Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Samsung Galaxy S24+
There is no uncertainty in our minds that the S24 Ultra is the ultimate Galaxy - that is, if we exclude the Fold from the conversation so as not to complicate things. But does everyone need the ultimate Galaxy? Perhaps the more ordinary Plus is all the Galaxy you'd ever have any use for, and spending the premium for an Ultra isn't entirely warranted. With that in mind, we set off to find out how the two stack up, hopefully saving you some money in the process - or, alternatively, convincing you to go Ultra.
Table of Contents:
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
A quick look at the numbers shows a somewhat significant difference in size and weight - the Ultra is nearly 40g heavier than the already not-particularly-light Plus. The Plus is also noticeably more compact, being almost a full millimeter thinner and 3 mil less wide - the height difference may not be as tangible, but the other metrics have an immediate impact on usability. So if you're after at least some semblance of pocketability, the Plus has an obvious advantage.
Samsung is deliberately differentiating the Ultra from the rest of the lineup in terms of design and build too. Although there are some common stylistic cues, the S24 Ultra and the S24 Plus take different paths, physically. The Ultra is clearly a Note descendant with a blocky body and sharp corners, which means business. On the other hand, the Plus maintains a slightly more fluid shape in the corners and has more of an everyday vibe.
There's a difference in materials, too, with the Ultra introducing titanium to the Galaxy universe, combined with Corning's latest Gorilla Armor glass on both sides, while the Plus is using the more mundane Armor aluminum and Gorilla Glass Victus 2. That would likely mean that the Ultra would be more durable in the long run, though it's not like the Plus is exactly fragile. Either way, you'd be getting an IP68-rated phone.
One of the major changes on this year's Ultra is the glass covering the display, and it's a two-fold development. On the one hand, it's now flat, as opposed to the curved-edge S23 Ultra. That means that both the S24 Ultra and the S24 Plus have flat panels on the front, so that's not going to be a deciding factor if you have strong feelings on the subject. The other aspect is that the Ultra's glass is less reflective, with opinions on the matter varying between 'okay, so what?' and 'that's the greatest thing ever'.
Display comparison
When it comes to display quality, there's sort of a major development on the Plus too - 1440p resolution returns to the large-sized 'regular' model after three generations of 1080p Pluses. Additionally, the 2024 Plus is also getting an LTPO panel with what is apparently the same level of adaptive refresh rate behavior as the Ultra. The 0.1-inch larger diagonal on the Ultra is then the only âsignificant" difference in display specs. Well, that and the glass reflectivity we mentioned above.
In our testing, the two phones posted similar results for brightness - around 1,450nits with adaptive brightness enabled and bright light shining into their ambient light sensors.
The HDR capabilities are identical - Dolby Vision is missing from the picture, but HDR10 and HDR10+ are covered. FullHD streaming of DRM-protected content is also possible thanks to the Widevine L1 support. Android 14's Ultra HDR standard for displaying photos online and in gallery apps also works on both phones.
The S24 Ultra's got a couple of peculiarities with its display that may or may not be a problem for you. One of them was the Ultra's relatively muted default 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 (which the Plus has also gotten, for good measure).
The other thing is the graininess that can be observed at low brightness levels - how irked you are by this will likely vary depending on how often you use your phone in dark environments. This imperfection is seemingly not present on the Plus - so, in at least this one way, the Plus' display is better? This feels wrong to write, but it would appear to be the case. Then again, the reflectivity argument does bring some balance into this category.
Battery life
In the matter of endurance, the two phones will likely give you similar mileage in trivial tasks like watching videos or browsing the web. In our testing, the Ultra was markedly better in gaming, though, and its call time was also longer.
An asterisk that needs to be pointed out here is that the Ultra uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset in all its regional varieties, while the Plus exists with either that same Snapdragon, or the Exynos 2400 chipset.
The Plus that we've tested has the Exynos, which could explain the difference in gaming endurance and call times (the two chipsets have a similar-grade CPU but a different modem and GPU). If you are coming from a region where the Snapdragon Plus Plus is offered, the two will probably have similar battery life.