Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: Better than the iPhone?
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is Samsung’s most featured flagship smartphone, with the best camera, most powerful specs, S Pen, and more. It’s Samsung’s most expensive device and this year, it’s even more expensive.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is the ultimate flagship smartphone for those who travel the world.
But Samsung brought a lot of new features to this phone, including a refreshed design with all-new materials and a range of genuinely useful AI features. I think this is a pleasant surprise, especially considering the diversity of companies competing in almost every aspect these days. When it comes to AI capabilities, Samsung has really made its mark with this device. It’s a notable addition to the lineup of Samsung phones.
I do everything I need throughout the day with this device. While AI still has a long way to go overall, the Galaxy S24 Ultra proves that its AI capabilities make it one of the top mobile devices available right now—especially if you’re seeking the ultimate camera experience. Here is my detailed Galaxy S24 Ultra review after three months.
Table of Contents
Samsung Galaxy 24 Ultra: Price
I want to talk about the price of this phone. The S24 Ultra starts at $1,300 for the 256GB model this year. It’s $100 more expensive than last year, and if you want more storage, the 512GB configuration is a little over $1,400, and the one terabyte model is over $1,600.
Galaxy S24 Ultra Specifications:
- Body: 233 grams, IP68 rated, Titanium frame, S-pen support
- Display: 6.8-inches Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O, Gorilla Glass Armor, Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, Vision Booster, up to 2600 nits (peak)
- Resolution: QHD+ (3088 x 1440 pixels)
- Rear Camera: Quad (with LED flash)
– 200MP primary lens, OIS, PDAF
– 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens, 120º FOV
– 10MP telephoto lens, 3x optical zoom
– 50MP telephoto lens, 5x optical zoom, 100x digital zoom - Front Camera: 12MP f/2.2 lens
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8650-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm)
- Software & UI: One UI 6.1 on top of Android 14
- Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1024GB 12GB RAM
- Security: Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor
- Battery: 5000mAh with 45W fast charging, 15W wireless charging
- Colors: Titanium Black, Titanium Gray, Titanium Violet, Titanium Yellow, Titanium Blue, Titanium Green, Titanium Orange
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra undoubtedly retains many of the physical design features we’ve seen from the last few Ultra smartphones, but Samsung has made some minor changes that I think will please some people.
It once again has a massive 6.8-inch display corner to corner, but this time the bezels or those black borders framing the display are completely even. You get about an 88.5% screen-to-body ratio, which if you’re taking notes is technically lower than last year, but that’s because this year Samsung ditched the curved edge, so this phone is now totally flat all the way around.
That is something I know a lot of people will appreciate. and it’s something I noticed right away when I held this phone in my hand.
I think the flatter sides are overall just a bit more comfortable, and the screen itself doesn’t end up having any wasted space or unnecessary distortion with the curved glass.
Gorilla Glass Armor
Speaking of glass, both the front display glass and rear cover glass are made from an all-new material, Corning’s Gorilla Glass Armor. This is the first and only phone right now that I know of to sport this new glass. Not only is it the toughest and most scratch-resistant material developed by Corning so far, but it’s also supposed to be the most optically optimized as well, with less glare and fewer fingerprints.
I hope I don’t accidentally test out its strength or durability anytime soon, but I can already tell it’s a much less reflective-looking glass.
Samsung also brought a new material for the housing and frame of the S24 Ultra, it’s titanium of course. This titanium gray color option is I guess the most raw or natural-looking finish, and the actual titanium itself, keep in mind, is just the sides and edges of the phone.
Titanium
Samsung’s glass is a bit more sparkly, shiny, or reflective, I guess and attracts fewer smudges and fingerprints compared to the iPhone as well. The titanium housing technically makes the S24 Ultra a tiny bit lighter, but it’s not enough for you to notice.
This is just a big, tall, beefy phone all the way around, and a bit of a challenge to use one-handed as always. I should also mention that the titanium is exclusive to the Ultra this year; the regular S24 and S24 Plus are still built from aluminum.
Physical Features
Look around for everything else, nothing on the left side of the phone. On the right, there’s a 5G antenna as well as the familiar power and volume buttons, there’s a couple of microphone holes on the top, and on the bottom, you have the USB-C port, speaker, S Pen, of course, and the SIM card tray.
Samsung Galaxy 24 Ultra: Display
Now, in addition to the new, stronger, and less glare-prone front glass, the display itself on the S24 Ultra has been slightly improved.
The 6.8-inch screen is still a Quad HD+ 1440p panel, which, yes, you still have to enable yourself via settings. The default is 1080p, but when you do, you’ll be looking at some 505 pixels per inch. Well, you won’t see any of those pixels.
This is one of the biggest and sharpest displays you can buy, but you get the point. Paired with that crisp resolution is a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, which you can also enable or disable if you want to save some battery. But of course, that gets you the silky smooth visuals and ultra-responsive taps and touches.
The display is also a new LTPO AMOLED 2X panel, which not only delivers bright, bold colors and deep dark blacks for the ultimate viewing experience, but it’s also a brighter display this year, with up to 2600 nits of peak brightness.
