Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: is bigger better?

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra are members of the same 2024 flagship smartphone family, but they look and feel surprisingly different. So which of these two phones is the best for you?

Having posted our reviews and spent a fair amount of time with both phones, we think we’re in a pretty good position to help you decide. While we have a definitive answer for which phone is objectively the better of the two, we also have a few noteworthy caveats to consider depending on your specific tastes and needs.

While one phone clearly outperforms the other by all key metrics, there are a couple of trade-offs to consider before you hit that ‘Buy’ button. Indeed, we would go so far as to suggest that the best phone here isn’t in fact the best for most people.

Before we dive in that particular conundrum, allow us to present you with the spec lists for the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: specs comparison

Here's an overview of how the Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S24 Ultra match up, spec for spec. As you can see, there are a surprising number of contrasting elements to consider.

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: price and availability

Samsung announced both the Galaxy S24 and the Galaxy S24 Ultra on January 17, 2024, and they hit shops just a week later on January 24.

Pricing for the Galaxy S24 starts from $799 / £799 / AU$1,399 for the 128GB, moving up to $859 / £859 / AU$1,399 for 256GB. Australians also get a 512GB model for AU $1,599. That’s all more or less in line with the Galaxy S23 before it.

Conversely, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has received a bit of a price bump from the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It’ll set you back at least $1,299.99 / £1,249 / AU$2,199 for the 256GB model, moving up to $1,419.99 / £1,349 / AU$2,399 for 512GB and $1,659.99 / £1,549 / AU$2,799 for 1TB.

There’s a significant $500 / £450 / AU$800 price difference between these two phones. That’s something that’s worth keeping in mind as we run through the rest of these comparisons.

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: design and display

The Galaxy Ultra line has been on its own separate design path for some time now, and this year’s model is no different. The Galaxy S24 is a smaller device with rounded corners, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra is huge and pointed. The Ultra is a good 15mm taller, 8mm wider, and 1mm thicker. It also weighs 65g more, which is a big difference.

This means that only the Galaxy S24 can be used one-handed. The Galaxy S24 Ultra demands all of your attention and both of your hands, as befits its power-user focus.

Both of these phones look quite a lot like their predecessors, albeit with some notable tweaks. The Galaxy S24 this year loses the curved rim for a flatter aluminum finish, making it look rather like the iPhone 15. The Galaxy S24 Ultra, meanwhile, switches to a new, more premium titanium alloy material for its frame, but otherwise essentially retains the look of previous Ultra phones. That means a flat top and bottom edge, but subtly rounded sides.

Besides having a tougher frame, the Galaxy S24 Ultra also features Gorilla Armor glass, which is more scratch-resistant than the Galaxy S24’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Both phones are IP68 rated though, which means they’re equally dust and water-resistant.

The Galaxy S24 benefits from reduced screen bezel sizes, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra has lost any sense of curvature and has completely flattened out its display.

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On the color front, the Samsung Galaxy S24 comes in Onyx Black, Marble Grey, Cobalt Violet, Amber Yellow, Jade Green, Sandstone Orange, Sapphire Blue. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24 Ultra leans into its new rugged material with Titanium Black, Titanium Gray, Titanium Violet, Titanium Yellow, Titanium Blue, Titanium Green, and Titanium Orange options.

One other major design difference, of course, is the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s bundled-in S Pen stylus. It continues to be a powerful tool for both productivity and artistic output, and it’s something you don’t get with the Galaxy S24.

What with the huge size difference, it should come as no surprise to learn that the Galaxy S24 Ultra display is much bigger than its sibling’s, though that gap has narrowed slightly. The Galaxy S24 screen has increased a little to 6.2-inches (up from 6.1-inches), while the Galaxy S24 Ultra screen has held fast at 6.8-inches.

There’s a considerable resolution disparity here, with the Galaxy S24 going with FHD+ and the Ultra model maxing out at QHD+. The smaller size of the Galaxy S24 screen helps negate that advantage, though.

Both screens can get to 2,600 nits in peak scenarios, which is extremely bright. The Galaxy S24 display has also closed the gap on the Galaxy S24 Ultra in offering LTPO panel technology, meaning it can scale between a 1 and 120Hz refresh rate as necessary, making it more energy-efficient.

Ultimately, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has what could be the best display of any phone on the market. It comfortably wins this round against its (still impressive) little brother on size and sharpness alone.

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: cameras

There’s really no contest when it comes to camera quality, with the Galaxy S24 Ultra beating the Galaxy S24 in almost every single department. The Ultra has four cameras to the S24’s three, for a start, with an extra 50MP 5x telephoto providing far greater zoom flexibility.

With the Galaxy S24, you’re getting a 1/1.56" 50MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP 3x telephoto.

As for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, you’re getting a significantly larger and sharper 1/1.3" 200MP main sensor, a similar-looking 12MP ultra-wide camera, a larger 10MP 3x telephoto, and an all-new 50MP 5x periscope telephoto. 

