Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review (2024)

One UI 6.1 with Galaxy AI

Samsung's S24 family is launching with Samsung's latest One UI 6.1 on top of Google's latest Android 14. Despite the fairly small ".1" numbering update, One UI 6.1 brings some new stuff to the table - most notably Galaxy AI features, which we hope will eventually trickle down to other Galaxy models as well.

As part of its green initiative, Samsung is quite ambitious with the S24 generation, offering the remarkable seven years of OS and One UI updates and security patches. That's up from four years of OS updates and five years of security patches on the previous S23 flagship generation.

The Galaxy S24 devices can eventually expect to end their support cycle running Android 21, whatever that ends up being called. Hopefully, many S24 family devices will stay out of landfills for much longer, perhaps with a mid-cycle battery replacement. Here's hoping.

Every S24 model essentially has the same software functionality in its roster, including the new AI. The only major software difference stems from including the S Pen in the Ultra. As has been the case for several generations of S Pen-equipped Galaxies, the stylus here is an active one, and it has a battery inside as well as a gyro, an accelerometer and Bluetooth connectivity for communicating with the phone without immediate proximity. This enables Air actions - a set of gestures that can execute actions in various apps, including the Gallery and browsers (Samsung's own, and also Chrome), but perhaps most usefully - the Camera.

Other than that, the S Pen has all of the functionality users have come to expect. You can scribble, draw, and use handwriting recognition in about 100 languages, or at least that's how many options there are in the menu.

There isn't anything new about the S Pen this generation, which was also the case with the S23 generation. Not that the S Pen has been lacking it in the past - it's just that things should all be familiar.

You can read more about the new One UI 6.1 features in our dedicated One UI 6.1 review.

Performance and benchmarks

The Galaxy S24 and S24+ dual chipset arrangement does not affect the S24 Ultra. No matter where you get your unit, it will have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset by Qualcomm. The chip is made on a 4nm TSMC N4P manufacturing node.

Samsung has a customized version of the chipset yet again, with a slightly higher-clocked prime core. The CPU config, as reported by the device, includes one prime Cortex X4 core, clocked at 3.4 GHz, three Cortex-A720 ones, working at up to 3.15 GHz, another two Cortex-A720 ones working at 2.96 GHz and finally two Cortex-A520 cores working at up to 2.27 GHz according to official specs and 2.26 GHz as per the phone's reporting. There's not much of a difference, but it's worth noting.

There is an Adreno 750 in the GPU department, clocked at up to 1,000MHz. It is rated for about the same performance as the Xclipse 940 GPU inside the Exynos 2400 and the Immortalis-G720 MC12 inside the MediaTek Dimensity 9300.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is paired with quad-channel 4,800 MHz LPDDR5X RAM, 12GB of it across all of the storage tiers. Storage options include 256GB, 512GB and 1TB, all with UFS 4.0 flash chips.

Let's kick things off with some CPU benchmarks and GeekBench. Devices with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 span the entire range of the chart, including the top where we would expect them, as well as near the bottom of it. It's an interesting development, but one that comes down to how these devices have their performance profiles tuned.

Both the ROG Phone 8 Pro and OnePlus 12 tend to go for power-saving in their default performance profile. Anyway, the Galaxy S24 Ultra spreads its wings nicely and pretty much squeezes the most it can from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Let's not forget that this is the special "for Galaxy" variant of the chipset with a slightly higher prime core clock. This is shown by the higher scores in single and multi-core tests compared to the Realme GT5 Pro, rocking the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 variant.

