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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Our top choice100x Space Zoom, a vibrant, curve-free AMOLED display, an S Pen with great features, and a whole lot more wrapped up in a titanium package. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is Samsung's statement on what a traditional slab smartphone should be in 2024.
Pros- Titanium build means same weight carries more inside
- 10x telephoto camera switched for 5x, higher-res sensor
- 7 years of software updates
Cons- The return of Exynos in some regions casts performance doubts
- Continued stagnation on charging speeds
- Staling design language
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Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Look for a dealBesides a different strategy for telephoto images and videos, older parts, and an aluminum build, the Galaxy S23 Ultra still holds up with much of the same character and content as its newer sibling.
Pros- All-Snapdragon batch means running consistency
- Telephoto cameras still deliver great results
- Deals more abundant than S24 Ultra
Cons- Software support ends after Android 18
- Tapered-edge display has been a thorn in many a user's side
Key Takeaways
- The Galaxy S24 Ultra will be available from major retailers starting at $1,300, $100 more than previous generations. Pre-order customers get a free storage upgrade.
- The Galaxy S23 Ultra is a more cost-effective option and may be harder to find as the S24 Ultra replaces it. Both phones have similar designs and camera setups.
- The S24 Ultra features a titanium build, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, and enhanced software with Galaxy AI. It also offers a longer software support window and an expanded software update guarantee.
Following Samsung's latest handset release, there's a chance you might be wondering which Ultra deserves both your money and title of "best Ultra." Therefore, Pocket-lint presents a tale of two Ultras: Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S23 Ultra. From price, design, and software updates, here's what you need to know about what's different (and what's stayed the same) with regard to these Ultra behemoths.
Price, specs & availability
The Galaxy S24 Ultra will be available from pretty much all the major retailers (direct from Samsung as well as Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart to name a few) starting at $1,300 beginning January 31. That's $100 more than what the last few generations of Ultra were priced. The company is offsetting costs a bit for pre-order customers, giving them a free storage upgrade until January 30. That means you'll be able to get a 512GB S24 Ultra for the same price as a 256GB Ultra.
That said, you're probably already better off in financial terms buying an S23 Ultra. At the same time, you'll find it just a bit more difficult snagging one as the S24 Ultra will have knocked it off its pristine perches at the aforementioned carriers and retailers. With the passing weeks, availability will continue to shrink alongside that number next to the dollar sign. You'll see updated pricing every so often in the product boxes on this article.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Display 6.8 inches, Dynamic AMOLED 2X @ 3088 × 1440 (505ppi), 120Hz adaptive 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3088 × 1440, 120Hz adaptive RAM 12GB 8GB or 12GB Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB Battery 5,000mAh 5,000mAh Ports USB-C USB-C Operating System One UI 6.1 w/ Android 14 One UI 5.1 w/ Android 13 Front camera 12MP f/2.2 12MP, f/2.2 Rear camera 200MP f/1.7 main w/OIS, 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide (120°), 50MP f/3.4 5X telephoto w/OIS, 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto w/OIS 200MP f/2.2 main, 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide, 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto, 10MP f/4.9 10x telphoto Connectivity 5G, 4G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3 5G, 4G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 Dimensions 163 × 79 × 8.6mm 163.4 × 78.1 × 8.9mm Colors Titanium Black, Blue, Gray, Green, Orange, Violet, Yellow Phantom Black, Green, Lavender, Cream, Graphite, Lime, Sky Blue and Red Weight 233g 234g Charge speed 45W wired, 15W wireless 45W wired, 15W wireless IP Rating IP68 IP68 Price From $1,300 From $1,200 Stylus S Pen S Pen Material Titanium Armor Aluminum Release date 2024-01-31 2023-02-17
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra: Some things stayed the same
In order to really accentuate the differences between the two phones, we really have to dig into what they share, which is a lot.
For starters, the overall design saw minimal changes as the new Galaxy Ultra still features large slab with a 6.8-inch AMOLED display as its centerpiece. Both phones havev panels that support adaptive refresh rates from 1Hz to 120Hz and have the same number of pixels between them -- if 3088 × 1440 isn't enough for you, Sony has 4K screens on its Xperia 1 series. The S24 Ultra might be slightly be better when it comes to contrast ratios thanks to a higher peak brightness of 2,600 nits versus 1,750 nits, but you can be assured that the S23 Ultra's screen is still impressive.
There are five camera bumps at the back, only four of which most seem to use (read on for more on the odd camera out). You'll see no change (at least on paper) in regard to the 12MP selfie shooter as well as three of the rear cameras -- the 200MP main, the 12MP ultrawide, and 10MP 3x telephoto.
