Latest Samsung Galaxy S22 leak reveals a notable design change

Last week, Samsung set the date for its Galaxy Unpacked event, the company’s annual (or sometimes bi-annual) launch event for the latest flagships in the Galaxy lineup. This year, we’re expecting Samsung to follow its usual trend and announce the Galaxy S22.

We’ve seen a few leaks about the device so far, including its design from OnLeaks, and a variety of other feature-related reports. The latest leak about the flagship comes from SamMobile, revealing a pretty big change for the device’s screen.

As you can see from SamMobile’s image above, there are now in-person photos of Samsung’s official cases for the upcoming smartphone. And they reveal the S22 is set to have a screen with flat edges as opposed to the Galaxy range’s usual curved edges.

In these photos, the cases completely wrap to the front of the dummy units, rather than only halfway up as cases for curved screens do. One extra detail to pay attention to is that this change is only seen on the cases for the S22 and S22+, not the S22 Ultra.

Even though these are only dummy units, a case like this would cover any curved portion of the screen. So, it’s pretty clear that this design choice is locked in for the Galaxy S22, especially as these are Samsung’s official cases.

You may be wondering why this even matters, what’s the difference? The curved edges on the Galaxy range have become rather synonymous with Samsung’s flagship smartphone range. Samsung first started including curved edges on its smartphone displays in 2013, and every Galaxy device since the S6 Edge has included a curved display edge.

Many Galaxy fans love the curved edges of the phone, claiming it makes the device much easier and more comfortable to hold. Other Samsung users aren’t quite as keen, as curved edges are prone to accidental presses, and are much more fragile than normal displays.

Quite why Samsung is making this change is unclear, but uprooting nine years of display design tradition is sure to be a controversial move. If the lack of a curved edge puts you off the S22 range, remember that it appears the S22 Ultra will still feature that design.

• Samsung Galaxy S22 preview: everything we know so far

Connor Jewiss

About

Connor is a writer for Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website. He has been writing for around seven years now, with writing across the web and in print too. Connor has experience on most major platforms, though does hold a place in his heart for macOS, iOS/iPadOS, electric vehicles, and smartphone tech. Just like everyone else around here, he’s a fan of gadgets of all sorts! Aside from writing, Connor is involved in the startup scene. This exciting involvement puts him at the front of new and exciting tech, always on the lookout for innovating products.

Areas of expertise

Mobile, macOS, EVs, smart home