2022 has been a relatively busy year with tons of great products across different categories. It may have been a year of incremental smartphone updates for most manufacturers, but we saw some standouts from both big and small names in the industry. Samsung, in particular, had a packed calendar as the company added tons of new devices to its portfolio and served a lot of updates to its existing products and services.

But since it's now December, which means you can hear a pin drop for the whole month regarding tech news, it's a good time to look back at some of the notable developments from the largest chaebol in South Korea. From blockbuster product launches to lesser-known updates that may have flown under your radar, here's a quick look at everything Samsung put out in 2022.

Samsung Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus: The default Android flagships

The Galaxy S22 and the Galaxy S22+ may not be the most powerful flagships out there, but they get a lot of things right and are very easy to recommend, even after almost a year on the market. In fact, I still have my secondary SIM card inside the Galaxy S22, and it's my most used smartphone this year. It's not without its flaws, but I keep coming back to it because of its form factor.

The Galaxy S22 is the smallest member of the Galaxy S22 lineup, but it still packs a lot of punch and goes head-to-head with many other top-tier flagships out there. As I mentioned in my extended Galaxy S22 review, compact phones tend not to be as powerful as their larger counterparts. But beyond its tiny 3,700 mAh battery, it's a great phone if you don't want to spend a lot of money or

need a device that can actually fit in your pocket. It's available at a discounted price for the holidays, so it's an even better value at the time of this writing.

Similarly, the Galaxy S22+ is also an excellent phone for those who want something bigger than the vanilla Galaxy S22. XDA's Editor-in-chief, Rich Woods, reviewed the Galaxy S22+ earlier this year and called it the best Android flagship for the mainstream consumer with decent battery life, good all-around performance, and a comprehensive ecosystem. All the points mentioned in his review are still valid, and it's still one of the best smartphones you can pick up in 2022. If anything, both the Galaxy S22 and the Galaxy S22 Plus have only gotten better now with the latest software updates and significant price drops.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: One smartphone to do it all

If there's one smartphone that truly lives up to the "Ultra" moniker, it's the Galaxy S22 Ultra. For $1,200, you're not just buying a phone that's bigger than the Galaxy S22 and the Galaxy S22+. Instead, you're setting yourself up for at least a few years with arguably the most well-rounded phone of 2022. I still recommend this phone to those wanting to buy a top-tier Android flagship.

The S22 Ultra sports a gorgeous 6.8-inch OLED panel with up to 120Hz refresh rate, has no less than five cameras, has a built-in S Pen to pamper the Note lineup enthusiasts, and packs enough power to tackle just about any application or game you throw at it. The Galaxy S22 Ultra is in a league of its own, and it's easily one of the best smartphones Samsung has ever released.

End of the Galaxy Note series... or is it?

Soon after the Galaxy S22 series debut, a Samsung executive officially confirmed the end of the Note lineup. The company's smartphone chief Roh Tae-moon responded to a question by a reporter at MWC 2022 by saying, "The Galaxy Note will come out as 'Ultra' every year from now on."

However, Samsung doesn't see the arrival of the Galaxy S22 Ultra as the death of the Note series. It instead sees it as a merger of the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy S lineup. This makes a lot of sense because the Galaxy S22 Ultra is arguably a Note device. It may not have the official "Note" moniker, but it looks and acts like a Note series flagship. Users can also get a Note feel with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, which stands as a solid alternative for Galaxy Note enthusiasts out there. Speaking of Samsung foldables...

