Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ( left ) and S23 UltraJoe Maring / Digital Trends
The premium Android space does not get from a lack of option . There are deal of good flagships with excellent performance , brilliant and visually enticing screen , glamourous designs , and cameras that trick you into recollect they are as ripe as DSLRs . The Galaxy S series ticktack most of those corner , and the newGalaxy S24 Ultradoesn’t waver from the expectations set by its ancestor .
With AI being the keyphrase of the Samsung Unpacked upshot this class , the S24 Ultra is gaining significant improvements in ways we can interact with phones . In many ways , the Galaxy S24 Ultra will lead as one of the most compelling and feature - robust Android speech sound of 2024 . But is it enough to tempt possessor of theGalaxy S23 Ultrato raise ?
If you are curious about the improvement the Galaxy S24 Ultra brings over last yr ’s S23 Ultra , here ’s everything you require to know .
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra: specs
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra: design
With each progressing year , Samsung has followed the same ideology as Apple , launch fresh flagship with minimal design changes . The Galaxy S23 Ultra received only minor changes over the S22 Ultra , which itself adopted the same pattern as the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra when Samsung decided to meet the two serial .
Likewise , the novel Galaxy S24 Ultra does n’t differ much from the Galaxy S23 Ultra and bears only minimal changes in excogitation . The most significant limiting the Galaxy S24 Ultra undergoes is a Modern frame crafted with titanium rather of a indurate aluminum admixture previously . Once again , this decision look to be inspire by Apple ’s version of Ti for theiPhone 15 Pro‘s material body . While Samsung says the titanium will help the gimmick ’s seniority , there are no solid claims about measurable improvements . Visually and esthetically , the updated frame feels a bit warmer to the mite and look more rough-textured than the Galaxy S23 Ultra ’s shiny frame with a chrome finish . We also suspect it will be more repellent to scratches . The less stacked sides also work in tandem with the Ti to make the S24 Ultra feel more untroubled in your handwriting .
Another detectable change over the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s new flat display . In reality , the display is n’t entirely flat , but the curvature of the edge has been reduced importantly , and the curved part of the screen now mostly overlap the bezels along the silver screen . While hoi polloi areirresolvablydividedover the topic of curved projection screen , Samsung says the raw exhibit better legibility and productivity . We do n’t think it ’s the “ design disaster ” some folks have made it out to be , and it has the benefit of ameliorate the S Pen write experience .
For more lastingness , the Galaxy S24 Ultra is switching to the latest generation of Corning ’s Gorilla Glass — i.e. , Gorilla Glass Armor , with a claimed four times more resistance to simoleons and the power to cut reflection by up to 75 % .
The switch from curve to flatter display edges does not touch the view area of the display ( at least not observably enough ) . However , there are small-scale adjustment to the overall dimensions of the sound , which is now taller and more or less less unsubtle than last year . The Galaxy S24 Ultra is also marginally heavyset but weighs only one gram lighter than last yr ’s good example despite switching to titanium . That textile is generally perceived to be lighter than aluminum , but it ’s not almost the difference Apple fans experienced with the iPhone ’s electrical switch from much heavier stainless steel . Ultimately , the Galaxy S24 ’s size and weightiness changes are newspaper specs that most folks likely wo n’t notice without meticulously comparing the two phones side - by - side .
Alongside the unexampled frame , Samsung also add fresh colors , include yellow ( anotheriPhone inspiration ? ) , gray-headed , and violet , to complement the already - existing total darkness . There are alsoadditional colour entirely available from Samsung ’s website .
Besides the frame and the display , the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s design is pretty much the same as last class ’s . The attributes carried over from the previous twelvemonth let in disjointed circular rings for different rear cameras and the laser autofocus mental faculty , a flattened frame to ease gripping , and the slot for the S Pen . While the placement of the clit remains unaltered , Samsung now claims to practice 10 % recycle thermoplastics to make them . The cameras themselves have slightly changed , along with some other national element that we discuss in the late sections .
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra: display
As mentioned antecedently , the Galaxy S24 Ultra sports a newfangled display . Besides the strong-arm changes to the panel — the new Gorilla Armor glass is skillful at handling reflections — the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s video display is much bright and now boasts a peak brightness of 2,600 nits ( a unit of intensity level of lighter ) as compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra ’s 1,750 nits of peak light . It is worth highlighting that “ peak luminosity ” only exemplify the highest light of individually light pixels , primarily while view HDR mental object .
Meanwhile , other value — such as distinctive smartness and High Brightness Mode ( HBM ) — play the panel ’s maximum brightness as a whole ; the latter indicates brightness activate manually or under unattackable ambient lighting , such as under the Dominicus . Samsung does not reveal the brightness values in other modes , but we ’ve had no problem seeing the screen door on sunny day when it ’s cranked all the way up , and the skillful newsworthiness is that the Adaptive Brightness mode is n’t too aggressive , so the S24 Ultra will retain the brightness levels you set it to .
