Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review

Design, build quality, handling

Conceptually, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is very much like the S23 Ultra, but also different in a number of ways - both tangible, and visible. Sure, it does maintain the overall shape and proportions - the Galaxy Note DNA shines through - but another year of refinement means some actual changes.

From this angle, you can barely tell the Galaxy S24 Ultra (left) apart from the S23 Ultra

One of the major developments this time around, and the first of the differences you can feel, is the switch to a completely flat display. Samsung's been gradually toning down the curves after being the pioneer of bent displays, and has now decided to leave that entirely to foldables. The S24 Ultra will now be a lot better suited to screen protector use, plus it will no longer be exposed to criticism for handling issues stemming from the curved sides.

The other big thing this year is the glass that protects the Ultra's display. The brand new formulation from Corning called Gorilla Armor features improved drop and scratch resistance, though Corning's promotional materials conveniently don't compare to their previous efforts; instead, they quote the new glass's superiority over competitors.

Ideally, you'll never have to find out just how much better Armor is than, say, Victus in terms of drop resistance, but you'll probably be appreciating the new material's much-reduced reflectivity day in and day out. At least one person in the office is raving about this new development; some acknowledge the improvement without fanfare, and there have also been a few indifferent shrugs.

Also contributing to the S24 Ultra's improved toughness is the new titanium frame. Unlike Apple which used diffusion bonding to connect the outer layer of the frame on the iPhone 15 Pros to the inner aluminum skeleton, Samsung's molded several nubs into the frame and then used plastic to connect those to the internal aluminum structure.

We can't be certain how and why one would be better than the other, but either way, your fingers will be touching titanium. Samsung titanium isn't the same grade as Apple's titanium, seemingly, and Apple's is supposed to be fancier, of course.

While still focused on the superficial, let's mention the colorways that you can have the Ultra in. As usual there are online-exclusive colors that you can only get from Samsung.com (there's three of those), and 'mainstream' liveries that carriers and retailers will be getting (the three below, plus our review unit's Titanium Gray).

Widely available colors: Titanium Black • Titanium Violet • Titanium Yellow

Samsung.com exclusive colors: Titanium Blue • Titanium Green • Titanium Orange

Regardless of colorway, all Galaxy S24 Ultras feature a frosted back panel that's made from Gorilla Armor as well - in the same way that the S23 Ultra had Victus 2 front and back.

Nothing's changed when it comes to the Ultra's protection from the elements, and the phone carries an IP68 rating, meaning it's dust-tight and should be able to survive down to 1.5m of water for as long as 30 minutes. The S Pen will be good as well, and it won't matter if you dunk the phone in water with the S Pen missing.

Speaking of the S Pen, little has changed in its design and operation, though that's not to say there aren't things that bug us a little. One of them is the reshaped clicker end that now sticks out a bit more out of the bottom of the phone - hardly an issue, but something that came up naturally in conversations around the office.

One change on S Pen-wielding Galaxies that some of us are still trying to come to terms with, even though it was introduced on the Note20 Ultra in 2020, is the placement of the S Pen on the left side of the phone. Perhaps lefties appreciate it, but for the rest of us, it's still feels somewhat wrong.

What's more universally appreciated, is the fingerprint reader location in more or less the usual Samsung position - not too close to the bottom edge, but rather in a natural spot higher up the display.

This being an ultrasonic sensor, you don't get a bright flash when unlocking and speed and accuracy have typically been great for us. Mind that while the S24 Ultra's flat display may be welcoming to glass screen protectors, the fingerprint reader operation could suffer from those.