Samsung took the wraps off its latest flagships earlier this year, the Galaxy S24 series, with the Galaxy S24 Ultra setting the early benchmark for other Android smartphones this year. It’s another year of refinement as far as the design goes but with a significant focus on AI-driven software and features. If that sounds familiar, it’s the exact intro we could have used for Google’s 2023 flagship, the Pixel 8 Pro. Interesting design refinements, upgraded hardware, and a plethora of new software features make for an interesting comparison between the two flagships. Here’s a look at the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro!

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: At a glance

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is still one of the best phones you can get, and it is usually mighty expensive at $1,300. Deals come and go from time to time, though, and right now, you can grab yourself one for just $949, a $351 discount.

Get the Titanium Gray Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra for $949

Samsung introduced Instant Slo-Mo to the Galaxy S24 as one of its many generative AI features. It allows you to instantly slow down any video you’re watching from the gallery by pressing and holding down on the video. Now this feature is about to get support for HDR10+.

Instant Slo-Mo works by using generative AI to create new frames in a video, which are then inserted between the real frames. The result is an artificially extended video with a slow-motion effect applied.

Samsung took the wraps off its latest flagships earlier this year, the Galaxy S24 series, with the Galaxy S24 Ultra setting the early benchmark for other Android smartphones this year. It’s another year of refinement as far as the design goes but with a significant focus on AI-driven software and features. If that sounds familiar, it’s the exact intro we could have used for Google’s 2023 flagship, the Pixel 8 Pro. Interesting design refinements, upgraded hardware, and a plethora of new software features make for an interesting comparison between the two flagships. Here’s a look at the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro!

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: At a glance

Samsung is extending a helping hand to Galaxy smartphone users who missed the initial window to sign up for its comprehensive device protection program, Samsung Care Plus. This first-ever open enrollment period, available from now until June 30, offers a second chance for peace of mind for owners of the Galaxy S24 series, Z Fold 5, and Z Flip 5.

Traditionally, Samsung Care Plus enrollment is limited to the first 60 days after purchase. The program offers a suite of benefits, including unlimited repairs for accidents such as drops and spills, mechanical breakdowns, and even theft and loss (depending on the plan).

Folks using a Samsung Galaxy S24 series phone — there’s a new update heading your way. The company has started pushing out the May update for the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra in the US and Europe.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is the best-selling model of the S24 range for good reason. It’s one of the best Android phones ever made and cheaper than it’s ever been on Amazon today. A $200 price drop has reduced the base model of the device to just $799.99.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus for $799.99 ($200 off)

The US smartphone market has been dominated by Apple in recent years, with Samsung falling further behind the iPhone maker. There’s some encouraging news for Samsung in the latest US market share report, though.

Counterpoint Research reports that US smartphone shipments declined by 8% year-on-year in Q1 2024. Apple’s share of the market stayed flat at 52%, matching its share from a year ago. However, Samsung’s share of the market grew to 31%, up from 27% a year ago.

Folks using a Samsung Galaxy S24 series phone — there’s a new update heading your way. The company has started pushing out the May update for the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra in the US and Europe.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is the best-selling model of the S24 range for good reason. It’s one of the best Android phones ever made and cheaper than it’s ever been on Amazon today. A $200 price drop has reduced the base model of the device to just $799.99.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus for $799.99 ($200 off)

The US smartphone market has been dominated by Apple in recent years, with Samsung falling further behind the iPhone maker. There’s some encouraging news for Samsung in the latest US market share report, though.

Counterpoint Research reports that US smartphone shipments declined by 8% year-on-year in Q1 2024. Apple’s share of the market stayed flat at 52%, matching its share from a year ago. However, Samsung’s share of the market grew to 31%, up from 27% a year ago.

Folks using a Samsung Galaxy S24 series phone — there’s a new update heading your way. The company has started pushing out the May update for the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra in the US and Europe.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is the best-selling model of the S24 range for good reason. It’s one of the best Android phones ever made and cheaper than it’s ever been on Amazon today. A $200 price drop has reduced the base model of the device to just $799.99.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus for $799.99 ($200 off)

The US smartphone market has been dominated by Apple in recent years, with Samsung falling further behind the iPhone maker. There’s some encouraging news for Samsung in the latest US market share report, though.

Counterpoint Research reports that US smartphone shipments declined by 8% year-on-year in Q1 2024. Apple’s share of the market stayed flat at 52%, matching its share from a year ago. However, Samsung’s share of the market grew to 31%, up from 27% a year ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aie_KTPusEg

Should you buy the Spigen Liquid Air for the Galaxy S24 series?

There are hundreds of white-label brands making simple TPU cases for the Galaxy S24 series, but if you want a more interesting design that doesn’t break the bank, check out the Spigen Liquid Air. It’s been one of my favorite basic cases for years, with a price point that’s hard to resist.

At its heart, it’s still a relatively thin TPU case, but the standout feature here is the triangular pattern on the back of the case. This adds some much-needed visual interest and a bit more grip than a completely smooth case. Although you can feel it if you run your finger over it, the pattern is relatively shallow, which means it’s easy to keep clean from dirt or grime.

The Liquid Air looks great, but it doesn't add much grip.

That said, the finish doesn’t add any grip at all, and the slightly grippy texture on the sides might not be enough if you’re prone to dropping your smartphones. I don’t tend to drop my phone, but if you do, you might want something with a bit more grip. The plus side of the is that it slipped very easily into the pocket of my jeans, and the matte finish prevents smudges and fingerprints.

The buttons on the side of the case are raised and easy to find in my experience. However, they aren’t completely closed, with a small gap on either side of each button. This can lead to some dirt or lint sneaking into the case over time. TPU cases like this one are easy to take off though, and you can give it a rinse and a scrub in the sink before things get too out of hand. I did find this case much easier to keep clean than a clear TPU case, despite using the same material.

As for drop protection, the Liquid Air has Spigen’s standard Air Cushion technology, which adds a small air pocket to the four corners of your device. This should help prevent catastrophic damage if your phone lands right on a corner.

There are also raised lips around the screen and camera lenses to prevent scratches, but beyond that, the Spigen Liquid Air isn’t particularly rugged. This is a thin case, after all.

Most of Spigen’s cases come in very limited color options, and while the Liquid Air is a bit of an exception, there aren’t many color options for the Galaxy S24. The Deep Purple option I tested is one of the more interesting colorways, but otherwise, it’s limited to dark gray and black.

Still, it’s a nice thin case for the Galaxy S24 that adds just enough to stand out in a crowded field of thin TPU cases. Hovering around $15, it’s a pretty easy recommendation for most people, but if you need something with more protection you’re better off spending a bit more for a rugged case.

What are the best Spigen Liquid Air alternatives?

As mentioned above, there’s no shortage of Spigen Liquid Air alternatives out there for the Galaxy S24. Spigen itself makes several, but here’s a quick roundup of some of Android Authority‘s favorites:

• Spigen Thin Fit ( ): The Thin Fit is an even thinner hybrid case from Spigen. Although it’s much less interesting to look at, it has a nice, grippy finish. Like the Liquid Air, it won’t do much to protect your phone from serious drops.
• Caseology Parallax ( ): The Parallax is from Spigen’s sister brand Caseology, and although it’s slightly thicker, it also has an interesting hexacore pattern on the back. Despite the interesting pattern and a plethora of color options, it’s every bit as affordable as the Liquid Air.
• Crave Dual Guard ( ): While it doesn’t have quite the same pedigree as Spigen or Caseology, the Crave Dual Guard ticks the same boxes. It’s a relatively thin hybrid case with a textured back, but this time it has a rubbery texture to add more grip. It comes in a lot of great color options, too.

If you want even more options, check out our picks for the best cases for the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdSSIJAlqZM

Should you buy the Spigen Ultra Hybrid for the Galaxy S24 series?

If you’re shopping around for a clear Galaxy S24 case, odds are you’ve come across the Spigen Ultra Hybrid. It’s one of the most popular cases from one of the most popular case brands, and for good reason. After spending some time with the case, I can confidently say that it’s the clear case to beat. It checks all of the boxes you’d want, with a few minor asterisks.

