Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S23 Ultra: Not your standard yearly upgrade

The Galaxy S24 series has finally been unveiled. As expected, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the best of the three Galaxy S24 models. The differences between the Ultra and base/Plus models run deeper than usual this time around. In addition to having a considerably more versatile camera setup that includes two zoom cameras, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has the advantage of being powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset everywhere in the world.

But how does the Galaxy S24 Ultra compare to its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 Ultra? Upgrading to a new flagship smartphone every year is never a logical thing to do, but could the Galaxy S24 Ultra be an exception to that rule?

Galaxy S24 Ultra brings changes both inside and outside

The Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S23 Ultra may look similar at first glance, but a closer look reveals substantial design changes. A big one is the switch to a flat display – this is the first time in almost a decade that Samsung has launched a new Galaxy S lineup without any curved displays. The flat display should make it easier to use the S Pen, especially around the edges, and install screen protectors.

The display is much brighter on the S24 Ultra (2,600 nits vs 1,750 on the S23 Ultra), and it is now protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Armor. Samsung has also improved touch response by 12%, which will allow faster input processing and execution when gaming.

The switch to a titanium frame is the other big design change, and it makes the S24 Ultra both look and feel more premium while continuing to have existing features like IP68 water and dust resistance. It’s only at the back where the design is practically the same as before, except it’s flat at the edges and has new color options.

The S24 Ultra also brings a key change to the camera setup: it has a new 50MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom that is replacing the S23 Ultra’s 12-megapixel 10x telephoto. That may sound like a downgrade, but that’s not the case. The 5x telephoto can take sharper pictures thanks to the higher megapixel count even at 10x zoom, and it has better low-light quality thanks to a wider aperture (f/3.4 instead of f/4.9) and improved optical stabilization.

The 50MP zoom camera also makes it possible to record 8K videos at 5x zoom. All existing Galaxy smartphones that support 8K recording can only do so with the primary camera, as none of them have a telephoto (or ultra-wide) camera with the requisite megapixels (8K videos are equivalent to 33 megapixels). 5x portraits are now possible as well, in addition to the old 1x and 3x options.

S24 Ultra gets improved Snapdragon chip, fancy AI features, seven years of updates

The Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset is more powerful and efficient than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but the most notable improvement is in AI and machine learning performance. The 8 Gen 3’s NPU (neural processing unit) is almost twice as fast and is also 40% more efficient, which will help the Galaxy S24 Ultra process all of its fancy new AI features faster and without using too much power.

Those AI features are a part of One UI 6.1, the version of One UI that is preloaded on the Galaxy S24 series. One UI 6.1 will come to the Galaxy S23 series as well, but not all of the AI features will make it to the 2023 flagship lineup. Oh, and the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra will get updates for seven years after launch, while the Galaxy S23 and any other device launched before the Galaxy S24 won’t.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 also makes Wi-Fi 7 connectivity possible on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, though other connectivity features — UWB, 5G, NFC, etc — have been carried forward as is.

A few other specs have carried forward as well. The Galaxy S24 Ultra still has stereo speakers, the same S Pen stylus, a 5,000 mAh battery with 45W and 15W wired and wireless charging, a 12MP front camera (now with less noisy videos), a 200MP primary rear camera, and a 12MP ultra-wide camera. Storage options include 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB, with 12GB of RAM on each.

The dimensions of the two phones are similar as well. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is 1 gram lighter, 0.3mm thinner, and around 1 mm shorter and wider than the S23 Ultra. And most importantly, the S24 Ultra isn’t priced much higher in most markets, at least not when you consider what’s being offered in the package.

A surprisingly potent yearly upgrade

If you decide to buy the Galaxy S24 Ultra just a year after buying the S23 Ultra? We’re not sure that’s a bad choice, either. The Galaxy S23 Ultra was the best flagship phone ever from Samsung when it launched early last year, and it is still an amazing phone that will not feel outdated any time soon.

But the Galaxy S24 Ultra has enough exciting features — new Snapdragon chip, a new long-range zoom camera, AI features (some of which will remain exclusive to the Galaxy S24 series), a more premium design with a titanium frame, software updates for seven years — to make it an excellent year-on-year upgrade, especially if you can find a good exchange or trade-in deal.