Hardware

Published on June 12th, 2024 | by Andrew Bistak

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review

Welcome to the future of smartphones with Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 Ultra that incorporates some clever AI (artificial intelligence) features into their latest smart device. While distinctly separating itself from its competitors with its stylish aesthetics, this smartphone is available in a wide range of colours that makes quite a bold statement. The screen is also protected by Gorilla Armor glass, however as we always recommend, a tempered glass screen protector is a must plus a case.

Further, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is available in three different storage capacities that include 256GB, 512GB and a gigantic 1TB. In terms of cost, the Galaxy S24 Ultra starts from $1899AUD (June 2024) and comes with wealth of features which firmly places it at the top tier of smartphones.

Key Features

• Galaxy AI
  Leap into a new era of smartphone technology with Galaxy AI1,2 on the new Galaxy S24 Series. Do more effortlessly with Live Translate, Photo Assist and Note Assist, Powered by Galaxy AI1,2.
• Circle to Search
  Introducing Circle to Search5 on the new Galaxy S24 Series. Explore a new way to search for your favourite outfit, celebrity or landmark. Simply circle your desired object in virtually any image and let this ultimate way of search provide you with related content and information, just like that.
• Live Translate3, Powered by Galaxy AI
  Help remove language barriers and experience intuitive communication, Powered by Galaxy AI1. With Live Translate3 on the new Galaxy S24 Series, listen to foreign languages on the other end of the line in your preferred language and forget about being lost in translation.
• Note Assist3, Powered by Galaxy AI
  Be your most productive self and make your long stories short with Note Assist4, Powered by Galaxy AI1. Forget about feeling overwhelmed with information when you can table your notes or shopping list, and summarise your points before sharing with colleagues or responding to emails.
• Photo Assist, Powered by Galaxy AI
  Introducing Photo Assist on the new Galaxy S24 Series, where every photo is worthy for the feed. Powered by Galaxy AI1, resize, retouch and remaster by accessing next level suggested edits, including object eraser and reflection removal, and share the perfect shots with your friends.
• Ultra 200MP6 Epic Camera
  Capture closer and crisper shots6 on the new Galaxy S24 Ultra. With 200MP6 and 5x Optical Zoom, reflect back on your favourite memories in high resolution, even at night. From blurry photos to the clearest, finest details, shoot Nightography with an Ultra, epic Camera.
• Immersive 6.8” Display
  Ultra bright, Ultra clear, Ultra vibrant on the new Galaxy S24 Ultra7. Created with reduced screen bezels for more viewing space, multi-task and game against a large 6.8” immersive screen. Plus, the Always on Display means you’ll never miss a notification.
• Large and Long-lasting Battery
  Power through your day with an Ultra 5000maH, long-lasting Battery. Game and stream with a battery that keeps you going and connected for longer.
• Made with Titanium
  Sleek, premium and light. Built with your aesthetic in mind, Galaxy S24 Ultra is all about quality and personal expression. Available in a range of stylish colours, the design is supported by a Titanium10 build for a lighter7 and more sleek feel in the palm of your hands.
• Ultra Performance with Snapdragon
  With enhanced cooling performance7 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip8,9 on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, feel empowered with a processor that works hard so you can play harder.
• Advanced S Pen
  Enhance your productivity by note taking effortlessly with the advanced S Pen7,11 on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Unleash your creativity by drawing and editing your favourite images with the S Pen, or use it as a remote to take your shots and share them with your friends.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU with an impressive 12GB of memory which makes this smartphone lighting fast. As a result it is perfect for high-end gaming, comes with a state-of-the-art camera system and can even be turned (via a dock) into a notebook. Also supporting the user experience is the Android operating system that is fast and responsive, including the in-house Samsung apps and those from the Google Store.

Supporting its design and on the bottom of the phone is the USB-C port, docked S Pen plus the speaker which is quite loud and clear. Buttons (power, volume) are on the right side that are accessible and well placed. Additionally, the battery is 5000mAh that will give you enough power for all-day usage, of course heavy performance driven games will drain the battery quicker. You can also enable the “always-on” display that with average usage, doesn’t impact on the battery too much.