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: The best foldable you can buy in the US

Just like other foldables on the market, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 also has a bigger screen that gets smaller to fit in your pocket. But what makes the Galaxy Z Fold 4 special is that it's more reliable than ever, and it can morph between form factors without making you feel like you're going to break it in half. Samsung has also put a lot of effort into making the Galaxy Z Fold 4 a well-rounded foldable. Its outer display is now wide enough to bring it closer to a conventional slab phone, and its inner display — coupled with some neat software features — makes it a solid tablet replacement. It's no longer the awkward middle child that wasn't perfect at either of them. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 can also double as a good notepad thanks to the S Pen support or a decent computer for casual users with the built-in Dex mode.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is far from being a perfect folding phone, but it's close, and I can't wait to see what Samsung is planning to do with its successor. It's also worth noting that Samsung makes the only foldable phones readily available to purchase in the U.S. Yes, the Z Fold 4's $1,800 price tag is too steep for most people. Still, you can snag one for a considerably cheaper price thanks to the trade-in promotions and other discounts.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4: Incremental but impressive

Samsung's other foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip 4, received the most incremental upgrade over its predecessor out of any Samsung phone this year, but that doesn't take away from how it's still a fun and stylish phone. Its 6.7-inch screen folds in half to become one of the most pocketable phones out there.

Samsung didn't put a lot of effort to change the Galaxy Z Flip 4, but the upgrades are still nice additions. For instance, the Flip 4's inner screen is now protected by stronger ultra thin glass, and its non-user-replaceable screen protector also comes with stronger adhesive. There's definitely room for some improvements, but the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is undeniably fun, and it's one of the unique phones you can buy in 2022.

Samsung's impressive 2022 wearables lineup

Samsung's annual updates in the wearable space came in the form of new Galaxy Watch 5 smartwatches and new Galaxy Buds. Both the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro deliver familiar yet upgraded hardware to hold onto some of the top spots in the smartwatch market. The Galaxy Watch 5 is essentially just an upgraded version of the Galaxy Watch 4, but the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is a new model that caters to advanced users. You can read our Galaxy Watch 5 and the Watch 5 Pro review to learn more about these watches, but the TL;DR is that the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the superior model, is more durable, and has better battery life.

Samsung also debuted the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro in 2022, that are more comfortable to wear, offer better sound, and have improved active noise cancelation compared to the previous-gen model. XDA's Senior Editor Ben Sin reviewed these earbuds a couple of months back, and he was impressed with their features, especially the transparency mode. These earbuds are not significantly different from their predecessors, but even the incremental improvements make them Samsung's best earbuds yet.

New tablets and laptops

Samsung also upgraded its Galaxy Tab S and the Galaxy Book Pro lineup. The company added three new tablets and four new laptops to its Galaxy Tab S and the Galaxy Book 2 series, respectively. The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is the one that stands out from the rest in the Tab S8 series. It literally stands out because it's large, but it's a great machine for both work tasks and play. That being said, the regular Galaxy Tab S8 and Tab S8+ deliver meaningful upgrades over their predecessors.

Similarly, all the new models in the Galaxy Book 2 series bring significant and much-needed upgrades over their predecessors. They all feature AMOLED screens now, so you no longer have to pick the premium model to get a better display. The new laptops are also powered by Intel's 12th-generation Core processors, meaning they're both faster and more power-efficient than their predecessors. But what makes the updated machines better than the previous-gen notebooks is their fit-and-finish. Not only are these some of the best-looking laptops you can buy right now, but they're also among the lightest. The updated laptops in the Galaxy Book series attracted a lot of eyeballs this year, which is probably what the company needed to pay more attention to its computing arm and lock horns with other players.

Samsung's One UI 5 rollout

Samsung's One UI 5, based on Android 13, came out of public beta in October 2022, and it started rolling out for the Galaxy S22 series and its latest foldable phones. A software update rollout may not sound significant enough for a year-end highlight, but it cements Samsung's top spot in the Android space. It remains one of the first manufacturers — besides Google — to push consistent and reliable updates to its users. Samsung has also done an excellent job of distributing the stable version of One UI to more than just its 2022 flagships. Many of the older Samsung phones also have received the update, while many other manufacturers are still figuring out a roadmap for something similar.

SmartThings is now Matter-certified

Samsung was one of the first manufacturers to secure the Matter certification. The company received it just a week after Matter launched in October, and it announced that Matter support would be rolled out to its platform later that month.