GeekBench 6

Multi-core
Single-core

vivo X100

7389

Dimensity 9300 512GB, 16GB RAM

vivo X100 Pro

7343

Dimensity 9300 512GB, 16GB RAM

iPhone 15 Pro Max

7237

Apple A17 Pro 256GB, 8GB RAM

iPhone 15 Pro

7172

Apple A17 Pro 256GB, 8GB RAM

Galaxy S24 Ultra

7076

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SM8650-AC 512GB, 12GB RAM

Galaxy S24+

6926

Exynos 2400 512GB, 12GB RAM

Realme GT5 Pro

6783

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 1TB, 16GB RAM

Galaxy S24

6747

Exynos 2400 256GB, 8GB RAM

ROG Phone 8 Pro

6632

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 1TB, 24GB RAM

iPhone 15 Plus

6618

Apple A16 Bionic 128GB, 6GB RAM

iPhone 15

6526

Apple A16 Bionic 128GB, 6GB RAM

Asus Zenfone 10

5698

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 512GB, 16GB RAM

Xiaomi 13 Ultra

5556

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 512GB 16GB RAM

Galaxy S23

5327

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC 256GB, 8GB RAM

Galaxy S23+

5261

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC 512GB, 8GB RAM

Oppo Find X6 Pro

5082

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 512GB, 16GB RAM

Galaxy S23 Ultra

5077

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC 512GB, 12GB RAM

Realme GT5

5045

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 1TB, 24GB RAM

Sony Xperia 1 V

4916

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 256GB, 12GB RAM

OnePlus 12

4784

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 512GB, 16GB RAM

Xiaomi 13T Pro

4518

Dimensity 9200+ 512GB, 12GB RAM

Pixel 8 Pro

4492

Google Tensor G3 128GB, 12GB RAM

OnePlus 12R

4451

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 256GB, 16GB RAM

Pixel 8

4404

Google Tensor G3 128GB, 8GB RAM

Galaxy S23 FE

3964

Exynos 2200 128GB, 8GB RAM

Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)

3947

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 128GB, 8GB RAM

vivo X90

3906

Dimensity 9200 256GB, 12GB RAM

iPhone 15 Pro Max

2926

Apple A17 Pro 256GB, 8GB RAM

iPhone 15 Pro

2922

Apple A17 Pro 256GB, 8GB RAM

iPhone 15 Plus

2627

Apple A16 Bionic 128GB, 6GB RAM

iPhone 15

2606

Apple A16 Bionic 128GB, 6GB RAM

Galaxy S24 Ultra

2279

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SM8650-AC 512GB, 12GB RAM

Realme GT5 Pro

2229

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 1TB, 16GB RAM

vivo X100

2210

Dimensity 9300 512GB, 16GB RAM

Galaxy S24+

2201

Exynos 2400 512GB, 12GB RAM

vivo X100 Pro

2192

Dimensity 9300 512GB, 16GB RAM

Galaxy S24

2177

Exynos 2400 256GB, 8GB RAM

Asus Zenfone 10

2028

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 512GB, 16GB RAM

Galaxy S23

2028

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC 256GB, 8GB RAM

AnTuTu

vivo X100 Pro

1475105

Dimensity 9300 512GB, 16GB RAM 1260 x 2800 px

vivo X100

1472921

Dimensity 9300 512GB, 16GB RAM 1260 x 2800 px

Galaxy S24 Ultra

1453497

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SM8650-AC 512GB, 12GB RAM 1440 x 3120 px

ROG Phone 8 Pro

1422240

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 1TB, 24GB RAM 1080 x 2400 px

Asus Zenfone 10

1314458

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 512GB, 16GB RAM 1080 x 2400 px

Oppo Find X6 Pro

1294797

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 512GB, 16GB RAM 1440 x 3168 px

Galaxy S24+

1290977

Exynos 2400 512GB, 12GB RAM 1440 x 3120 px

Xiaomi 13 Ultra

1268538

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 512GB 16GB RAM 1440 x 3200 px

Galaxy S23 Ultra

1241531

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC 512GB, 12GB RAM 1440 x 3088 px

Galaxy S23+

1234077

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC 512GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2340 px

Galaxy S23

1231075

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC 256GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2340 px

Galaxy S24

1218977

Exynos 2400 256GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2340 px

Xiaomi 13T Pro

1214085

Dimensity 9200+ 512GB, 12GB RAM 1220 x 2712 px

vivo X90

1163712

Dimensity 9200 256GB, 12GB RAM 1260 x 2800 px

Realme GT5

1140632

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 1TB, 24GB RAM 1240 x 2772 px

Sony Xperia 1 V

1127931

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 256GB, 12GB RAM 1644 x 3840 px

Galaxy S23 FE

945809

Exynos 2200 128GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2340 px

Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)

940921

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 128GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2340 px

Pixel 8

926801

Google Tensor G3 128GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2400 px