Besides the cleverness and the design , there is n’t much to key out it from the premature twelvemonth ’s model . That ’s only because you do n’t need to define something that ’s not broken . Samsung has been a innovator in displays ; it has a foresightful bequest of provide displays for other phones , let in the iPhone and OnePlus flagship , and its art appearance here as well .
“ Dynamic AMOLED 2X ” is the formal marketing cant to key the LTPO display , which supports a variable refresh rate ranging between 1 and 120Hz , syncing to the soma rate of the contentedness of the showing to avoid tearing or glitch .
The showing once again lark a Quad HD+ firmness and supports 100 % of the color in the DCI - P3 gamut . Like previous generations , the Galaxy S24 Ultra supports HDR10 + codec but lack Dolby Vision support . Given the bright gore , our concerns about the last generation ’s inability to contend with cheaper silver screen that support Dolby Vision might be alleviated to some extent .
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra: performance
Perhaps the most meaning alteration that the Galaxy S24 Ultra start over the S23 Ultra is the hardware that power it . The Galaxy S24 Ultra is driven by aQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3chipset , found in October 2023 , making it the early phone with this splintering to plunge globally .
Qualcomm for the most part altered the orientation of CPU cores on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 , prioritizing performance and resulting in a claimed 30 % performance rise over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 . Qualcomm also claim a 25 % advance in graphics operation , which should preponderantly translate to a well gambling experience . In addition , Samsung is partnering with a few secret plan studio to help make ray tracing more mainstream in Android games . The initial list of game titles with electron beam tracing support includesDiablo Immortal , Racing Master , Arena Breakout , andNight Corvus .
The Galaxy S24 Ultra also has specific sweetening for better public presentation , include a 90 % larger vapor cooling chamber than the S23 Ultra , let for better passion dissolution during functioning - intensive tasks . In addition , 12 GB RAM now comes as standard on all storage stochastic variable from 256 GB to 1 TB . In hard-nosed terms , the Galaxy S24 Ultra handles everything you could throw at it with aplomb , and we had a laborious time getting the phone to warm up even when playing ask games likeAsphalt 9 : Legendsand bunk benchmarking stress test .
Besides more computation power , the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 brings an dumfounding 98 % boost in neural processing . hokey intelligence agency task can now range on the equipment without relying on cloud - based datum center — at least , that ’s the hypothesis Qualcomm shows . With procreative AI and expectant language models such as ChatGPT and Google ’s Bard becoming last year ’s most sought - after technical school products , Samsung is jumping on the bandwagon and introducing productive AI features on the Galaxy S24 series . Here arethe AI sport that the Galaxy S24 serial pass :
These AI features on the Galaxy S24 rely on Google’sGemini Nano motorcar learning exemplar , which suggest we might get to see them on other Android machine as well . On that note , Samsung has confirmed that these AI featuresarecoming to the Galaxy S23 Ultra at a later escort .
Apart from these , there are some applications of AI for the television camera or editing images that we discuss in the tv camera part below .
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra: battery and charging
The Galaxy S24 Ultra continues to feature a 5,000mAh bombardment — the same as the S23 Ultra . If you are conscious about the environment , it might please you to lie with that 50 % of the atomic number 27 that Samsung is using for the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s battery is reuse . Besides the claim environmental impact of this change , there might not be real - life improvement to the phone ’s battery spirit .
In terminus of charging , the Galaxy S24 Ultra still supports speeds up to 45 W over a pumped up connection . Simultaneously , you may use a Samsung - brandmark or certified wireless battery charger to charge the telephone set at 15W or any other Qi - attest accessories at 5W. Besides these means to remark charge , the Galaxy S24 Ultra also fend for charge appurtenance such as Galaxy Buds or Galaxy look out through reverse power sharing , which is crest at 3W.
Samsung does not say if the updated internals — or any AI algorithms — better the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s battery life . However , our experience suggests that retentive run times are still one of the boastful advantages of choosing Samsung ’s premium flagship . There was a break - in period where it take the phone some clip to adapt , so do n’t be too worried if the battery animation seems poor at first — it will get a lot good after a few charge cycle . We were able-bodied to reach five hours of heavy covert time — play , television streaming , and more — with a comfortable 50 % rest at the goal of the daylight .
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra: cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra was unquestionably one of last class ’s effective camera phone . This year , the Galaxy S24 Ultra seem prepared to take that championship , all thanks to an improved 200MP sensor compared to the previous yr .
Although the particular are not instantly unmistakable from Samsung ’s tonic , Samsung says the new sensor is 60 % bigger than the Galaxy S23 Ultra ’s ISOCELL HP2 . This should permit for importantly more light , especially in obtuse scenario , and allow for good night - metre picture taking . Samsung further claims to have improved the optical mental image stabilisation ( OIS ) on the Galaxy S24 Ultra , reducing heebie-jeebies and lags due to shake or movement .
