Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review: N.A.I.LED it

Samsung is a giant in the ever-evolving smartphone industry, be it in India or global. Keeping up with the trend and often driving innovation has been well within Samsung's area of expertise. The term AI has been associated with smartphones for some time, but its full potential hasn't been fully realized until now, with Samsung's Galaxy S24 series. AI is an important part of Samsung's 2024 flagship series, but not the driving force behind it. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, the most premium and expensive flagship in the lineup, shines in numerous aspects.

Samsung sent us the Galaxy S24 Ultra in Titanium Grey, which is the hot colour by the way. The variant we received is the base model, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, priced at Rs 1,29,999. There are two other models costing an extra Rs 30,000, but you get up to 1TB storage. Titanium Black or even the Titanium Violet may appeal to some, but the Titanium Grey in its natural hue, has a different appeal. It's following the color trend set by Apple with its iPhone 15 Pro Max. 2024 will likely be flooded with titanium shade phones and considering the big-two have already gotten onboard.

Key specs:

1. Display: 6.8-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED with 2,600 nits peak brightness
2. CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy
3. RAM: 12GB
4. Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB
5. OS: Android 14 based OneUI 6 (7 years of upgrades promised)
6. Main camera: 200MP f/1.7 + 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide + 50MP f/3.4 5x periscope + 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto
7. Front camera: 12MP f/2.2
8. Battery: 5,000mAh with 45W wired charging support, 15W wireless
9. Colours: Titanium Gray, Titanium Violet, Titanium Black, Titanium Yellow, Titanium Orange, Titanium Blue and Titanium Green.
10. Price: Rs 1,29,999 / Rs 1,39,999 / Rs 1,59,999

Note: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra we tested ran OneUI 6.1. There have been no updates during the course of testing the device.

Impressions

In the ever-evolving landscape of smartphones, where each iteration promises to outdo its predecessor, Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra is a beacon of innovation and refinement. With a prime focus on user experience and technological advancement, this flagship device sets new standards across various aspects, making it a formidable contender in the market. Let's delve into the specifics.

Design

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra looks a lot identical to last year's S23 Ultra, but it's already too good a design to mess it over in the name of forced change. Samsung had to make a tough call here and stuck with the best option. Just because it looks the same at a glance doesn't make it so. There are certain nuances—meaningful ones—that elevate the phone's aesthetic appeal.

Yes, it is still a bulky piece of hardware, but Samsung got rid of the curved display and went with a flat one, which looks fantastic and is great to hold as well. There's titanium construction at the centre to make the phone sturdier than ever. The glass back looks elegant and premium, complete with its metallic paint to add a layer of sophistication and depth.

Furthermore, beauty lies in the details.. The natural titanium grey on the back extends to the frame in a complimenting tone. The frame of the phone has flat base and top, but the sides are subtly curved to offer better grip. The S-Pen is safely tucked inside its silo, and with one soft push, it can be ejected. The S-Pen has one physical button to control functions. Even the S-Pen shade matches that of the titanium grey, which adds to the appeal. The rich black display glass compliments the grey so well. Adding a final touch to the aesthetic appeal of the phone is the shining steel ring around the floating camera lenses.

Overall, the Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn't bring any revolutionary design overhauls, but meaningful changes like a flat display and titanium construction are worthy upgrades.

Display

At the front of the Galaxy S24 Ultra is a stunning 6.8-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED display. It boasts a 120Hz refresh rate and support for HDR10+ for an immersive visual experience with vibrant colors and deep contrasts. With a peak brightness of 2,600 nits, outdoor visibility even in bright sunlight is excellent. But that's not the best part. The Galaxy S24 Ultra has an anti-glare coating, which drastically minimizes reflections for enhanced viewing comfort. The difference between the S24 Ultra and any other flagship when compared side by side is striking. Every other OEM must take note, though it's important to ensure the anti-glare coating doesn't fade with use.

In order to enhance the viewing experience, the smartphone also gets effective adaptive brightness and color tone adjustments based on ambient lighting conditions, and it works consistently across various environments.

