The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is the phone you don't think you need until you want it.
At first glance, it's too large. But then you use it, feel it in your hands, watch content on its gorgeous bright screen and wonder (funds allowing) how long it would take to arrive if you order one online now.
Compared to previous iterations of the Galaxy phones, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is just unnoticeably lighter. Samsung has changed the metal frame from aluminium to titanium. And made the bezel slightly thinner. These changes make it feel nice and fit comfortably on your hands (if you don't have extremely small hands).
Looking at it from the front, it does look a bit square, but sideways, you see nice, gentle curves. The 6.8-inch AMOLED screen is flat, and with 2,600-nit brightness, it is the perfect content-watching platform, with the excuse of being a great workspace.
Powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform, with 12 GB RAM and 512 GB storage (with a 1 TB option), the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a workhorse. It’s got the power for that, and if you plug it into an external monitor through its USB-C port, you have a very good desktop experience with multiple windows to work on.
It’s also a mean content creation machine – its camera with up to 200 megapixels is a marvel. Photos are nice and crisp, even at a distance. While there's a 5x optical zoom, you can achieve up to 100x zoom and get quality photos, thanks to some good stabilisation. You can compare photos at different distances by following the links I posted here.
It runs One UI 6 (Samsung's take on Android 14) out of the box and has already received some updates. Thanks to Samsung's expanding upgrades policy, it should receive operating system upgrades for the next seven years.
A huge 5,000 mAh battery gives it plenty of power to last a full day of normal use and a 45W wired charging capacity means a short charge time can get you back up quickly – and even more convenient with its wireless charging capability.
The most impressive features are artificial intelligence (AI)-based. You find intelligent translation tools and productivity that allow you to translate messages automatically, voice calls and even in-person conversations.
Image editing tools are also AI-powered and impressive. You can select an area on any image and delete it or move it around. At the same time, the tool will automatically generate a background to fill any empty spaces, making it ideal for content editing right on your phone while your ideas are fresh in your mind.
The Samsung Galaxy S24Plus is one of the first phones to incorporate Google's new Circle to Search feature. With this feature, you highlight a part of your screen, and Google will provide information about it—for example, an outfit, a new pair of glasses, or some food. You no longer need to write words to describe what you want to search for.
With time, some of these features will be incorporated into other phones. But you can get ahead of the pack now if you are willing to pay the premium for this top-of-the-line phone.
