The Galaxy S24 Ultra is Samsung's first smartphone to use titanium material for the frame and Gorilla Glass Armor protection for the screen. It was launched around six months after the iPhone 15 Pro with a titanium frame was unveiled. But how much titanium does the Galaxy S24 Ultra use, and more importantly, what grade of titanium does it use?
YouTuber JerryRigEverything tore down the Galaxy S24 Ultra to check its internals, repairability, and the materials that are used in the phone. The video reveals that Samsung has used Grade 2 titanium to make the side rails of the phone's frame. That's a lower grade than the iPhone 15 Pro's Grade 5 titanium, which means Samsung might not have gained a lot in terms of durability. Grade 2 titanium is slightly more durable than 6061 aluminum but isn't as strong as Grade 5 titanium. The video also revealed that Samsung used 6061 aluminum for the rest of the phone's frame. The South Korean firm used plastic to fuse aluminum and titanium parts of the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
You can watch the entire teardown video of the Galaxy S24 Ultra below.
The teardown video also revealed that Samsung has placed the haptic feedback motor inside the bottom loudspeaker unit of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The S Pen silo is also protected from liquids so that water doesn't seep into the phone's body from the S Pen slot. The bottom loudspeaker uses foam balls to improve the depth of the audio, but the top loudspeaker doesn't use that material. The phone also turned out to be easier to repair than previous-generation Galaxy S series smartphones. It uses a lot of Philips screws, which means easy repairability. It also has a battery with Samsung's famous ‘Pull Tab,' and the screen and the back panel can also be easily removed, making the phone easier to repair.
Another important tidbit from the video is the induction-based wireless charging mechanism for the S Pen. The 15W wireless charging coil also uses a unique shape, which is seen for the first time on a Samsung phone. It's too bad that the phone doesn't feature Qi 2-based wireless charging. JerryRigEverything also tested the possibility of damaging the microphone if you insert the SIM ejector pin inside it rather than inside the SIM card slot, and it turns out you won't damage anything due to the shape of the hole. This is good to know for everyone (including me) who has mistakenly stabbed the SIM ejector pin inside the microphone hole.
Overall, Samsung seems to have used lower-grade titanium for the Galaxy S24 Ultra compared to the iPhone 15 Pro, which is why Samsung didn't make a lot of fuss and marketing hype around the material. Hopefully, Samsung will improve the grade of the precious metal in its future Galaxy S series phones.
