Galaxy S24 Ultra: Everything New Over the S23 Ultra (and Should You Upgrade)

To kick off the 12 months, Samsung unveiled its latest Galaxy S24 telephones at its Unpacked occasion in January. At the highest finish of the lineup is the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which has a handful of latest options over final 12 months’s most premium Samsung cellphone. What’s modified from the S23 Ultra, and must you improve? Probably not, however let me clarify. 
This story is a part of Samsung Event, CNET’s assortment of reports, suggestions and recommendation round Samsung’s hottest merchandise.
First, here is what’s modified. The S24 Ultra has a nominal quantity of upgrades on its predecessor (primarily underneath the hood), however is pricier, beginning at $1,300, whereas the S23 Ultra had a $1,200 price ticket at launch (and might most likely be discovered for cheaper now).Read extra: Best Android Phone of 2024The S24 Ultra visually appears similar to its predecessor, with broadly the identical design and rear digicam structure. There are refined variations. For occasion, Samsung’s new high-end cellphone has a titanium body, which ought to be more durable than the aluminum body on the S23 Ultra.For the S24 Ultra, Samsung disbursed with the curved edges of the show discovered on the S23 Ultra, leaving a flat entrance (Samsung claims it has 47% much less bezel on the edges). That new display screen can be brighter with a most of two,600 nits (the S23 Ultra maxed out at 1,750 nits) and thus simpler to see in brilliant daylight. The S24 Ultra’s display screen can be manufactured from Corning’s latest and hardest materials, Gorilla Glass Armor, whereas the S23 has Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2. In quick: it appears the identical however ought to be more durable and have a doubtlessly brighter display screen. The S24 Ultra additionally has an improved cooling system with a vapor chamber that is twice as massive and two added layers of thermal insulation, so we would count on it to take care of higher framerates and temperatures when operating performance-intensive operations, like gaming.As for cameras, the S24 Ultra inherits most of its predecessor’s lenses and sensors however does use a 50-megapixel 5x optical telephoto digicam rather than the 10-megapixel 10x optical digicam within the S23 Ultra. While the brand new digicam has a shorter optical size, its greater megapixel rely ought to imply images taken with it are sharper than these shot with the S23’s 10x optical digicam. (We’ll know for certain after we can examine each telephones’ picture capabilities facet by facet.) To get to 10x optical size, the S24 Ultra shoots with its 5x optical digicam and crop zooms in.Read extra: Samsung Galaxy S24 Phones Have a New Zoom Trick to Get That Close-Up PhotographThe S24 Ultra is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which is quicker than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 within the S23 Ultra. Configurations have additionally been simplified within the new premium cellphone: you may solely get 12GB of RAM and 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage (no 8GB RAM choice, as there was within the S23 Ultra). The remainder of the {hardware} stays comparatively unchanged, though the S24 Ultra ought to get a minor battery effectivity increase due to its newer chipset. The new Circle to Search characteristic being proven on the Galaxy S24 Ultra John Kim/CNETThe massive distinction between the brand new telephones, no less than on the launch of the S24 Ultra, is the brand new cellphone’s generative AI capabilities, known as Galaxy AI. The most noteworthy is Circle to Search, which helps you to hint an space in your display screen together with your stylus or finger to have your cellphone search for what you have circled with out ever having to depart the app you are in. It’s conceivably nice for trying issues up, like figuring out landmarks within the journey images your good friend sends over or attempting to trace down vogue objects in somebody’s outfit.The S24 Ultra (and the remainder of the S24 lineup, to be clear) has different generative AI capabilities, like summarizing notes and dwell translations throughout cellphone calls. It can even counsel completely different tones for textual content messages relying on who you are speaking to, recommending extra formal tones for bosses or informal tones for mates. Generative AI picture methods let customers do issues like transfer or delete some components, develop images past their unique boundaries or right the lean of a picture, then use AI to fill within the backgrounds and empty areas.Some of those generative AI options might be processed domestically, like dwell translation, whereas others require sending requests to the cloud. The S24 Ultra does have a toggle in its settings to require generative AI requests to be carried out on the system, which helps preserve what you are asking (and what your cellphone is addressing) non-public.The kicker? Galaxy AI is coming to some older Samsung telephones, together with the S23 