The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is the latest flagship from the Samsung stable. It claims to offer a seamless fusion of advanced technology and performance. In this comprehensive review, we examine every aspect of Samsung’s newest flagship device to discover its true capabilities and help you decide if it’s worth investing in.
Price and Variants
The cost of the Galaxy S24 Ultra varies depending on the region and the amount of storage you choose. In the United States, you can select from three storage options: 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. The prices for these variants are $1,299.99, $1,419.99, and $1,659.99, respectively. In the UK, the prices range from £1,249 to £1,549, and in India, the base model starts at Rs. 1,29,999 with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The higher-tier models cost up to Rs. 1,59,999.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is available in three colour options, namely Titanium Gray, Titanium Violet, and Titanium Black. Additionally, Samsung is offering exclusive online colour options in its stores, including Titanium Blue, Titanium Green, and Titanium Orange. Though the phone is priced slightly higher than its predecessor, the company provides enticing offers in association with banks to reduce customer impact.
Design and Build Quality
The overall design of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra exhibits incremental changes from its predecessors, characterized by a fully flat screen and new titanium sides reminiscent of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This design choice not only provides a grippier finish but also enhances durability, theoretically making the device stronger.
One notable alteration is the adoption of Corning’s latest Gorilla Armor glass for the screen, boasting enhanced scratch resistance and reduced reflectivity. This innovative glass technology significantly diminishes glare, making outdoor usage seamless even under the brightest sunlight.
The device’s flat display, measuring a substantial 6.82 inches, is a departure from the curved panels found in previous flagship models. This design modification not only impacts the overall aesthetics of the smartphone but also contributes to a sleeker profile. Additionally, thinner bezels and a reduced front-facing camera cutout further refine the device’s appearance, accentuating its modern appeal.
On the rear panel, users will find a frosted back panel adorned with layers of metallic paint, creating a captivating depth effect, particularly in the ghostly, natural grey titanium finish. While the speaker grills and microphone placements have been subtly altered, the overall aesthetic remains reminiscent of its predecessors.
S Pen Integration
The S Pen, which was exclusive to the Note series ( now discontinued) until a couple of years ago, is more than just a mere novelty in the S24 Ultra. It comes equipped with Bluetooth functionality and the side button of the S Pen doubles as a remote control, allowing for seamless interaction with various features on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, such as enhancing the camera functionality. Additionally, those who use it for drawing or scribbling will not be disappointed, although there have not been many changes from what was seen in the S Pen of the S23 Ultra.
However, I would like to point out that the camera bump on the Galaxy S24 Ultra causes the phone to wobble when placed on a flat surface. This instability makes it uncomfortable to use the SPen for note-taking while the phone is lying flat. As a result, the most convenient way to take notes with the SPen is to hold the phone in one hand and write with the other hand.
Display Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra features an exceptional display that meets the high standards of a top-tier smartphone. It has an expansive size, vibrant brightness, and rich colours, especially when using the Vivid colour tone option.
The phone’s innovative anti-glare coating mitigates the common annoyance of sunlight reflection on the screen, ensuring optimal visibility even in bright outdoor environments. Moreover, the display has a range of adaptive features, including automatic adjustments to brightness and colour tones based on ambient lighting conditions. When exposed to intense sunlight, the display can reach an impressive brightness level of up to 2,600 nits.
The always-on display has a dim wallpaper feature and the ability to incorporate visible widgets even when the phone is locked, similar to Apple’s implementation.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra boasts a stunning 6.82-inch AMOLED Display with LTPO technology that enables a dynamic Refresh Rate ranging from 1 to 120Hz. Supporting HDR10 and HDR10+, the device delivers vibrant colours and sharp contrast, enhancing the viewing experience across various multimedia content.
Users can select different display modes, including an enhanced mode for more vivid colours or a natural “Basic” mode. Additionally, the display features adaptive eye protection, adjusting blue light filtration based on the time of day and surrounding lighting conditions, ensuring optimal visual comfort.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra incorporates an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner embedded beneath the display glass. This technology offers enhanced security, renowned for its speed and accuracy, even when fingers are moist, or the display surface is smudged.
Software and AI Integration
The Samsung One UI 6.1 software is built on Android 14 and offers a wide range of customization options and features that make the user experience smooth and friendly. Samsung has committed to providing software and security updates for seven years from the release date, in line with Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Pixel 8.
The software’s AI-powered features, which Samsung Calls Galaxy AI, are particularly notable, although their effectiveness may vary. For example, the AI wallpaper generator is similar to the one found on the Pixel 8 Pro and adds a personal touch to the user experience. The keyboard incorporates various AI tools, including language translation, advanced grammar and spelling checks, and the ability to rewrite messages in different tones, catering to diverse communication needs. While this feature may produce somewhat generic results, it can be useful for people who struggle with more formal correspondence, such as composing emails to their superiors.
