The 2024 vintage of Samsung's Galaxy S range reserves, as usual, special treatment for its largest, most powerful and also (obviously) most expensive model, the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It is in fact up to him to play the role of standard bearer of South Korean know-how since the abandonment of the Galaxy Note in 2021. For him, therefore, nothing is too good. And this year again, this Ultra model shines both for the care taken in its design and for its multiple talents, some of which escape its little brothers, the S24 and S24+ . And for this new edition, Samsung is aiming, as it should, for excellence.
It must be said that the copy submitted last year for S23 Ultra was already almost faultless. The S24 Ultra therefore has the difficult task of taking up the torch. And for this, Samsung has added new strings to its bow. No revolution, however, but great promises and above all a bet on the future. Because like the other members of the family, and like Google's Pixel 8, the S24 Ultra is designed, according to Samsung, to survive at least the next seven years without incident. The device should therefore receive regular Android updates and security patches until 2031.
A seven-year term which must also see the maturation and evolution of what constitutes one of the manufacturer's major arguments nestled at the heart of the smartphone : artificial intelligence. Enough to immediately abandon your S23 Ultra for the newcomer? Answer in this test.
Galaxy S24 Ultra: a more elegant design that goes to the essentials
Massive, imposing, angular… these are the first words that come to mind as soon as you first look at the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It must be said that, faithful to tradition, the mobile still imposes as much with its size being among the most generous on the market. See instead: 162.3 x 79 x 8.6 mm for a weight of 232 g. If you're not used to large smartphones, this beautiful baby may unsettle you. And yet, Samsung has reworked its copy compared to its predecessor. First of all, for the chassis, the manufacturer has abandoned aluminum in favor of titanium, like Apple with its iPhone 15 Pro. A material supposed to be better resistant to shocks. And it must be said that aesthetically, it is very successful since the smartphone becomes even more elegant. In addition to titanium, there are also two glass plates (front and back) Corning Gorilla Glass Armor to protect this beautiful case, like the screen, from possible scratches.
Another notable element: the disappearance of the curved screen. This little technical fantasy that the Ultra models and, before them, the Note models benefited from, is no more. Samsung risks disappointing fans of this technology but delighting those who could no longer stand the presses accidentally made on the edges. The result is a completely flat screen with very thin borders around the edges. Very precise work which in no way breaks the general aesthetics of the device.
On the back, however, nothing changes. The five photo modules accompanied by the flash always answer the call, organized rigorously in the same way as on the S23 Ultra. However, we note a small shift of a few millimeters downwards. So much so that it is impossible to reuse a case intended for an S23 Ultra. You will have to go back to checkout.
The base of the device is still organized in the same way with the SIM card drawer, the USB-C port, the speaker as well as the unscrewable S-Pen stylus nestled in its usual place. The latter does not vary one iota. It is even possible to use the S-Pen of an S23 Ultra and place it in the slot of the S24 Ultra without difficulty.
Overall, the Galaxy S24 Ultra offers a good grip (for those who like handling large smartphones). It doesn't slip out of your hands and its weight is almost forgotten. It must be said that we tend to use our ten fingers to manipulate it. Finally, note that, like the other members of the S24 family, it benefits from IP 68 certification, protecting it against dust and accidental dips in water.
An even brighter screen
Since nothing is too good for this S24 Ultra, Samsung is also going heavy on the element that catches the eye in the first place: the screen. The largest of the S24s is equipped with a 6.8-inch Amoled panel. A more than comfortable display surface for all uses. Social networks, web browsing, video playback, messaging, emails, etc. Everything is bigger there and without losing finesse. As on the S24+, the S24 Ultra panel allows you to achieve a definition of 3120 x 1440 pixels. It is of course possible to set it a notch lower to settle for FHD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) and avoid melting the battery while still enjoying a very comfortable level of readability and more than sufficient for everyday use.
The image delivered is simply sublime. The colors, always a bit bright from the manufacturer, are easily adjusted to get a little closer to reality. But what is most striking is the brightness. Samsung announces a peak at 2600 nits all the same. The previous S23s reached a peak at 1750 nits. A nice progression which allows excellent readability to be maintained whatever the ambient light conditions.