Pixel 8 Pro

924853

Google Tensor G3 128GB, 12GB RAM 1344 x 2992 px

vivo X100

2112286

Dimensity 9300 512GB, 16GB RAM 1260 x 2800 px

vivo X100 Pro

2104997

Dimensity 9300 512GB, 16GB RAM 1260 x 2800 px

Realme GT5 Pro

1981149

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 1TB, 16GB RAM 1264 x 2780 px

Galaxy S24 Ultra

1823822

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SM8650-AC 512GB, 12GB RAM 1440 x 3120 px

ROG Phone 8 Pro

1806875

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 1TB, 24GB RAM 1080 x 2400 px

OnePlus 12

1775565

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 512GB, 16GB RAM 1440 x 3168 px

3DMark (offscreen)

Wild Life (1440p)
Wild Life Extreme (2160p)
Solar Bay (1440p)

Galaxy S24 Ultra

17931

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SM8650-AC Adreno 750 1440 x 3120 px

OnePlus 12

17633

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Adreno 750 1440 x 3168 px

Realme GT5 Pro

17358

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Adreno 750 1264 x 2780 px

vivo X100

17082

Dimensity 9300 Immortalis-G720 MC12 1260 x 2800 px

vivo X100 Pro

16675

Dimensity 9300 Immortalis-G720 MC12 1260 x 2800 px

Galaxy S24

14351

Exynos 2400 Xclipse 940 1080 x 2340 px

Galaxy S24+

14082

Exynos 2400 Xclipse 940 1440 x 3120 px

Asus Zenfone 10

13507

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1080 x 2400 px

Oppo Find X6 Pro

13360

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1440 x 3168 px

OnePlus 12R

13220

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1264 x 2780 px

Xiaomi 13 Ultra

13106

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1440 x 3200 px

Galaxy S23

12780

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC Adreno 740 1080 x 2340 px

Galaxy S23+

12654

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC Adreno 740 1080 x 2340 px

Galaxy S23 Ultra

12241

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC Adreno 740 1440 x 3088 px

vivo X90

11976

Dimensity 9200 Immortalis-G715 MC11 1260 x 2800 px

Xiaomi 13T Pro

10967

Dimensity 9200+ Immortalis-G715 MC11 1220 x 2712 px

iPhone 15 Pro Max

10015

Apple A17 Pro Apple GPU (6-core graphics) 1290 x 2796 px

iPhone 15 Pro

10012

Apple A17 Pro Apple GPU (6-core graphics) 1179 x 2556 px

iPhone 15 Plus

9933

Apple A16 Bionic Apple GPU (5-core graphics) 1290 x 2796 px

iPhone 15

9927

Apple A16 Bionic Apple GPU (5-core graphics) 1179 x 2556 px

Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)

9919

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Adreno 730 1080 x 2340 px

Pixel 8

8638

Google Tensor G3 Immortalis-G715s MC10 1080 x 2400 px

Galaxy S23 FE

8494

Exynos 2200 Xclipse 920 1080 x 2340 px

Pixel 8 Pro

8476

Google Tensor G3 Immortalis-G715s MC10 1344 x 2992 px

Sony Xperia 1 V

6316

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1644 x 3840 px

vivo X100

4996

Dimensity 9300 Immortalis-G720 MC12 1260 x 2800 px

Galaxy S24 Ultra

4983

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SM8650-AC Adreno 750 1440 x 3120 px

