Now that Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3, the next major highlight in its release calendar is likely to be the Galaxy S22.

Slated for release in early 2022, Samsung's Galaxy S22 has already been the subject of many leaks and rumors. Samsung will want to market this phone as a major upgrade once it is officially announced, but the improvement will undoubtedly come with a big price tag.

As smartphone upgrades feel increasingly incremental for the average user, should you stick around for the Galaxy S22 or simply go ahead and buy the Samsung Galaxy S21 today? Below we compare and contrast the pros and cons of each option based on both what we know and what we expect.

Samsung's Galaxy S22 could set a new standard for Android gaming performance

The company is reportedly working with AMD on an Exynos chip with RDNA 2 graphics, which could have significant implications for gaming performance Leaker Ice Universe posted some very impressive benchmarks last month, and assuming this chip will be in Samsung's Galaxy S22, my colleague Roland Moore-Colyer has said that the phone will be "a smartphone with natively true console-quality gaming".

Samsung's Galaxy S22 could be more pocketable

According to recent leaks, Samsung will reverse the smartphone screen size inflation and introduce the smallest handset since the 5.8-inch Galaxy S10e. Rumors suggest that the S22 and S22 Plus will be 6.06 and 6.55 inches, up from the S21 equivalent of 6.2 and 6.7 inches.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could benefit from an Olympus camera.

One persistent rumor is, that Samsung will partner with an established camera brand (in this case Olympus) to follow in the footsteps of OnePlus and Huawei. Cameras on Samsung smartphones have always been excellent, but this could be a partnership to take the company's photography to the next level. No official information on this has come in yet, but it is a rumor that we strongly hope has some basis.

Samsung's Galaxy S22 offers a better future

Whether the S22 will use the Exynos 2200, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 898, or something else entirely, it will undoubtedly improve the current model's performance. But the futurism doesn't stop there: Samsung now offers a four-year warranty security update on its flagship phones, meaning you'll be covered until 2026 - just in time for that Galaxy S26 upgrade.

Even if you don't buy, it pays to wait

If you end up sitting stone-faced during Samsung's S22 launch event, unimpressed with the upgrades on offer, you'll still ultimately win. Research shows that Samsung phone prices not only depreciate over time, but also drop significantly with the release of new phones. The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G reportedly lost 72% of its value after 12 months, and while you may not see quite such a bargain on the S21, it doesn't hurt to wait and see.

Some Galaxy S22 devices may have different hardware

AMD's big graphics boost mentioned above. According to leaker @FrontTron, not all regions will benefit from the "low yield" and "most markets" will instead get Qualcomm's Snapdragon 898 and the more familiar Adreno GPU. If true, the new phone is undoubtedly still powerful, but if it lives in the wrong place, it may definitely not offer enough value over the current model.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 is still one of the most powerful phones available,

and yes, the S22 will undoubtedly be faster as described above, but for most users there is a sense of diminishing returns from annual upgrades. You may find that the raw power offered by the Galaxy S21's Snapdragon 888 processor is more than enough for your needs - and probably for the duration of a two-year contract.

The S21 and S22 are said to be very similar

According to leaker Ice Universe, the Samsung Galaxy S22 will feature a "modified S21 design." In other words, chances are good that no one will notice that you're not rocking the latest version.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 will almost certainly be more expensive

We don't know the exact pricing Samsung has in mind, but it would be surprising if we saw a significant price drop for the next flagship. And even if that is the case, the chances of the price matching the attractive price range available on the best Samsung Galaxy S21 deals currently available are close to zero. At the time of writing, you can buy an S21 for as little as $99.99 if you trade in your old phone.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 may offer better battery life

The Samsung Galaxy S22 is reported to be smaller, as mentioned above, but it may also have a knock-on effect on battery capacity; the S22 and S22 Plus are said to have 200mAh less than the equivalent 2021 model, and while the impact is likely to be partially mitigated by the smaller screen size, it may still require more frequent use of the charger.

The Galaxy S21 can definitely be bought today, but the S22 could be in short supply

The global chip shortage is affecting everything from PS5 inventory to cars, and cell phones are by no means immune to this trend. If it becomes popular (and that seems likely even at this early stage), the Samsung Galaxy S22 could experience a shortage and price spike, and duffers are prepared to make the most of it. In other words, waiting could eventually lead to frustration, which could be avoided by buying today.

With six reasons to buy the Galaxy S21 now and five reasons to wait, this may seem like an obvious case. Well, maybe so, but it reflects how good Samsung's Galaxy S21 family of phones is rather than a criticism of the S22 itself.

Moreover, of course, the pros and cons are not evenly weighted; the rumor that it will have an AMD GPU may be enough to convince you. So even if you end up buying the S21, it may be worth holding off on your purchase decision until next year (you can save money by holding out).

There is also another option: the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, which was not shown at Samsung's recent event, but is said to be coming soon. It could offer the sweet spot between price and performance while giving you the warm glow of having a shiny new product in your pocket.