Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review

2024 is flying by for me. I can’t believe six months have passed since the newest Galaxy S24 devices launched, and next week we’ll already have news from the Galaxy Unpacked event. I’m glad to have had the chance to test the Galaxy S24 Ultra over a longer period, so in this review I’m sharing my four months with it.

Design

Traditionally I’ll start with the design. This year the phone became slightly thinner and flatter. The back and the display are completely flat. Although I’m entirely a fan of flat screens, I do miss the curved edges a little, because the phone looked more elegant and premium then. The flatter side frame is made from titanium, but it picks up fingerprints very easily, to the point where the body changes colour. If you prefer going without a case, you’ll need to clean the phone more often. The device is large, fairly heavy and takes up a good deal of pocket space. That’s the complete opposite of the Galaxy Flip5 I tested earlier. The S Pen is built into the body. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is reasonably comfortable to hold, though the corners press uncomfortably into your palm — a case reduces that problem.

You can buy the Galaxy S24 Ultra in titanium grey, black, violet and yellow, with 256 GB, 512 GB or even 1 TB of storage. At samsung.lt you can additionally choose blue, green and orange models.

Display

A large, spacious 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display holding the best technology on the market. The bezels are very thin and symmetrical. Peak brightness reaches 2,600 nits, so I used the Galaxy S24 Ultra against the sun without problems. The HDR features have been updated too, letting you view HDR photos in the Gallery and on Instagram. The screen holds a lot of information, and those square corners in particular make it excellent for watching films or other video. I’d also mention the new AOD, which displays not just the time but your wallpaper as well. You can still choose to see only the clock on a black background.

Cameras

There are plenty of them. The Galaxy S24 Ultra has five cameras. We already saw the main 200 MP lens in last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra. At least to me, the photos and video look good. Sometimes the AI overdoes it and sharpens details too much, and noise is visible in video. When taking photos you can choose between 200 MP, 50 MP and 12 MP modes. I’d recommend the last one, because higher-resolution photos need longer processing and take up more storage. I can praise Samsung here, because capturing a 200 MP photo has become considerably faster than on the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The ultra-wide and 3x optical zoom lenses are unchanged, though next year I’d like to see updated sensors. The new 50 MP 5x optical zoom replaces the 10 MP 10x zoom used previously. Quality at 5x is wonderful; digital zoom beyond that has become slightly worse, though not significantly. I particularly like the portraits captured with this lens.

Video resolution is unchanged. The maximum is 8K at 30 frames per second, though I more often use 4K at 30 or 60. This year the Galaxy S24 Ultra can film 4K at 120 frames per second, captured using the pro video mode in the Camera app.

Galaxy AI

The biggest news this year is Galaxy AI. Samsung shook up the smartphone market by introducing AI features on the Galaxy S24 series. The most heavily advertised is Circle to Search, built together with Google, which conveniently lets you look up objects or words without leaving the app you’re in. Just hold the home button at the bottom of the screen, circle the object, and Google search finds similar or identical results. I don’t use it daily, but when I remember it, it’s very useful.

I make more use of the Chat, Browsing and Photo assistants. The first is easily reachable from the Samsung keyboard, checks grammar and suggests more formal or more casual versions of your text. I often check my emails or other important writing with it. Browsing Assist works in the Samsung Internet browser, helping shorten long articles and pull out the main ideas in a summary. Photo Assist works in the Samsung Gallery when editing photos, helping you straighten a shot to the right angle, remove unwanted objects, or create more interesting frames with AI’s help.

Performance

Inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra runs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It’s a genuinely efficient and well-optimised chip. The phone doesn’t overheat even after long gaming sessions, thanks to the larger cooling module. I really had no complaints about the phone’s speed or smoothness. Everything works reliably, animations are extremely smooth with no interference. 12 GB of RAM also contributes to smoother app launches and multitasking.

The 5,000 mAh battery ensures all-day runtime under very heavy use and up to two days under normal use. Of course, battery life depends on each person’s needs and habits, so it’s normal that this device will last one person a day and another perhaps three or more. It charges with a 45 W wired or 15 W wireless charger. Unfortunately the accessories are sold separately.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a built-in S Pen. It works extremely accurately, so it’s perfect for signing documents, jotting down important notes or creating digital artwork. The S Pen is also convenient for editing photos and video. It has Gestures, which let you control the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s camera remotely. That’s very useful when you want to prop the phone up and fit more people into the frame.

Android and One UI

The Galaxy S24 Ultra runs Android 14 with the One UI 6.1 interface. At Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung promised up to seven years of Android updates, meaning the Galaxy S24 Ultra will be fully supported until 2030. One UI 6.1 brought AI wallpaper generation and Slow Motion. The first lets you personalise your phone even further, changing wallpapers daily if you like. Slow Motion lets you play back normally filmed video in slow motion — in the Gallery you just hold on a video and AI generates the extra frames. I should mention those generated frames aren’t always accurate.

Verdict: pros and cons

I genuinely recommend the Galaxy S24 Ultra to anyone who wants this year’s best flagship. A premium titanium body, a spacious bright display, wonderful cameras, Galaxy AI and more set this phone apart from the rest. Seven years of OS support will ensure the Galaxy S24 Ultra serves you for a long time.