a series of ultra-high end TVs, it’s believed to be years away from being affordable enough for mass-market sets. There are also reports that the company is working on self-emissive quantum-dot TVs.

When asked about the potential deal in an interview, Samsung Electronics Jong-Hee Han, who oversees the company’s display division, dismissed the reports as rumors.

If you want great art for your Frame TV but don’t want to pay for it, these are my top hacks on how to get free art for the Samsung Frame TV and install it fast and easy (with 5 free digital downloads to get you started!).

What’s so unique about the Samsung Frame TV as a smart TV, in particular, is that it’s really thin and can be mounted completely flush onto a wall (with the “brains” of the TV being housed in a separate box elsewhere). So, when you set it to display digital art (with or without matting) on the screen in “art mode,” it appears like a regular piece of art in a picture frame instead of a TV.

I purchased them from Walmart, but if you are still browsing the internet for your Samsung Frame TV, three other retailers where you can also take a look at the current prices are:

(And after we spent more time than I can properly quantify learning and implementing the best way to mount our Samsung Frame TVs, we created our very popular guide to installing the Samsung Frame TV.)

While you can buy beautiful art via Samsung’s art store (around the price of $20 each) or even shop for a digital download for your Frame TV on Etsy, the purpose of this post is to teach you some easy tips on how to get free art for the Samsung Frame TV.

I recommend using high-quality images so they don’t appear pixelated, and then cropping and/or re-sizing them to fit the dimensions 3840 pixels x 2160 pixels, which is the proper size for art for the Samsung Frame TV.

Note:You can also do this using Samsung’s Smart Things app, but I find the app to be extremely glitchy, so I recommend a different way of installing art on the Samsung Frame TV below.

The Deco TV Frame fits right on top of your Samsung Frame TV for easy installation and the most gorgeous appearance of ACTUAL artwork — not a TV! We truly feel theSamsung Frame TV is simply not complete without a Deco TV Frame, and that it’s worth every penny. It’s something that *sparks joy* for us on a daily basis.

Now you know how to get free art for the Samsung Frame TV plus how to install it! I hope you also enjoy the 5 free digital prints I provided above to get you started.

TV repair costs between $60 and $350 with most spending $207 on average for LCD, LED, plasma, and 4K TVs; costs are higher if repairing older DLP, projection, and HD TVs. TV problems like display issues, powering-on problems, or sound issues can be fixed. Pickup and delivery fees may apply.

For example, the price of a new Samsung 40-inch LED TV is about $400, yet the cost of a replacement display panel for this model is about $380. This price is only for the replacement part and does not cover diagnostic costs, labor costs, or travel or shipping fees.

Unless you are trying to fix a TV from the ’80s or earlier, cracked TV screen repair is not feasible; the entire display panel must be replaced instead. The cost of a replacement TV display panel is more than the cost of buying a new TV, and that’s before labor and other service costs.

TV manufacturers do keep replacement TV screen panels on hand to support products under warranty in case the screen malfunctions, due to manufacturer defect.

If you still want to replace a damaged or malfunctioning TV screen, your best option is to find a used replacement panel or a broken TV of the same model on which the screen is still functional. You might find one on eBay, and you can hire a technician to change out the panel.

The cost of a used replacement TV panel ranges from $50 to $350 or more, excluding shipping, depending on the brand and size. Note that the chances of finding exactly the part you need in excellent condition are slim, and the cost excludes the cost of installation by a repair shop.

Whether your TV is LCD, LED, plasma screen, or 4K (Ultra HD), the cost to fix common problems ranges from $60 to $350, depending on the repair type and the brand of TV being repaired.

If an older model LCD TV or projection TV powers on and has sound but no picture, this may be due to lamp burnout, which is both common and expected. In this case, replacing the bulb will fix the problem. An experienced technician should be able to replace the bulb quickly and easily.

Flat screen replacement glass is not available. The only option for flat-screen TV glass repair is to try optical glass glue, which costs $1.70 for a 5-ml. tube. This may be an option for TV glass repair if the crack is only a few inches or less. TV panels are built as one unit at the factory, with the glass adhered to the display panel.

LCD flat-panel repair is not considered cost-effective. If the glass is cracked or the display is physically damaged, it is cheaper to replace the entire TV than to repair or replace the display panel.

Estimating TV repairs costs by brand is not something TV repair shops offer, however, there are general prices by type. When looking for specific repair costs for your TV, you’ll find them in the common repairs price list above. Pricing applies to brands such as Samsung, LG, Sanyo, TCL, Insignia, HiSense, Sony, Toshiba, Pioneer, and Vizio.

