Finally, I made the leap. Got out of my iOS comfort zone. I’m a long time iPhone user, and all around gadget-obsessed jack of all trades. I was all-in, believe me. Many of the devices in my home are still made by Apple. Mac Mini, M1 MacBook Air, iPhone, Apple watch, iPad, you get the picture.

I’ve stepped out of that comfort zone more than once, but always eventually went back to iPhone. Even last year, I briefly used the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, One Plus 9 Pro and Google Pixel 6. The Pixel is a decent phone, but I found the software buggy. The One Plus, im not really a fan of the UX. Also, no true companion watch.The S21 Ultra was a joy to use (that damn camera!!), but connection problems and issues with Android Auto sent me back to iOS because,  comfort zone.

This time around, I was a heartbeat away from grabbing a Pixel 6 Pro on a very tempting offer from T-Mobile. As usual, I threw myself into watching hours of reviews and breakdowns. I decided that if I AM going to make the jump to Android, it’ll most likely be a Samsung device. Why? When I buy a phone, I also want the smart watch that goes with it.

*cue the snarky remarks from some of the iPhone faithful about Android phone users being broke, or the ad nauseum “green bubble” thing. Bleh.*

So once again I dove into reviews and unboxings and think pieces, etc. and ultimately followed my baser instincts. Whatever platform I choose, I need the biggest, baddest thing available. If you guessed the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (aka the new Note lol), you would be correct. Naturally, I paired it with the Galaxy Watch 4 (5 coming soon).

It appears that the issues that plagued my previous experience have been addressed. The camera is still pretty amazing, and the S-Pen is a welcome addition (always had a thing for the Note line).

Make no mistake, the S22 Ultra is a colossus of a smartphone. A big, heavy, sharp edged, powerful (expensive!) glass sandwich whose specs rival that of the average laptop. I won’t spec-geek you to death, there are plenty of reviews for that. But if you DO care about the specs:

108MP(Wide)+2x10MP(Tele)+12MP(Ultra-Wide) Rear Cameras
40MP Front Camera
6.8” WQHD+ Dynamic AMOLED-2x Curved Display
3080 x 1440 pixels
8K Video
Embedded SPen
Night Mode
100x Space Zoom
Adaptive Color Contrast
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
5000 mAh Battery
5G Capable
Super-Fast Charging
Premium Design
Live Sharing with Google Duo (Co-Watching)
Bluetooth 5.2

I’ll just say that this may very well be my main device for a long time. The real world results live up to the internet hype. It does everything I need it to do, and quite well. In the end, that’s all that matters.

Thanks for reading. Peace.

Ark.