For the uninitiated, Matter is a new smart home standard that provides a common language for smart home devices to communicate with each other without having to rely on cloud-based solutions. It makes smart home devices a lot more secure and reliable, and it's the way forward for all connected home devices like smart sensors, lighting, switches, and more. Samsung, along with a couple other manufacturers, has already updated its compatible hubs to be Matter controllers, and you can expect more platforms to join the list shortly.

Samsung Odyssey Ark: The CES showstopper

Is the Samsung Odyssey Ark worth getting to replace your current monitor? Probably not. But is it cool enough to be included in Samsung's year-end roundup? Absolutely! The Odyssey Ark is easily one of the most ambitious products announced in 2022. It's an enormous 55-inch curved gaming monitor packed with everything you'd want in a gaming monitor, including a VA panel with mini-LED backlighting for brighter visuals with great contrast ratios and an HDR10 Plus display that can output 4K resolution at a 165Hz refresh rate to help you get the most out of your next-generation consoles.

What makes the Odyssey Ark special, however, is how you can put it in cockpit mode to stack up to three 31-inch displays on top of each other. That's why Samsung thinks you'll pay $2,500 for it. Look, the Odyssey Ark sounds just as ridiculous as the Odyssey Neo G9 did when it was first announced back in 2019. But Samsung has since released a couple of affordable versions of the Neo G9 monitor, so I hope to see the Odyssey Ark get a similar treatment in 2023 and beyond.

What happened to Samsung Home Hub?

One of the many things that Samsung showcased at CES 2022 was this sick, new smart home controller called Home Hub. It's a portable 8.4-inch touchscreen tablet that sits vertically in a charging dock and has Samsung's Bixby voice assistant built-in. It's designed to be a central hub in a household to control and monitor SmartThings compatible devices, and it even has two microphones and two speakers to accept voice commands and respond to them. It looked like it was running a blown-up version of Samsung's SamrtThings smartphone app to let you control all your smart home devices, so it could've been perfect for those looking for a dedicated smart home interface. Samsung said it would debut the Home Hub in Korea in March 2022, followed by a global debut, but it's nowhere to be seen.

Samsung seems to have parked this particular tablet momentarily. The fact that it was only meant to be glorified hardware for the SmartThings smartphone app at launch raised some questions. Samsung has promised to make it better in the future by allowing it to control third-party smart home devices, but we don't know when that's slated to arrive. I see why users may find it hard to see the appeal of a tablet that simply comes with the company's SmartThings app pre-installed. Being able to use it as a central hub to control other smart devices, sort of like the Echo Show displays, would make it better.

It's also possible that Samsung is waiting to roll out Matter to help the hub connect to devices from other manufacturers. Samsung, along with a few other big names, have already pledged to support the Matter standard, and it's only a matter (no pun intended) of time till we see the first-stage rollout from the company. We may hear more about Home Hub once again at CES 2023.

2023 and beyond: More to come

It's safe to say that 2022 has been a year of varying successes for Samsung. The company ended up launching a lot more products we didn't mention here, including the Galaxy A53 phone, The Freestyle projector, and more. It all shows how Samsung plays its cards against many players in different categories. The company put out more iterative products than I would've liked, but it's only a reflection of an increasingly mature market. There is a fair argument to be made that Samsung is playing it safe due to the lack of real competition. Still, various flagships from other manufacturers also followed a similar trend. The purchase cycles are getting longer across the industry as manufacturers are struggling to put truly differentiating features on every new generation.

Will Samsung release more standout products or double down on incremental updates in 2023? I am hopeful for bigger changes in the next generation of Samsung foldables, but I don't expect it to move the needle with the Galaxy S23 lineup, which isn't expected to bring any significant changes barring a few annual upgrades. Similarly, we've also seen some good wearables from Samsung this year, and I expect to see more of the same with just YoY improvements. As usual, I am leaving the door open for surprises, and we'll be sure to cover them extensively here at XDA!