Samsung presents the Galaxy S24 series: The Ultra version gets the most exciting new features

Samsung relies partly on its own Exynos 2400 and partly on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for the Galaxy S24 series. The focus is also on AI and the manufacturer is significantly extending software support. The Ultra model uses a new material in the frame, the display is flat and the optical zoom is smaller.

Display: bigger, brighter and all flat

Samsung has made the touchscreens of the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus 0.1 inches larger than those of the S23 and S23 Plus. As the bezels have become 15 per cent narrower, the smartphones will not change in size compared to their predecessors. This means that their displays are now 6.2 and 6.7 inches in size. The S24 Ultra remains at 6.8 inches. Its screen will be flat and, unlike its predecessor, will no longer have rounded edges. Samsung hopes that this will provide a better working surface for the S Pen, which is still located in the largest of the Galaxy devices.

The OLED displays of all devices offer a refresh rate that automatically adjusts between 1 and 120 hertz - depending on the screen content. The screens are also said to be 25 per cent brighter than the previous generation. Samsung gives the peak brightness as 2600 nits and with this value, it surpasses both the Pixel 8 Pro as well as the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The new material used for the frame of the Galaxy S24 Ultra is also reminiscent of the iPhone 15 Pro. The availability of titanium has become so good that various manufacturers are using the metal. The back of the Ultra is also made of Gorilla Armor. Samsung is the first manufacturer to use this new robust glass. It is said to have 75 per cent less reflection and is four times more resistant to scratches and impacts than its predecessor Victus 2. Samsung also uses this "older" material for the backs of the three S24s and for the front of the base and Plus models.

Exynos and Snapdragon: The return to two chipsets

An overview of the key specifications of the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus and S24 Ultra:

Samsung uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the Galaxy S24 Ultra, while the S24 and S24 Plus use the Exynos 2400 in Europe. This feels like a step backwards. Until the S22, Samsung relied on an Exynos (e.g. Europe) or a Snapdragon (e.g. USA) depending on the country. The in-house chipsets performed worse in benchmark tests and, according to many reports, resulted in a shorter battery life. The Galaxy S23 was released a year ago for the first time worldwide and in all variants with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Now the partial return to Exynos.

Samsung says the slightly modified Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy is for tech enthusiasts who want to get the most out of the device. Compared to its predecessor, Samsung reports performance increases of 18 per cent for the CPU, 32 per cent for the GPU and 43 per cent for the NPU. It differs from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in other smartphones in that it has a higher clock rate and increased NPU performance. Tests will have to show how good the performance of the current generation Exynos is - also in comparison to the Snapdragon.

My prediction: Despite lower benchmark results, the Exynos has enough power that you won't notice any difference in everyday use. The power consumption, on the other hand, will be interesting. Has Samsung been able to improve here? The different processors should have no effect on the functional scope of the software and AI tools of the Galaxy S24 models.

The processors definitely mean a difference for Wi-Fi: The Exynos "only" supports Wi-Fi 6E and the Snapdragon already offers Wi-Fi 7.

Camera: less optical zoom

Only the Galaxy S24 Ultra has a major change when it comes to the cameras. Its second telephoto camera no longer offers ten times the optical zoom, but only five times. Samsung justifies this with the fact that this is used much more frequently than the tenx zoom. In addition, compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra larger image sensor with a higher resolution of 50 megapixels no loss of quality. I am sure that the tenfold zoom in particular will be looked at in comparative tests. By the way: The Space Zoom with 100x magnification remains.

Samsung also utilises the sensor surface and resolution for a "Night Portrait" mode with fivex zoom. While the hardware can capture more light, the image processing has also been improved so that good photos can be taken with the telephoto camera in the dark.

Independent of the camera, Samsung now wants to offer an HDR view in the preview of the S24 and not just in the gallery. This should also apply to apps and their cameras. With "Instant Slow Motion", every video can be played in slow motion, with an AI generating missing intermediate frames for smooth playback. The software also makes suggestions on how you can edit your photos.

Battery: only minor changes

There are no major changes to the batteries. The small Galaxy S24 gains 200 mAh to 4000 mAh. The larger S24 Plus has 100 mAh more and now offers 4900 mAh. The S24 Ultra remains at 5000 mAh. If there are any changes in the battery life, other factors are more likely to be responsible. But I don't expect any improvements. If there were any, Samsung would have advertised them.

There are no changes to the charging technology. As with the predecessor series, the Plus and Ultra variants of the Galaxy S24 accept up to 45 watts via cable. The basic model remains at 25 watts. When it comes to wireless charging, they support "Fast Wireless Charging 2.0", a standard that supported charging up to 15 watts even before Qi2.

Software: Seven happy years

Samsung delivers the Galaxy S24 with Android 14 and the One UI user interface. The most important announcement in this area, however, is that Samsung will provide the new smartphones with software and security updates for seven years. For the previous generation, this was only four and five years respectively. This means Samsung fulfils the EU's requirements and catches up with Google and Apple.

Under the label "Galaxy AI", Samsung also advertises various functions on its smartphones that an AI takes over for you. These are primarily in the field of voice. For example, it should be enough for an S24 to be involved in a conversation to translate it directly and live. However, Samsung has not yet specified the supported languages. This also applies to the translation of written texts using the Samsung keyboard. The recorder app should also be able to recognise voices and distinguish between them in the transcription. "Circle to Search" was developed together with Google. The function is designed to find things that you have highlighted on the display.

You can read more details about the new AI in the S24 in this article:

Price and availability

Samsung is offering the Galaxy S24 in four different colours - black, grey, purple and yellow - with the Ultra being subtly different from the other two models. Pre-orders are now possible and official sales will begin on 31 January 2024. In Switzerland, all three variants of the Galaxy S24 have become cheaper compared to the previous generation. In Germany, this applies to the standard and Plus models. They have become 50 euros cheaper, while the Ultra model is 50 euros more expensive.