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra camera samples:

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This translates to better 1x shots in all lighting conditions, with superior detail, exposure and contrast. But the main deal here is those zoomed shots, where the Galaxy S24 Ultra beats every other phone on the market. We even got half-usable shots at around 25x using Samsung’s peerless hybrid zoom technique.

Both phone camera systems give you a bevy of AI-assisted features. Samsung’s Generative Edit AI features let you resize and move objects in your image, or even completely change the background depending on the context of the shot. The Samsung Gallery app will also suggest smart photo edits, such as removing reflections.

Samsung Galaxy S24 camera samples:

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All in all, both of these phones shoot vibrant photos in most lighting conditions, and they pack the same level of AI editing smarts. But the Galaxy S24 Ultra takes flat-out superior shots, especially in more challenging lighting conditions, and it can also snag you the best zoomed-in shots around.

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: performance and software

This is an interesting area of comparison. If you’re in the US, Canada, or China, performance is broadly similar between these two phones. They have the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, and only the Ultra model’s 12GB of RAM (vs 8GB in the S24) makes any sort of difference. 

We found both of these models to be extremely rapid, even beating the mighty iPhone 15 Pro Max in many respects. In both cases you can run high-end games at maximum graphical settings with rock solid 60 frames-per-second frame rates, run multiple windows in Samsung DeX, and watch your photo edits happen in real-time in Adobe Lightroom.

However, if you’re anywhere else in the world, the Galaxy S24 Ultra holds a clear performance advantage. This is because Samsung has opted to supply its own Exynos 2400 processor for the so-called international model of the Galaxy S24. It has stuck with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on the international model.

As numerous benchmark tests have shown, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has a clear performance advantage over the Exynos 2400, particularly when it comes to the GPU. You won’t notice this performance difference in general use, as both of these phones are way faster than they need to be. 

On the one hand, the Ultra technically has the greater performance headroom. On the other hand, the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s chip is having to push around more pixels on that QHD+ display, which will at least partially nullify that GPU advantage on the International model.

You get more and greater storage options with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which comes in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB variants. With the Galaxy S24, there’s just the 128GB and 256GB options in most regions. Australia also has access to a 512GB model, which would have been a nice option to have had elsewhere.

While there are hardware differences, these two phones run practically identical software in One UI 6.1 on top of Android 14. Your mileage will vary, but for our money Samsung’s software is a bit of a mess these days, with far too much functionality stashed away in the labyrinthine Settings menus.

That includes access to Samsung’s all-new AI features, which are a constant across both phones. Once you locate these options, you’ll find that they’re a mix of the magical (AI call translation) and the somewhat disappointing (Voice Recorder transcripts), but it’s good that there’s parity between the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S24 at least.

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: battery life

The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery, which is way bigger than the Galaxy S24’s 4,000mAh cell. Of course, the bigger phone also features a larger, sharper display, so some of that extra capacity is accounted for.

Even so, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has the better stamina of the two. You’ll struggle to find a smartphone that lasts as long on a single charge as Samsung’s flagship. It outlasted both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and last year’s Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra by a couple of hours in our 5G web browsing test. 

That’s not to say that the Galaxy S24 has poor battery life. It’s more than capable of lasting a full day of fairly intensive usage, which is a great result for such a compact phone. But the Galaxy S24 Ultra could well see you through a second day as well.

Samsung’s larger, more expensive phone also charges a little faster. With 45W wired charging support, it’ll get to 65% in around 30 minutes. In the case of the Galaxy S24, with its 25W charging support, it’ll get to 50% in the same time. Neither is the fastest within their weight class, and you’ll need to supply your own charging brick for both.

On the plus side, both phones support 15W wireless charging, as well as 4.5W reverse wireless charging, which is always a welcome provision.

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: verdict

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is the company’s all-singing, all-dancing everything-phone, and a power-user’s dream. If money’s no object and you demand the very best, it’s already in the conversation for the best phone on the market, let alone the best Samsung phone.

Its camera system is the most comprehensive around, with the clincher being its phenomenal zoom capabilities. Meanwhile, there is no phone with a better display than the Ultra’s. Performance is unimpeachable wherever you are in the world, and its battery life is also among the best.

The Galaxy S24 is objectively an inferior phone. However, we’d still suggest that it’s a better buy for most people. It’s compact yet powerful, has a more than capable camera system, a fabulous display, and solid battery life. While we’re starting to have some real issues with Samsung’s congested software, in a straight comparison these two phones have identical UIs and access to the same novel AI features. 

All this and the Galaxy S24 costs $500 / £450 / AU$800 less than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. That’s a pretty meaningful difference.

Choose the Galaxy S24 Ultra if you’re after the all-singing, all dancing everything-phone with the very best specs. This one is for the power user who spends large chunks of their day on their phone, consuming swathes of media when they’re not getting things done.

Go for the Galaxy S24 if you’re after something significantly smaller and cheaper. It’s ideal for the more casual phone user looking for a compact and classy phone that won’t stretch the pocket in any sense.

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