Galaxy S22 battery leak continues disappointing rumor trend

We're still months away from its debut, but rumors surrounding the Galaxy S22 series are already piecing together an almost complete picture of Samsung's next latest and greatest smartphone. Unfortunately, those leaks don't exactly paint a reassuring picture of the "greatest" effort from the company, especially when it comes to specs. Many of what we've heard so far seem to suggest a "same old, same old" affair, but one aspect, in particular, might leave even Samsung fans scratching their heads in confusion.

There are a few things that might stay the same with the Galaxy S22 series, at least on paper. The Galaxy S22 Ultra, for example, will keep its 108MP main sensor, though there will most likely be some improvements in other aspects. There won't be any improvements to the 3x and 10x optical zoom range, but the telephoto cameras will get larger 12MP sensors.

And then there are other specs that are getting a downgrade instead. The Galaxy S22+ was already rumored to be stepping back with a 4,500 mAh battery compared to the Galaxy S21+'s 4,800 mAh capacity. And while the Galaxy S22 Ultra might be keeping the same battery size, it seems that the Galaxy S22 won't be escaping the curse.

According to GalaxyClub, the base Galaxy S22 model will have a rated battery capacity of 3,590 mAh. That's a rather significant dive from the Galaxy S21's 3,800 mAh rating. With a 45W fast charging speed that isn't exactly fast by today's standards, that's a rather perplexing decision on Samsung's part.

Of course, battery life is determined by many other factors than just capacity, including software and hardware efficiency improvements. But as smartphone hardware gets more powerful and users become more demanding, the need for larger battery sizes has also grown these days. We'll have to see what optimizations Samsung has made to warrant this downgrade or if it's trading battery size for newer and bigger components inside.