With a rigid polycarbonate backing and TPU bumpers, the Ultra Hybrid provides great drop protection without adding too much bulk. It’s definitely not a thin case, but I still found it comfortable enough to hold. The finish doesn’t add much grip, but it was still much better than the bare metal rails on the Galaxy S24.

It also has a raised lip around the screen to prevent scratches, but the back is thick enough that it doesn’t need a ring around the camera lenses. Instead, there’s a slightly raised material in the four corners of the back of the case, which should prevent your lenses from making direct contact when placed on a table.

The version I tested is the Zero One White edition (seen above), which has the internals of the device printed on the back of the case. There’s also a fully clear version, of course, as well as several frosted colors. Unfortunately, the Galaxy S24 version of this case doesn’t have any options with magnets. Only the iPhone versions of this case get that added benefit, which is a real shame.

Speaking of price, the Ultra Hybrid is very affordable compared to most brand-name cases. It’s less than half the price of something like the clear version of the Otterbox Symmetry, making it a real bargain. You’ll have to pay a bit more for the Zero One edition, but the more basic clear and frosted versions cost significantly less.

There are cheaper clear cases, but the Ultra Hybrid is the best value.

And while sure, there are absolutely cheaper clear cases out there, few of them tick the same boxes as the Ultra Hybrid. If you don’t mind the extra bulk, save yourself the headache and spend a few more bucks for the Ultra Hybrid. For my money, it’s the best clear case you can buy for the Galaxy S24 series.

What are the best Spigen Ultra Hybrid alternatives?

Spigen hits a great middle ground between bulk and protection with the Ultra Hybrid, but if you’re looking for something thinner or more protective, here are a few alternatives we recommend checking out:

• Spigen Liquid Crystal ( ): Spigen’s other clear case, the Liquid Crystal, is a much thinner, simpler TPU case. It doesn’t provide nearly as much drop protection, but I found the thinner material more comfortable to hold. It’s slightly cheaper, but be warned that it’s very glossy and shows fingerprints and smudges very easily.
• Otterbox Symmetry ( ): For an even bulkier, more protective case, Otterbox is always a safe pick. The Symmetry series isn’t as protective as the Defender series, but it has the added benefit of coming in a clear finish. Like most Otterbox cases, it does run quite expensive, however.
• Samsung Clear Case ( ): If you want to go first-party, Samsung makes its own clear case. Design-wise it’s very similar to the Ultra Hybrid, but it runs a lot more expensive.
• ESR Clear Kickstand Case ( ): ESR’s take on a clear case is much thinner and less protective, but it comes with a kickstand. It makes the case more awkward to hold, but the added utility might be worth it for you.

If you want even more options, check out our picks for the best cases for the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Should you buy the Smartish Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 for Samsung Galaxy S24?

Searching for the ideal wallet case for your phone can be quite a task. The rear-mounted storage offers the advantage of freeing up some pocket space, yet it may mean sacrificing certain conveniences, such as wireless charging. The Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 by Smartish, while not providing a solution for the latter, impressively addresses the former. Its affordable price tag further cements its position as one of the top wallet cases for the Samsung Galaxy S24 series.

The slot design arguably makes the Smartish Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 one of the most secure phone wallets available, for better or worse.

You’ll notice this isn’t your typical slim phone case at first glance. It harks back to the days when you could insert an expanded battery directly into the back of your phone. In this instance, the noticeable bump is Smartish’s spring-loaded wallet slot, spacious enough to accommodate up to three cards and a small amount of cash.

The slot design arguably makes the Smartish Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 one of the most secure phone wallets available, for better or worse. There’s no risk of your cards slipping out, but extracting them from the case might prove challenging. I found it difficult to remove a single card without dislodging all three, resulting in frequently reorganizing my wallet.

Despite its larger size, the Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 is easy to grip, thanks to Smartish’s textured bumps on either side. One might worry that such a large case would appear as a bulky black object in your pocket. However, Smartish offers several vibrant color options to add a dash of personality. The classic black, or Black Tie Affair as Smartish calls it, is available alongside a forest-inspired So Serene, a galaxy-themed Spaced-Out pattern, and a spring-ready Very Cherry Blossom adorned with white cherry blossoms.

Regardless of your color choice, the level of protection remains consistent. The case features air pockets in all four corners and a raised ridge next to the camera bump, providing ample protection in case of accidental drops. Considering the Wallet Slayer Vol. 1’s modest price, it offers excellent value for both protection and convenience.

What are the best Smartish Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 alternatives?

• Snakehive Vintage Leather wallet case ( ): If you prefer natural finishes, the Snakehive Vintage leather case will develop a gorgeous patina over time. It also offers three card pockets and six color variants, although it’s much pricier than the Smartish and harder to find in the US.
• Samsung S-View wallet case ( ): As an official Samsung product, the S-View includes a slot through which you can view the time. The case also fits one card, making it slimmer but less useful than its rivals.
• Spigen Slim Armor CS ( ): The Slim Armor CS is a rugged case that offers a sliding door design that holds two cards within its body. Despite this design, it’s an overall sim case but does have a higher list price.
• Foluu Folio case ( ): If a budget wallet case is what you’re after, the Foluu Folio case can house three cards and additional notes, is available in three colors, and demands a minimal fee. However, it lacks the drop protection offered by Spigen and Smartish products.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 is one of the best flagship and compact smartphones on the market. It's powered by the premium Qualcomm chip (at least in North America), and packs an impressive AMOLED display, a reasonably powerful battery, and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. There is so much to like, which is why it's one of the best phones in Samsung's portfolio.

Should you buy the Spigen Liquid Air for the Galaxy S24 series?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdSSIJAlqZM

Should you buy the Spigen Ultra Hybrid for the Galaxy S24 series?

If you’re shopping around for a clear Galaxy S24 case, odds are you’ve come across the Spigen Ultra Hybrid. It’s one of the most popular cases from one of the most popular case brands, and for good reason. After spending some time with the case, I can confidently say that it’s the clear case to beat. It checks all of the boxes you’d want, with a few minor asterisks.

With a rigid polycarbonate backing and TPU bumpers, the Ultra Hybrid provides great drop protection without adding too much bulk. It’s definitely not a thin case, but I still found it comfortable enough to hold. The finish doesn’t add much grip, but it was still much better than the bare metal rails on the Galaxy S24.

It also has a raised lip around the screen to prevent scratches, but the back is thick enough that it doesn’t need a ring around the camera lenses. Instead, there’s a slightly raised material in the four corners of the back of the case, which should prevent your lenses from making direct contact when placed on a table.

The version I tested is the Zero One White edition (seen above), which has the internals of the device printed on the back of the case. There’s also a fully clear version, of course, as well as several frosted colors. Unfortunately, the Galaxy S24 version of this case doesn’t have any options with magnets. Only the iPhone versions of this case get that added benefit, which is a real shame.

Speaking of price, the Ultra Hybrid is very affordable compared to most brand-name cases. It’s less than half the price of something like the clear version of the Otterbox Symmetry, making it a real bargain. You’ll have to pay a bit more for the Zero One edition, but the more basic clear and frosted versions cost significantly less.

There are cheaper clear cases, but the Ultra Hybrid is the best value.

And while sure, there are absolutely cheaper clear cases out there, few of them tick the same boxes as the Ultra Hybrid. If you don’t mind the extra bulk, save yourself the headache and spend a few more bucks for the Ultra Hybrid. For my money, it’s the best clear case you can buy for the Galaxy S24 series.

What are the best Spigen Ultra Hybrid alternatives?

Spigen hits a great middle ground between bulk and protection with the Ultra Hybrid, but if you’re looking for something thinner or more protective, here are a few alternatives we recommend checking out:

• Spigen Liquid Crystal ( ): Spigen’s other clear case, the Liquid Crystal, is a much thinner, simpler TPU case. It doesn’t provide nearly as much drop protection, but I found the thinner material more comfortable to hold. It’s slightly cheaper, but be warned that it’s very glossy and shows fingerprints and smudges very easily.
• Otterbox Symmetry ( ): For an even bulkier, more protective case, Otterbox is always a safe pick. The Symmetry series isn’t as protective as the Defender series, but it has the added benefit of coming in a clear finish. Like most Otterbox cases, it does run quite expensive, however.
• Samsung Clear Case ( ): If you want to go first-party, Samsung makes its own clear case. Design-wise it’s very similar to the Ultra Hybrid, but it runs a lot more expensive.
• ESR Clear Kickstand Case ( ): ESR’s take on a clear case is much thinner and less protective, but it comes with a kickstand. It makes the case more awkward to hold, but the added utility might be worth it for you.