Further, if you’re looking for one of the best smartphone cameras available, then the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is out of this world when it comes to its amazing photography capabilities. Not only does it make it simple to use, its technology, including AI features ensures the best possible photos from just a touch of the button. I also like how you can edit photos on the go, including highlighting objects or people in the photo for further editing. The camera system on the S24 Ultra comprises of the following;

Rear Cameras

• 200MP f/1.7 wide
• 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide
• 50MP f/3.4 periscope (5x)
• 10MP f/2.4 telephoto (3x)

Front Camera

• 12MP f/2.2

SAMPLE GALLERY

While the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is nothing short of impressive, the photos that I took were nothing short of spectacular. In terms of zoom, you have a 10 x optical zoom plus an impressive AI enhanced 100 digital zoom that although it cannot match a true optical zoom, the result is nonetheless quite decent. The phone also has a similar feature to Google’s Pixel 8 Pro, the magic eraser which allows you to remove or move objects with the AI rebuilding the image which is a clever option.

Then you have the screen which is probably the first “wow” moment of using this device.

It’s 6.8” dynamic AMOLED 2X display supports a resolution of QHD+ (3200 x 1800 pixels) with a super fast variable refresh rate (1Hz-120Hz) plus a very bright 2600-nit peak brightness level. What does this mean? Super clear images with vibrant colours and extremely sharp text. While the screen is super responsive to touch, the S Pen takes it to another level thanks to this motion sensing stylus. Also, the S Pen also has a Bluetooth button on it which makes it perfect for taking photos as well.

What about the AI features of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra? Well…

• Circle to Search with Google
  Use the S Pen to circle an object in a picture or video and then ask Google to find the results
• Translation
  Real-time translation with phone calls or text between two languages
• AI Photo Editing
  Edit a phone to the Gallery app to move subjects or remote objects with the AI rebuilding the image
• Chat Assist
  Get real-time tone suggestions to make your writing sound more professional or conversational
• Note Assist
  Note Assist makes a long story short. Simply start writing and AI formats your notes into a clear, easy-to-review summary
• AI Zoom
  Improved stability, less blur with optical quality images
• Super HDR
  Instantly see what your super-vivid pics and videos will look like before you take them

If you’re a gamer, then the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra delivers the best Android gaming experience to date. Titles such as Call of Duty Mobile, Diablo Immortal, Alien: Isolation, PAYDAY: Crime War, Ashfall feel like a portable gaming console that is not only responsive but allows you to play these titles on the highest setting with no issues of tearing, ghosting or shutter. Hook it up to a TV and/or Bluetooth gaming controller and this really turns the S24 Ultra into a console.

3DMark Benchmark

We also tried the phone with 3DMark and as expected the S24 Ultra scored on the high-end of the spectrum…

Charging is via the included USB-C cable, however this smartphone does support wireless charging of up to 15W as well and although this feature is convenient, it does not match speed of cable charging. For average use, you could easily get a good two days or more which is what you want in today’s day and age. Also, like other phones, the S24 Ultra can charge other devices wirelessly which is handy for some smartwatches, however this feature does need to be enabled.

Final Thoughts?

If you’re on the market for the best phone and have the budget, you really can’t go past the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra which really does deliver all the features of a high-end smartphone. While AI is still in its infancy on smartphones, Samsung does deliver some clever features that will improve over the course of its life span on this phone. However where this phone shone for me is through its performance that makes the Galaxy S24 Ultra a very fast device that everyone will appreciate, not just gamers. Then you have its excellent camera system which really cannot be faulted and all these features are contained nicely in its premium design.

Recommended!