The cost of flat-screen TV repair ranges from $42 to $359. You cannot fix a broken screen, but the price of a new flat-panel TV starts from around $249 for a 1080-mp (non-4K) LED TV from LG to as much as $14,999 for an 85-inch 8K LED TV from Samsung. A TV referred to as a “flat TV” or “flat-screen” TV might be any of the following:

LCD TV repair typically costs $60 to $85 for diagnostics testing, and $200 to $300 to perform repairs. LCD TVs use backlighting, which may fail. Newer LCD TVs use LED strips for backlighting. Older ones might use CCFL. If CCFL backlighting fails, a technician can replace it with LED backlighting.

An LED TV is just an LCD TV that uses LED backlighting, which all newer models do (older models use CCFL backlighting). The cost to replace one LED backlighting strip ranges from $100 to $122, including parts and labor.

The more expensive a TV is, the more sense it makes to purchase an additional warranty to defray the potential for costly repairs. Best Buy offers an $89 five-year extended warranty for entry-level TVs. On larger TVs such as the 85-inch Samsung QLED 8K TV, which costs $14,998, the five-year warranty from Geek Squad costs an additional $1,699—11.33% of the cost of the TV.

Circuit breaker - Check the circuit breaker for the power outlet that the TV plugs into. You can check the breakers by opening the door to your breaker panel and looking for circuit breakers that are in the OFF position.

Lamp burnout -In a projection TV or older LCD TV, no picture may be caused by lamp burnout. In this case, a technician can replace the bulb quickly and easily.

Not included in these prices from Best Buy are 1080P screens, which range from $249 to $279 for 43-inch TVs from brands like Samsung, Sony, and LG. On the upper end, Sony and Samsung both have 95-inch 8K LED TVs for $69,999.

In most cases, a flat-screen TV can be fixed. The exception is a physically damaged display panel or screen. Most other issues including failing speakers, backlights, or power supply. Burned out fuses and damaged input ports can also be repaired.

You cannot replace a broken flat-screen display. New TVs costs anywhere from $249 for a 1080P (non 4K) LED TV from LG to as much as $14,999 for an 85” 8K LED TV from Samsung.

Large LCD panel prices have been continuously increasing for last 10 months due to an increase in demand and tight supply. This has helped the LCD industry to recover from drastic panel price reductions, revenue and profit loss in 2019. It has also contributed to the growth of Quantum Dot and MiniLED LCD TV.

Strong LCD TV panel demand is expected to continue in 2021, but component shortages, supply constraints and very high panel price increase can still create uncertainties.

LCD TV panel capacity increased substantially in 2019 due to the expansion in the number of Gen 10.5 fabs. After growth in 2018, LCD TV demand weakened in 2019 caused by slower economic growth, trade war and tariff rate increases. Capacity expansion and higher production combined with weaker demand resulted in considerable oversupply of LCD TV panels in 2019 leading to drastic panel price reductions. Some panel prices went below cash cost, forcing suppliers to cut production and delay expansion plans to reduce losses.

​Panel over-supply also brought down panel prices to way lower level than what was possible through cost improvement. Massive 10.5 Gen capacity that can produce 8-up 65" and 6-up 75" panels from a single mother glass substrate helped to reduce larger size LCD TV panel costs. Also extremely low panel price in 2019 helped TV brands to offer larger size LCD TV (>60-inch size) with better specs and technology (Quantum Dot & MiniLED) at more competitive prices, driving higher shipments and adoption rates in 2019 and 2020.

While WOLED TV had higher shipment share in 2018, Quantum Dot and MiniLED based LCD TV gained higher unit shares both in 2019 and 2020 according to Omdia published data. This trend is expected to continue in 2021 and in the next few years with more proliferation of Quantum Dot and MiniLED TVs.

Panel suppliers’ financial results suffered in 2019 as they lost money. Suppliers from China, Korea and Taiwan all lowered their utilization rates in the second half of 2019 to reduce over-supply. Very low prices combined with lower utilization rates made the revenue and profitability situation for panel suppliers difficult in 2019. BOE and China Star cut the utilization rates of their Gen 10.5 fabs. Sharp delayed the start of production at its 10.5 Gen fab in China. LGD and Samsung display decided to shift away from LCD more towards OLED and QDOLED respectively. Both companies cut utilization rates in their 7, 7.5 and 8.5 Gen fabs. Taiwanese suppliers also cut their 8.5 Gen fab utilization rates.