If you want even more options, check out our picks for the best cases for the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Should you buy the Smartish Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 for Samsung Galaxy S24?

Searching for the ideal wallet case for your phone can be quite a task. The rear-mounted storage offers the advantage of freeing up some pocket space, yet it may mean sacrificing certain conveniences, such as wireless charging. The Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 by Smartish, while not providing a solution for the latter, impressively addresses the former. Its affordable price tag further cements its position as one of the top wallet cases for the Samsung Galaxy S24 series.

The slot design arguably makes the Smartish Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 one of the most secure phone wallets available, for better or worse.

You’ll notice this isn’t your typical slim phone case at first glance. It harks back to the days when you could insert an expanded battery directly into the back of your phone. In this instance, the noticeable bump is Smartish’s spring-loaded wallet slot, spacious enough to accommodate up to three cards and a small amount of cash.

The slot design arguably makes the Smartish Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 one of the most secure phone wallets available, for better or worse. There’s no risk of your cards slipping out, but extracting them from the case might prove challenging. I found it difficult to remove a single card without dislodging all three, resulting in frequently reorganizing my wallet.

Despite its larger size, the Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 is easy to grip, thanks to Smartish’s textured bumps on either side. One might worry that such a large case would appear as a bulky black object in your pocket. However, Smartish offers several vibrant color options to add a dash of personality. The classic black, or Black Tie Affair as Smartish calls it, is available alongside a forest-inspired So Serene, a galaxy-themed Spaced-Out pattern, and a spring-ready Very Cherry Blossom adorned with white cherry blossoms.

Regardless of your color choice, the level of protection remains consistent. The case features air pockets in all four corners and a raised ridge next to the camera bump, providing ample protection in case of accidental drops. Considering the Wallet Slayer Vol. 1’s modest price, it offers excellent value for both protection and convenience.

What are the best Smartish Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 alternatives?

• Snakehive Vintage Leather wallet case ( ): If you prefer natural finishes, the Snakehive Vintage leather case will develop a gorgeous patina over time. It also offers three card pockets and six color variants, although it’s much pricier than the Smartish and harder to find in the US.
• Samsung S-View wallet case ( ): As an official Samsung product, the S-View includes a slot through which you can view the time. The case also fits one card, making it slimmer but less useful than its rivals.
• Spigen Slim Armor CS ( ): The Slim Armor CS is a rugged case that offers a sliding door design that holds two cards within its body. Despite this design, it’s an overall sim case but does have a higher list price.
• Foluu Folio case ( ): If a budget wallet case is what you’re after, the Foluu Folio case can house three cards and additional notes, is available in three colors, and demands a minimal fee. However, it lacks the drop protection offered by Spigen and Smartish products.

Samsung took the wraps off of its latest flagships, the Galaxy S24 series, with the Galaxy S24 Ultra setting the early benchmark for other Android smartphones this year. It’s another year of refinement as far as the design goes but with a significant focus on AI-driven software and features. If that sounds familiar, it’s the exact intro we could have used for Google’s 2023 flagship, the Pixel 8 Pro. Interesting design refinements, upgraded hardware, and a plethora of new software features make for an interesting comparison between the two flagships. Here’s a look at the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro!

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: At a glance

Samsung unveiled its first 2024 flagships, the Galaxy S24 series, and if you were undecided about picking up a Pixel 8 series device or waiting for Samsung’s latest, now is an excellent time to choose. While the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro make all the headlines, Samsung’s and Google’s smaller smartphones are far better value propositions. They offer many of the high-end features of their respective larger siblings while being significantly cheaper. But what’s the best choice between the two? Here’s a look at the Samsung Galaxy S24 (and Galaxy S24 Plus) vs Google Pixel 8!

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Google Pixel 8: At a glance

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus isn’t a massive departure from its predecessor, but with seven years of updates on the table, you’ll want to keep it in good condition for as long as possible. To help you get your money’s worth, we’ve put together a list of the best Galaxy S24 Plus cases you can buy right now.

Want to learn more about cases? Check out our guides to the best phone case brands and the best mobile accessories you can buy.

When it comes to the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung has been on top of its game in terms of updates. Just two weeks ago, the company released an update to fix camera and display issues. Now Samsung has the March security patch loaded up and ready to roll out.

Today, Samsung is starting to release this month’s security update for the S24 family. The latest patch comes with a firmware version that ends with AXBG. Unlike the patch from two weeks ago, this patch is solely focused on improvements to security and stability.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a beast of a phone, but if you’re going to invest in Samsung’s finest, you’ll want to keep it safe. To help you get the full seven years out of your new device, we put together this list of the best Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra cases you can buy.

Before we start, note that some MagSafe accessories have been known to stop the S Pen from functioning properly, so consider that before picking a magnetic case. Generally, just removing the accessory will fix the problem, so you don’t have to remove the magnetic case every time you want to use your S Pen.

The Galaxy S24 family has landed with super-long update support and Galaxy AI in tow. The Galaxy S24 Ultra might get the lion’s share of attention in Samsung’s marketing, but you would do well to remember Samsung’s oft-forgotten middle child before buying a new smartphone. It has much more screen real estate than the baby S24, but it’s not as heavy or expensive as the monstrous S24 Ultra, offering a competent middle ground. Sure, it’s missing some Ultra-tier features like the S Pen and dual telephoto camera lenses, but the Galaxy S24 Plus has a lot to offer the right buyer.

What I like about the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus

If you were to draw the world’s most generic phone in 2024, it would look something like the Galaxy S24 Plus. That’s not necessarily bad, but there isn’t much to the design here if you’re after something new and exciting. There’s a flat panel of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back, a flat aluminum frame between them, and three camera cutouts on the back. The phone is almost all display from the front — the OLED takes up 92% of the footprint, with a narrow, symmetrical bezel running all the way around. It is the flat slab smartphone, distilled to its most essential elements.

To me, though, a phone that looks a little boring isn’t a problem when most people slap them in cases, anyway. If you choose to fondle the S24 Plus caseless, you’ll be impressed with the build quality. The frame is extremely rigid, and the buttons are clicky and wobble-free. The iPhone-y flat edges don’t feel much different than the Galaxy S23’s rounded shape. Samsung did round off the edge where the frame meets the back, making it more comfortable to hold.

The Galaxy S24 Plus is the flat slab smartphone, distilled to its most essential elements. But the build quality is sublime.

The centerpiece of the Galaxy S24 Plus is the 6.7-inch OLED screen, which has been upgraded this year from 1,080p to 1,440 x 3,120. That’s the same resolution as the S24 Ultra, and the panel itself is only a tenth of an inch smaller. It’s still a 120Hz display with a great peak brightness of 2,600 nits, so it’s still a little off Samsung’s top dog in the specs race, but even phones with half as much luminance are pretty readable in direct sunlight, so you can bet this one is, too. The S24 Plus gives you an option if you want a larger screen than the baby S24’s (6.2-inch) but without going all the way to the S24 Ultra.

The Galaxy S24 Plus runs Android 14 out of the box with One UI 6.1 on top, and while we always like to see the latest version of Android, that’s not what makes this phone’s software special. Samsung and Google have been going back and forth as they strive to offer the longest Android software support, and Samsung has set a new milestone. All members of the Galaxy S24 family get a whopping seven years of OS and security updates. That means the Galaxy S24 Plus could be running Android 21 in 2031, putting it in line with the Pixel 8 series as the best update policy in the game.

While it’s not Ultra-expensive, I’m sure buyers will appreciate knowing that their $1,000 investment could theoretically still be safe to use into the next decade. Whether or not the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will still be fast enough to run the show in seven years is uncertain. As it currently stands, this phone is ludicrously fast. Apps open immediately, multitasking is a breeze, and games render at the highest quality. Samsung phones have great speed in short bursts, but they (Galaxy S24 Plus included) tend to heat up quickly.

