You might think that differences in chip should only affect processing speed, but it turns out that having a different chip means the same camera system and hardware perform quite differently.
In this comparison, we decided to test it simply: is this difference really that noticeable? Who else really takes better looking photos: the Snapdragon or the Exynos S22 Ultra model? We shot a bunch of photos, so let’s take a look!
Can you see the difference in the pictures taken during the day?
Color and details are both different
While during the day the photos look the same most of the time, you may notice some differences. For example, in the first picture, there is a lot of noise in the ceiling on the photos taken by the Exynos model, while the Snapdragon one is much clearer.
Colors are also muted on the Exynos photo, while you get more vibrant and saturated tones from the Snapdragon.
Additionally, notice in the second picture how the shadows get darker on the Exynos vs Snapdragon.
These specifics make up, and most of the time, we were happy with the picture out of the Snapdragon models.
What about night photos?
You can see the gap even in low light photos
In low light, even from the first photo, you see a similar problem: right in the center where you have the night sky, it’s very noisy on the Exynos photo, while the same area is full on the Snapdragon version. Kind of clear. Everything else is the same, but you get a slightly more saturated color on the snapdragon (red walls on the building on the left).
It’s not a huge difference between the two, but similar story: The Snapdragon version looks better to our eyes on most of these pictures.
Are Ultra-Wide Cameras Any Different?
you guessed it… yes
Ultra-wide cameras share the same color characteristics as the main camera, which means we also see similar trends.
Colors on the Exynos model are a bit more muted and have less “pop”, and details on Snapdragon photos are a bit clearer. It’s certainly not a huge difference by any means, but it’s there, and it’s consistent across all photos, so no coincidence here.
zoom comparison
it should be very close
The S22 Ultra is probably the best zooming phone on the market right now, but you already know that.
We mostly shot at 10X zoom, which looks really impressive and is something you can’t find on other phones. The difference between the two here mostly boils down to color rendition: similar blurry tones are present on the Exynos, while the Snapdragon has better saturated and photos that are “ready to share” without any editing.
The Snapdragon version is a bit sharp too.
portrait mode
There’s no difference in blur abilities, but there is color science
You can capture Portrait Mode shots using the 1X or 3X cameras, and we like both.
But just look at that first picture taken by the Exynos model, what a huge difference in colors! I look pale and the whole scene has these almost depressing tones that lack vibrancy. The Snapdragon model has a vibrant image with a lot of contrast, it’s an easy win for it here.
You can see the same trend in all Portrait mode photos, 1X or 3X, colors aren’t nearly always presented in an attractive way on the Exynos version. By the way, congratulations to Samsung for improving Portrait Mode, it does an incredible job of separating the subject from the background!
selfie time!
marvel amazon
Lastly, we don’t see a huge difference when it comes to selfies, and we call this round a tie.
Both the phones support wide field of view for group shots or close-up view for true selfies.
conclusion
At the end of the day, most of the people we showed these photos to agreed that the Snapdragon version is the one they’ll go for.
And we can certainly see why. The Snapdragon has more saturated, punchy colors, with a bit more sharpness, while the Exynos model often looks bleaker with more toned down colors that lack the ‘wow’ factor.
You might not believe that a change in processor can make a huge difference in image quality but it does happen. Sometimes the difference is subtle, sometimes it’s more noticeable, but it’s always there.
Finally, we must say that in our view the difference isn’t really that big to put you off the decision to buy the S22 Ultra entirely, the Exynos model is quite a capable camera, but if you’re really looking for an incredible camera. , our advice is to find out how to import a Snapdragon model.
