Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S23 Ultra: Come what may

Introduction

As 2023 draws to a close, it’s time to take our eyes off Samsung’s great products. Galaxy S23 Ultra and towards what the glorious future has in store for us. And for Samsung, it’s definitely next Galaxy S24 Ultra flagship product, which will arrive very early in 2024, probably in mid-January.

There will be very noticeable changes with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which will aim to perfect the carefully crafted formula Samsung has been using since the Galaxy S22 Ultra. This would make the Galaxy S24 Ultra the third S Pen-wielding super-flagship in Samsung’s inventory, better than its predecessors in more ways than one.

But should you consider switching from Galaxy S23 Ultra? If cooler heads prevail, it would probably be wise not to upgrade, as the differences between such closely related device generations might not be that great. And yet, who can say that Galaxy S24 Ultra wouldn’t it be the hottest product on the market in 2024?

Galaxy S24 Ultra against Galaxy S23 Ultra expectations:

Titanium or aluminum design
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy vs. Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
Extremely bright screen of 2,500 nits versus 1,750 nits
New 50MP 5X telephoto lens vs 10MP 3X telephoto lens
Potentially a larger sensor for the 200 MP main camera

Contents:

Design and size

Don’t expect a lot of changes, but expect a few changes

Based on rumors, the Galaxy S24 Ultra Samsung will keep the same general design as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, so crush your expectations accordingly and expect a device that largely resembles its predecessor. This would lead to the same general dimensions of 162.3 × 79 × 8.6 mm on the Galaxy S24 Ultraas well as a weight of 233gr, a very slight improvement compared to Galaxy S23 Ultra.

How was Samsung able to achieve such a small weight reduction? Based on all the chatter on the internet, the cause of the slightly reduced weight could be the phone’s new titanium frame, which is lighter and generally sturdier than the phone’s so-called Armor Aluminum. Galaxy S23 Ultra. This move to a more premium material is closely reminiscent of what Apple did with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, although the latter has raised questions about whether titanium is even a suitable material for phones.

The back of the Galaxy S24 Ultra will still be glass, but the difference might be the even flatter side bezel, which might be the furthest Samsung has dared to surpass those curved side bezels it popularized in the mass market years ago. However, a very slight backward curvature would most likely be present, contributing to the grip and ergonomics of the phone.

There will always be an S Pen on the Galaxy S24 Ultrabut we don’t really expect anything new in terms of features or specifications compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Speaking of features that will persist, you can bet your entire net worth that IP68 water and dust resistance will make a return.

We don’t know what colors the Galaxy S24 Ultra could get in, but judging by the titanium iPhone 15 Pro Max, we wouldn’t bet on extremely bright or diverse colors to make the cut. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is available in lavender, cream, phantom black and green; there are a few other colors of the Galaxy S23 Ultra available exclusively on Samsung.com.

Display differences

A bright future ahead of us

THE Galaxy S24 Ultra will not change the essential display specifications and comes with a 6.8-inch LTPO OLED display with a dynamically switching refresh rate of 1-120Hz, which is smooth, vibrant and beautiful. These are essentially the same display specifications that were associated with the Galaxy S23 Ultraand things would have been calm

Things would have been calm Galaxy S24 Ultra the display front without the rumored extremely high peak brightness of >2,500 nits. After two years of lagging behind most competitors in maximum screen brightness, Samsung is finally ready to join the hot club. By the way, Google recently joined the 2,400 nits peak brightness on the Pixel 8 Pro, while Apple has been residing in above 2,000 nits territory for some time now.

We don’t anticipate any changes in the biometric department: an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanner will likely be the primary biometric unlock mechanism of choice on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Face unlock should also be in place, so generally no changes are expected from the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Performance and software

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Snapdragon

Despite all the noise that Samsung’s Exynos chip could be back on the menu with the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus in all regions other than the United States, the Galaxy S24 Ultra could escape this fate and come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 generation 3 for the Galaxy chipset worldwide.

Much like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Galaxy chip in the S23 Ultra, which was a slightly spicy version of the Snapdragon chip that most other Android flagships had, the Galaxy S24 Ultra might also get a slightly better Snapdragon out of the box.

THE Snapdragon 8 generation 3 for Galaxy is shaping up to be an octa-core affair consisting of a top-notch Cortex-X4 core running at 3.3 GHz, three high-performance Cortex-A720 cores at 3.15 GHz, dual Cortex-A720 clocked at 2.96 GHz and a dual-efficiency Cortex-A720. A520 cores humming at 2.27 GHz. The chipset will feature the Adreno 750 GPU, which is said to be around 50% faster than the previous generation Snapdragon, so much better.