If you’re playing a high-end game for longer than a few minutes, you’ll lose some of your performance from thermal throttling. The graph above shows the worst-case scenario, keeping the SoC cranked to the max for 20 minutes. In some of these tests, the chip drops 30-40%. Luckily, Samsung’s overclocked version of Qualcomm’s 2024 flagship chip — dubbed the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy — has speed to spare. Even when it gets warm, the phone can handle the basics.

Of course, the elephant in the room on performance is that not everyone will get to enjoy the power of Snapdragon. In various global markets, including the UK and across Europe, the Galaxy S24 Plus is instead powered by the Exynos 2400. Thankfully, our testing has shown that unlike the darker years of the Snapdragon vs Exynos battle, Samsung’s own silicon actually holds up pretty well this time. Check out our Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Exynos 2400 deep dive or watch the video below for all the nerdy data.

The battery life is not objectively amazing, but it’s improved from 2023’s Samsung flagships. I consider that a victory with the increase in display resolution from 1080p to 1440p. The battery growing from 4,700mAh on the S23 Plus to 4,900mAh on the S24 Plus helps there. You shouldn’t have any trouble making it through a day with the Galaxy S24 Plus. With a mix of browsing, messaging, games, and video, the S24 Plus has lasted roughly a day and a half with 7-8 hours of screen time during my testing. Two full days without a recharge was also possible, but only with careful battery management. That gives you some leeway as the battery loses capacity over the years, but you’ll probably need at least one battery swap if you use this device for the full seven years.

The tech sector’s growing obsession with generative AI has finally come to Samsung’s mobile operation in the form of Galaxy AI. These features fall into established AI boxes like text composers and image generators. For example, Chat Assist can rewrite your messages with different tones, and Live Translate can instantly translate to and from other languages on a phone call. These features work in the way most generative AI products do — they’re competent but far from perfect. We appreciate the AI photo editing, which allows you to move or remove objects, and the automatic summarizing and formatting in Samsung Notes can be a real time saver.

What I don’t like about the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus

Samsung caught up with Apple this year, moving beyond aluminum for the Galaxy S24 Ultra and embracing a titanium build for enhanced durability. However, that’s the only titanium phone in the S24 family. The Galaxy S24 Plus still has Samsung’s Armor Aluminum, a somewhat harder alloy than the aluminum on most phones. To me, it feels like Samsung is just making the S24 Ultra more distinct to justify the inflated price. At $1,000, the S24 Plus really ought to have titanium, too. After all, Apple’s titanium iPhones start at $1,000.

Qualcomm’s latest ARM chip sports an upgraded NPU for machine learning and AI processing, and Samsung has baked all those new Galaxy AI features into the OS. A match made in heaven? Not as much as you’d think. Most Galaxy AI features bypass the NPU to run workloads in the cloud. Samsung says it won’t store your data, but there’s a toggle deep in the settings to only use local processing if you want. If you limit Galaxy AI to use your local hardware, some of the features (e.g. Chat Assist) continue to work, but they take longer to produce worse results. Most don’t work at all. There’s also the looming threat of Galaxy AI features only being guaranteed to be free until the end of 2025. After that, we may be looking at a subscription-based model.

While the battery life is solid, I’m a bit disappointed that Samsung hasn’t improved charging speed. You’re still limited to 45W wired, and the phone doesn’t come with a plug. You’ll need a high-power USB PD charger with PPS to reach the highest speeds, which are tolerable. You will have to plan ahead before you step out, but an hour or so is enough to fill the S24 Plus’ battery when it’s almost dead. If you don’t have a proper fast-charging plug, though, it takes entirely too long.

One UI 6.1 has all the same features as the S24 Ultra, save for the S Pen options. The S24 Plus does a lot, so there are probably going to be pre-loaded apps and features you don’t want. It can be a little overwhelming and claustrophobic to see page after page of buttons and toggles. With the addition of all these new AI features, Samsung is in danger of repeating the feature overload that made its older phones such a pain to use.

With the addition of all these new AI features, Samsung is in danger of repeating its old mistakes of software bloat.

Samsung also continues to set bizarre defaults all over the phone, like three-button navigation and launching Bixby with the power button. So, that’ll probably require some tweaking, and if you decide to ditch Samsung’s preloaded software like the keyboard, gallery, Samsung Notes, you’ll also lose the corresponding Galaxy AI features. These features are tied to Samsung’s apps, sometimes in counterintuitive ways. You can’t just invoke Galaxy AI and tell it to reformat the notes in Google Keep, for example. And why do I need to have Samsung’s keyboard selected to change the tone of text that’s already been typed out in Gmail or Messages? One UI in 2024 really could do with a bit of streamlining, especially if Samsung’s going to cram more generative AI into it. I’m hesitant to even speak its name, but we don’t want another TouchWiz situation on our hands.

The display, as mentioned above, has been bumped to the same resolution as the S24 Ultra. That’s nice, but even Samsung’s 1,080p OLEDs look great. A better screen upgrade would have been Gorilla Glass Armor, which you do get on the S24 Ultra. The latest Gorilla Glass has an anti-reflective coating that makes a huge difference outdoors and under bright lights. The S24 Plus is just as reflective as other smartphones, which can be annoying even with the high brightness.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus camera review

The Galaxy S24 Plus camera setup has not seen any updates this year, so we’re still working with a 50MP primary, a 10MP 3x telephoto, and a 12MP ultrawide, just like the Galaxy S23 Plus. On the front, there’s a 12MP selfie camera. The Galaxy S24 Ultra adds a 5x telephoto lens, which is 50MP and can sensor crop for even more reach, as well as a 200MP primary camera. The base Galaxy S24 has the same camera setup as the S24 Plus.

Most of the photos I took with the S24 Plus looked great. The phone evens out highlights and shadows reasonably well, and there’s very little noise. But if you didn’t like Samsung’s photo processing before AI came to town, you won’t like it now. The camera leans toward longer exposures with higher brightness and more vibrant colors. The resulting photos really pop (especially if you use Samsung’s new Ultra HDR option), but they can look a bit unnatural. The longer exposures make motion harder to capture, too. In fact, Samsung’s issues with moving targets is yet again a general issue, just like it was with the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

The lack of a second telephoto camera makes sense, but limiting the optical zoom to 3x feels lacking in 2024 when 5x is more common. That sensor will get you closer to your subject, but it’s not ideal for shooting from long distances, and digital zoom doesn’t look great when you only have 10 megapixels to work with.

Samsung made a few tweaks to the camera software. For example, portrait mode snapshots now have foreground blur, which can make the subject stand out even more. There are also AI-assisted editing and remastering features. The edits usually look nice, but we wouldn’t say they’re objective improvements. More often than not, the “remastered” images are just a bit brighter. We’ve got full-resolution versions of all these photos in this Drive folder.

The Galaxy S24 Plus might improve its standing if you are more interested in video. This phone supports the same maximum 8K resolution as the $1,300 S24 Ultra, and Samsung’s super-steady option makes it easier to capture motion.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus specs

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus?

There are no major surprises in the Galaxy S24 Plus. The only physical change of note is the redesigned flat frame, and whether or not you consider that an improvement is largely a question of personal preference. I do, however, appreciate the upgraded OLED with a corresponding battery boost, and the phone is a lot lighter than the S24 Ultra (by 36g), even with a screen that’s almost as large.

If you want a Samsung flagship with a balance of size and price, the Galaxy S24 Plus might be the right choice.

Galaxy AI is nice to have, but don’t expect it to change the way you use your phone just yet. Most of the tools are integrated with Samsung’s apps, so you won’t get as much benefit if you prefer to install other apps, and Galaxy AI barely works without the cloud. Maybe Galaxy AI will improve over time, and you’ll be able to find out with the S24 Plus —Samsung’s decision to extend support to seven years is a win.