An increase in demand for larger size TVs in the second half of 2020 combined with component shortages has pushed the market to supply constraint and caused continuous panel price increases from June 2020 to March 2021. Market demand for tablets, notebooks, monitors and TVs increased in 2020 especially in the second half of the year due to the impact of "stay at home" regulations, when work from home, education from home and more focus on home entertainment pushed the demand to higher level.

With stay at home continuing in the firts half of 2021 and expected UEFA Europe football tournaments and the Olympic in Japan (July 23), TV brands are expecting stronger demand in 2021. The panel price increase resulting in higher costs for TV brands. It has also made it difficult for lower priced brands

Samsung Galaxy S22, the most affordable device in the company’s 2022 flagship series, has flown under the radar. The Korean electronics giant reserved all the fancy stuff for the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which also carries the heavy Note legacy on its shoulders. But that doesn’t mean the vanilla Galaxy S22 deserves to live in its shadow. In fact, this is one unassuming phone that hits heavier than its weight. Here’s the nitty-gritty about the phone before you decide to give Samsung a few hundred dollars from your wallet.

The Galaxy S22 hasn’t seen anything in terms of aesthetic refinements. For folks coming from the Galaxy S21, Samsung’s latest flagship looks plain boring given the virtually indistinguishable design. But put it against any other flagship phone out there, and the Galaxy S22 will hold its own.

But it’s not just about the looks. The build quality is top-notch as well. Samsung has eschewed the Galaxy S21’s plastic rear panel in favor of a glass sheet that is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus on top. After having used the device for over three weeks without any protective cover, I couldn’t find any scuff marks on the rear panel. However, the display was another story. After a few days of use, it had visible signs of minor scraping all across.

Samsung has also switched to using an X-axis haptic motor for its latest flagship. The vibration feedback is smoother and evenly distributed throughout the whole body, but the intensity has taken a hit. Comparing it against the Galaxy S21, there is a tangible difference, but it’s a subjective debate. Some users prefer a stronger and localized vibration feedback, while others prefer a softer but more uniform haptic response. Personally, I prefer the Galaxy S22 in this instance.

Samsung has also made a few compromises to achieve that relatively compact form factor. The 3.5mm headphone jack is again a no-show, as is the microSD card slot for storage expansion. And yes, the camera bump still makes the phone wobble when it’s lying on a flat surface.

Samsung has armed the Galaxy S22 with an upgraded 50-megapixel main camera, assisted by a 12-megapixel ultrawide snapper, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom output. Selfie duties are handled by a 10-megapixel main camera. To put it simply, these cameras mean business.

The main camera produces crisp pictures with impressive colors, tight contrast, plenty of details, and sharpness. Samsung has apparently tweaked the color chemistry this year, as the “Signature Samsung Saturation” has been toned down significantly. Colors are a lot closer to the real shades of an object, and far from the oversaturated mess of older Samsung phones. Surface details are retained well and subject separation is also on point.

It’s great to see that Samsung has ported night mode support for all three cameras, but it’s the 50-megapixel main snapper that brings the best out of this lowlight photography trick. The main camera succeeds at discerning objects in the frame, even in extremely dark scenarios, and brought out colors with a healthy accuracy.

Of course, Samsung has also baked in a smorgasbord of camera tricks such as Single Take, portrait video, Director’s View, and Super Slow-Mo, among others. Director’s view lets you capture a scene from both the front and back, offering the convenience of using all three rear cameras.

Samsung has armed the Galaxy S22 with a 6.1-inch HDR10+ Super AMOLED display with an FHD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Now, there’s a key difference in the underlying high refresh rate technology employed by Samsung on the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the vanilla Galaxy S22.

After some initial confusion, Samsung revised the specs sheet and clarified that the Galaxy S22’s screen refresh rate can fall as low as 48Hz. But that, too, appears to be an inaccurate estimation. I enabled the native screen refresh rate overlay to check the values when the phone is sitting idle and noticed that the refresh rate dropped to a stable 24Hz. Even in the YouTube app, the refresh rate dropped as low as 24Hz, while other UI interactions happened at 120Hz.

But that is not to take anything away from the standard Galaxy S22. In fact, the entry-level Samsung flagship offers one of the most beautiful screens on a high-end Android phone. Viewing angles are great, sunlight legibility is also impressive, and colors simply pop out. The Natural preset in display mode retains the true colors, but it’s the slight bump in saturation offered by the Vivid mode that really brings out the best of this screen.