As with the other members of the S24 family, Samsung has chosen an LTPO panel. We then benefit from a dynamic refresh rate of 1 to 120 Hz. In short, once again, the South Korean does not disappoint and delivers a very good copy with this remarkable screen. Small bonus: the protection offered by Corning Gorilla Glass Armor reveals an additional advantage with very good reflection reduction. This is very appreciable, especially outdoors.
Power to spare
Under the hood, this Galaxy S24 Ultra stands out from its two little brothers. Here, no in-house Exynos chip, but the SoC which will undoubtedly equip the vast majority of high-end smartphones for this year 2024, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 from Qualcomm. A processor that is still not widely used that we have come across at Asus (with the ROG Phone 8 Pro) and at Nubia (with the RedMagic 9 Pro). On the program, more power, both CPU and GPU, efficiency for energy management and, of course, skills for operations involving artificial intelligence.
In terms of benchmarks, no surprises. The Qualcomm SoC, supported in this S24 Ultra by 12 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, comes through with flying colors with very satisfactory results and ultimately not that far from the performance of the Exynos 2400 present in the S24 and S24+.
We thus see that the scores obtained in multi-core and GPU processing testify to real comfort of use which translates in reality into exemplary fluidity both of the One UI interface and with resource-intensive apps.
In gaming, this S24 Ultra proves to be an ideal partner. Genshin Impact runs without the slightest difficulty at 45 or even 60 frames per second with a high level of detail. Asphalt 9 also has no latency. A real pleasure. As for heat dissipation, it is fairly well controlled here despite the presence of titanium which is not the best student in this area.
Artificial intelligence at the heart of the action
AI is one of the arguments widely put forward by Samsung to promote its new premium Galaxy S24 range. And like its little brothers, this S24 Ultra is obviously no exception. We have already had the opportunity to discuss the new functions enabled by the Galaxy AI during the test of the S24 and S24+ which we invite you to discover. This S24 Ultra has exactly the same capabilities. It appears a bit more responsive in the responses provided and the processing of texts and images. But it doesn't matter much.
However, its large size and the exclusive presence of the stylus give it some additional functions compared to other members of the family. The S24 Ultra allows you to take handwritten notes on the screen using the stylus. Practical. But AI opens new doors. Thus, after converting the note to text format, it is able to re-format the note, draw up a summary and translate it into another language. On paper, the proposition is attractive. In reality, you will still have to keep a close eye on the result. AI interpretations can sow confusion and sometimes even completely distort the point. Example here with a text on the subject of the test of the S24 Ultra which the AI has clearly confused with… a Nokia Lumia 1020? In short, it works but it's not quite there yet.
Galaxy S24 Ultra: impeccable photo equipment
For the S24 and S24+, Samsung has chosen not to change the photo mount one bit compared to the S23 and S23+. On the Galaxy S24 Ultra things change… a little. The difference compared to the S23 Ultra comes down to a single module: the x10 telephoto lens. Indeed, Samsung has swapped the latter for a x5 telephoto lens but backed by a more generous sensor of 50 Megapixels compared to 10 Megapixels previously. A shorter focal length but a sensor that offers more precision, that’s the challenge of this “new” module.” Otherwise, nothing changes. We still benefit from a total of five photo modules: a 200 Megapixel wide-angle sensor (f/1.7), a 12 Megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor (f/2.2), a 10 Megapixel x3 optical telephoto lens ( f/4.9) and therefore the latest x5 periscopic telephoto lens of 50 Megapixels (f/3.4). We also note in passing that last year, the x10 telephoto lens offered an f/4.9 aperture. The light should be a little more there. Finally, on the front, the traditional 12 Megapixel (f/2.2) selfie camera occupies the position.
No variation on the wide-angle module therefore but it is still just as successful. The sharpness is there, the colors faithful as well as the brightness very well managed. The shots delivered show good general mastery and the processing applied by Samsung remains discreet and effective. It's flawless.