The $1,000 price tag is reasonable for a high-end Samsung phone, but your wallet might be happier with a cheaper phone like the Pixel 8 ( ), which takes better photos and has cleaner software. There’s also the OnePlus 12 ( ), which is just as fast and costs $200 less, and I actually like its camera a bit more in some instances.

Still, if you’re one of the Samsung faithful or you just can’t pass up that seven-year update guarantee, the S24 Plus might be the right choice. It’s smaller and cheaper than the Ultra ( ), with a much bigger screen than the base Galaxy S24 ( ), and you get all the same software goodies.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: FAQs

The Galaxy S24 family has landed with super-long update support and Galaxy AI in tow. The Galaxy S24 Ultra might get the lion’s share of attention in Samsung’s marketing, but you would do well to remember Samsung’s oft-forgotten middle child before buying a new smartphone. It has much more screen real estate than the baby S24, but it’s not as heavy or expensive as the monstrous S24 Ultra, offering a competent middle ground. Sure, it’s missing some Ultra-tier features like the S Pen and dual telephoto camera lenses, but the Galaxy S24 Plus has a lot to offer the right buyer.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: At a glance

Google and Samsung competing for the title of best Android camera phone is a tale as old as time. On one side, we have the Pixel 8 Pro with its trio of cameras and Tensor G3-powered processing. On the other, Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra counts on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and a mountain of megapixels to help it keep pace. Both setups are capable of impressive results in good lighting, but what happens when the lighting isn’t so good? Let’s look at the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro in a night mode showdown to find out.

How does night mode work again?

At this point, you probably have at least a passing familiarity with night photography, or Nightography, as Samsung calls it. If not, let’s run through a quick refresher.

With a dedicated camera like a DSLR or a mirrorless setup, low-light photography relies on a careful balance of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. To get a properly exposed shot, you either have to keep your shutter open longer, raise the ISO limit or grain within your photo, or open your lens wider to let in more light. Over time, photographers learn how to carefully balance all three of these elements while setting up a shot, knowing that any miscalculation can result in an underexposed photo, an overexposed photo, or just too much grain that you can’t make out your subject.

Night photography essentially takes a bunch of short exposures and combines them into one final image.

On a smartphone, however, much of that control is taken out of your hands. Low light photography on the Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra uses a series of varied exposures and post-processing algorithms to achieve the same balanced exposure as photographers do by hand. Night Sight has been around since Google introduced it on the single-lens Pixel 3, but it’s come a long way as mobile processors have become more powerful and smartphones have picked up additional sensors to work with.

What night mode looks like in practice is a short one- to three-second timer in your camera app. Once you press the shutter button, the countdown initiates, during which time you have to keep your phone as still as possible. Your phone then captures a series of exposures — some darker but sharper and others brighter but fuzzier — which it then merges in a process called bracketing. Those initial shots aren’t saved to your phone. Instead, they’re erased once the post-processing has run its course and your final image is added to your camera roll.

With that little Spark Notes refresher out of the way, let’s get to some samples. You can see the full-resolution and a few extra samples in this Google Drive folder.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro Night Mode Shootout

Ultrawide

First, we have a set of ultrawide images facing Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Although both capture many of the same details and offer similar fields of view, the first difference you’ll probably notice is the vastly different color science. Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra, for example, pulls significantly more green coloring from the treated wood of the dock and the harbor water itself, while the Pixel 8 Pro leans toward a more natural shade of brown.

Google's upgraded 48MP ultrawide sensor helps it deliver a better photo.

The two photography flagships also differ in how they handle the lights that stretch across the harbor — both above and below the water. Samsung’s 12MP ultrawide sensor seems to pick up more detail above the waterline, especially to the left, where you see a bright red sign. It’s slightly closer to the words Rusty Scupper, which is the restaurant’s name, while the Pixel 8 Pro’s 48MP sensor reduces the same sign to a vague red rectangle. This probably comes from the Pixel 8 Pro binning its shots by default and trading brighter colors for sharper details.

The advantage flips, however, once you look below the waterline. Google’s Tensor G3 pulls much better details out of the blue reflection on the right side of the harbor where you can see the aquarium. It separates different blue shades from the waves below the neon signs, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s camera reduces them to a vague blue mass. Once again, this is probably a matter of resolution and post-processing, though I prefer the Pixel 8 Pro’s final result to the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s.

Telephoto

Our next pairing punches into 5x zoom, which happens to be the length of the optical telephoto sensors on the Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra — well, the second telephoto sensor on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. As such, we can test the lenses themselves rather than allow digital zoom to enter the discussion.

Anyway, the images show another Inner Harbor staple, lovingly called Mr. Trash Wheel, and they offer a better illustration of the detail that both phones can capture with a much closer subject. And, if I’m honest, this is one of the samples that surprised me most when testing both cameras. Put simply, the Galaxy S24 Ultra hands in a much better final result. It captured sharper details and much better colors, especially in the thin red strip of lights along the side of Mr. Trash Wheel and in the series of ropes that keep the barge in place.

Despite a similar 5x telephoto setup, the Galaxy S24 Ultra delivered a much better zoomed photo at night.

Google’s Pixel 8 Pro, on the other hand, processed a much fuzzier strip of lights and practically merged the ropes with the stone wall in the background. Unfortunately, Google’s Tensor G3 chipset had similar troubles with the grass and wood beams in the background, turning the former into a texture resembling digital camouflage.

I’d also like to point out how both smartphones handle the yellow strip of buoys that funnel trash toward the wheel itself. Samsung’s 50MP telephoto sensor accurately recreated the sharp edges and colors of each yellow buoy, while the Pixel 8 Pro’s 48MP telephoto sensor shifted closer to an orange hue in the final result.

In a surprising flip from the ultrawide test, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra easily delivers a better low-light telephoto image.

Selfie

Flipping the camera around, the Galaxy S24 Ultra once again delivers a better image. Though being brighter isn’t necessarily an immediate key to success, Samsung’s selfie camera finds a better balance between brightness and detail. You can pick out individual hairs in my beard and the line of stitches across the brim of my cap, yet the Pixel 8 Pro struggles to keep up. It reduces my beard to a brown mass — the right color but sorely lacks details.

The Pixel 8 Pro also smooths some of the shadows across my face, creating a more even color where one doesn’t really exist. Samsung’s shot, though brighter, manages to recreate the clear division where the soft shadow from the streetlight ends across the bridge of my nose. There’s not a major difference in resolution between the two selfie shooters — Google’s punch hole packs 10.5MP to the Galaxy’s 12MP — so many of these differences come down to post-processing.

Once again, the Galaxy S24 Ultra grabbed more detail in the selfie photo.

Despite all the schtick we’ve given Samsung for loving reds and greens in its color science in the last few years, it once again nails the colors in our pair of selfies. The Galaxy S24 Ultra pulled out a much better shade of slate blue in my jacket and the red fleece liner, while the Pixel 8 Pro’s final product is a bit greener in my jacket with a much darker fleece lining.

Primary camera

In the video version of this comparison (at the top of this post), we teased this pair of images as a game of Guess Who. We teased them up top before circling back to the details later on, but that doesn’t work in a written article. So, let’s just pick out a few details to bring this night mode shootout home.

Samsung’s love of the color green is the first dead giveaway that the left image came from the Galaxy S24 Ultra, with brighter shades in both the harbor water (again) and the boat itself. The Galaxy S24 Ultra also captured significantly better details in the dock’s planks, and the metal supports that run along the waterline, which closely follows what we saw in our telephoto comparison.

Samsung's love of the color green is a dead giveaway for its photo, even at night.

Google, on the other hand, missed out on several of those same details, either due to its processing algorithms or the lower-resolution primary sensor. However, the Pixel 8 Pro’s color science is closer to reality in this case, offering an image that doesn’t feel as artificially brightened and shows off a more realistic shade of green on the ship’s hull.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: Which camera is better in low light?

Before I get to a be-all, end-all winner between these two excellent Android phones (though you could probably guess which way I’m leaning), I noticed a few things while testing both cameras. The first is that Samsung’s night mode is lightning-fast, significantly quicker than Google’s. I took all of the photos at the same time in the same lighting conditions with both devices, but I rarely had to hold the Galaxy S24 Ultra for more than a one-second countdown to the Pixel 8 Pro’s two or three seconds. This extra time could explain some of the Pixel’s trouble with finer details and might also make a tripod something to consider.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra took less time to capture night photos, but didn't kick in before it was way too dark.

