Samsung’s Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra are both fantastic smartphones, but which should you actually spend your hard-earned cash on?
That’s a hard question to answer on the surface; the Galaxy S24 is a pocketable flagship that’s way more affordable than the S24 Ultra, but on the flip side, the S24 Ultra offers a bigger, better screen, better camera performance and longer battery life, though for a much higher price.
We’ve reviewed both the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and here’s how the two compare in our experience.
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Spec comparison
Pricing
The Samsung Galaxy S24 is the entry-level in Samsung’s flagship range, making it the more affordable of the two smartphones at £799/$799. That’ll net you a combination of 128GB of storage and 8GB RAM, with higher storage options available at additional cost.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, on the other hand, is Samsung’s top-end flagship, and its £1,249/$1,299 price tag reflects this. For the price, you do get a boosted 256GB and 12GB of RAM, and you can get up to 1TB of storage if you want to pay a little more.
However, as both flagships are nearing their first birthday, you can often find them at a discount – especially during big shopping events like Black Friday.
Design
- Galaxy S24 Ultra is curvier than the relatively flat S24
- Galaxy S24 Ultra has the S Pen
- Galaxy S24 is way more compact
Despite being from the same range, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra looks quite different from the regular Galaxy S24.
The regular Samsung Galaxy S24, aside from being much more compact than the S24 Ultra with a 6.2-inch screen, offers a design not too dissimilar from the likes of the iPhone 16, complete with a flat-screen, flat edges and rounded corners.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra, on the other hand, has a slightly curvier design with rounded edges and pointed, almost sharp, corners, reminiscent of Samsung’s Galaxy Note range – and even comes with a built-in S Pen to boot. That’s the only model of the S24 range to do so.
Interestingly, despite its curvy design, the S24 Ultra has a completely flat display for the first time in quite a few years, with our reviewer commenting that “while it might not sound like a big change, it makes a big impact on the look and feel of the phone”.
The S24 Ultra also makes the jump from aluminium to titanium for its frame, while the S24 stays with the same aluminium frame, though our reviewer wasn’t “in the slightest bit fussed” that the regular model didn’t feature titanium. Unlike Apple’s transition to titanium which delivered a much lighter phone, the S24 Ultra still weighs a similar amount to its predecessor.
The two do look similar when flipped over, sporting a rather minimalistic design on the rear with cameras aligned in the top-left corner, though again, the S24 Ultra bests the S24 with way more camera sensors on its rear – but more on that in a bit.
The S24 is available in more vibrant colour options including Cobalt Violet and Jade Green while the S24 Ultra has tamer options like Titanium Grey and Titanium Gray.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Screen
- Both have flat screens
- The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a higher-res screen
- The Galaxy S24 Ultra has slimmer bezels and an anti-reflective coating
Screen size, in particular, is probably the most obvious difference between the Galaxy S24 and the S24 Ultra at a glance. The regular Galaxy S24 measures in at a relatively compact 6.2 inches, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra comes in at a much larger 6.82 inches – though that’s hardly the only difference when it comes to display tech.
While both offer the same Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen tech, complete with LTPO tech for more battery-efficient screen performance, the S24 offers an FHD+ resolution compared to the QHD+ resolution on offer from the S24 Ultra. The S24 Ultra also comes with slimmer bezels and an anti-reflective coating that makes all the difference in everyday use, especially in brighter environments.
Beyond specs, our reviewer felt that the S24 Ultra’s display was “stunning in everyday use” with crisp visuals, vibrant colours and a buttery smooth screen experience, while the shift from a curved to a flat screen was also appreciated, helping make the phone “feel completely different and more complete than its predecessor”.
The S24’s flat screen isn’t quite as capable, though the slightly bigger screen (6.2 compared to 6.1 inches of its predecessor) and thinner bezels did “make for an overall better experience”. It is way more pocketable, however, making it way easier to hold and use one-handed compared to the huge screen on offer from the S24 Ultra.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Camera
- S24 camera setup remains unchanged for a few years
- S24 Ultra offers a way more versatile shooting experience
- S24 Ultra captures some of the best photos of any 2024 flagship
If there’s one key area of differentiation between the two Samsung flagships beyond screen tech, it’s camera prowess. The Samsung Galaxy S24 has a respectable combination of a 50MP main camera, a 10MP 3x telephoto and a 12MP ultrawide, though that remains unchanged since the Samsung Galaxy S22, let alone S23.
Our reviewer noted that “phones available at only slightly higher prices, like the Pixel 8 Pro and OnePlus 12, offer far more complete camera systems and superior results” – though that’s not to say that the performance is terrible. The S24 is perfectly capable of producing some nice-looking shots, even in low light, but the competition has far outpaced the regular S24.
The same can’t be said for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, though.