To test this, I re-watched Game of Thrones during my flights from Bengaluru to Delhi, Mumbai, and back. For those who've watched, there are plenty of dark scenes in the series, and I had no trouble viewing, even with the plane's ambient lighting. The anti-reflective coating performs as advertised and is highly effective. I want to see this feature on all smartphones, particularly flagships, in 2024.

In terms of display quality, it's undoubtedly the best out there. Samsung has time and again proven its mettle with display quality, and this year's flagship doesn't stray.

Camera

One of the biggest highlights of the Galaxy S24 Ultra is its camera system. Equipped with a 200MP primary camera, a 10MP 3X telephoto lens, and a 12MP ultrawide lens, the flagship offers versatility for capturing a wide range of subjects and scenarios.

Looking at the specs, one might wonder the reason behind the reduction in optical zoom from 10X to 5X, but the 50MP 5X telephoto lens maintains image quality and resolution, which is definitely an upgrade. The Galaxy S24 Ultra excels in long-range zoom shots, with improved color accuracy and dynamic range compared to its predecessor.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra was already a great camera phone, but there are some improvements, like zooming capabilities, where the S24 Ultra outdoes any flagship in the market currently. Even with 5X, 10X and 20X zoom, the images are appearing more crisp and and natural than before. For instance, we could zoom into the UB City tower and Vidhana Soudha, and the results are so much better than any phone we've tested in the past. Both the shots were taken in sunlight, so the results were naturally better. But then, even low-light shots picked up great details and colours, though Samsung's post processing in low-light shots gives a sense of artificial touch to the sky as it appears bluer than it is. But the processing of images has improved significantly, appearing more on the natural side.

Low-light and tricky ambient lighting can prove a challenge in some cases, as the phone produces mixed results. In some shots, the white balance was off, which was the case only in low-light and not a repeated instance. It appears to be a software issue, considering the hardware is capable of getting the right details. These issues can be fixed with an OTA update, and one is likely already on its way, so buckle up.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra excels in portraits and macro. I shot a curious grasshopper, and both the video and stills came out really nice. The natural bokeh in macro mode adds good depth to the shots, even in the case of a moving subject. It's quite common for subjects to get out of focus when the frame changes, but Samsung sadly doesn't let you refocus in the editing app. For that, you need another app like the Galaxy Enhance-X editor.

We also shot an interview on the Galaxy S24 Ultra in UHD, and the output was excellent. We used the Portrait Video mode to add the depth effect. But the phone couldn't lock in on the subject as well as an iPhone 15 Pro Max with its Cinematic Mode. The bokeh was all over the place. Shooting in regular video mode in 4K produces much better results. The optical image stabilisation is among the best, as the videos are really stable, even without action mode.

Any shortcomings are made up for in the S24 Ultra with the plethora of AI features. This is the most fun I've had with a Samsung flagship, nay, any flagship, while using the AI features. I could shrink my cousins, make them fly or jump higher with a simple outlining, or even remove reflections for a clearer photo. The AI did most of the work, although it took its time with an active internet connection. Besides being able to make memes, the ability to edit videos and make a portion of the video in slow-motion is really cool. Quite often, I wish a video could be cooler in slow-motion after shooting in regular mode. That changes now.

Samsung has implemented AI in its S24 series in a practical sense. It's a wonderful start to what could be an interesting AI integration into smartphones. Oh, Samsung does add a watermark for AI-edited photos, which can be easily cropped out, but way to go on the ethics.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a fantastic camera smartphone, and the incredible AI features are fun to use. The actual hardware can produce a great level of detail in photos while retaining their natural hues and offering excellent dynamic range. A few hits and misses can be fixed with an OTA, but Samsung has got most of it right with the S24 Ultra's camera.

Check out some samples below:

Performance and battery life

Under the hood, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm's latest chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy. The chipset itself packs unprecedented power and fine-tuned for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, so it can do things with such ease. Be it seamless multitasking, gaming, and content creation experiences, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra does it without breaking a sweat. Playing high graphics games did not show any signs of struggle. Multi-tasking was done with great ease. Social media browsing was absolutely smooth, courtesy of the 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. 

