First Impressions: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Galaxy AI is the star of this year's show
First Impressions
It might not look all that different, but an upgraded camera set-up, a refreshed screen and a new focus on generative AI means the Galaxy S24 Ultra could have much more to offer than its predecessors.
Key Features
- New GenAI-powered toolsFrom real-time text and call translation to summarising websites and editing photos, new GenAI-powered tools are both fast and secure on the S24 Ultra.
- Flat 6.82-inch AMOLED displayThe curved screen of the S23 Ultra is no more, replaced by a flat 6.82-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen that provides a little more screen real estate for doodling with the S Pen.
- The S PenWhile not necessarily new to the S24 Ultra, the phone’s S Pen stylus remains a USP in the wider smartphone market. If you like to note-take or doodle, this is one of very few options avaialble to you.
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Introduction
Samsung has just revealed the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, its new AI-turbo-powered flagship smartphone for 2024.
While the Galaxy S24 Ultra may not look that different from its predecessor at a glance, a smattering of new and updated features, along with new GenAI-powered tools could breathe new life into the top-end Samsung flagship, keeping it new and exciting amidst increased competition in the high-end market.
I’m not yet ready to deliver my full verdict, but I have had the opportunity to play with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ahead of today’s reveal. Here are my early thoughts, with the final review to follow very soon.
Design and screen
- New Titanium finish
- Flat 6.82-inch AMOLED display
- Gorilla Glass Armor protection
Samsung isn’t deviating too far from the aesthetic of the past few generations of Galaxy, especially when it comes to the Ultra model that essentially retains the same look as 2022’s Galaxy S22 Ultra, but there are a few meaningful changes on offer here.
The new flat AMOLED 6.82-inch display is the most instantly noticeable, a change from the curved panel in previous generations. While it may not sound like a monumental shift, it makes a big impact on the look and feel of the phone while also expanding the digital canvas for all your S Pen doodles and note-taking. I personally prefer flat screens for usability, but you may feel differently.
Along with a flat screen, Samsung has shrunk both the bezels and the centrally-placed camera cutout to maximise screen real estate. This will be noticeable when next to the S23 Ultra, but even without the side-by-side comparison, there is a really high-end look to the screen.
Elsewhere, returning high-end tech favourites include an LTPO-enabled 1-120Hz refresh rate – though this is now standard across the S24 range – along with a QHD+ resolution. There’s also a massively boosted 2600nits maximum brightness that should make the phone a breeze to use even in bright sunlight, though that’s not something I could verify in a dark hands-on space.
Samsung is also the first manufacturer to use the new Gorilla Glass Armor that’s 4x stronger than previous iterations of protective glass while reducing reflections by 75%, which should bring added peace of mind when using the glass slab.
Another notable change with the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the material it’s made from; like Apple, Samsung has made the jump to titanium with its top-end smartphone.
Combined with the satin finish the metal provides, it feels nice and robust in the hand while providing a bit more grip than the glossy finish of previous models. It doesn’t feel any lighter though, suggesting the use of a different kind of titanium than Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro models.
The colour options are a little more muted than previous generations, with blue, grey, black and yellow variants, and yet-unnamed exclusive colours that will be available directly from Samsung itself.
Changing gears a bit, Samsung has also doubled down on its environmental efforts with the S24 range with elements like recycled cobalt in the battery, recycled rare earth elements in the speakers and more, and the box is 100% recycled paper packaging that can be recycled all over again.
Cameras
- Main, ultrawide and 3x cameras remain unchanged
- New 50MP 5x periscope lens
- Suite of new AI-powered editing tools
Samsung has switched up the Ultra line’s camera set-up for the first time in quite a few years, though whether that’s for better or worse remains to be seen.
That’s because, in addition to the same main 200MP, 12MP ultrawide and 10MP 3x telephoto as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the 10x periscope lens has been reduced from 10x down to 5x.
However, with an increased 50MP adaptive pixel sensor, larger pixels and 2x wider OIS, the company hopes that the quality of images will surpass those of the previous generation at the 10x mark. It also allows the S24 Ultra to provide optical-quality zoom from 0.6x through to 10x according to Samsung, though we’ll have to confirm those bold claims in rigorous testing.
