Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review | Geek Lifestyle

Samsung launched the Galaxy S24 Ultra in the Philippines earlier this year, and we recently tested it as a daily driver.

Last year, we got to try out the Galaxy S23 Ultra which proved to be an excellent top-of-the-line phone, albeit an incredibly expensive one. Now, Samsung has the S24 Ultra, the new highest-end Galaxy smartphone that promises to be even better than last year’s phone, even though they share mostly the same look.

Since the Note line was discontinued, the S Ultra phones have become the Note successors, and for the S24 Ultra, that is still the case. After all, this phone retains the rectangular design with sharp edges of the Note series, as well as the S Pen which continues to be a killer feature for many users who want a productivity device while on the go.

As the top-of-the-line phone in this year’s Galaxy lineup, the S24 Ultra does not come cheap. So is the phone worth its flagship price tag? Find out our thoughts in our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review!

Geek-sthetic

To start things off, let’s take a look at the S24 Ultra’s design. Compared to the S23 Ultra, this year’s model shares mostly the same look as both phones share camera layouts. Even going back to previous years, the S24 Ultra hasn’t changed that much as it still looks a lot like Samsung’s previous Galaxy Note phones.

Of course, the big change for the latest model is the fact that it’s made with titanium. More specifically, the phone’s exterior is made with titanium, and it is built right into the frame.

The titanium material is used in all of the phone’s colorways. Thus, all color options of the Galaxy S24 Ultra aren’t exactly the most eye-catching at first glance. After all, titanium just isn’t as shiny as other phones with glass backs that have unique color patterns and/or gradients.

Still, you won’t mistake the S24 Ultra for anything less than a flagship phone as it still looks premium. As always, the phone also feels great in the hand, so much so that it’ll be a shame to put a case on this.

If I were to use it as my new phone though, this is a phone that I would go caseless with. That’s thanks to the titanium exterior promising to be incredibly tough, not to mention how it feels quite grippy so it likely won’t slip out of your hands despite its size.

Moving to the front, we have the phone’s large 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 120 x 1440 (Quad HD+) resolution. Much like last year’s phone, this display has incredibly slim side bezels as well as a tiny holepunch notch at the top, making it look very much like a flagship.

As a bonus, the S24 Ultra’s screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Armor, meaning it should be more scratch-resistant than ever, so you should be able to forego a screen protector when using it.

Binge-Watching Factor

For the longest time, Samsung phones have been synonymous with impressive displays, and the S24 Ultra is no exception on paper as it has a large AMOLED screen with a 1440p resolution.

During our time with the phone, we tried watching all sorts of movies, TV shows, and anime. As always, we were impressed by the image quality on the display as the colors are vibrant, not to mention that there’s even more detail when watching high-resolution content thanks to the high resolution.

Audio-wise, we were also impressed by the phone’s stereo speakers. Samsung has not disappointed in this regard over the last few years, so we weren’t surprised that the S24 Ultra’s speakers are class-leading in terms of quality and volume. In fact, this is one of the few phones that you can have a pretty good (and not just okay or meh) experience when watching blockbuster movies. Though if you’re outside, headphones are a must as the people around you may not appreciate the S24 Ultra’s speakers the same way you do.

Gaming Performance

While Samsung went with Exynos for the base S24 and the S24+, the S24 Ultra packs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset that’s complemented by 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage.

With this setup, the Galaxy S24 Ultra can easily run today’s popular competitive multiplayer games at max or near-max settings, all while running them at well over 60Hz, meaning the high refresh rate display can be taken advantage of.

As for more demanding games like Genshin Impact, you may need to put the settings to Medium or High (not the highest) for the best experience. Even though the phone has a top-of-the-line SoC, the phone might not be as optimized as flagship gaming phones.

Still, the Galaxy S24 Ultra should satisfy most users who want to play while on the go, except maybe for those who want the absolute best gaming performance in the Android space.

Aside from its overall good gaming performance, the S24 Ultra also feels great to game on. Even though it’s a big device, playing games on it was quite comfortable. Of course, it’s on the heavier side, so this coupled with the large size means some users with smaller hands may not find it as comfortable to use for marathon gaming sessions. On the flip side, the phone didn’t get too hot while playing, at least in our time with it.

Geek Photoshoot Capabilities

Now we move on to the S24 Ultra’s cameras, always a highlight of any Galaxy S series device. For this year’s Ultra flagship, Samsung packed the phone with a 200MP main + 12MP ultrawide + 10MP 3x telephoto + 50MP 5x telephoto quadruple rear camera setup, as well as a 12MP front shooter.

This phone’s camera setup is similar to the S23 Ultra, though it sports a 50MP 5x telephoto instead of a 10MP 10x zoom camera. The S24 Ultra also promises to have better photos, especially at night thanks to the enhanced AI processing capabilities.