Despite its slower capture, the Pixel 8 Pro is much quicker to kick into automatic Night Sight than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It doesn’t need to be all that dark before Google jumps to a timer, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra tends to wait until it’s truly dark, and even then, it usually asks if you want to toggle night mode instead.

With those two observations out of the way, I’ll admit that the results of this one surprised me. I’ve trusted Google and its Tensor chip as my go-to for image processing for a few years now, but Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra turned in a much stronger performance across three of our four categories. Samsung generally nailed its colors and details better than the Pixel 8 Pro, and it did so with shorter exposures across the board. There’s a new night mode king, and its name is the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Think of the biggest, most complicated Swiss Army Knife you’ve ever seen, one with more tools than you could ever use. Now, give it a USB-C port, a stylus, and four cameras on the back. Congratulations, you’ve got the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. That might be oversimplifying one of the most capable Android phones on the market, but the analogy isn’t too far off. Let’s get into our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review, and you’ll see what I mean.

What I like about the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

There’s only one place to start with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and that’s with AI — Galaxy AI, specifically. It’s the main event, the big idea, whatever else you want to call it. Samsung mentioned the phrase a whopping 50 times during its first Unpacked event of 2024, promising a laundry list of features to make your smartphone smarter and even more helpful. Now, take that with a grain of salt because we’re still very much in the experimentation phase of on-device AI, but I’ve found a few Galaxy AI features that should probably stick around.

We’ll come back to the photography features like Photo Assist (essentially Samsung’s version of Magic Editor) later, but there are plenty of other ways to make texting, calling, and even note-taking easier. One that I’ve been using is Chat Assist, which lives within the Samsung Keyboard. It reads through messages as you type them, offering tips for spelling and grammar, but it can also give you alternative tones to try. Chat Assist has tones like Professional and Casual for use with bosses and coworkers and a #Social tone, which loads your message with emojis and hashtags, like a tweet from back when X was Twitter.

Galaxy AI is the star of this show, and there's no real question about it.

As a writer, I can usually do without Chat Assist, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Note Assist is a lifesaver. It covers a few different AI features, including the ability to summarize a webpage into a more concise set of notes, something I’ve sorely needed while researching how on-device AI works. Note Assist also covers transforming my horrendous S Pen handwriting into legible notes when I have to scribble out a quick reminder during a Zoom content meeting.

Some of the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s more refined AI features, however, are those co-developed with Google. Options like Circle to Search and the ability to generate wallpapers based on a few prompts are already available on the Pixel 8 series, and now they’re on Samsung’s latest flagships as well. Circle to Search works like Google Lens, though it’s a bit easier to control now that you can pick out specific elements from a more cluttered image. Samsung’s generative wallpapers are the same as those on the Pixel 8 Pro, right down to the list of prompts you can pick from, but they’re fun either way.

Our Galaxy S24 Ultra also came with Android 14 and One UI 6.1 out of the box. Samsung’s Android 14 experience doesn’t feel much different from its previous setup, though it has a few nice tweaks. The quick settings menu has been slimmed down, shifting to smaller buttons that seem to float above your home screen rather than block it out. Samsung’s color-coordinated theming is better, too, with more app icons matching your background color instead of exclusively the first-party options. The best software news is that the Galaxy S24 series is in line for seven years of upgrades — a solid bump from its previous four years of Android versions and five years of security patches, and one that puts it back in line with Google regarding update policies.

Once you move past the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s AI-fueled heart, you’re left with the phone itself. It feels like a Galaxy S23 Ultra with a bit more polish across all aspects. The two phones look almost identical, with boxy corners, camera rings that dot the satin-textured rear glass, and an S Pen that hides away along the bottom edge. So, if you like Samsung’s existing flagship design, you’ll probably find plenty to like about the updated version. And yet, those changes offer just enough quality-of-life improvement to make them worth mentioning.

For starters, Armor Aluminum is out, and titanium is in. Apple already switched from stainless steel to titanium on its iPhone 15 Pro series, and now it’s Samsung’s turn. However, Samsung is upgrading its frame for a very different reason. Whereas Apple made the change to save a few grams from its hefty Pro models, the Galaxy S24 Ultra adopted titanium purely for its improved durability. It only shaved about a gram off the weight of the previous Galaxy S23 Ultra, but the titanium frame has a slight texture, making it much more comfortable in hand than the previous model. Oh, and the textured finish is pleasingly fingerprint-averse, too.

Samsung also upgraded its top-tier flagship to the latest and greatest glass that Corning has to offer — as usual. The sweeping 6.8-inch Dynamic 2x AMOLED is now made of a special low-glare sheet of Gorilla Armor, while the rest of the Galaxy S24 series hangs onto Gorilla Glass Victus 2. We’ll have to wait and see if Gorilla Armor is the toughest glass that Corning has to offer, but the glare-resistant treatment is already an easy win for Samsung. It offers a night and day difference in how it handles bright sunlight compared to the previous display, making it much easier to use in broad daylight. The Galaxy S24 Ultra also tops out at 2,600 nits of peak brightness, which doesn’t hurt its performance on sunny days.

Samsung’s final display modification is probably the one you’ll notice first — it’s flat. The Galaxy S24 Ultra now matches its more affordable siblings by dropping the curved edges, so you no longer have to worry about accidental presses or squeezes. As someone with smaller hands, I welcome the change, as I can keep the frame in a tighter grip while using this beast of a phone with two hands. Granted, the swap results in slightly more noticeable side bezels, but I’d call it a fair trade.

Although its Galaxy AI features briefly touch on the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s reputation as a power user’s best friend, there’s a lot more to cover when it comes to performance. For starters, Samsung has finally done away with split levels of RAM, putting all Galaxy S24 Ultra configurations on equal footing with 12GB instead of limiting the base model to just 8GB. The increased RAM pairs nicely with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, an overclocked version of Qualcomm’s latest silicon to give Samsung the most power possible.

That extra power translates to some of the best benchmarking scores in an Android phone right now. The Galaxy S24 Ultra topped everything but the iPhone 15 Pro Max in our Geekbench 6 run, came up just a hair short of the ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro (in its high-performance X-Mode) in the graphically intensive 3DMark tests, and topped the charts in our PCMark race. Samsung’s strong numbers were less inspiring during our stress tests, tailing off to more modest results after a few runs, but they were still good enough to stay ahead of most competitors. Although the Galaxy s24 Ultra was left behind by the ROG Phone 8 Pro, it achieved its results without trying to burn a hole through our desks, meaning that you could enjoy its performance, unlike the ASUS model. Check out our dedicated Galaxy S24 benchmarks article for a deeper dive.

Of course, none of this benchmarking performance means a thing if the day-to-day experience suffers. Thankfully, we know Samsung well enough to expect a user experience matching its lofty lab numbers. I thoroughly enjoyed how the entire Galaxy S24 Ultra package came together during my weeks with the phone, offering more than enough power for gaming, social media, and its generative AI features without ever really coming close to the thermal troubles of Google’s early generation Tensor offerings.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra landed right between a few of my busier periods of work travel, meaning that it got to be my adventure companion rather than a business partner, powering my GPS and Spotify playlist for a drive from Baltimore to Philadelphia and back. While in Philly for a friend’s birthday, I put the Galaxy S24 Ultra through plenty of work as a go-to camera for both stills and videos and also used it to stream the divisional round of the NFL playoffs using T-Mobile’s 5G network. Although the phone warmed while streaming the game, it never reached a point where it was uncomfortable to hold, nor did I feel like the battery drained too quickly.

Mentioning the battery, it hasn’t changed. I can still push the 5,000mAh cell beyond a day of mixed usage, averaging a day and a quarter to a day and a half before I have to reach for a charger. Of course, when I’m leaning on Samsung’s generative AI capabilities, the results are slightly lower, closer to an even day. And yes, it’s easy to toss out anecdotal battery results, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra backs it up in the lab, too.

