Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review: AI arrives on an already compelling phone

Samsung offers a bevy of smartphones to pick from, including some that fold like the Z Flip or Z Fold, but still central to the lineup is the Galaxy S—aka the typical candy bar-style smartphone that doesn’t fold.

The company is offering a trio of phones for 2024—the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra—and I’m focusing on the flagship here. I’ve spent close to a month with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and while it sticks with a similar design language, Samsung’s goal is to make it the one to beat with faster performance, an infusion of AI features, and improvements to cameras. For 2024, it’s also more expensive at $1,299—a full $100 over the S23 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

In my testing experience, though, there is more than meets the eye, and while Galaxy AI is front and center, some smaller enhancements also make a big impact.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra pros and cons

Titanium is in, and the curvy display is out

Galaxy S24 from the back

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Like the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, Samsung opted for titanium as the main material for the Galaxy S24 Ultra (note: the S24 and S24+ stick with an aluminum and stainless steel build). The swap to titanium makes the S24 Ultra heavier than the S23 Ultra, both on paper and in use. I’ve been using the Titanium Gray S24 Ultra, which gives it a more natural look, but it’s also widely available in Titanium Black, Titanium Yellow, and Titanium Violet.

From a first impression, the S24 Ultra will feel a bit more blocky and heavier, but its ergonomics are strong and comfortable to hold … well, as comfortable as a 6.8-inch smartphone can be. Aiding in just how comfortable the S24 Ultra is to hold and to use is a full flat front display. Samsung has been slowly removing the curved edge designs of the Ultra’s screen since its inception, but now the 6.9-inch display is fully flat. This makes it much easier to write with the S-Pen and to use in general.

It’s still one of the best displays on the market, with a keen ability to create immersive visuals with vibrant pops of color and stark contrast points. Samsung upped the brightness to a maximum of 2,600 nits, which means you can use it outdoors in extremely bright conditions or under harsh, bright ambient light indoors. The display is still a QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X but boasts a new Corning Gorilla Armor, drastically reducing reflection. It’s a feature I hope arrives on all smartphones, and Samsung seemingly took a page out of the anti-reflective tech found on the Frame TVs here.

The rest of the S24 Ultra is similar to that of the S23 Ultra—USB-C port and S-Pen are at the bottom, power and volume buttons are on the right, and the main camera array is on the back. Like previous Galaxy S smartphones, each lens pokes out of the back on its own rather than a module square or rectangle popping out of the back.

Galaxy AI takes center stage on top of Android

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Fitting for the $1,299 starting price, the Galaxy S24 Ultra feels and performs like a state-of-the-art smartphone. Applications open quickly, and it feels instantaneous for really any function or task. I can easily keep a trove of apps running in the background, jump between them, and even have some picture-in-picture action. Powering it all is Qualcomm’s  (QCOM)  Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip that’s designed for Galaxy, and it’s paired with a very healthy 12GB of RAM.

What I’ve found myself using the most, though, is Circle to Search. Let’s say I’m scrolling through Instagram and spot a pair of shoes that scream “I must know more”. I long press the home button, and with the S-Pen or my finger, simply circle the object to see results pop up in a panel on the bottom of the screen. It’s a Google search for whatever I select, and it doesn’t require me to jump to another app or disrupt my flow. It’s handy and works for anything from a new word to you, a person you want to know more about, an interesting-looking plant, to the next food craze. I’ve found myself using this a ton.

Another one that I’ve tested and believe has some major potential to be helpful is Live Translate. And unlike Circle to Search, it doesn’t need the internet to work. With Live Translate, you can chat with someone who speaks another language and have the S24 Ultra translate what is being said and what you say. It happens quickly, but longer or more complex messages can take longer, so be prepared for longer pauses between back-and-forth chit-chats. If I were traveling in a new country, it would be a big help with making reservations, calling to book a tour, or even getting a taxi. You can also download language packs so that this works anywhere; just be sure you download them before traveling.

@jakekrol

Here’s your first look at #LiveTranslate on Samsung’s GalaxyS24Ultra! #ai #galaxyai #translate #translation #samsung #tech #phones #techtok #CapCut

♬ original sound – Speedy sounds

For in-person conversations, an interpreter mode splits the screen in two, recognizes the language, and translates what you’re saying and what someone is saying to you. Like Live Translate, this has the potential to be super helpful.

Like the Pixel, Samsung’s Recorder app will transcribe voice recordings, but it will happen after you’re done. The accuracy here was pretty strong, and it didn’t trip up with more complex passages; I just wish it did the transcription in real time like a Pixel.