In terms of storage and RAM, we expect things to remain largely unchanged: 8GB and 12GB of RAM on the Galaxy S24 Ultrawith 256GB of base storage, with 512GB and 1TB versions also available.

From a software point of view, the Galaxy S24 Ultra will likely ship with One UI 6 based on Android 14 and will be supported for at least four years. This now seems minimal given that Google just dropped a seven-year support bomb on the industry, with repercussions still unknown. Until Galaxy S23 Ultra is taken into account, it has three years of software support remaining and four years of security patches shipped.

Camera

Upgrades…or downgrades?

The camera situation with the Galaxy S24 Ultra is very unusual, with conflicting rumors blurring the lines regarding the telephoto/periscope situation.

Part of the blogosphere seems convinced that Galaxy S24 Ultra will abandon the ultra-long 10MP 10X periscope camera in favor of a new and improved 50MP 5X optical zoom telephoto lens, which will match the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Pixel 8 Pro in terms of long range optical quality. As a reminder, these two rivals have 5X telephoto cameras on the back.

Another set of rumors and insiders believe that it’s not the 10X periscope that’s being discontinued, but rather the 10MP 3X telephoto lens that’s being replaced by a 5X. The situation is a bit fuzzy, but both sides of the story make sense, so it’s quite intriguing to think about which version Samsung might choose.

The main camera of the Galaxy S24 Ultra will stick to 200MP, but could boast a slightly larger and/or improved sensor that will increase its imaging capabilities. Currently, no other major changes are expected for the ultra-wide and front cameras.

As a reminder, the Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with a 200MP F1.7 main camera, a 10MP 3X F2.4 telephoto lens, a 10MP 10X F4.9 periscope, and a 12MP ultra-wide camera, as well as a 12MP front-facing camera.

Audio and haptic quality

As the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung’s next flagship phone will almost certainly use a dual-speaker setup. If it’s anything like its predecessor, we’d be happy campers, like Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the best-sounding flagships of 2023.

The same goes for haptic feedback: Samsung has managed to master precise vibrations, which enrich the experience.

Battery life and charging

No change in battery size

If you were hoping Samsung could have pulled out a magic wand and magically enlarged the Galaxy S24 UltraIf the battery grows to larger proportions, then you’re out of luck. If rumors are to be believed, expect a 5,000mAh battery to make the rounds in the next Galaxy flagship, just as much as the battery in the Galaxy S23 Ultra. So don’t expect that Galaxy S24 Ultra last much longer than the Galaxy S23 Ultrawhich isn’t a bad thing at all: the latter isn’t too bad in terms of battery life.

In terms of charging, Samsung is most definitely sticking to 45W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, as well as reverse wireless charging that can charge your Galaxy Watch or earbuds.

Specification Comparison

	Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra	Galaxy S23 Ultra
Size weight	162.3 × 79 × 8.6mm, 233g	163.3 x 78 x 8.9mm, 234gr
Screen	6.8-inch OLED screen Dynamic 120 Hz 2,500 nits	6.8-inch OLED screen Dynamic 120 Hz 1,750 nits
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
RAM, storage	8/256 GB 16/512 GB 16/1 TB LPDDR5X	8/128 GB 8/256 GB 8/512 GB 8/1 TB LPDDR5
Cameras	200MP main 12MP ultra 10MP 5X Telephoto Lens 50MP 10x periscope 12MP front	200MP main 12MP ultra 10MP 3x telephoto lens 10MP 10X Periscope 12MP front
Battery	5000mAh	5000mAh
Loading	45W wired 15W wireless	45W wired 15W wireless

Summary

When it comes to breaking the status quo, the Galaxy S24 Ultra maybe that’s not it. The next Samsung phone will address the most important pillars of a great smartphone experience, offering better performance, a brighter screen and probably better zoom cameras, but the essence of Samsung’s big flagship, equipped with the S Pen, will remain largely unchanged.

And that’s very good: the Galaxy S23 Ultra is easily one of the best phones you can consider getting in 2023, so if the Galaxy S24 Ultra improve this in a reasonable way, everyone wins.

At the same time, if you throw a Galaxy S23 Ultrathere will likely be little reason to consider upgrading to the next device.