Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: The Complete Package
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is without a doubt the best Android phone you can get right now.
Supporters
- Beautiful building
- Excellent camera
- superior performance
- Great screen
- The AI features are great
The Galaxy S Ultra has long been considered one of the best, if not the only, Android device with the best specs, cutting-edge photography technology, and stunning displays. At first glance, the latest version – the Galaxy S24 Ultra – looks a bit like the Galaxy S23 Ultra. But if you look closely, you'll discover a phone offering a host of new features, including the new Galaxy AI.
But AI alone can't make a good phone. The basics of the device must also be correct. Fortunately, the Galaxy S Ultra is unlikely to reach these locations. But overall, how does the Galaxy S24 Ultra perform? I've been trying to figure this out for weeks.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra specifications
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra design
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn't reinvent the wheel in terms of design. As in previous years, the Ultra looks a little different from the standard Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+, with a blocky look and not something associated with the S series rather than a continuation of the Note series. It looks good – and while the device could have achieved something similar to the S23 Ultra, I'm glad they stuck with the overall design.
The device has slightly rounded sides with a flat top and bottom. The power button and volume rocker are on the right side, while the USB-C port and S Pen slot are on the bottom.
The back of the Galaxy S24 Ultra is largely the same. The device does not have a raised camera module like the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but it does offer five different cameras on the back of the phone. It's not bad at all, very Samsung.
The design of the phone may be similar to the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but not the design. Samsung has opted for a matte titanium frame on the sides and it looks great. It doesn't matter if Apple did it first: the end result is still an excellently designed phone. The device is available in several colors and I am reviewing the Titanium Black model.
Overall, I like the look of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Sure, it might be nice to see a bigger design refresh in the next couple of years, but for now this is still one of the best Android phones on the market.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra screen
Samsung always delivers stunning, cutting-edge displays on its phones, and the S24 Ultra is no exception. The phone has a 6.8-inch panel with a resolution of 1440 x 3120. As you'd expect from Samsung in 2024, the 2X LTPO AMOLED display is dynamic and can vary from 1Hz to 120Hz to save battery. The brightness is 2600 nits, which is very high.
It all adds up to one of the best displays on any phone. It's unbelievable. Text is sharp and colors are bright and vibrant. Animations are smooth thanks to the high refresh rate, and watching any content on the screen is a dream. My only complaint is that, like other Samsung products, it doesn't support Dolby Vision, but it does support HDR10+.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra performance
The Galaxy S24 Ultra isn't just beautiful, it's powerful, too. The device is one of the first to feature the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with 12GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. As with previous generations, in some regions you'll get a Samsung Exynos chip instead of a Snapdragon chip, but our test model was powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor.
Basically, this means it's one of the best performing Android phones out there right now. In daily testing, the Genshin was able to handle everything I threw at it, including fast loading of games like Impact and multitasking with ease. Below you will find the basic results obtained from the phone
- GeekBench 6: 2294 single-core, 7108 multi-core
- 3DMark Wildlife Extreme: 5031
These are excellent results and show a device that easily competes with almost any Android phone. The iPhone 15 Pro still performs slightly better, at least in these tests, but that's a long-term trend.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra battery and charging
It is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery, which I found easily allows me to last a full day of use and during light use I can extend it for up to two days. In a video playback test with the phone at maximum brightness, it lasted more than 28 hours, making it one of the most durable phones I've tested in the past year. Today, of course, most people don't just watch videos on their phones, but even with mixed use, the device has excellent battery life.
However, the download speed is good. Galaxy S24 Ultra charges at up to 45W using a compatible charger. While this charging speed is slower than other devices, it is faster than phones like the Pixel 8 and iPhone 15. The phone supports 15W wireless charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra camera
On the back of the phone you'll find four different sets of cameras, and although the experience is largely similar, there is a noticeable difference between the Galaxy S23 Ultra and S24 Ultra.
It makes sense to have such an experience. The main camera (200MP with OIS), ultra-wide camera (12MP, 120 degrees), and 3x telephoto camera (10MP) remain the same. The only major difference is the second telephoto lens, which has gone from 10x on the Galaxy S23 Ultra to 5x on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
At first glance, this may seem disappointing, but it's actually a good thing. Previously, there was a lot of space between the 3x and 10x cameras, forcing users to make use of the lower digital zoom. The 5x telephoto lens on the Galaxy S24 Ultra solves this problem; Furthermore, the sensor has a high enough resolution (50MP) that the device can zoom 10x without losing quality. I love the versatility of this phone's camera. In fact, it can produce high-quality images in all reasonable conditions.
Even if the camera were the same as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, that wouldn't be a bad thing. The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a great camera and it applies to the new phone as well. Images are sharp and detailed with vibrant colors. Even images with a zoom of 15x or more look great, but then you start looking at digital zoom.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra's camera is great. It also offers exciting new AI-powered editing features. Some of them are similar to those previously introduced in the Pixel series, such as the ability to move or remove objects from the image and indicate the position of these objects. For now, the job is good; Sometimes the content he creates seems weird. But it's still fun to play.
The new Instant Slow-Mo feature is even cooler: it can record video at 30fps and create new frames to slow the video down. It's really beautiful and works really well. I see this feature becoming more and more popular, especially as a way to create high frame rate videos without taking up a lot of storage space.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra software
The new phone also offers other AI-powered features, many of which are built into the software. The device comes with Samsung's One UI 6, and it looks mostly similar to the previous version of One UI. Android has never been one of my favorites, but if you're used to it, you'll appreciate it on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Excluding all Galaxy AI features. I've already covered the Galaxy AI's photography-related features, but there are a few more included. Perhaps the most notable is the new “Circle to Search” feature, which allows you to use the S Pen to circle objects on the screen to search for them. It actually works very well. It's great for finding products you want to buy or people you'd like to learn more about, and I've found it to be very accurate. To be clear, this is essentially a more practical implementation of Google Lens, but it still works great. Additionally, the keyboard has a typing assistance feature that helps you translate or retype text before sending it. This is the AI feature I've used the least, but I've found it useful, especially when trying to chat with someone who speaks another language.
To be clear, many of these features will be coming to the Galaxy S23 series in the future; However, it looks like those who own the Galaxy S22 will be out of luck.
a result
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a killer Android phone for the S series. The device is without a doubt the best Android phone you can get right now, thanks to an excellent camera, superior performance, an easy-to-use S Pen, and a great display. Of course, you're paying for the best Android phone, and it's not necessarily for everyone: my favorite Android phone, for example, remains the OnePlus Open. However, if you want something reliable and like Samsung's hardware and software ecosystem, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the best you can get right now.
a race
There's a lot of competition in the premium Android phone space, but few offer the full package for the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Another recently launched Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 smartphone is the OnePlus 12, which I'm also reviewing, and it offers a great experience for those who want to ditch the S Pen and want cutting-edge Android. expertise
Of course, the lower-cost Galaxy S24 devices also deserve attention. The standard Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ offer similar levels of camera performance and quality, but without the same camera and S Pen versatility. If you want a reliable and efficient device, the Galaxy S24 remains a great choice.
Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra?
Yes, it is currently one of the best Android phones.
