Which phone should you buy?

Google’s Pixel 6 Professional was amongst our favourite telephones from 2021, and with good motive. Its means to constantly ship wonderful digital camera high quality, battery life, and efficiency in a radical new design made it stand out from its competitors. However with the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S22 collection, can Google’s greatest flagship compete?

We’ve already in contrast the Pixel 6 Professional with the Galaxy S22 Extremely, and the Pixel 6 with the Galaxy S22. On this comparability, we’ll have a look at the Galaxy S22 Plus vs Pixel 6 Professional, and decide which of those telephones is one of the best match for you.

The most recent flagships from Samsung and Google supply two fully completely different approaches to design. Whereas Google introduced a brand-new design with its Pixel 6 Professional, the Galaxy S22 Plus seems like a extra refined model of the Galaxy S21 Plus. Samsung flattened out the again glass and sides however stored the contoured digital camera bump for an additional yr, making the Galaxy S22 Plus really feel premium and stylish. On the Pixel aspect, Google launched the digital camera bar that spans all the width of the cellphone. In comparison with the S22 Plus, the digital camera bump on the Pixel 6 Professional is considerably larger however the cellphone wobbles much less when typing on a desk.

Regarding colours, each gadgets once more have radically completely different approaches. Samsung gives the S22 Plus in satin finishes of Phantom White, Phantom Black, Inexperienced, Pink Gold, and Samsung Unique colours of Graphite, Cream, Sky Blue, and Violet. The Pixel 6 Professional is available in Stormy Black, Cloudy White, and Sorta Sunny. Each gadgets and their finishes look nice in their very own regard, however Samsung has the sting when it comes to choices and end. The Pixel’s shiny again and enormous digital camera bump appeal to lots of fingerprints and mud in a short time.

As soon as you progress round to the entrance of every system, you’ll discover that the Pixel 6 Professional and Galaxy S22 Plus are related however have a couple of key variations. Each have expansive AMOLED shows with centrally mounted punch gap cameras. The Galaxy S22 Plus’ display is barely smaller at 6.6 inches, with the Pixel 6 Professional coming in at 6.7 inches.

Each telephones assist adaptive refresh charges as much as 120Hz, however when it comes to decision, the Pixel 6 Professional gives a sharper QHD show at 3,120 x 1,440 in comparison with the Galaxy S22 Plus’ FHD+ panel of two,340 x 1,080. The Pixel 6 Professional’s show is curved, whereas the S22 Plus has a flat panel. In utilization, each screens look unbelievable, and the Pixel’s curved panel isn’t as disruptive or annoying as different curved-screen telephones. Nonetheless, the flat panel of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus seems lots cleaner with its tightly uniform bezels.

Defend your choose: The very best Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus instances | The very best Google Pixel 6 Professional instances

Each gadgets are effectively constructed and undoubtedly really feel like flagship telephones. The Galaxy S22 Plus’ design is a refinement of final yr’s well-received S21 collection, and it’s definitely a cellphone constructed with magnificence in thoughts. The Pixel 6 Professional, however, is an announcement piece that wishes to announce its presence greater than most different telephones.

The Pixel 6 Professional carries Google’s first-ever Tensor chip, promising next-level machine studying capabilities to additional customise the consumer expertise. Samsung’s S22 Plus has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, which gives 4 occasions higher AI-based processing and as much as 70% higher energy effectivity than its predecessor. It’s no slouch within the AI division both. Notice that a lot of the world sees the Snapdragon variant of the S22 Plus this yr, whereas Europe receives the Exynos 2200 mannequin.

Which performs higher? We benchmarked these chips extensively and located that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 comes out on prime. Nonetheless, we’ve seen sustained efficiency points with this chip and Samsung is throttling the efficiency of its telephones in some cases. The Exynos 2200 has a small benefit over the Google Tensor, however neither is a slouch for common efficiency or extra demanding gaming periods.