The advanced AI features enhance productivity and efficiency. Circle to Search proved to be quite useful as it delivered accurate results. The Interpreter can really be a boon during foreign or cross-state travel, but you need an active internet connection, and we did notice some inaccuracies in translating from English to Kannada and Hindi. So expect some level of inaccuracies, as certain meanings can be lost in translations.

I found Chat Assist quite useful, as it is seamlessly integrated into the Samsung Keyboard, making chats fun and engaging. I think each and every AI feature that Samsung has embedded in the S24 Ultra is carefully crafted to meet the masses' needs.

What's worth noting is the fine print stating that one day the AI features may be monetized. I'm not sure how many will be willing to pay for it or if Samsung will even start charging its users for these features. Only time will tell.

Another key USP that is hidden from plain sight is the S-Pen. I cannot stress enough how useful this tiny stylus is in day-to-day operations. Not just for taking notes, but the S-Pen also comes in handy while editing photos with Adobe Lightroom. The precision it offers is unparalleled, and it is the one feature that sets the S24 Ultra apart from other flagships.

With great power comes great responsibility. Samsung knows that too well. Despite offering robust performance, the Galaxy S24 Ultra stands tall with outstanding battery life, lasting over 16 hours in rigorous usage. Now, when you pair that optimized power management with fast charging capabilities, you get extended usage with no compromise on convenience. If reliable battery life is your top priority in a flagship smartphone, look no further than the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

The S24 Ultra's 5,000mAh battery refuses to die. Setting the display to FHD+ resolution and in its Adaptive setting, the S24 Ultra lasted a whole day with mixed usage. Its impressive considering the battery size hasn't increased from last year's model. With heavy gaming, hotspot use, GPS and camera shooting, the S24 Ultra still manages impressive stats. Getting 8+ hours of screen time on a daily average with the specs that the S24 Ultra packs is no joke.

When it comes to charging, it takes a little over an hour to fully charge the S24 Ultra with a 25W PD, which is still faster than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but falls behind the likes of OnePlus 12. It's not too bad, but definitely needs improvement. For those who fancy wireless charging, it supports at 15W. But there's 4.5W reverse wireless charging to rescue your friends.

Software

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra's hardware may be top-notch, but the software experience is still imperfect. The One UI interface, despite being feature-rich, can be overwhelming at times. We say this because there are many options and menus that are unnecessarily complicated. But OneUI has surely come a long way through a series of iterations. The biggest update has to be the integration of AI features. At least, they have been simplified for users, as they can be accessed a lot easier than certain features buried under the settings menu. With some level of streamlining, Samsung can easily fix the UI.

But if you keep that aside, the snappiness and efficiency of the OneUI is remarkable. Since Samsung offers uniformity across all devices, people upgrading to the S24 Ultra will be welcomed by a familiar interface, not having to go through the struggle of learning new settings or gestures. Of course, additional features require a different approach, but that's the case with any phone.

But the best part about Samsung's software promise is that the S24 Ultra gets 7 years of support, which is crazy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra upholds the brand's commitment to innovation and excellence in smartphone technology. With a solid camera setup, unmatched display, robust performance, and exceptional battery life, the device offers a compelling proposition for anyone looking for that ultimate smartphone experience.

If nitpicked, the software-related challenges and camera performance in low light can be a spoilsport, it's nothing Samsung cannot fix in the next software cycle.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra's practical AI features redefine smartphone use, making communication smarter in a new and meaningful way. Even without the flashy AI features, the S24 Ultra is a solid smartphone that is a marked improvement and scores impressively. I think Samsung has really N.A.I.LED it with an obvious emphasis on the AI.

Pros

• Plethora of AI & productivity features
• Incredible performance and really long battery life
• The display is the best
• Cameras are excellent
• The S Pen is standout USP

Cons

• Still bulky
• Pricey
• Software navigation can be complicated at times