The Galaxy Note is back! Wait, no it’s not. Well, it sort of is, depending on your point of view. Note by name or not, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is a blended piece of hardware and software that purports to offer the best of the Galaxy S series and the best of the Note series in one, ultimate device. With just about the best specs available from any phone in the market, as well as the S Pen and all the functionality the stylus offers, the S22 Ultra is a love letter to power users.

Yet at $1,199, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is an expensive proposition for many. It commands a $200 premium over the Galaxy S22 Plus and a $400 premium over the Galaxy S22 (check out our impressions of the non-Ultra duo here). Based on our hands-on time with the phone so far, we think that for many, the cost will be well worth it. Find out why in our Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra preview.

Read also: Best Galaxy S22 Ultra cases

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s hardware is… something. It’s a clear mishmash of the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. For example, the Galaxy S22 Ultra has the sharp corners, rounded edge profile, and over-large build of the Note 20, but it features the camera module of the S21 Ultra in relief. Considering that it’s a “best of” compilation, is there anything that’s actually unique about this hardware? Precious little. And that’s by design.

History of Samsung flagships: Galaxy S series | Galaxy Note series

Samsung wants the Galaxy S22 Ultra to be familiar to buyers of both the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S families, which should entice more to consider it as an option when picking their next phone. That’s why it boasts a refined Armour Aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass Victus Plus front and back, and the basic profile that was common to both the Note 10 and Note 20. The phone comes in four colors: Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, and Burgundy, as standard, though there are also three Samsung.com exclusive colorways (Graphite, Red, and Sky Blue). The ones we got our hands on were a bit on the conservative (ahem, boring) side, but with at least four options you should be able to find the one that suits you. It looks and feels every bit the premium device that it is.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is as big as any Note that ever was at 163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9mm and 229g. It’s a hefty piece of hardware that stretches the hand and stretches the pockets. Surprisingly, it’s about the exact same size as the Google Pixel 6 Pro. We’re thankful for the hearty materials, excellent build quality, and IP68 rating for protection against dust and water. Despite its strength, we’ll still recommend that you slap a case on it. This will also make it easier to hold on to, as it is a bit awkward and slightly slippery.

I like the matte finish to the rear panel, particularly on the white one. This helps prevent fingerprints and other blemishes from marring the glass. The camera module is particularly interesting. Samsung took the basic lens arrangement of the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s camera module and stripped away the raised platform, leaving only the lenses behind. The result is a nearly all-flat rear panel that is only interrupted by the slightly raised round lenses. It’s paying tribute to the Galaxy S21 Ultra while trying something new. I dig it, though I get why others might not.

The rest of the hardware is traditional Samsung. The power and volume buttons are on the left edge and have excellent travel and feedback. The SIM card tray, USB-C port, downward-firing speaker, and S Pen slot are all crammed onto the bottom edge of the phone. The top and left edges are void of controls or other functional elements.

As for the S Pen, it is garaged in the bottom left corner and is easy to stow and retrieve unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 3, which didn’t have a garage for the S Pen. It features the same clicky action for popping out the tab, which you can then pull to extract the stylus. This new S Pen is even more sensitive than previous versions and has improved handwriting-to-text features supported in 88 languages. It also includes a new Quick Note feature that lets you instantly save website text with a tap. In our limited time with it, the S Pen felt sturdy and responsive on the S22 Ultra’s display.

Nothing about the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is surprising. The phone is everything we expected it to be.

The display is what defines the Note, er, Galaxy S22 Ultra, experience and Samsung ain’t playin’. This screen measures a huge 6.8 inches across the diagonal with QHD+ (3,088 x 1.440) resolution in a 19.3:9 aspect ratio. That gives it plenty of pixels to fill that expansive piece of glass.

It’s a Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with all the bells and whistles. That means a variable 120Hz refresh rate that ranges from ~1Hz up to 120Hz to deliver the best mix of battery life and scrolling performance. The screen also touts a 240Hz touch sampling rate, which is clutch for gamers, as the screen will react faster when touched. This is, however, limited to Game Mode. Other features include Vision Booster, Eye Comfort Shield, and AI-managed blue light control to prevent eye fatigue.

The display glass has curved edges along the left and right sides, but the screen itself doesn’t bend all the way with the glass. Instead, you’ll see thin black bezels where the glass actually meets the metal frame. There’s also a punch-hole camera cutout centered near the top edge. This is a common screen design for a Note series device.

How does it look? Utterly delicious. We weren’t able to watch any high-quality Netflix content, but the HD YouTube videos we sampled were very impressive on the screen. The sample photos in the gallery popped off the screen with color and websites we browsed looked absolutely clean. The AMOLED pushes out plenty of light and viewing angles were very good, though colors were pushed perhaps a bit too much. We didn’t get to test the screen outdoors.

Check out: Display types and technologies explained

It’s an impressive display that will surely grab owners’ attention, but we’ll need to test it further ahead of our full Galaxy S22 Ultra review coming very soon.