Turning to cameras, Google’s Pixel 6 Professional units a brand new precedent for the corporate’s flagship telephones, transferring as much as a 50MP extensive lens, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 48MP 4x telephoto within the digital camera bar. Across the entrance, the Pixel 6 carries an 11.1MP selfie shooter. The principle rear digital camera can shoot 4K video at 60fps, however you’re capped at 30fps for the selfie, ultrawide, and zoom cameras. Google additionally boasts its Actual Tone performance that fixes the lighting composition on darker complexions.

See additionally: The very best digital camera telephones you may get

With the launch of the S22 collection, Samsung has given the principle lens on its Galaxy S22 collection a big bump up in megapixel rely. It’s not fairly the 108MP monster discovered on the Galaxy S22 Extremely, however the 50MP principal sensor remains to be a noticeable enchancment. You’ll additionally discover a 10MP telephoto lens and a 12MP ultrawide choice rounding out the rear. As for the selfie digital camera, Samsung has added a 40MP choice. By way of video, the S22 Plus outdoes the Pixel 6 Professional, with its principal sensor capturing as much as 8K at 24fps and its different cameras able to recording as much as 4K at 60fps.

With regards to real-world assessments, it’s robust to name one higher than the opposite, however there are some common takeaways you need to contemplate. In case you’re shopping for considered one of these gadgets for video, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus outperforms the Pixel 6 Professional when it comes to consistency and backbone. Each take exceptionally nice pictures with regards to pictures, however they every have inconsistencies in key areas. For the Pixel, it tends to over sharpen faces in particular lighting situations, whereas the Galaxy S22 Plus tends to oversaturate brighter colours.

Learn extra: Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus vs S22 Extremely digital camera shootout

Samsung did introduce a greater portrait mode, and it’s nearly scary how good of a job it does at isolating particular person hair strands. However needless to say it’s principally software-based for each telephones and might miss issues with complicated backgrounds. The S22 Plus fully missed the concentrate on my pal’s face throughout my testing, whereas the Pixel struggled to isolate her hair from the background. One main annoyance of the S22 Plus digital camera expertise is the shutter lag; the shutter on the S22 Plus was noticeably slower than the Pixel 6 Professional and even earlier Galaxy gadgets; I hope that’s a difficulty Samsung addresses in a future replace.

Onto charging, Google added its largest batteries but to the Pixel 6 Professional — a strong 5,003mAh cell. It boosted the charging, too, able to wired speeds as much as 23W (regardless of the marketed 30W). The Pixel 6 Professional can also be Google’s first system to undertake the USB Energy Supply PPS charging normal to achieve its prime speeds. As for wi-fi charging speeds, the Pixel 6 Professional can deal with as much as 23W, matching its wired speeds.

Though each gadgets are fairly related in dimension, the Pixel 6 Professional gives a considerably larger cell than the S22 Plus. The Galaxy S22 Plus awkwardly steps right down to a smaller battery than its predecessor, from 4,800mAh on the S21 Plus to 4,500mAh. By way of charging speeds, the S22 Plus can cost as much as 45W, however, just like the Pixel, you’ll want a USB PD PPS-enabled charger. It’ll additionally hit 15W on a wi-fi charging pad. Unsurprisingly, neither firm gives a charging brick within the field.

Having examined each telephones extensively for about two weeks, the Pixel 6 Professional has the longest-lasting battery lifetime of the 2 gadgets. The bigger battery of the Pixel 6 Professional means you possibly can comfortably use the system into the subsequent day earlier than needing to discover a charger, whereas, on the Galaxy S22 Plus, you’re possible charging it by the tip of the day. This isn’t to say the S22 Plus gives unhealthy battery life — you’re nonetheless ending the day with round 20—25% with informal to heavy use.