Other Galaxy AI features have been less impactful during my review period. As we expected, you can use the native keyboard to spice up your messages, and the S24 Ultra will help make a message more professional or playful. Similarly, Galaxy AI can summarize a long list of handwritten or typed notes within the Samsung Notes app. I will say it did struggle with identifying some of my poorer, less clear handwriting, though.

The S24 Ultra’s advanced intelligence options screen

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True to Samsung’s software approach of the past, there are several features under the Galaxy AI branding—some will be genuinely useful, and others will be used less. I’ll also highlight that none of these are exclusive to the S24 Ultra and are found on the S24 and S24+. Furthermore, some of these will arrive on older Galaxy devices. That’s a good thing for value, but it also takes away some of the flair of the Ultra.

With 12GB of RAM and an excellent processor, it’s a beast of the phone that can tackle mobile gaming from “Fortnite” to “Real Racing,” and you’ll never have to close an app or struggle to use the phone to its fullest. And if you want, pull up any of the Galaxy AI features, and you’ll be impressed with the swiftness.

Just like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, you can expect at least a day and a half of battery life from the 5,000mAh battery inside. It can be recharged through the USB-C port and standard Qi-wireless charging, but you won’t find support for the new Qi-2 standard here.

One last note on software: Samsung’s now guaranteeing seven years of support for generations of Android and security and privacy updates. That means the Galaxy S24 Ultra will get updates through 2031.

Four cameras with new ways to edit

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While the camera array might look identical to the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung made one major swap to the lens setup on the S24 Ultra. It’s still a 200-megapixel camera that can combine pixels for a smaller, still detail-packed image. And that’s paired with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, but the change comes with the telephoto and optical zoom cameras.

Rather than a 10x optical zoom lens, Samsung swapped it for a 5x telephoto lens with a 50-megapixel resolution from a more powerful sensor. It’s still coupled with a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto lens, and it still amounts to a huge range for capturing photos—specifically 0.5x up to 100x Space Zoom.

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The Galaxy S24 Ultra can still capture some great, sharp images that are more saturated than the cooler images you’ll get on a Pixel or an iPhone. You can capture a great portrait, a detail-packed wide shot, or even a wide shot of a building with the ultra-wide. The 10x telephoto of the S23 Ultra was special because you can get a great shot of a specific item from afar. You can still do that here, and it will essentially crop the 200-megapixel lens down, but fans of previous Ultra smartphones might be slightly disappointed.

The 5x telephoto lens still captures a detail-filled image, as you can see in the sample shots below, and it does beat the maximum optical zoom of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. That’s also the only main hardware change with the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s optics—the rest lies in software.

Editing options on a photo taken with the S24 Ultra.

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Galaxy AI is infused here; a new remastering option does its best to improve every aspect of an image, and object selection feels much more precise year over year. You can easily select a random person or object from the background of a shot to remove it. In my testing, it’s about as accurate and fast as the Pixel family of phones offering the same functionality.

One of the coolest features lies in videography, as Samsung allows you to make any video a slow motion one at 120 frames per second. It doesn’t record more frames but uses AI—generative AI—to analyze the scene and add in the missing parts. It’s really neat and will become one of my favorite party tricks. It adds the effects well for most shots. However, for videos with a high level of motion, you can make it slip up slightly. For most instances, though, it’s pretty sweet.

I don’t think anyone will be disappointed with the photos or videos you capture on Galaxy S24 Ultra. Still, if you’re coming directly from the S23 Ultra or even the S22 Ultra, you may not see a huge leap forward regarding what you can capture. But if you want to use AI to remove glare, remaster a shot, or strategically place an object, you can do that here.

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Bottom line: Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra

S24 Ultra’s front view.

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Still, four generations later, Samsung’s Ultra is still the kitchen sink with pretty much everything you could want in a smartphone. For 2024, it is a more premium material in a heavier design with a finally flat display that is much easier to use. The S-Pen is still great for note-taking, and every aspect of Android runs smoothly here.

It has a slew of AI-infused features that will likely continue to grow in the years to come, and a few of them really stand out as stellar experiences, but you don’t need to upgrade to the Ultra to get them. I’m also testing the standard S24 and S24+, and they perform just as well here. So, to go for the S24 Ultra, you’ll want the big 6.8-inch screen that gets super bright, the S-Pen, the multi-camera array, or even the strong battery life.

Samsung’s made an excellent smartphone here that will swiftly replace the S23 Ultra as the Android smartphone to beat and one of the best options on the market; you’ll just need to spend a little more to reach it and find the features you want to use.

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra is available now with a starting price of $1,299 from the brand directly and carries like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. 

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra specs

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