The Galaxy S24 Ultra is here and it has big shoes to fill. Samsung hit it out of the park with the Galaxy S23 Ultra last year so expectations are high. Beyond the general cosmetic and tech improvements, the main focus is on the cameras and Artificial Intelligence capabilities in 2024. AI will remain a big theme for all Samsung flagship phones this year, so we can safely say that this is just the beginning.
We went hands-on with the Galaxy S24 Ultra and came away impressed. It has the potential to conquer the Android flagship landscape in 2024. The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a lot going for it and we can't wait to get it in for a full review. Until then, here's what we think of this device based on our preliminary tests.
Galaxy S24 Ultra makes an amazing first impression
Samsung has made some cool changes to the look and feel of this device. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is its first flagship to feature a Titanium frame, providing the device with a superior fit and finish. It's very much an Ultra handset at its core with the familiar boxy design and Note silhouette. We also appreciate the flatter surfaces, particularly the flat display, that make the device appear more sleek and modern. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is slightly lighter than its predecessor at 232g with a slimmer frame and better weight distribution for a firm grip.
The display is a familiar 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x panel with QHD+ resolution and 1 to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. It now boasts a staggering 2600 nits of peak brightness with significantly improved outdoor visibility. You could be in the deserts of the Middle East and not have any problem using this under glaring sunlight. It's that bright. Corning's new Gorilla Glass Armor protects this precious panel, so it can easily withstand the rigors of your daily use.
While the other models in this latest lineup do come with the Exynos 2400 chipset in most markets, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has the distinction of being Snapdragon-only. What that means is no matter where you are in the world, the Galaxy S24 Ultra you buy will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset. It's a slightly overclocked version of Qualcomm's bonkers 2024 flagship chipset with 12GB of RAM available as standard in all variants of up to 1TB storage.
The new chipset has plenty of processing power for some of the great new AI features that the Galaxy S24 Ultra brings. Samsung has also equipped it with a 1.9x larger vapor chamber cooling system to keep things cool under the hood. In the short hands-on experience we had with the device, we didn't experience it getting too hot even under intense load, so this is a promising upgrade.
The camera setup includes an improved 200-megapixel primary sensor alongside a 12-megapixel ultra-wide, 10-megapixel 3x telephoto, and 12-megapixel selfie camera. There's a new 50-megapixel 5x telephoto sensor as well which improves the already impressive zoom capabilities of this model, including adding support for 5x portrait shots and 8K video recording at 5x zoom. The preliminary results we've seen have been great and we're excited to test this camera in our full review.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with Android 14 and the latest One UI 6.1 out of the box. There are plenty of new AI features onboard, including live translation of two-way conversations, AI-powered transcription, intelligent summarization in Samsung Notes, and more. Check out the video of our Galaxy S24 Ultra hands-on for more details on these new features.
Samsung has also made an impressive commitment with its latest flagship phone. The Galaxy S24 Ultra will receive 7 years of Android OS upgrades as well as 7 years of security updates. This means that you're supported for major OS upgrades beyond 2030. Incredible!
Pre-orders for the Galaxy S24 Ultra are open today with the device hitting shelves on January 31. Prices start at $1,299.