The S Pen stylus still comes out of a dedicated silo at the bottom, and you can expect it to perform all the tricks Samsung has programmed into it for years and years, including being able to jot down notes while your phone's still locked and acting as a remote camera shutter trigger.
The Galaxy S23 and S24 Ultra both pack a 5,000mAh power plant. Charging speeds remain capped at 45W with a cable and 15W on an approved charging pad. Critics have panned Samsung's lack of progress in this area, but both phones should still last users through a heavy day and will charge quickly enough to persist into a jam-packed night as needed. Both phones are rated IP68 for full dust and water resistance.
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Titanium is the star on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Following in the footsteps of the iPhone 15 Pro series, Samsung is replacing the aluminum build of old so that it can afford to fit a few more goodies inside for the same durability and weight. The company is calling out a vapor chamber inside that's nearly twice as large as the one on the S23 Ultra and is confident it'll keep the device cooler as it works.
What's doing the work will be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset in the S24 Ultra, a product that naturally follows the Gen 2 found in the S23 Ultra. Unlike those buying the Galaxy S24 or S24+ in certain regions, every S24 Ultra will come with a Snapdragon inside -- no need to worry about performance issues and bugs cropping up with Exynos chips. Another morsel of good news on the regional front has to do with the entry-level 256GB model: with the S23 Ultra, some markets got it with 8GB of RM while others saw 12GB. This year, you'll find 12GB of RAM on every S24 Ultra model, everywhere. Storage options remain at 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB in most places.
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra telephoto camera: Less zoom, more detail?
Each of the Ultra phones sports a long-range telephoto camera. The S23 Ultra has a 10MP sensor with f/4.9 aperture and a zoom factor of 10x and, when combined with 3x camera through software, can output reasonably sharp stills at 100x.
The S23 Ultra replaces that unit with a faster, pixel-dense 50MP f/3.4 shooter at 5x zoom. With so many more cells on the sensor, you're actually able to crop down to an effective 10x zoom with 12MP of resolution.
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra software: Galaxy AI
Samsung seems the proudest in showing off Galaxy AI as a key attraction for the Galaxy S24 series -- it's feature-rich suite along with little features sprinkled throughout One UI bringing in tricks you've seen from server-based services like ChatGPT or Google Bard down to the device level, including auto-generating a summary of a long document, live conversation translation over the phone, and instant transcription and summarization of voice memos. Photos and videos are all set to benefit from Galaxy AI, too, with color tone adjustments, a load of Nightography enhancements, and, of course, Generative Edit which lets users fill out parts of existing photos or expand them with machine-generated content. Those are all great features to have, but keep in mind that Google's latest Pixels have them, too, and that other phones launching with Android 14 will be able to take advantage of a new system structure that allows them to tap into Google's Gemini Nano generative AI model. It's also possible that older flagship devices could have some of these features backported at some point, so don't count the Galaxy S23 Ultra out of the AI sweepstakes here.
Obviously, a new phone tends to run on newer software than an old phone, so it's no surprise that the Galaxy S24 Ultra is running One UI 6.1 based on Android 14, a newer version than One UI 5.1 based on Android 13 inside the S23 Ultra. But even more important than that and the Galaxy AI features -- at least in this writer's opinion -- is that there's also a new, expanded software update commitment that will cover the S24 Ultra for seven years of OS and security updates -- two years more than the five-year promise given to the S23 Ultra.
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra: Which is right for you?
At this early stage, we're happy to give the Galaxy S24 Ultra the early edge on what to buy solely because you're getting a longer software support window with the phone. That means more new features will make it down to the device even past 2030 -- if you intend on keeping it for that long. If you're an avid illustrator or note-taker, you'll also definitely appreciate gaining a bit of drawing surface with the flat-edged screen. These are minor differentiators, we understand, that are taking the S24 Ultra over the top of the S23 Ultra, but if all else is the same or slightly better, you might as well go for it if you can. Obviously, we'll have more to say once we've reviewed the revised camera setup, the AI features, and the overall performance.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
This is the better choice in the long run with an expanded software update guarantee and a material design that is friendlier to one of its own built-in features: the S Pen.
If, however, you're looking to get the most phone you can without any carrier commitments for less money, you're definitely able to get that with the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Simply put, if the performance overhead, S Pen, and large size are the aspects that most appeal to you, the year-old choice is definitely more than enough phone for you. You just get to save a few bucks while you're at it.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
What the S24 Ultra can't take away from the Galaxy S23 Ultra is that it has an S Pen, too, and it should bust through tasks and last a long time off the charger. What you get from buying one is a little more money in your pocket.