OnePlus 12

4972

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Adreno 750 1440 x 3168 px

Realme GT5 Pro

4970

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Adreno 750 1264 x 2780 px

vivo X100 Pro

4932

Dimensity 9300 Immortalis-G720 MC12 1260 x 2800 px

ROG Phone 8 Pro

4584

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Adreno 750 1080 x 2400 px

Galaxy S24+

4365

Exynos 2400 Xclipse 940 1440 x 3120 px

Galaxy S24

4183

Exynos 2400 Xclipse 940 1080 x 2340 px

Galaxy S23

3852

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC Adreno 740 1080 x 2340 px

Galaxy S23+

3830

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC Adreno 740 1080 x 2340 px

Galaxy S23 Ultra

3790

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC Adreno 740 1440 x 3088 px

Xiaomi 13 Ultra

3750

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1440 x 3200 px

iPhone 15 Pro Max

3746

Apple A17 Pro Apple GPU (6-core graphics) 1290 x 2796 px

iPhone 15 Pro

3712

Apple A17 Pro Apple GPU (6-core graphics) 1179 x 2556 px

Oppo Find X6 Pro

3696

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1440 x 3168 px

Asus Zenfone 10

3682

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1080 x 2400 px

OnePlus 12R

3640

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1264 x 2780 px

Realme GT5

3594

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1240 x 2772 px

Xiaomi 13T Pro

3567

Dimensity 9200+ Immortalis-G715 MC11 1220 x 2712 px

vivo X90

3453

Dimensity 9200 Immortalis-G715 MC11 1260 x 2800 px

iPhone 15

3084

Apple A16 Bionic Apple GPU (5-core graphics) 1179 x 2556 px

iPhone 15 Plus

3025

Apple A16 Bionic Apple GPU (5-core graphics) 1290 x 2796 px

Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)

2557

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Adreno 730 1080 x 2340 px

Pixel 8

2450

Google Tensor G3 Immortalis-G715s MC10 1080 x 2400 px

Pixel 8 Pro

2436

Google Tensor G3 Immortalis-G715s MC10 1344 x 2992 px

Galaxy S23 FE

2356

Exynos 2200 Xclipse 920 1080 x 2340 px

Sony Xperia 1 V

2047

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1644 x 3840 px

Galaxy S24 Ultra

8780

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SM8650-AC Adreno 750 1440 x 3120 px

Galaxy S24+

8743

Exynos 2400 Xclipse 940 1440 x 3120 px

Realme GT5 Pro

8637

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Adreno 750 1264 x 2780 px

OnePlus 12

8637

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Adreno 750 1440 x 3168 px

Galaxy S24

8631

Exynos 2400 Xclipse 940 1080 x 2340 px

vivo X100

8376

Dimensity 9300 Immortalis-G720 MC12 1260 x 2800 px

ROG Phone 8 Pro

8374

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Adreno 750 1080 x 2400 px

vivo X100 Pro

7994

Dimensity 9300 Immortalis-G720 MC12 1260 x 2800 px

iPhone 15 Pro

6525

Apple A17 Pro Apple GPU (6-core graphics) 1179 x 2556 px

iPhone 15 Pro Max

6523

Apple A17 Pro Apple GPU (6-core graphics) 1290 x 2796 px

OnePlus 12R

5375

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 1264 x 2780 px

Xiaomi 13T Pro

5005

Dimensity 9200+ Immortalis-G715 MC11 1220 x 2712 px

Galaxy S23 FE

4612

Exynos 2200 Xclipse 920 1080 x 2340 px

iPhone 15 Plus

4249

Apple A16 Bionic Apple GPU (5-core graphics) 1290 x 2796 px

iPhone 15

4216

Apple A16 Bionic Apple GPU (5-core graphics) 1179 x 2556 px

Samsung upgraded its vapor chamber cooling solutions across the S24 lineup. Most notably, the S24 Ultra has a chamber 1.9x the size of the one inside the S23 Ultra. That, however, seems to be done to account for the increased heat production by the new chipsets rather than better sustained performance.

The S24 Ultra exhibited massive thermal throttling in our testing and lost a huge chunk of its maximum performance over time, a whopping 53% in 3DMark. This is notably worse than both the S24+ and the S24, as well as the S23 Ultra. While you could call this an okay showing, it's still more on the disappointing end of things.

CPU-based throttling isn't quite as bad (35% performance loss), but is still far from ideal. The only potential positive observation to make is that the surface of the phone never got too hot or uncomfortable to hold, even after an hour-long torture test.

Thermal throttling

FAQs

What's so special about the Samsung S24 Ultra? ›

One of the reasons the Galaxy S24 Ultra is in a league of its own is thanks to its 200MP main camera when most main cameras on premium phones are "only" around 50MP. The Galaxy S24 Ultra also has four rear cameras when three is the norm. In a way, the Galaxy S24 Ultra effectively has five cameras (more on that below).

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Is it worth to upgrade from S23 Ultra to S24 Ultra? ›

As said before, upgrade is not a matter of need, but want. I am sure both phone will be quite technologically adequate for a few years to come. Agree, S23 Ultra is still a fantastic phone and one that's overcome all it's little bugs etc. The S24 Ultra is Aesthetically beautiful though.

