Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
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The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a superb and impressive phone, and Samsung made some great year-over-year improvements that I appreciate tremendously, like a new flat display and cameras that take photos and videos with more natural color
The new titanium frame sets it apart from typical aluminum builds, its battery life is second to none, its four cameras offer unmatched versatility, and it’s the best (and only) option for those who find the S Pen indispensable. And while its display is only 0.1 inches bigger than typical large Android phones, it feels bigger thanks to its unique sharp corners.
It isn’t noticeably more powerful in day-to-day use than the other two Galaxy S24 phones, and the whole S24 lineup includes the same new AI features. Additionally, while it has a singularly large display, the Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn’t offer anything special that other large premium Android phones don’t provide, stylus compatibility aside.
Performance and Dynamic Screen of Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
he Samsung Galaxy S24 nearly matched the display performance of the top-of-the-line S24 Ultra, thanks to achieving two top scores in readability and touch, but the smaller device was held back due to its management of artifacts.
Even though the devices have key differences, mainly in size, chipset, and glass, the Galaxy S24’s display behavior was very similar to that of the Ultra version. The 6.2-inch S24, like the 6.7-inch S24+, was released with the latest version of Samsung’s in-house chip, Exynos 2400, while the 6.8-inch S24 Ultra sports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The S24’s glass protection is the same as the one used on the S23 series, whereas the S24 Ultra’s display has glass reinforced with anti-reflective properties, which played a role in artifacts management.
While the lack of an anti-reflective screen cost the S24 significant points in artifacts, due to poor reflection management, it could also be said that the older glass was a contributing factor in S24 attaining a top score in readability. When it came to luminance, the S24 achieved a slightly higher peak than the already-impressive peak of the S24 Ultra, making the S24 a very readable screen in sunlight. Peak brightness, better gamma management under sunlight, and a more uniform screen all helped the device achieve a top score in the readability attribute.
In our display evaluation, our testers found the S24’s screen colors to be a huge improvement over the predecessor S23. The colors on the S24 were much more accurate than on previous S-series models, particularly outdoors, correcting the color artifact noticed on the S23 series. The S24 series’ new type of color signature, with the same color rendering across all three models, offers much more of a “natural” rendering compared to the previous series. However, when viewing the S24 screen on an angle, screen colors did change, but not as much as they did on the S24 Ultra, a factor that helped the S24 achieve a slightly better score in the color attribute.
An overly bright screen can make watching videos in a dark environment quite uncomfortable if the device does not sufficiently decrease brightness. In our tests, the S24’s screen, like on the S24 Ultra, lost some points here for remaining much too bright when viewing videos.
In the motion attribute, stutter was visible when resuming the video in playback, showing that the S24 was a bit slower than the S24 Ultra in execution.
The S24 reached a top score for its touch interactions, which were accurate and smooth, with a fast response time.
The S24’s impressive display performance earned it the top spot so far among devices in the Premium segment.
Effective features for the S Pen
The Galaxy S24 Ultra model comes equipped with its own S Pen, which means you can write and draw to your heart’s content! This improved S Pen is compatible with the standard Air command menu and Air actions, as well as new functions such as cleaning up text and auto formatting. If you’re in the mood to draw, you can create your own artwork on the S24 Ultra’s screen when it’s turned off, or join drawing challenges with PENUP. The S Pen can also be used to capture screenshots with ease and take quick photos with the Camera app.
AI features make the Galaxy S24 Ultra
Samsung introduced new mobile AI features to the entire Galaxy S24 series, so these aren’t exclusive to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. In fact, many of them aren’t exclusive to Samsung phones, either. Some of these features exist already on Google Pixel phones; Google itself introduced some during Samsung’s Galaxy S24 launch event, and those will feature on Google’s Pixel 8 phones.
Circle To Search is the major AI feature announced in partnership with Google, and it’s a hit. It’s basically Google’s Lens feature, which searches the web based on what you have on your screen. Except, Circle To Search lets you circle something specific on your screen, which is infinitely more useful if you want to search for a single object within an image. Amazingly accurate, it is especially good at finding products, celebrities, and even some locations or buildings. I was able to trip it up a few times where it confused what I was looking for as something else, but overall, it’s very impressive and can only get better from this point on.
Another headlining photo editing AI feature is the ability to delete objects or subjects in the Samsung Gallery app. It can work well.
Improved Cameras of Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
one of the reasons the Galaxy 24 Ultra is in a league of its own is thanks to its 200MP main camera when most main cameras on premium phones are “only” around 50MP. The Galaxy S24 Ultra also has four rear cameras when three is the norm. In a way, the Galaxy S24 Ultra effectively has five cameras (more on that below).
Battery Life of Samsung S24 Ultra
If you’re looking for a phone with the most battery life, the Galaxy S24 Ultra should be at the top of your shortlist. It endured our intensive battery test with a 66% charge remaining, whereas most phones obtained results of around 60%.
The result shouldn’t be too surprising, as larger phones typically have longer battery lives, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra is among the largest phones you can buy, thanks to its 6.8-inch display. However, the Galaxy S24 Plus has a 6.7-inch display and scored a comparatively paltry 60%.
Ultimately, the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s score means that you’ll be able to get farther in daily use without having to charge the phone than with other large phones, but you’ll likely still need to charge the phone overnight.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra supports up to a speedy 45W charging, which is significantly faster than Google Pixel and Apple iPhone charging. Still, the One plus 12 has the Galaxy S24 Ultra beat here with its absurd 80W charging speed.
For wireless charging, the Galaxy S24 Ultra supports up to 15W with first-generation Qi. Again, OnePlus destroys the Galaxy S24 Ultra with its proprietary 50W wireless charging. To put that into perspective, the OnePlus 12 can charge faster wirelessly than the Galaxy S24 Ultra can with a cable. It doesn’t include Qi2 support, which would add a magnetic alignment element similar to Apple’s MagSafe.
Unlock method
Android phone makers at large, not just Samsung, need to make moves with biometric authentication for unlocking phones and mobile payments. The incumbent fingerprint sensors and basic facial recognition that use the selfie camera have been showing their limitations ever since Apple came out with Face ID in 2017 with the iPhone X.
To be sure, the Galaxy S24 ultra fingerprint sensor is quite accurate and fast most of the time. However, it’s irritating when it doesn’t work when Face ID would, like when my thumbs are wet from doing dishes or when my skin is cracked from extremely dry winter air.
When fingerprints don’t unlock the phone, the Galaxy S24 Ultra falls back on basic facial recognition, which uses the selfie camera. It’s very clearly slower and less accurate than Apple’s Face ID. Either Samsung and Android phone makers need to include a notch with advanced facial recognition, as Apple has for Face ID, or they need to innovate.