Don’t be disheartened by the use of near-identical camera hardware though; the S24 series sports Samsung’s AI-powered ProVisual Engine that the company says will help to reduce noise, deliver more accurate colour tones and offer brand new editing tools.
I will say that I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the various lenses during my short hands-on period. Even images taken at 10x (which is no longer a dedicated lens) still looking pretty crisp and detailed.
For me, though, it’s the ProVisual Engine’s new AI-powered photo editing tools that were most exciting during my hands-on. Heading into the Gallery app after snapping a few photos, I was presented with bespoke edit suggestions based on each shot.
One image had an obvious reflection, and all it took to completely remove it (with impressive accuracy) was a single tap. You can also use Google Pixel-esque eraser features to remove distractions from images with decently accurate generative fill, and using Generative Edit you can fix a crooked image and have the phone fill in the blanks from the borders.
You can even move the photo’s subject for better framing, with the phone filling in the blanks from the image with varying results.
This won’t be anything new to you if you’re a Google Pixel user – most of these have been long-time features of Google’s AI-focused smartphone range – but it’s the first time we’re seeing them from other Android manufacturers, and it should make Samsung’s top-end camera phone even more capable.
I’ll reserve final judgment until I’ve spent more time with the phone, however.
Performance and software
- New GenAI-powered tools
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
- Seven years of OS upgrades
The main driver behind the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s new AI-powered photo editing tools is Galaxy AI, an all-encompassing umbrella term for a bunch of new GenAI-powered tools available on the S24 range.
That starts with the phone’s keyboard, with a new Galaxy AI icon that, when tapped, provides the ability to not only rewrite what you’ve written to change your tone (formal, friendly, social-media-focused, etc) but translate it to 39 languages, which should help overcome the language barrier we sometimes face.
That also extends to the Phone app with live translation, allowing you to converse in your native tongue and have the phone reply in the recipient’s language. It’ll also display a real-time text transcript of the conversation if you desire.
A potential fan-favourite will be the AI-powered Notes app, which can transcribe and translate a conversation in real-time – with the ability to tell the difference between different speakers – and then get the AI to automatically summarise the recording in bullet point form. The latter is also available in the Samsung Internet app, allowing you to quickly summarise huge chunks of text into bite-sized chunks.
Crucially, everything I’ve mentioned here all happens on-device, meaning it’s both fast (negating the need for an active internet connection) and more privacy-friendly too.
That’s all made possible via the use of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, a custom version of Qualcomm’s top-end 2024 chipset to eke out the most power possible, along with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage.
We’re looking at a 25% boost to performance and a 25% boost to efficiency compared to last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but the real secret sauce of the 8 Gen 3 is its support for generative AI, making all of the above not only possible but super fast and all on-device.
The S24 Ultra is the only model with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, with the regular S24 and S24 Plus sporting an Exynos 2400 for Galaxy chipset in Europe. Those in the States, however, will get the 8 Gen 3 across the range.
Samsung claims that the two chipsets are near-identical both in terms of general performance and AI prowess – though how true that is remains to be seen. It’ll certainly be interesting to benchmark the collection in the coming weeks.
Elsewhere, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra comes running Android 14 with Samsung’s OneUI skin on top. There aren’t many big changes to the overall OS compared to earlier versions of OneUI – new AI tools aside, of course – which is great for existing Samsung users, but if you’re not a fan of OneUI, this likely won’t be the release to change your mind.
It is nice to see Samsung competing with Google’s upgraded Pixel 8 software promise, offering both seven OS upgrades and seven years of security patches that’ll see it through to the release of Android 21.
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Initial Impressions
Though it may look similar to its predecessor, a number of meaningful changes keep the Galaxy S24 Ultra an interesting option for 2024. That’s not only because of the regular features – great cameras, top-end performance and, of course, the S Pen – but because of the now AI-supercharged apps and a new long-term OS upgrade commitment.
While I’m not yet ready to deliver my final verdict, Samsung could be on to a winner with the Galaxy S24 Ultra – it just depends on how well the AI tools hold up in everyday use.
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