We put it through a battery stress test, which covers 4K video recording, 4K video playback, web browsing, and a simulated Zoom call, among other common tasks, with the Galaxy S24 Ultra coming out ahead of its predecessor nearly across the board. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 powered Samsung’s latest flagship to a 45% improvement in 4K video playback, as well as smaller 16% bumps to gaming, web browsing, and video recording. There’s a good chance that Qualcomm’s more efficient chipset is to thank for many of the results, though its advanced image processing comes with a tradeoff of 33% lower camera performance. All of this means that yes, the Galaxy S24 Ultra offers better battery life than its predecessor, and you should easily be able to push it past a day of usage, but you’ll want to be mindful of how much time you spend on each task.

When you inevitably need a charger, the Galaxy S24 Ultra still supports 45W wired — with a USB PD PPS charger — and 15W wireless speeds. It takes a hair over an hour to cruise from an empty battery to a full one with a compatible charger (no, there still isn’t one in the box), which is slightly faster than the previous generation. Our wired charging test showed a final time of about 62 minutes for the Galaxy S24 Ultra compared to around 64 minutes for the Galaxy S23 Ultra — an improvement, but a minor one.

What I don’t like about the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

By now, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra gets a lot of things right. It’s as powerful as you can ask for, delivers solid battery life and charging, and sports an upgraded frame with tougher Corning Glass. However, all that success comes at a cost — both literal and figurative.

The literal half of that cost comes in the form of a $100 price bump exclusive to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It demands an eye-watering $1,299 at the base configuration, while the top-tier version with 1TB of storage reaches all the way to $1,659 — just a hair below the folding Galaxy Z Fold 5. Of course, price increases happen, but it’s tougher to justify the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s bump when you break down what you’re getting — or rather, what others aren’t.

Samsung's $100 price increase puts the Galaxy S24 Ultra in a class of its own and makes the Galaxy S24 Plus that much more enticing.

For starters, the Galaxy S24 and the Galaxy S24 Plus get access to the same Galaxy AI features as the Ultra. That means you don’t have to pass the $1,000 barrier to use Photo Assist, Chat Assist, or translate your phone calls from one language to another in real time. Those two phones also get the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset in the US (or the Exynos 2400 in many global markets) and the same seven years of software updates. Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra is the only one to get a titanium frame, but even that doesn’t matter much once you add a protective case.

Even the previous generations of Galaxy devices will get access to some of Samsung’s best AI features. The company inadvertently let slip that Circle to Search, Live Translate, Note Assist, and Photo Assist would be coming to at least the Galaxy S23 series, and you won’t have to worry about a $100 price bump on any of them.

There’s room for the literal cost of the Galaxy S24 Ultra to increase, too, with Galaxy AI features only currently guaranteed to stay free through the end of 2025. That means, should you choose to keep your Galaxy S24 Ultra through the end of its life cycle in seven years, you’ll probably spend five of those years paying for the AI-powered features that you already paid extra for. Of course, Samsung has yet to detail its plans for Galaxy AI past the end of 2025, but it has suggested it might offset some of the expected subscription fees by introducing more new features — we’ll just have to wait and see.

As for the figurative half of the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s cost, it’s a massive phone — there’s no way around it. Samsung’s 6.8-inch display might offer more screen real estate than anyone needs, but it comes at the cost of being almost impossible to use one-handed. Granted, the presence of the S Pen suggests that you’re not supposed to use one hand anyway, but most people won’t use a stylus at all times. Pair that with the massive rectangular frame with its perpetually uncomfortable corners, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra becomes a tough device to pocket for the smaller among us. Honestly, I don’t always feel like I have the pocket space for it, even if I wanted to carry a phone this big.

Circling back to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s AI features, just remember that we’re still in the relatively early days of on-device capabilities. As such, some of the features are still hit or miss, including the real-time translations and the Photo Assist edits. While effective for short, informal chats, Samsung’s translations get rough around the edges with more complicated sentences and subjects. Not all of the Chat Assist recommendations are particularly helpful, either. The #Social tone, in particular, feels like an out-of-date throwback with an overabundance of hashtags and emojis that I would have used in middle school. Asking the Galaxy S24 Ultra to translate, transcribe, and summarize a long text can also push its gears to their limit, sometimes bailing on the task halfway through.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra camera review

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s camera doesn’t look different from its predecessor’s, which is a good thing. The Galaxy S23 Ultra earned its place as one of the best camera phones we used in 2023 with an impressive mix of long-range zoom and in-depth pro features, so it’s fair to expect the Galaxy S24 Ultra to slot right in the previous phone’s place. It largely does — don’t worry — but there are more changes to talk about than those that meet the eye, including many that take place after you press the shutter button.

We only have to spend a second or two on the hardware changes, as there’s only one worth mentioning. Samsung ditched its longstanding 10MP 10x optical telephoto sensor in favor of a shorter but higher resolution 50MP 5x optical telephoto sensor. That means the Galaxy S24 Ultra offers full-resolution photos at 5x zoom and applies a sensor crop for optical quality images up to 10x zoom, whereas the previous Galaxy S23 Ultra used a mix of digital zoom and post-processing for everything between 3x and 10x zoom. The new sensor also packs a wider maximum aperture of f/3.4 instead of f/4.9, which allows more light to reach the sensor as well as a shallower depth of field.

Outside the telephoto swap, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has the same 200MP primary sensor as its predecessor, complete with a wide f/1.7 aperture. It’s backed by 10MP 3x optical telephoto and 12MP ultrawide sensors, which remain unchanged from the previous generation. The 12MP punch hole selfie camera is unchanged, too.

Samsung’s default camera app hasn’t changed, either — it’s still loaded with customizable shooting modes and a mountain of pro features. However, the little Galaxy AI logo of stars pops up when you open your camera roll or the Samsung Gallery app. It’s both the button you tap on to begin making AI-powered edits and the tiny watermark that shows up as a reminder that Samsung’s algorithms played a role in your edited shot. Oh, and no, you can’t get rid of the watermark using AI, but you could crop it out of your shot — though that might also cut out the edits you so carefully generated. I’ll add some edited samples below, but first, a few unedited shots.

Samsung’s 200MP primary sensor delivers excellent shots in just about any kind of bright lighting condition. Whether it’s the bright, sunny pagoda or the pair of flags in the shade, the Galaxy S24 Ultra captured plenty of detail and recreated accurate colors — a welcome change from Samsung’s usual love of reds and greens. The close-up image of the balloons also shows good textures on each, with some appearing shinier, like the gray one to the right, while others are more matte. My portrait mode image of a duck also shows a pleasing depth of field, keeping the duck in focus but not immediately eliminating everything around it with artificial bokeh.

One aspect of Samsung’s cameras that is often critiqued is its issues with moving targets, and sadly, that remains an issue here. I won’t go into too much detail here as my colleague Rita El Khoury has already done that — check out her deep dive into how the Galaxy S24 Ultra handles people and pets for samples.

The change from a 10x optical zoom to 5x also works well for Samsung in bright daylight. Whereas the previous Galaxy S23 Ultra would have required a great deal of post-processing for the 5x shot of the Domino Sugar factory, the new camera captures it at full resolution before binning down to a 12.5MP final result. It picks up decent details for being on the far side of a wide harbor, with only a slight shift in the color profile where the building reflects on the water. Samsung’s 10x zoom shot uses a crop from the center of the schedule, which isn’t quite the same as true optical quality, but it’s a fair trade to get better mid-range photos. The factory’s 30x and 100x zoom images are noticeably softer, with most of the brick building being reduced to red and white rectangles — suitable for social media to show off that you can zoom so far, but that’s about it.

Testing the Galaxy S24 Ultra at night delivered perhaps the most surprising results during my time with the phone. I’m used to calling Google’s latest flagship the nighttime king, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra turned in better coloration in my selfie, more details above the water line in the ultrawide sample, and much, much better details in the 5x zoom image of Mr. Trash Wheel. The last of those three results is probably thanks to the higher resolution telephoto sensor, but Samsung’s Galaxy AI image processing shines across the entire slate of results.

