Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review

13 February 2024


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Thanks, GSMArena for the unbiased review. You guys took your time but it was worth the waiting.
I am suprised to learn about the suboptimal screen performance - that's certainly a new one from the Samsung flaghship.
The camera department is perhaps sort of a sidestep compared with last yearss flagship model: Better IQ at 5x and slightly worse IQ at 10x, with 1x, 3x and UW virtually staying the same.
What is actually ridiculous is that Samsung not only does NOT include a charger but also a USB-charger cable that cannot even handle the full 45W charging capacity.

From a holistic perspective, the S24U is certainly one of the best if not THE best all-in.one cameraphone package-all things considered.
That being said, there is barely any single discpline, where it would actually outshine hte competition.

Pesonally, I would wait a few months till most of the weak spots may get ironed out by firmware updates and maybe the prices would go down somewhat.

    Anonymous, 14 Feb 2024Samsung Semicon is wasting time working on those 1" wi... moreain't no way market share is gonna fall. It's not because Samsung is good or anything, it's just that Sony sensors will ALWAYS be more expensive, they're just better. Samsung sensors are worse and so will always be cheaper so at least for cheaper phones or huge phones which want to put in a cheaper sensor, Samsung's business will thrive.

      Invetor, 14 Feb 2024Looks like OnePlus 12 (and iQOO 12, to some extent) is bett... moreCheaper, yes. Better? No.

      SGS24U:

      * A much better camera (what most people actually care about)
      * Flat screen
      * More durable (in theory)
      * A longer support period

      OP12:
      * Cheaper
      * More RAM (16 vs 12, no idea if it affects performance)
      * The marginally brighter screen (according to specs, I've not checked the actual data from reviews).

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • 8Np
        • 14 Feb 2024

        Aierlan, 14 Feb 2024Yeah, they seem to have stagnated last year in terms of hig... moreSamsung Semicon is wasting time working on those 1" with 300, 400 and 600MP, while not updating sensors of 1/2.5" , 1/2", 1/1.5" ...

        Once exmor T becomes mainstream (gonna take few years because price and complicated fab process), isocell marketshare gonna fall even more if sony semicon denies to license this tech to them.

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          • Anonymous
          • p6T
          • 14 Feb 2024

          Stoon, 14 Feb 2024very bad cpu throttling compared to s23 ultraDoesn't matter because the lowest it throttles to is about the same as the 8gen2 at peak performance.

            Daytime 25MP and 50MP photo samples look gorgeous, no other phone comes even close.

            And there's a very visible increase in sharpness and details not seen on any other phone, Samsung has done it again.

            For some reasons in some cases photo quality has regressed, check this:

            https://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=5&idPhone3=12725&idCamera1=301015&idCamera2=300945

            Set scaling to 12MP and just compare S24U with S23U. S23U looks a whole lot more detailed.

            And too often people make shots in low lighting conditions which doesn't bode well for S24U. Maybe an update will fix it.

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              • LTG
              • I@1
              • 14 Feb 2024

              Invetor, 14 Feb 2024why, is pixel binning bad?Is there any case that the capture of the zoom ratio with a bit smaller one than x10 does not have the Zero Shutter lag performance?

                Anonymous, 14 Feb 2024HP2 is most advanced isocell available right now. Yeah, they seem to have stagnated last year in terms of high end camera sensors. Can't remember any new flagship sensor in the last year from Samsung, whereas Sony and Omnivision are releasing new ones. Wonder if we'll see new flagship sensors from Samsung this year

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                  • S23U user
                  • nE2
                  • 14 Feb 2024

                  Alex, 13 Feb 2024Thank you for the review! Appreciation and also a small dis... moreℹ PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation):
                  S24U= 492Hz which slightly beats iP15PM @ 480Hz, & more than doubles my S23U @ 240Hz, which in turn doubled the S22U @ 120Hz. My Note9 (2018)= 227Hz.

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                    • AK
                    • vFr
                    • 14 Feb 2024

                    Omg the complainers here.

                      Wesker, 13 Feb 2024🥱🥱🥱Synthetizes it perfectly.

                        S,pen has to be pressed much harder on the right side of the screen....to be able to write. I have S24 ultra, the version with 512 gb. And on certain reviews on youtube...I saw that they had impurities under the screens.

                          Low temp limit on s24 ultra compared to plus. Even that didnt save exynos. Throttling percentage is higher but both peak and minimum scores are better on sd.

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                            • v$R
                            • 14 Feb 2024

                            S24u has different 3x telephoto hardware compared to 24+, the former is 1/3.52 but 1/3.94 on the plus.

                              PWM measuring device can be purchased for about 30€ nowadays. Still quite surprising that they don't include this information in their review, when the topic in itself became quite prominent.

                                SteveUk, 14 Feb 2024...what were you hoping for, realistically? (ie. what would... moreThey have no idea.
                                I also once asked what they expect from Samsung to "innovate" in (when they started moaning there isn't enough innovation) and the general response was - basically - keep going the same direction, just make a little bit bigger steps. Like give at least 80W charging speed.
                                I asked how is 80W charging speed "innovative" when Chinese brands offer faster charging, but there was no response. I don't think they actually understand what innovation means.
                                At the same time, they vigorously ignore foldable phone market, which - whether you agree it's a good idea for a phone or not - is a technological innovation. Go figure.

                                  NeonHD, 14 Feb 2024And how many people is that? Four? Five? You cannot use ... moreSay that to the vocal minority that complains about screen issues. Check with them if they agree.

                                    Nik, 14 Feb 2024I cannot understand how charging speed of the Ultra S24 can... moreAnd how many people is that? Four? Five?

                                    You cannot use the anecdotes of the minority to echo the majority.

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                                      • Anonymous
                                      • s8a
                                      • 14 Feb 2024

                                      "sensor that behaves in the same odd way"

                                      I had noticed this issue in my friend's S23U where the screen goes off immediately after the call is attended, irrespective of whether the phone is close to the ear, in the hand or in the desk. It's unfortunate to see issues in such basic things which were good even a decade back.

                                        Okay, I am positively surprised by improved photo quality. Using the Photo Compare Tool, I compared it with s23u,s22u,s21u. My favorite was s21u for a long time, and s24u is actually on par with it, after so many years.

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