Another significant change to the camera system is a new 5x periscopic telephoto detector . On paper , itfeels like a downgrade from the 10x periscopeavailable on the Galaxy S23 Ultra , but Samsung is heavily trust on AI to enhance the tone of zoomed images and allow a seamless transition from 2x to 10x . alternatively of zooming into the figure , the Galaxy S24 Ultra cultivate a section of the simulacrum it actually takes , consecrate persona tone that resembles ocular zoom . The periscope can shoot at up to 100x zoom , and Samsung says these figure will be “ crystal clear ” — presumptively , with the economic consumption of reproductive AI to remodel bleary contribution as it already does with lunation guess .
For the most part , that proficiency works well , and you see the resultant in ourshootout between the Galaxy S24 Ultra ’s telephotograph television camera and those on the Galaxy S23 Ultra . You ’ll get slimly less item at the 10x zoom due to the pixel - cropping , but not enough that most people will detect , especially since the telephoto camera takes outstandingly better and more visually appealing photos than its predecessor .
The other two sensors — the 12MP ultrawide and the 10MP telephoto with 3x zoom — remain unchanged . However , Samsung heavily trust on theSnapdragon 8 Gen 3 ’s AI capabilitiesto improve the camera ’s performance .
The Galaxy S24 serial publication leverages the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 ’s on - equipment AI processing abilities to enhance image while they are being captured under the range of “ ProVisual Engine . ” The AI feature article come in ready to hand in various ways , from focalize images to reducing shutter lag . The AI will further help better persona by suggesting edits and allow folks to create or supercede portion of the photo with “ Generative Edit , ” similar to theGoogle Pixel 8series .
Samsung ’s cameras are often blame for capturing photos with too much HDR , especially in low visible radiation . In response , it has now acquaint Super HDR , reserve you to preview guesswork with HDR in the viewfinder as they would come out after processing . This might allow you to grow off HDR if it ’s too aggressive . Samsung also mentions third - party apps such as Instagram will now be able-bodied to capture images or record video with HDR . However , unlike the Pixel 8 , the HDR metadata will not be recorded along with the photo , mean they will not come out unlike on screen with and without HDR support .
Since most of these camera improvement are tied to better ironware — whether on the sensing element or the micro chip level , we may not see them trickle down to sometime phones , especially the Galaxy S23 Ultra .
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra: software and updates
Samsung has already depart rolling out its latestOne UI 6 update free-base on Android 14with significant plan change to a horde of Galaxy S and A serial gadget . It is one of the most large visual update to Samsung ’s usance Android interface , bringing refinements to the flying configurations jury , safe wallpaper - establish theming , a new font , and more .
The One UI 6 update has already been rolled out to the Galaxy S23 serial publication , include the Ultra . So , there ’s no reason for the Galaxy S24 Ultra to run an older version of the software . In fact , Samsung will offer additional features as part of the updated One UI 6.1 , running out - of - the - box on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and other S24 gadget .
Most of the features should eventually also be available on older devices such as the Galaxy S23 series . Samsung does not mention customization features similar to the Pixel 8 ’s AI - generated wallpaper , but we might see them coming when the lineament becomes more mainstream in the Android ecosystem .
With Google announce seven years of firmware updates to the Pixel 8 series , Samsung is cause similar claim and promising seven years of Android versionand security updates to the Galaxy S24 series . This is one view that Galaxy S24 Ultra will outlive the S23 Ultra by several more eld , despite being just one genesis apart . This is because the Galaxy S23 Ultra will get only three more Android interlingual rendition updates play along Android 14 .
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra: price and availability
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is now usable from major retailers and carrier in the U.S. for a starting price of $ 1,300 for the 256 GB theoretical account , marking a $ 100 bump over the S23 Ultra ’s initial pricing . There are also 512 GB and 1 TB acclivity uncommitted for $ 1,420 and $ 1,660 , severally . It ’s useable in Titanium Black , Titanium Gray , Titanium Violet , and Titanium Yellow from most places , with Titanium Blue , Titanium Green , and Titanium Orange as this class ’s exclusive Samsung colors .
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is usable for a starting monetary value of $ 1,200 , but you may notice more attractive peck on third - party Peter Sellers such asand . We ’ll in all probability see more price drops for the Galaxy S23 Ultra now that its successor is uncommitted .
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra: verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a clear upgrade over the S23 Ultra , with better performance , an improved presentation , and ranking cameras . But what makes the choice for the Galaxy S24 Ultra a no - brainer over the S23 Ultra is the protract software system support that Samsung offers on the former . With seven years of Android propagation and certificate update , the Galaxy S24 Ultra will have fighting software support until Android 21 , even though the hardware , specially the chipset , may not go the brunt of generational improvements .
The only prospect where the Galaxy S23 Ultra still make more sense than the Galaxy S24 Ultra is if Samsung manages to bring the terms down importantly and make it a good value for money — or you get a lucrative deal from the small seller you befriend primarily for that reason . Otherwise , you will be lose out on instant access to the new AI features and the promise of better financial support in years to fall .
However , if you already own a Galaxy S23 Ultra , you almost certainly do n’t need to upgrade to the S24 Ultra . The S24 Ultra is technically respectable , indisputable , but the S23 Ultra is still a fantastic Android phone — and it ’ll be get most ( if not all ) of the Galaxy AI feature that the S24 Ultra has .