It’s incredibly bright, nearly 1000 nits more than last year, and even quite a bit brighter than the likes of the iPhone 15 Pro. Combined with the new Gorilla Glass, it’s probably the best viewing experience on a smartphone right now. And, after playing with this phone for a while, I was surprised to notice how good the display is.
I think this phone is going to be visually the best for this kind of situation. But it’s also a great phone for all your casual YouTube watching and Netflix binging
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra New AI Features
Samsung has been highlighting the new AI features on its S24 smartphones that aren’t directly S Pen-related. All these AI features are on the regular S24s, of course, but the S Pen on this phone helps demonstrate a couple of those new abilities.
So AI is the standout feature on all the S24s this year, and essentially, Samsung partnered with Google to achieve things like live translate, where you can translate text messages and even phone calls in real time between different languages.
There’s chat assist and notes formatting, where you’ll get suggestions and edits for all of your typed text. Generative editing in photos offers a nearly Photoshop-like experience, where you can edit objects, move people around, fill in the background, and do a whole lot more.
And probably my favorite AI feature, circle to search—a combination of reverse image search and Google Lens on steroids—lets you circle or select anything from any app or anything on screen and get more information about whatever it is you’re looking at.
To me, these AI features are genuinely useful. They improve the day-to-day function of the phone and unlock new features. It’s not some chatbot or virtual assistant you have to train, and I’m excited to use these AI features in the coming weeks to see just how useful they become for me. Like I said, I’ve already been thoroughly enjoying Circle to Search, and I think that’s going to be something almost everyone uses probably every single day.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Performance
Powering the new AI features and everything else is a new, more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset paired with an Adreno 750 GPU and 12GB of RAM. You might remember in previous years that the base model Ultra had 8 gigabytes of RAM, but this year, 12 gigs is both the default and maximum amount, regardless of the storage option you choose.
Here are the Geekbench scores for those of you who like to compare numbers.
Now, generally speaking, this is one of the most specced-out Android devices on the market when it comes to performance, and Samsung actually spent a good deal of time talking about the improved efficiency and cooling capabilities of the processor inside this phone as well.
It’s no doubt doing a lot, especially with those new AI features, and in day-to-day usage, I’m sure this is about the fastest phone you can ask for, but I think the bigger value here is Samsung’s new pledge to offer seven years of software updates for the S24 line.
That makes this phone an incredible investment—something that will feel new or at least current on the software side of things until 2031. I think people are generally keeping their phones a lot longer nowadays anyway, but this extends that even further, and if you’ve been holding off on buying a new Samsung device for the last couple of years, that might be reason enough to upgrade.
Battery and charging
The S24 Ultra has the same 5,000 mAh battery as the last few Ultra smartphones, and Samsung hasn’t mentioned any improved charging speed or added any other new power features. You get 45-W wired fast charging, 15-W wireless charging, 4.5-W reverse wireless charging with the appropriate cable and wall plug, and numerous battery optimization features and low power modes to extend the life of your device throughout the day.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Camera
Samsung has once again improved the camera setup on the S24 Ultra, and with this, it’s a multi-layered upgrade.
The hardware on the back isn’t that different. You still get that crazy 200-megapixel main lens, but the telephoto periscope lens is a new and improved 50-megapixel shooter. There’s also an additional 10-megapixel telephoto lens and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide shooter.
The selfie camera, I believe, is the same 12-megapixel lens as before. Inside the camera app, there aren’t any new features. The two big improvements are a more advanced zoom function and AI assistance for enhanced processing and editing.
The zoom capabilities on this phone are really impressive. Samsung has always excelled in super zoom capabilities, but this year, the zoom is super steady and smooth. And with the help of AI, it’s also much clearer, even well beyond the optical zoom limits.
I tested this phone at a recent basketball game where I sat in the nosebleed seats, and I had a better view of the players than I would have had on TV when I used zoom on this phone.
The AI, as I mentioned, also helps a lot here. It improves image processing, preserves detail, unlocks new capabilities like taking a full-speed video and transforming it into slo-mo, and, of course, enhances all those image editing abilities I already mentioned.
I do not doubt that this phone has one of, if not the best overall camera setups on any smartphone, and the handful of pictures I’ve already taken confirm that to me. Overall, the S24 Ultra feels like an iterative upgrade over last year, but there’s a lot more here than meets the eye.
Verdict
Then there’s the fact that it’s a big, boxy build with those sharp, pointy corners that jab you right in the fleshy bits. But, if you adore the S Pen, like a nice, big, spacious smartphone, and have bigger hands than my wee goblin mitts, you’ll probably get on very well with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. I have very few complaints in all the other areas, including performance, battery life, and that gorgeous display.
The bottom line is whether you should buy it or not. If you’re using either the S22 Ultra or S23 Ultra, I’d say there’s no need to upgrade.
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Alvi Hosain
I am a tech enthusiast with over 1.5 years of experience in phone reviews and gadgets. Passionate about making technology easier for everyone, I focus on creating smartphone reviews and detailed tech guides. Whether exploring the latest devices or providing tips on how to get the most out of your gadgets, I love helping others navigate the world of technology. Known among my friends for solving phone-related problems, I enjoy discussing technology and staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends.
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