SAMSUNG GALAXY S24 ULTRA SPECIFICATIONS

PROCESSOR

• CPU Speed: 3.39GHz, 3.1GHz, 2.9GHz, 2.2GHz
• CPU Type: Octa-Core

DISPLAY

• Size (Main Display): 172.5mm (6.8″ full rectangle) / 172.2mm (6.8″ rounded corners)
• Resolution (Main Display): 3120 x 1440 (Quad HD+)
• Technology (Main Display): Dynamic AMOLED 2X
• Color Depth (Main Display): 16M
• Max Refresh Rate (Main Display): 120 Hz
• S Pen Support: Yes

CAMERA

• Rear Camera – Resolution (Multiple): 200.0 MP + 50.0 MP + 12.0 MP + 10.0 MP
• Rear Camera – F Number (Multiple): F1.7 , F3.4 , F2.2 , F2.4
• Rear Camera – Auto Focus: Yes
• Rear Camera – OIS: Yes
• Rear Camera – Zoom: Optical Zoom 3x and 5x, Optical quality Zoom 2x and 10x (Enabled by Adaptive Pixel sensor) , Digital Zoom up to 100x
• Front Camera – Resolution: 12.0 MP
• Front Camera – F Number: F2.2
• Front Camera – Auto Focus: Yes
• Rear Camera – Flash: Yes
• Video Recording Resolution: UHD 8K (7680 x 4320)@30fps
• Slow Motion: 240fps @FHD, 120fps @UHD

STORAGE/MEMORY

• Memory (GB): 12
• Storage (GB): From 256 depending on model
  Available Storage (GB): From 229GB depending on model

NETWORK/BEARER

• SIM size: Nano-SIM (4FF), Embedded-SIM
• Infra: 2G GSM, 3G WCDMA, 4G LTE FDD, 4G LTE TDD, 5G Sub6 FDD, 5G TDD Sub6
• 2G GSM: GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
• 3G UMTS: B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
• 4G FDD LTE: B1(2100), B2(1900), B3(1800), B4(AWS), B5(850), B7(2600), B8(900), B12(700), B13(700), B17(700), B18(800), B19(800), B20(800), B25(1900), B26(850), B28(700), B66(AWS-3)
• 4G TDD LTE: B38(2600), B39(1900), B40(2300), B41(2500)
• 5G FDD Sub6: N1(2100), N2(1900), N3(1800), N5(850), N7(2600), N8(900), N12(700), N20(800), N25(1900), N26(850), N28(700), N66(AWS-3)
• 5G TDD Sub6: N38(2600), N40(2300), N41(2500), N77(3700), N78(3500)

CONNECTIVITY / MISC

• USB Interface: USB Type-C
• USB Version: USB 3.2 Gen 1
• Location Technology: GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
• Earjack: USB Type-C
• MHL: No
• Wi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be 2.4GHz+5GHz+6GHz, EHT320, MIMO, 4096-QAM
• Wi-Fi Direct: Yes
• Bluetooth Version: Bluetooth v5.3
• NFC: Yes
• UWB (Ultra-Wideband): Yes
• PC Sync: Smart Switch (PC version)
• OS: Android

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Form Factor: Touchscreen Bar
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor
• Dimension (HxWxD, mm): 162.3 x 79.0 x 8.6
• Weight (g): 232

BATTERY

• Internet Usage Time(LTE) (Hours): Up to 27
• Internet Usage Time(Wi-Fi) (Hours): Up to 28
• Video Playback Time (Hours, Wireless): Up to 30
• Battery Capacity (mAh, Typical): 5000
• Removable: No
• Audio Playback Time (Hours, Wireless): Up to 95

AUDIO AND VIDEO

• Stereo Support: Yes
• Video Playing Format: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM
• Video Playing Resolution: UHD 8K (7680 x 4320)@60fps
  Audio Playing Format: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DFF, DSF, APE

SERVICES AND APPLICATIONS

• Gear Support: Galaxy Buds2 Pro, Galaxy Buds Pro, Galaxy Buds Live, Galaxy Buds+, Galaxy Buds2, Galaxy Buds, Galaxy Buds FE, Galaxy Fit2, Galaxy Fit e, Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Watch6, Galaxy Watch5, Galaxy Watch4, Galaxy Watch3, Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Watch Active2, Galaxy Watch Active
• Samsung DeX Support: Yes
• Bluetooth® Hearing Aid Support: Android Audio Streaming for Hearing Aid(ASHA)
• SmartThings Support: Yes
• Mobile TV: No

About the Author

Andrew Bistak When he's not trying to save the world, Andrew enjoys travel (although loathes turbulence), going to the movies, reading and being a dad to his two dogs (and now twins) with his wife.

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