The deep blacks offered by the AMOLED panel shine when Dark Mode is enabled. Over the course of using the device, I didn’t feel the need to crank up the brightness to consume content, even under direct sunlight. Watching HDR content was a joy on the screen. But do keep in mind that only HDR10+ and HDR HLG support is available, and not Dolby Vision.

Samsung Pay has also been beefed up, as it can now store driver’s licenses (availability may vary), car keys, and movie tickets among other things. There’s also a new extra brightness toggle that lets users crank up the brightness if they deem it less than perfect. However, the auto-brightness system needs to be disabled for it to work. Widget stacking is another new feature that saves precious screen real estate and works flawlessly.

The Edge panel has also been refined and offers a ton of handy tools such as selecting and saving a portion of the on-screen content without having to fiddle with the editing controls in the Gallery app. I particularly loved using the native GIF maker tool, which turns a selected portion of the on-screen activity into a GIF almost instantly.

But the biggest advantage of buying the Galaxy S22 is Samsung’s promise of delivering four years of Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates at a quarterly or half-yearly cadence. That’s a year more than what Google promises for its own Pixel smartphones, and a fair bit higher than what rival Android smartphone makers from China have to offer.

The battery situation is on a downhill trajectory with the Galaxy S22. Samsung has shaved 300mAh worth of ion juice from its predecessor, leaving the Galaxy S22 with a relatively small 3,700mAh unit. That’s one of the smallest batteries you’ll find in a modern smartphone launched after 2021, save for the iPhone mini line. And it actually makes a tangible difference in day-to-day use.

Speaking of charging, there’s no charger in the box. Samsung sells the 25-watt charger separately, which is also the peak wired charging speed the phone has to offer. Again, it’s not the best, as the competition has already touched the 120W mark at a lower price. Depending on your carrier or preferred retail shopping outlet, you just might get the 25W charger as a freebie.

The Galaxy S22 currently starts at $799 on Amazon and is $600 with new activation at Best Buy, while Samsung’s official website will take as much as $660 off if you exchange an eligible device. Carriers are also have some aggressive offers that are definitely worth checking out if you don’t want to switch lines.

If you pay the full amount at once for an unlocked unit, the 128GB variant of the Galaxy S22 can be yours for just $675 from the Samsung store, while the 256GB version will cost you $725. Aside from the usual Phantom Black, Phantom White, green and Pink Gold, the Samsung store also has four exclusive color options: Graphite, Cream, Sky Blue, and violet.

There are a few blemished though. The battery could be bigger with quicker charging speeds and the thermal management is not the best out there. But the more important question is how it measures up to rival phones. Both the iPhone 13 and the Google Pixel 6 undercut the Samsung flagship by a healthy $100 or more, and offer polished software married to top-notch hardware, reliable cameras, and more importantly, much better battery life figures.

But Samsung is trying to make up for it with aggressive offers. There are retail outlets that are bundling the charger for free with the Galaxy S22 and Samsung itself is handing over a handsome exchange bonus.

The Galaxy S22 is built to last, which is evidenced by the fact that it’s set to receive software updates for the next five years. Samsung has used top-notch materials such as Gorilla Glass Victus and sturdy aluminum to create an IP68-certified phone. In a nutshell, it can handle a swim in the pool or a few drops from the table. With four assured OS upgrades, the phone will keep adding new features and won’t skimp on the security aspect either. On the longevity aspect, the Galaxy S22 almost matches Apple’s venerable iPhones.

The most obvious competitor is the Google Pixel 6, which starts at $600 and offers dependable cameras and polished software in a neatly designed package. Over in Apple’s ecosystem, the iPhone 13 retails at the same price as its Samsung rival. With the iPhone 13, you get a pair of solid cameras, a secure iOS ecosystem with long-term software support, and much better battery life figures.

On its own, the Galaxy S22 is a terrific value-for-money smartphone. For Android loyalists hoping to steer clear of the Pixel 6’s buggy reputation, Samsung’s phone is undoubtedly the best option. If you’re gravitating toward the iPhone 13, the Galaxy S22 leapfrogs it with an extra telephoto camera, faster charging, a more modern design, and a less restrictive operating system. So, here’s the final verdict: If you are in the market for an Android phone with clean looks, good cameras, and feature-rich software, but don’t want to shell out over a thousand dollars, the Galaxy S22 is your best bet.