It all started when I felt a small bump, a blemish, in the perfect shot of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's gleaming Gorilla Glass.
My finger caught on something I couldn't see. I absently ran my finger across the screen, which currently displayed my Twitter account. Did I feel something? Nah... no, wait... that's it.
I stopped reading angry tweets and began scanning the screen as my mind flashed back two days.
Standing in my kitchen, I groped for the 12-inch Android 6.8 smartphone, which I used frequently, especially for its stellar photography skills. It slipped away from me and crashed to the tiled floor a meter below.
"What was it? Was that your phone? My wife called from the other room.
I quickly ripped the lying device off the ground. It's hidden in a white rubber Samsung case, so I wasn't too worried. I looked at him, realized there was no pause, and yelled, "Yeah, okay."
"Why are only my phones breaking?" asked my wife.
First, I don't drop phones. In nearly 20 years of testing, I've never broken a review unit. I once dropped a 12,9-inch iPad Pro on a glass coffee table, cracking the screen, but it was certainly an unwieldy tablet. I don't drop phones... or rather, I didn't.
Now on the train, running my finger over what I now realized was a crack, I realized what I had done.
The more I looked, the more I could see this skinny crack, which starts at the top of the phone, just above and to the right of the selfie camera, and snakes like the Amazon down almost two-thirds of the way down the face of the screen. to the right edge.
When the phone is on, you can barely tell unless a letter falls just below the crack and then splits into two slightly misplaced halves.
It shouldn't have happened.
With the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, Samsung has built a brick of a phone from the original design foundation of the Galaxy Note. It's a big, solid, stiff, but not awkward to hold, 229-gram device that, by the looks of it, should be ready for a drop or two.
The phone is wrapped in Gorilla Glass Victus+ (rated by Corning to withstand drops of up to 2 meters). It covers that rear and my now damaged 6.8 inch AMOLED screen. Also, I had it in a case.
This skinny crack, which starts at the top of the phone, just above and to the right of the selfie camera, snakes like the Amazon down nearly two-thirds of the face of the screen towards the right edge.
You may be wondering why, when I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, I didn't come to this conclusion sooner. The reality is, and I've made no secret of this, that I don't drop test review units, devices given to me temporarily by manufacturers and expected to be returned to them in reasonably pristine condition.
I'm happy to throw them in the water, but touching them on concrete and knowing that even if you don't break their smooth shiny bodies you'll get unsightly scratches, I don't think it's a good idea to do it with equipment. you do not have
Also, my review process tends to reflect how I would use these products if I had them. I generally don't let technology (or anything really) let me down.
However, here I am faced with the result of an unplanned drop test and the results are not good.
A three foot (or 1 meter) drop of the cased smartphone should not have resulted in this crack, although I understand that with any glass screen device all you have to do is find the optimal stress point and where the physical is the correct one. to break even the toughest screen.
At least it's a clean crack and not a shard, you know, that makes the screen unusable and even dangerous to touch (those little glass shards). It's a break that, while substantial, you really have to look closely to see or turn off the screen, which seems to show it off a bit better.
It should also be noted that the screen crack does not affect the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra in any way. It's still so quick and fun to use, until my finger jumps over that thin, pointy edge. This break also means that the device is no longer weather resistant. I would not confidentially drop it in a bucket of water or use it for too long in the rain.
I'm disappointed in myself for my clumsiness, and a little disappointed in the Galaxy S22 Ultra for not being up to such a short drop.
Not a great look for this Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, but I caution against assuming all S22 Ultras are prone to similar brittleness. My guess is that the drop caught the top edge of the phone and the first screen drop might have had a different result.
On the other hand, get a case on your Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and hold it firmly.
- i want to know what i was thinking