Not only does it have a much higher resolution 200MP main camera, but it also offers an upgraded 12MP ultrawide, a 10MP 3x telephoto and a 50MP 5x periscope lens. That results in a much more versatile camera experience, covering everything from 0.5x to 10x using in-sensor zoom, with 100x digital zoom also available for those classic Samsung moon shots.
Our reviewer found that the Galaxy S24 Ultra “delivered some of the best results around”, allowing you to “capture a stunning shot with little effort, with images usually packed with detail, vibrant colours and exceptional dynamic range”.
In fact, it’s one of the best camera systems of any smartphone in 2024, making it a clear winner compared to the regular S24’s comparatively underwhelming offering.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Performance
- Samsung Galaxy S24 chipset depends on your region
- Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra offers top-end performance
- Regular S24 can get hot when playing games
Performance is a key area of differentiation between the Samsung Galaxy S24 and the S24 Ultra – though it depends on where in the world you are.
In the US and select other regions, the Samsung Galaxy S24 runs the same flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 as the S24 Ultra, but in most of the world, the regular S24 gets Samsung’s home-grown Exynos 2400. That’s paired with 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage.
Samsung claimed that the Exynos 2400-equipped smartphone performed the same as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 variant, but we tested both and proved that it really isn’t the case, with the Snapdragon chipset beating the Exynos variant in key benchmark tests.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, on the other hand, comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 worldwide, alongside 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. The phone performed incredibly well in benchmark testing, with the phone able to compete with performance-focused flagships like the ROG Phone 8 Pro.
Benchmark scores aside, the everyday performance feels pretty consistent among the two smartphones. Both offer rapid performance with no noticeable lag or stutter, though the smaller dimensions of the Exynos 2400-equipped S24 meant it got hot way quicker than the larger S24 Ultra when playing demanding games like Call of Duty Mobile.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Software
- OneUI 6 based on Android 14
- Galaxy AI smarts
- Software experience is consistent among the two
One area where the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the regular S24 are consistent is in the software department; both sport the same OneUI 6 based on Android 14, and both come complete with an extensive suite of GenAI tools under the Galaxy AI umbrella.
That includes handy features like the ability to translate in real time, even in phone calls, along with a bevvy of image editing tools, transcription and summarisation in the Recorder app and much more. Importantly, there aren’t any AI tools exclusive to the high-end S24 Ultra.
On Galaxy AI, our reviewer noted that “It may not be the AI-powered phone of the future, but these are exciting first steps, and Samsung remains one of few manufacturers to truly make use of generative AI at an OS level.”
Elsewhere, both the Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra sport the same stylised version of Android 14 in the form of OneUI 6, complete with a bevvy of Samsung-branded apps. What’s more, they both get the same industry-leading seven years of OS upgrades, so the software experience should continue to improve over time.
Winner: Tie
Battery
- Galaxy S24 Ultra can confidently last over a day
- Get around a day’s usage from the Galaxy S24
- Both take around 90 minutes to recharge
When it comes to battery life, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and its 5000mAh battery can outlast the 4000mAh alternative within the more compact Samsung Galaxy S24 – especially if you’re using an Exynos variant of the regular Galaxy S24.
With the smaller Samsung Galaxy S24, our reviewer noted that the 4000mAh cell, combined with the FHD+ resolution of the screen, meant that the S24 could generally last all day, though it’s certainly not a two-day device, finishing most days with 20-30% in the tank or a little less if used more than normal.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra fared better in testing, with our reviewer successfully getting through the day without scrambling for the charger, even on more demanding days, with the potential for two full days of use if you’re using the phone a little less.
Interestingly, despite the disparity in battery capacity, the S24 and S24 Ultra both take a similar amount of time to fully recharge – around the 90-minute mark.
That’s down to the fact that the regular S24 has slower 25W charging than the 45W of the S24 Ultra, though neither can really be described as fast when alternatives like the OnePlus 12 gets a full charge in just 26 minutes.
It’s also worth noting that neither smartphone comes with a charging brick, so you’ll have to invest in a 25- or 45W USB-C charger to achieve the best possible charge speeds for either smartphone. Both also support wireless charging, though again, you’ll need to invest in a wireless charger separately to take advantage.
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Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Verdict
Whether the Galaxy S24 or S24 Ultra is better for you is largely down to personal preference; the S24 Ultra is easily the more capable of the two with a bigger, better screen, more versatile cameras, better performance and longer battery life, but it’s also £450/$500 more than the regular S24.
The regular Galaxy S24 also has a lot going for it; it’s way more compact than the S24 Ultra while offering the same core experience, including the full suite of Galaxy AI tools, and it’s way more affordable too.
However, both are nearing their first birthday and, as such, may be found at a significant discount which could also sway your vote.