Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
The ultimate smartphone got (predictably) even better this year - Samsung updated the Galaxy Ultra, giving the 2024 model a tweaked design with a tougher build, a superior display, and a new telephoto camera, and also some new AI-based features. But does all this make the Galaxy S24 Ultra the better buy when compared to the now heavily discounted S23 Ultra? We'll go over the usual categories to try to answer that.
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For starters, you can compare the complete specs sheets or directly continue with our editor's assessment in the following video or in the text further down below.
Size comparison
The two handsets are similar in size and overall presence, and they carry classic Galaxy Note traits - blocky rectangles with little to no rounding of the corners. That said, the new model takes this a step further by also removing whatever traces were still left from display curves - the S24 Ultra has a flat panel with all the benefits to usability and aftermarket protection you can think of.
Not that the 2024 Ultra should need further protection, though - it's got a sheet of the latest Corning Gorilla Armor on each side, and a titanium frame surrounds it, so logic points to it being tougher than the previous generation's Victus 2 + aluminum combo. Both phones are IP68 rated for up to 30 minutes under as much as 1.5m of water, so even if you opt for the S23 Ultra, you should be fine in this respect.
The dust and water resistance applies to the S Pen too, and both phones are equally well sealed with the stylus out of the silo too. The S Pen itself is also unchanged in its functionality or operation - nothing in it will make you want the S24 Ultra more than the previous model.
The new model is ever so slightly wider - perhaps as a result of the flattening of the display - and marginally thinner, but overall, it's more or less the same phone. A gram or two of weight difference will also not be felt. In any case, these are very large and quite heavy smartphones, and they make no excuses for it.
Display comparison
The S24 Ultra and S23 Ultra have very similar displays but are also somewhat different in a few ways. Both are 120Hz-capable adaptive refresh rate OLEDs with a 6.8-inch nominal diagonal and a 1440p resolution. Neither does Dolby Vision, but HDR10+ is on both spec sheets.
The S23 Ultra won't leave you wanting for brightness, with a 1,274nits result in our test, but the new model is brighter still, at 1,447nits. Samsung specifies peak brightness at 1,750nits on the old model and 2,600nits on the S24 Ultra.
The more significant differences lie elsewhere, though, and we already mentioned them in the previous section. The S24 Ultra benefits from Corning's latest advancements in glass technology and features a noticeably less reflective material - some consider it a game-changer, others just acknowledge without making a fuss. It may be worth checking it out in person before deciding, in case you end up in the first category. Try not to get us wrong - it's certainly great to have, and probably that's the way of the future, but the S23 Ultra isn't bad itself, simply for being a bit more reflective.
The other bit that deserves reiterating is that the new flat display and cover glass will be appreciated by all the vocal curved-screen opponents and even the curved-screen fans for whom the novelty has worn off. The flat glass also means easier application and a wider availability of third-party glass screen protectors, though that, in turn, will rob you of the reflectivity advancements.
It's not all roses with the S24 Ultra, and a few issues with its display quickly got illuminated once the phone started shipping in large numbers. One of them is the graininess that can be observed at low brightness levels (if you have the tools) and really more readily seen with the naked eye at minimum or very close to minimum brightness - and very dim or no ambient light to go with it. It's not a great feeling to have a flawed display in what should be the absolute best (non-bendy) Galaxy.
The other thing was the relatively muted color rendition, even in the Vivid color mode, though that has since been addressed with a firmware update and the inclusion of a Vividness slider.
Battery life
Both Galaxy Ultras are powered by 5,000mAh batteries - the Ultra didn't get a bump in capacity like both regular models did this year.
Even with the same capacity, the S24 Ultra showed improvements in all three of the routines that are carried out with the display on - tiny ones, but improvements nonetheless - while the call test result ended up being somewhat shorter. Overall, the new generation is slightly better in terms of endurance than the previous model, but the difference is hardly consequential and certainly not something that can help sway things in the S24 Ultra's favor.