When it did come time for charging, I ran right into a bizarre state of affairs — neither cellphone benefitted drastically from their purported faster-charging capabilities. Throughout my testing, the S22 Plus charged quickest with the 45W charger, however the distinction between it and my outdated 15W Samsung Quick Charger was solely 10-minutes. We’ve noticed a equally marginal distinction in a earlier Pixel 6 Professional charging take a look at. There’s only a 10-minute enchancment transferring from an outdated 18W USB PD to a brand new 30W USB PD PPS charger. Even so, each telephones will go from empty to full in an hour to an hour and a half, relying on the charger you employ.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and the Google Pixel 6 Professional additionally assist reverse wi-fi charging for equipment and different telephones, they usually can achieve this on the similar wattage of 5W.

See additionally: The very best cellphone charging equipment to purchase

The Pixel 6 Professional is without doubt one of the best flagships out proper now, second solely to Google’s personal Pixel 6. At $899, you’re arguably getting one of the crucial succesful smartphones in the marketplace whereas saving $100—200 in comparison with different comparable gadgets. Even on the equal value of $999, you’re getting double the storage at 256GB and 4GB of additional RAM on the Pixel 6 Professional in comparison with the S22 Plus’ 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.

Avoid wasting cash: The very best Google Pixel offers | The very best Samsung Galaxy offers

To Samsung’s credit score, the corporate has stored its pricing per final yr. You’re additionally possible going to learn from the corporate’s huge array of promotions and offers that both cut back the cellphone’s value or supply equipment at a reduction.

When these telephones aspect by aspect, it may be troublesome to choose one particular winner; all of it comes right down to what you want from a smartphone. One principal takeaway from this comparability is that the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and the Google Pixel 6 Professional are two gadgets aimed on the similar market, with two fully completely different targets. The Galaxy S22 Plus goals to refine and enhance upon the success of the S21 collection via new digital camera upgrades and a brand new processor. The Pixel 6 Professional goals to speak that Google lastly bought severe about flagship smartphones and showcases this sentiment via a radical new redesign paired with Google’s personal chipset.

On the Google aspect, the Pixel 6 Professional is an distinctive cellphone that brings Google’s imaginative and prescient of a flagship to life and does so in a modern and highly effective profile. With the Pixel 6 Professional, Google unites its experience in software program with {hardware} that may manifest the corporate’s ambitions as a distinguished competitor within the smartphone market. This system is a wonderful mixture of design, digital camera efficiency, and software program options that genuinely make utilizing this cellphone satisfying.

With that stated, introducing so many new issues to at least one system means it inevitably suffers from an absence of refinement in sure regards. For the Pixel 6 Professional, this comes within the type of software program bugs. Whether or not it’s minor issues like occasional hangs or severe points like dropping calls, Google nonetheless has methods to go in making the software program expertise dependable on its Tensor platform.

Dig even deeper: Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus overview | Google Pixel 6 Professional overview

On the Samsung aspect, it’s a distinct story. The Galaxy S22 Plus is the embodiment of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t repair it,’ and Samsung did an ideal job not messing up what it bought proper with the S21 Plus final yr. You’re getting incremental updates in the proper locations on this cellphone, like a brand new 50MP sensor, an upgraded chipset, and software program reliability that rivals that of Google. Samsung’s newest replace coverage means the Galaxy S22 collection will obtain software program updates longer than another cellphone on the Android aspect, together with the Pixel 6 Professional. Samsung guarantees as much as 4 years of Android updates and 5 years of safety updates for the S22 collection, which up till now could be unparalleled on the Android market.

The Galaxy S22 Plus can’t appear to shake off its center baby quirks, although. Whereas the Galaxy S22 Plus enhancements present an ideal improve to anybody shopping for it, the cellphone nonetheless feels prefer it’s holding again what it might be to upsell patrons to the costlier S22 Extremely. Issues just like the 1080p display, smaller battery, and restricted reminiscence/storage mixtures imply at $999, you’re paying extra for the reliability and familiarity of the S22 Plus fairly than the technical enhancements it has over its predecessor.

No matter whichever cellphone you select on the finish, we’re assured that you’ll be experiencing one of the best of what Android has to supply. Tell us which system received our Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus vs Pixel 6 Professional battle beneath.