Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, S24+ and S24 hands-on review

introduction

The Samsung Galaxy S24 series is now official, and as the rumors suggest, there are a couple of key hardware upgrades, but the news lies in the new AI features. Following in the footsteps of Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 lines, the Galaxy S24 family is now smarter than ever with Galaxy AI, which aims to improve virtually every aspect of the phones.

Galaxy AI is an umbrella term for all the AI-related features that come with the Galaxy S24 series and One UI 6.1. It’s pretty obvious that Samsung will rely heavily on artificial intelligence for 2024 in an effort to make its smartphones even smarter. And judging by the list of features, some of which are unique, the Galaxy S24 phones are Samsung’s smartest phones yet.

The specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in brief:

• Body: 79.0×162.3×8.6mm, 233g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Armor), glass back (Gorilla Glass Armor), titanium frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 minutes), stylus (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyroscope).
• Screen: 6.80″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120 Hz, HDR10+, 2600 nits (peak), 1440×3088 px resolution, 19.3:9 aspect ratio, 501ppi; always active display.
• Chipsets: Qualcomm SM8650-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.3 GHz Cortex-X4 and 5×3.2 GHz Cortex-A720 and 2×2.3 GHz Cortex-A520); Adreno 750 (1GHz).
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM; UFS4.0.
• Operating system/software: Android 14, a 6.1 user interface.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 200 MP, f/1.7, 23 mm, 1/1.3″, 0.6 µm, multi-directional PDAF, laser AF, OIS; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/3.4, 115mm, 1/2.6″, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom; Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 69mm, 1/3.52″, 1.12μm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, 1/2.55″, 1.4μm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Super Steady video.
• Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), dual pixel PDAF.
• Video Capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 1080p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo audio recording, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30 fps.
• Drums: 5000mAh; 45W wired, PD3.0, 65% in 30 minutes (advertised), 15W wireless (Qi/PMA), 4.5W reverse wireless.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.3; NFC.
• Various: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers; Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support), Ultra Wideband (UWB) support.

In addition to these features, the Galaxy S24 Ultra gets some notable upgrades like a brighter display, a more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip for all markets, and replaces the old 10MP 10x telephoto lens with a 50MP 5x zoom unit that promises lossless magnification even at 10x, but the rest of the cameras remain unchanged.

Other notable design-related changes include a new titanium frame for the S24 Ultra and the ditch of the curved screen. The display is now flat and has thinner bezels.

The specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S24+ in brief:

• Body: 75.9×158.5×7.7mm, 197g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 3), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 3), aluminum frame; IP68 dust and water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 minutes), Aluminum Armor 2 chassis with increased drop and scratch resistance (advertised).
• Screen: 6.70″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120 Hz, HDR10+, 2600 nits (peak), 1440×3088 px resolution, 19.3:9 aspect ratio, 509ppi; always active display.
• Chipsets: Qualcomm SM8650-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm) – USA/Canada, Exynos 2400 – International: Octa-core (1×3.3 GHz Cortex-X4 and 5×3.2 GHz Cortex-A720 and 2×2.3 GHz Cortex-A520) – United States/Canada; Adreno 750 – United States/Canada; Xclipse 940 – International.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS4.0.
• Operating system/software: Android 14, a 6.1 user interface.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 24 mm, 1/1.56″, 1.0 µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm, 1/3.94″, 1.0μm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, 1/2.55″ 1.4μm, super stable video.
• Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), dual pixel PDAF.
• Video Capture: Rear camera: 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 1080p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo audio recording, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30 fps.
• Drums: 4900mAh; 45W wired, PD3.0, 65% in 30 minutes (advertised), 15W wireless (Qi/PMA), 4.5W reverse wireless.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7 (SD 8 generation 3); Wi-Fi 6E (Exynos 2400); BT 5.3; NFC.
• Various: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers; Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support).

Moving on to the Galaxy S24 and S24+, we see rather modest changes. Sure, the Vanilla and Plus models now have brighter displays (the same as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but smaller), an updated Armor Aluminum 2 chassis, and a new chipset. However, the Exynos 2400 will make the rounds this year in most markets, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 remains exclusive to the US, South Korea, and China.

The specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S24 in brief:

• Body: 70.6x147x7.6mm, 168g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 3), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 3), aluminum frame; IP68 dust and water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 minutes), Armor Aluminum 2 chassis with increased drop and scratch resistance (advertised).
• Screen: 6.20″ LTPO dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120 Hz, HDR10+, 2600 nits (peak), 1080×2340 px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 416ppi; always active display.
• Chipsets: Qualcomm SM8650-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm) – USA/Canada, Exynos 2400 – International: Octa-core (1×3.3 GHz Cortex-X4 and 5×3.2 GHz Cortex-A720 and 2×2.3 GHz Cortex-A520) – United States/Canada; Adreno 750 – United States/Canada.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM; UFS 3.1 only – 128GB, UFS 4.0.
• Operating system/software: Android 14, a 6.1 user interface.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 24 mm, 1/1.56″, 1.0 µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm, 1/3.94″, 1.0μm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, 1/2.55″ 1.4μm, super stable video.
• Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), dual pixel PDAF.
• Video Capture: Rear camera: 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 1080p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo audio recording, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30 fps.
• Drums: 4000mAh; 25W wired, PD3.0, 50% in 30 minutes (advertised), 15W wireless (Qi/PMA), 4.5W reverse wireless.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7 (SD 8 generation 3); Wi-Fi 6E (Exynos 2400); BT 5.3; NFC.
• Various: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers; Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support).

Some slight increases in display size and battery capacity are also necessary, and in the case of the Galaxy S24+ they are more than welcome. We believe the S24+ is now closer than ever to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, giving users a fair choice between the two.

With the meat and potatoes out of the way, let’s get to the heart of things.