collection, sooner or later sooner or later. While Samsung hasn’t stated when to count on them, these options ought to come to the S23 Ultra in time.There are different non-generative AI upgrades the S24 Ultra has over its predecessor, like making images extra steady throughout motion and bettering low-light pictures. The S Pen accent is kind of unchanged from final 12 months. There is another improve that is price mentioning: Samsung expanded how lengthy it is pledging to help its latest telephones. The S24 Ultra comes with Android 14 and can get seven years of Android software program and safety patches, up from 4 years within the S23 Ultra (which comes with Android 13). That’s massive. For sustainability, the S24 Ultra has extra recycled components, together with cobalt in its battery and uncommon earth components in its audio system. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Lisa Eadicicco/CNETShould S23 Ultra homeowners improve to the brand new S24 Ultra?You can rely the {hardware} enhancements on one hand they usually do not meaningfully change how homeowners use their new S24 Ultra in comparison with final 12 months’s S23 Ultra. Ultimately, when you personal Samsung’s premium cellphone from 2023, the one motive you to contemplate upgrading to the brand new one is to entry generative AI immediately — or when you wished a cellphone that would conceivably final you seven years.As beforehand talked about, all of the Galaxy AI options are anticipated to return to the S23 Ultra sooner or later sooner or later. It’s unclear when that can occur, and although Samsung stated the entire S24 Ultra’s generative AI options will come to its predecessor, we’re involved whether or not final 12 months’s premium cellphone can pull that off.Last October, Qualcomm unveiled its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 as the primary phone-powering chipset to incorporate generative AI on its silicon. That’s the chip powering the S24 Ultra, and presumably, the brand new cellphone wants that silicon to course of a few of its generative AI options. Either the S23 Ultra would require extra of these Galaxy AI options to run by the cloud, or the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 powering the S23 Ultra is definitely able to operating on-device generative AI, however these options weren’t prepared when that chipset launched in late 2022.Whatever the case, whether or not you need generative AI weighs extra closely than every other issue on whether or not it is price upgrading from the S23 Ultra to the brand new S24 Ultra. It’s price noting that we have not gotten to totally expertise Galaxy AI ourselves, and might’t make a abstract judgment of its usefulness till we do. Once our full assessment comes out, we’ll be higher knowledgeable to say whether or not the S24 Ultra offers a superior expertise to its predecessor. For now, we advocate ready — until you wish to be on absolutely the slicing fringe of cell expertise.  Watch this: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. iPhone 15 Pro Max (Flagship Phones Compared)
10:31 Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra specs vs. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Samsung Galaxy S24 UltraSamsung Galaxy S23 UltraShow measurement, tech, decision, refresh fee 6.8-inch AMOLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate6.8-inch AMOLED; 3,088×1,440 pixels; 120Hz adaptive refresh ratePixel density 501 ppi500 ppiDimensions (inches) 6.40 x 3.11 x 0.34 in6.43 x 3.07 x 0.35 inDimensions (millimeters) 163 x 79 x 8.6 mm163.3 x 78 x 8.9 mmWeight (grams, ounces) 233 g (8.22 oz) 234 g (8.25 oz)Mobile software program Android 14Android 13Digicam 200-megapixel (broad), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto), 50-megapixel (5x telephoto)200-megapixel (broad), 12-megapixel (ultrawide) 10-megapixel (3x telephoto) 10-megapixel (10x telephoto)Front-facing digicam 12-megapixel12-megapixel Video seize 8K8KProcessor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for GalaxyRAM/storage 12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB8GB RAM + 256GB; 12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Expandable storage NoneNoneBattery 5,000 mAh5,000 mAhFingerprint sensor Under showUnder displayConnector USB-CUSB-CHeadphone jack NoneNoneSpecial options Titanium body, 2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and safety updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water resistance; wi-fi PowerShare to cost different units; built-in S Pen; UWB for locating different units; 45W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7; Gorilla Glass Armor cowl glass4 years of OS updates, 5G (Sub6, mmWave); IP68 water resistance; wi-fi PowerShare to cost different units; built-in S Pen; 100x Space Zoom; 10x optical zoom; UWB for locating different units; 45W wired chargingUS worth begins at $1,300 (256GB)$1,200 (256GB)UK worth begins at £1,249 (256GB)£1,249 (256GB)Australia worth begins at AU$2,199 (256GB)AU$1,949 (256GB) Editors’ notice: CNET is utilizing an AI engine to assist create some tales. For extra, see this publish.