While the AI enhancements may seem like mere buzzwords, in our tests, the S24 Ultra’s photos do indeed look even better now, especially the zoomed-in shots.

To start though, above are sample photos in outdoor conditions with the 200MP main shooter. As expected, the photos are excellent in terms of detail and colors which are vibrant without being too unnatural. The image processing is also good enough that it can take high-quality photos even when shooting against the light (as proven by the first photo in the album above).

The image quality is also great at night, especially when using the camera app’s Night Mode. While the samples above seem bright, many of the shots here are taken in very low light, so these results are excellent. Though even if you just use Auto Mode, you’ll still get great shots.

The phone’s ultrawide camera also doesn’t disappoint, with images being detailed and sharp, even at night. As with most Samsung phones though, the ultrawide is noticeably wider than in other phones, meaning you get some sort of fish-eye effect in the corners in some shots.

Now, the most impressive thing about the S24 Ultra’s camera setup is the two telephoto shooters. Here’s a sample of 1x up to 5x zoom:

What makes these shots impressive is that this is taken through a plane window while the subject is moving. Even with the movement, the phone is still able to capture quality photos that retain a lot of detail, even when zoomed in.

When you push the camera to the 100x zoom level, here’s what you get:

Realistically, most flagships can only offer good quality photos at up to 10x zoom, but thanks to the phone’s cameras and its image processing capabilities, even 30x zoom shots in daylight look detailed. In fact, you can still make out some specific details in the 100x zoom shots.

Looking at just the 3x zoom samples, the phone’s 3x telephoto camera takes great shots. Even at night, a lot of detail is retained all while having fairly accurate colors.

The same can be said for the 5x telephoto shooter as there’s little to no perceivable loss in quality. Plus, even 10x zoom shots have lots of detail as shown in the picture of the heron above.

Finally, the S24 Ultra’s selfie shooter is great for all sorts of lighting conditions. It’s also one of the few phones that can take selfies that aren’t overly filtered, even without fiddling with AI beautification settings.

Everyday Reliability

Aside from its cameras, Samsung packed the Galaxy S24 Ultra with a bunch of AI features for everyday use, including nifty tools like Live Translate and a notes summary features, among others.

As I was able to take the phone on a trip, I tried out its translation feature which worked well enough. Its other features like Chat Assist are also nice to have. This means users can enjoy these AI features, though personally, I still prefer Google Translate and other software solutions.

One feature I did like is the Circle to Search feature which is powered by Google as it lets you search by simply encircling a phrase or an image with the S Pen. I found it to be quite useful at times as I didn’t need to type anything when I wanted to search for something in an image.

The AI features are nice to have, but what made this phone a great daily driver is its great performance. Aside from being a good gaming partner, the S24 Ultra also performed well for everyday use, as expected for a top-of-the-line flagship. On top of being fast and snappy, it should have enough power to run more creative apps for content creation.

As for battery life, the phone’s 5,000mAh battery means it can easily last for a day of use with ease. In fact, you can get around 2 days of use if you’re not a heavy user. In our time with it, the phone averages around a day and a half on a single charge.

When it comes to charging though, it only has support for up to 45W. This is slower than many Android phones, though it is faster than the iPhone, its main competitor.

AI is the big draw of the S24 series, but for us, the S Pen continues to be the killer feature of the S24 Ultra. Personally, I’m not much of a stylus person, but there are users who would no doubt love the added features along with the creativity options that one can unlock with an S Pen. After all, the S24 Ultra remains to be one of the few flagship phones that comes with a stylus that you can use to jot down notes or even draw some sketches.

Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict

Samsung once again has a top-notch flagship on its hands with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Even though it looks similar to previous Ultra devices, this phone packs enough new features that make it a compelling upgrade. These include the titanium build, new processor, and enhanced image processing for even better photos.

Much like last year’s model, the S24 Ultra has no real weaknesses based on our time with it. The only real consideration is the price tag. Starting at PHP 84,990, the S24 Ultra is a major investment for many users.

Is it worth the price tag? Well, if you truly want a spare-no-expense flagship or are a loyal S Pen devotee, the S24 Ultra is a compelling upgrade if you’re willing to shell out some serious dough.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra specs:

• 6.7-inch (1080 x 2412) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor
• Adreno 750 GPU
• IP68 dust/water resistant
• 12GB RAM
• 256GB/512GB/1TB storage
• Rear cameras: 200MP main + 12MP ultrawide + 10MP 3x telephoto + 50MP 5x telephoto quadruple rear camera setup
• Front camera: 12MP
• 5G, LTE
• Under Display Fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, 5.3, A2DP, LE
• 5000mAh battery with 45W wired Fast charging, 15W wireless charging, 4.5W reverse wireless charging
• Android 14, One UI 6.1
• Prices:
  • PHP 84,990 (12GB + 256GB)
  • PHP 92,990 (12GB + 512GB)
  • PHP 106,990 (12GB + 1TB)