The x3 telephoto lens, for its part, retains all its qualities. It offers very clean and well-balanced images. The stabilization is also quite effective even if we sometimes encounter small problems with focusing.
Let's move on to the heart of the subject with the x5 optical telephoto lens and its 50 Megapixel sensor which also allows you to go up to x10 with an image cropped towards the center of the sensor and therefore a priori without loss of definition. In x5, there is no photo. The S24 Ultra does admirably well. The sharpness is remarkable and the colorimetry very accurate.
At x10, it gets a little complicated but the shots remain completely usable. It is also not the big difference with the x10 of the S23 Ultra which also manages to find the right balance although with a slight loss of sharpness. In other words, the choice of this x5 telephoto lens associated with a 50 Megapixel sensor is not a revolution in itself but provides slightly more precise shots.
Beyond x10, the S24 Ultra offers several digital zoom levels (x20, x30 and x100). Up to x30, the images remain correct but still difficult to use. Beyond this level, image processing becomes very aggressive. But these magnifications are still fun to use to impress the gallery. And of course, the spectacular photos of the moon (admittedly reworked with a lot of algorithms) are always there.
The ultra wide-angle module therefore does not change but still produces very successful shots. We notice a tiny loss of detail but nothing shocking and above all, nothing that disturbs the eye.
Portrait mode also remains well controlled. The bokeh produced is precise, as is the clipping. However, be careful not to overdo the blurring of the background. A parameter that can obviously be adjusted.
At night, the S24 Ultra delivers a score that is also well mastered. The details are well present and the algorithms work hard to bring out the contrasts brilliantly.
The x5 telephoto lens is also very effective in night mode. Beyond that, the noise begins to set in.
In video, the S24 Ultra can climb up to 120 frames per second in 4K. A first that will delight experienced users (beware of storage space, however). The device also allows you to film up to 8K at 30 frames per second and even take advantage of the x5 telephoto lens in these conditions.
Large in size and autonomy
To power this large smartphone, Samsung relies on a fairly standard 5000 mAh battery. But here again we can count on the efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Our tests with the PC Mark benchmark thus show good endurance. Tested three times, we got an average of around 16 hours of battery life. This is very correct for a smartphone of this size. In reality, this translates, with typical use, to two good days of endurance. Not bad. By using the device a little more, you can easily achieve a day and a half of use. It's very comfortable.
The same will not be said about recharging. For this very high-end smartphone, don't look for a suitable charger in the box. Samsung does not provide one. At this price, it's hard to swallow. Furthermore, the device is limited to 45 W charging. This is certainly better than the 25 W authorized for the S23 Ultra but still. In 2024, it's a bit short. Also, allow a little over an hour and fifteen minutes of charging to go from 0 to 100% battery. It's still too slow compared to the competition.
Our opinion on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Do you have an S23 Ultra from last year and are you eyeing this S24 Ultra to replace it? Think carefully. On closer inspection, the new products section is ultimately quite sparse. We appreciate the slightly more contemporary design with this sharp-cut titanium case and this screen which abandons the curved edges in favor of a panel that is now completely flat. This also offers a significant gain in brightness and is adorned with an effective anti-reflective treatment.
But beyond these elements, the differences with what the S23 Ultra already offers remain slight. The performance of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is there but the S23 Ultra is certainly not lagging behind either. The photo section ultimately doesn't present any big differences either. Ditto for autonomy and recharging in slight progression only. As for AI, Samsung announced the deployment of some of these new functions (without specifying which ones) on the S23 range.
One point however on which the S24 Ultra stands out: tracking updates for 7 years. This is the promise of having, until 2031, a smartphone that is still alert and safe and can run the latest versions of Android. On the other hand, if you are still hesitant about equipping yourself with an XXL-sized smartphone, the S24 Ultra has everything it needs to appeal... except perhaps its price, proportional to its size. The S24 Ultra is available in four colors in store (black, gray, amber and purple) plus green, blue and orange only on the Samsung store, starting at 1469 euros all the same (version 256 GB). A bill that can climb to 1829 euros for the best-off version with 1 TB of storage space. It stings.
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