The Samsung Notes App offers document summarization, although it is limited to documents under 8,000 characters. Similarly, the Samsung Internet Browser can summarize lengthy articles, showcasing impressive capabilities on the surface.
The voice recorder app can transcribe audio to text, although not in real-time like Google’s version. Real-time voice translation is also available in the phone app, facilitating cross-language communication, albeit with limitations in handling casual language.
Notable additions include the Generative Edit feature in the photo gallery app, which is similar to Google’s Magic Editor on Pixel phones. This tool leverages AI to resize, reframe, erase, or move objects within images, offering quick editing solutions that would otherwise require complex software like Photoshop or simpler ones like Canva. However, it may occasionally yield unintended results. Also, to address concerns related to the misuse of AI-generated edits, Samsung added a watermark for demarcation.
The ability to convert videos to slow motion using AI-generated frames is another unique capability, producing impressive results with minimal artefacts.
Finally, the Circle to Search feature allows users to effortlessly search for highlighted content on their screen. By circling desired elements with a finger or stylus, Google swiftly retrieves relevant information, enhancing user productivity and convenience. While similar functionalities exist with Google Lens, Circle to Search stands out for its intuitive execution.
Performance and Processing Power
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with a customized version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, coupled with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage options that go up to 1TB. This hardware configuration significantly enhances the phone’s performance, allowing users to execute tasks faster than before.
Whether you’re a gaming enthusiast or not, the S24 Ultra offers seamless gameplay, even at the highest settings, with smooth frame rates and stutter-free performance. The enhanced performance also makes non-gaming activities, such as photo editing in Adobe Lightroom, a breeze, enabling users to make precise adjustments and see real-time changes to their images.
However, the addition of new AI features on the Galaxy S24 Ultra causes occasional delays. Despite Samsung’s technological EDGE over its competitors, the innovative AI functionalities sometimes result in waiting periods for tasks like composing text messages or editing photos in the gallery. While the AI capabilities show promise, the current user experience is marred by these delays.
In terms of haptics, the S24 Ultra offers tactile feedback similar to its predecessor, the S23 series, providing a clicky, robust, and responsive user experience.
Camera Capabilities
The Galaxy S24 boasts a top-of-the-line camera that sets the standard in smartphone photography. It features a 200 MP primary camera, a 12 MP ultra-wide camera, and two zoom cameras – a 10 MP zoom camera with a 3x telephoto lens and a 50 MP zoom camera with a 5x lens. The S24 has made subtle but impactful changes, such as replacing the 10x lens with the 50 MP sensor, which produces impressive results with the help of AI enhancements.
In daylight conditions, the primary camera captures vibrant and well-exposed images with balanced dynamics and subdued color saturation compared to previous Samsung models. Some sharpening is still evident, but it is tastefully applied, avoiding the excessive artificiality often associated with smartphone photography.
In low-light situations, the S24 performs well, retaining details in shadows while preserving the integrity of light sources. Although noise reduction and sharpening can occasionally be overzealous in dimly lit environments, overall image quality remains commendable, making the S24 a reliable companion for nighttime adventures.
The S24’s zoom capabilities are impressive, with the software compensating for increased magnification by adjusting exposure and colour balance. Despite the digital zoom’s limitations, the transition between 3x and 5x zoom levels is seamless, and the 5x lens and 50 MP sensor combination can deliver comparable results to its predecessor’s 10x telephoto lens.
While slightly lower in quality than the primary sensor, the ultra-wide camera still captures compelling shots with impressive detail and dynamic range despite minor distortion and HDR artefacts near contrasting elements.
Selfies are a highlight, with the front-facing camera adeptly preserving facial details and accurately reproducing skin tones. Whether capturing intricate facial features or dynamic outdoor scenes, the Galaxy S24’s selfie camera delivers consistently impressive results.
Video recording capabilities are equally impressive, with the S24 capable of capturing richly detailed footage in daylight conditions. Stabilization technology ensures smooth video capture even during movement, making it ideal for vlogging or documenting adventures. However, telephoto lenses may struggle to maintain quality in low-light environments, presenting a minor drawback in an otherwise stellar camera package.
Battery Life and Charging
The Galaxy S24 Ultra maintains its 5,000 mAh battery capacity from the previous model. However, Samsung has enhanced power management for efficient energy utilization. The device has adaptive screen settings and users can optimize power consumption by adjusting screen resolution and Processor performance. Samsung has integrated a comprehensive power-saving feature with options like limiting app usage and dimming the display to conserve energy. The device charges quickly with a 45W charging capability. Although it may not last for two days, it offers ample battery life to last a day and a half for casual users.