Is the S24 worth it? ›

Overall, the Galaxy S24 is a worthwhile update for folks coming from an older Samsung phone. Though it may seem incremental compared to the Galaxy S23, or even the Galaxy S22, it'll make a big difference to people coming from a Samsung phone that's at least three years old.

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Is the S24+ too big? ›

The S24+ is still a large phone, measuring 6.7 inches tall and 3 inches wide. Using it one-handed is not the most comfortable experience, especially if you have smaller hands. But for those who prefer a larger screen, the S24+ is a delight.

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What's the difference between S24 and S24 Ultra? ›

The Ultra has an extra telephoto camera over the S24's arrangement, and it packs an impressive 50 megapixels. Its other telephoto matches the S24's single 10-megapixel one. Both phones have the same 12-megapixel front camera, while the Ultra's wide-angle has 200 megapixels compared to the S24's 50 megapixels.

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What can the S24 Ultra do that the S23 Ultra can't? ›

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is an upgrade on the Galaxy S23 Ultra in many ways, from its brighter screen to its titanium frame, its faster chipset, and its better camera. But the S24 Ultra's higher price and the absence of 10x zoom means the Galaxy S23 Ultra is still worth considering.

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Is the S24 better than the S23? ›

If you're after the brightest display opt for the Galaxy S24 which has an epic 2600 nits of peak brightness compared to 1750 nits for the Galaxy S23. With a new Exynos 2400 processor, the Galaxy S24 is both fast and smart.

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Does the S24 Ultra get hot? ›

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra overheating might caused by how you charge your phone battery. If you use your phone heavily while charging, it may overheat. Ensure the charger and cable are in good condition, and avoid using the phone while charging.

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Is the S24 Ultra selling well? ›

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra outsold its predecessor, ranking as the best-selling Android phone in Q1 2024. Despite iPhone's dominance, the S24 Ultra secured fifth place, surpassing Apple's older models. Samsung's Galaxy S24's success can be attributed to its early launch, AI features, and marketing.

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Is the S24 Ultra future proof? ›

You can participate in challenges, receive rewards and use different health services as well as content. It is another factor that makes the new Galaxy S24 Ultra future-proof quality. It provides a smart lean device that helps with multiple aspects of life including your career, fun time and health, all in one place.

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Is 128GB enough for Samsung S24? ›

128GB. The Galaxy S24 128GB should hold at least 22,600 JPG photos when stored at standard resolution and compression. The Galaxy S24 128GB should hold at least 565 minutes of 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second. If you prefer to film at 4K, you can expect at least 226 minutes of UHD video at 30 frames per second.

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Which S24 is the best? ›

The Galaxy S24 Plus gets a bigger screen than before, while also matching the Ultra in the all important area of battery life. It's also the same $999 price as its predecessor. But it's the Galaxy S24 Ultra that still ranks as the best phone Samsung has to offer.

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What's the difference between S24 and S24+? ›

The Galaxy S24 Plus boasts a sharper display, better battery life and more RAM than its smaller sibling, but you'll only notice these differences if you look really hard.

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What is the best color for Samsung S24? ›

For the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus, if you want your phone to be a statement, we suggest Cobalt Violet. If you want your phone to be neutral, Onyx Black is the best choice. For the Galaxy S23 Ultra, we also think the Titanium Violet is the coolest choice, but Titanium Yellow is really interesting, too.

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What does the AI do on the S24 Ultra? ›

The Galaxy S24 series, Samsung's latest flagship devices, comes equipped with exclusive AI features for photo editing, real-time translations, automatically generated summaries for webpages and more. And thanks to the One UI 6.1 update in March, the Galaxy S23 series now has these same Galaxy AI features and settings.

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Is the Samsung S24 Ultra waterproof? ›

The Galaxy S24 / Galaxy S24+ / Galaxy S24 Ultra is rated IP68, using the Ingress Protection rating system. The dust rating is 6 (highest level of protection), and the water resistance rating is 8 (water-resistant up to 5 feet for up to 30 minutes).

Is the back of the S24 Ultra glass? ›

*Back panel is made with Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus® 2.

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