We're only days away from seeing the Samsung Galaxy S22 series get its official unveiling, but the leaks continue to drip in – including some new information about the internal storage options we can expect on the Galaxy S22 Ultra model.
Well-known tipster Roland Quandt says that the S22 Ultra model will indeed come with the option of 1TB of internal storage, as previously rumored, but there's a catch: this variant is only going to be available in certain markets.
What those markets are, Quandt doesn't specify. Earlier leaks mentioning a 1TB storage bump didn't make any mention of it being available in some markets and not in others, so we'll have to wait and see how Samsung decides to split it.
Can confirm 1TB Galaxy S22 Ultra is a thing.Though not for all markets.February 4, 2022
On-board vs cloud
The last time we saw a Samsung phone with 1TB of internal storage was the Galaxy S10 Plus back in 2019. More storage costs more money of course, and Samsung may feel that consumers prefer cheaper prices rather than more on-board storage space.
Last year's Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra offered the most internal storage out of the S21 range, with the option to pack 512GB of storage in. However, the phones didn't come with a memory card slot, so you couldn't add extra if you wanted to.
With streaming services like Spotify and Netflix now the norm, and cloud storage apps such as Google Photos and Dropbox on the market, it could be argued that internal storage isn't as important as it once was – but it's still something certain phone buyers look for.
Analysis: regional variations are frustrating for consumers
Samsung is of course no stranger to putting out different versions of its phones in different markets: in recent years the flagship Galaxy S series has featured both Qualcomm and Exynos processors, with the available configurations depending on the country that the phones are being sold in.
We've already seen plenty of speculation about which markets might get an Exynos S22 series and which might get a Qualcomm S22 series – at the moment, it looks as though Samsung will stick to its usual plan and make the phones with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset exclusive to the US.
It would seem this strategy makes sense from Samsung's perspective in terms of costs and production line efficiency – and the global pandemic has shown how fragile some supply chains can be – but it's frustrating for consumers if they're not able to buy phone configurations that are available elsewhere.
Now it looks as though the 1TB Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra phone is only going to be available in certain places, so some buyers will be missing out. While importing handsets from other countries remains an option, it's often an expensive and not entirely safe route to take for picking up a new smartphone.