Now, the editing test you’ve all been waiting for… it’s good, but not great. I expanded the image of my coffee cup and shifted the angle to see how Samsung would tackle generating part of my laptop, and it did just fine. It recreated Apple’s Starlight finish correctly but added a bit of texture to the otherwise smooth laptop and recreated the wood grain of the table as a series of lines. One of the more impressive details is that Samsung cut off the pot in the correct spot and correctly guessed the lighting by a window that wasn’t within the frame.

The sample photo of my cat tells a similar story — close but imperfect. It mostly erased my hand and my blue shirt, but rather than extending the blue of my pants off the side of the image, the Galaxy S24 Ultra halted it early, making my leg look more like a pillow than a human leg. Samsung didn’t bother to generate the rest of my cat’s paw, though the bokeh does a pretty good job of hiding what would probably be a stunted paw in a clearer picture.

I don’t have much to say about the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s selfie camera, mainly because it hasn’t changed since last year. It’s still a 12MP punch hole, which remains a more reliable bet than the previous 40MP monster from a few years back. Selfie cameras shouldn’t need to bin by default, especially when you’re probably not going to use the finished product for much more than social media. Samsung hasn’t modified its video capabilities too much, either, offering up to 8K quality at up to 30fps when using Pro Video mode or 4K resolution at up to 120fps.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra specs

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra?

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is Samsung’s most refined ultra flagship to date. Its flat display does away with accidental presses, while the titanium frame is delightfully fingerprint-free, and it’s still tough to match the brilliance of Samsung’s high-end displays. The beast of a smartphone remains a dream for power users, too, with remarkable performance from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and several Galaxy AI features stepping in to make calling, texting, and even note-taking easier in your daily life.

We’ve come to expect greatness from Samsung’s Ultra year in and year out, and it continues to deliver. The Galaxy S24 Ultra packs four incredibly flexible rear cameras, offering some of the best zoom capability you’ll find on a flagship and a color profile that’s slowly but surely inching toward natural. Galaxy AI has a role here, too, especially when eliminating unwanted objects from your shots. Mix in an update promise that once again leads the Android class (or at least ties with Google), and it’s easy to see the Galaxy S24 Ultra earning a place in your pocket for a long time.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra offers all of the smartphone power you could ask for if you're willing to pay Samsung's sky-high price.

However, it’s just as easy to pass over the Galaxy S24 Ultra as an upgrade you don’t need. Its $100 price increase is tough to justify when the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus didn’t get the same treatment, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra seems to be missing a killer reason to upgrade now that many of its cloud-based Galaxy AI features have already been confirmed as coming to the older Galaxy S23 series. Samsung’s titanium frame isn’t a must-have, either, as it barely saves any weight, and you’ll probably forget it’s any different from Armor Aluminum as soon as you put your phone in a case.

If you decide the Galaxy S24 Utlra isn’t for you, its best alternative is just one step down the Samsung totem pole. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus ( ) is the easiest member of the trio to recommend, offering the vast majority of the Ultra experience without the full brunt of the high price tag. It’s just a tenth of an inch smaller at 6.7 inches but packs a 4,900mAh battery and identical charging specs to Samsung’s most expensive flagship. As mentioned, the Galaxy S24 Plus also gets the same slate of Galaxy AI features, meaning that you can circle to search, tap into call or chat assist, and edit your photos without the uncomfortable corners of the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s boxy frame digging into your hand. You’ll have to live without the second telephoto sensor and the S Pen, but the savings are more than worthwhile.

You might also decide to skip Samsung’s Galaxy ecosystem altogether, in which case it’s time to check out some of the best Galaxy S24 Ultra alternatives.

The first option that springs to mind is Google’s Pixel 8 Pro ( ). Although priced in line with the more affordable Galaxy S24 Plus, the Pixel 8 Pro is a true Galaxy S24 Ultra rival. It beat Samsung to the punch with Magic Editor for photos, its long-term update commitment, and even the swap from a curved display to a flat one. Of course, the in-house Tensor G3 chip still doesn’t hold a performance candle to Qualcomm’s powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, nor does the Pixel 8 Pro charge nearly as quickly as the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Ultimately, though, choosing between these two may come down to which flavor of Android you prefer — Google’s light, stock-like experience or Samsung’s heavier, feature-rich One UI.

Another wildcard worth looking at is the OnePlus 12 ( ). It’s once again more affordable than the Galaxy S24 Ultra (most phones are), but it packs a spec sheet that punches well above its price tag. The OnePlus 12 stuffs a massive 5,400mAh battery into its slim frame, then backs it with 80W wired charging and finally brings back 50W wireless charging after several years on hiatus. It matches the Galaxy S24 Ultra with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset under the hood and either 12 or 16GB of RAM. The partnership with Hasselblad continues to pay off for OnePlus, too, with a trio of powerful, high-resolution sensors and a color profile that’s come a long way. That said, the OnePlus 12 puts the least emphasis on new AI-powered features, so it might be one to avoid if you’re looking to get generative.

Oh, and given the sky-high price of the Galaxy S24 Ultra with 1TB of storage, it might be worth looking at a foldable Android phone as a better use of your money. Both the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 ( ) and OnePlus Open ( ) are excellent options, with the former offering many of the same software features as the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It won’t receive as many updates, nor does it have the same slate of AI features, but it lets you customize the internal and external displays independently — something most foldable phones ignore. The OnePlus Open is one of those foldables, but it makes up for the limitation with a much more usable cover display and lighter overall construction.

Should you choose to venture outside of Android altogether, Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max ( ) is the one iPhone worth considering. It’s the only device to outpace the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in our Geekbench 6 scores, and Apple’s top-tier flagship remains the camera to beat when it comes to shooting smartphone video. It grabbed a titanium frame before Samsung did, and Apple has finally softened its sharp iPhone edges, at least a little bit. The iPhone 15 Pro Max set the original standard for software update commitments, and it continues to match Google and Samsung each time they improve their promise. Of course, you’ll have to get used to iOS and its quirks, but you’ll finally show up as a blue bubble to all of your iMessage-toting friends.

All told, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is an excellent smartphone. It takes up the mantel of its predecessor and carries it further, adding a titanium frame and several Galaxy AI features to the mix while maintaining the already excellent camera setup. It’s Samsung’s most complete experience to date, offering power that can satisfy the most demanding of users at a price that’s high enough to potentially turn away almost all others.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review: FAQs

The return of Samsung’s Exynos chipset in the Galaxy S24 series once again leaves us with a high-end flagship series sporting a key hardware difference depending on where you reside. To recap, all Galaxy S24 Ultra owners and S24 and S24 Plus customers in the US, Canada, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong all receive the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset. Customers who buy the Galaxy S24 or S24 Plus in Europe, the UK, India, and other regions receive the Exynos 2400 for Galaxy.

We’ve already covered the low-level Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Exynos 2400 specifications; today, we’re diving into our test results to explore what differences, if any, there are to be found when using these phones. To make the test completely fair, we’ve grabbed both Exynos and Snapdragon versions of the regular Galaxy S24, ensuring consistent battery capacity, display specs, and other hardware for our side-by-side comparison.

Snapdragon has the best performance

Look across your suite of benchmarks, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 model comes out ahead of the Exynos Galaxy S24 in every test. The margins aren’t huge; there’s just 7% between the two in Geekbench 6 and 5% in PCMark. Due to the phones ‘ similar CPU and memory capabilities, you’re unlikely to notice any performance difference for daily and heavy-duty workloads. Perhaps the most interesting result is that the Exynos’ ten-core setup is bested by Snapdragon’s bulkier eight-core CPU design.

However, the suite of 3DMark graphics tests show bigger wins for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which outscores the Exynos 2400 by 25% in Wild Life and 18% in the more demanding Wild Life Extreme. The exception is Solar Bay, which uses ray tracing. The two models score virtually identically here, suggesting a ray tracing bottleneck in the Adreno architecture. Samsung’s use of AMD’s RDNA 3 Xclipse architecture pays off here.

Turning to stress tests, it’s clear that the limited cooling capabilities of the compact Galaxy S24 form factor don’t allow either of these GPUs to run at full tilt for long. Both throttle back roughly simultaneously, but the Snapdragon model falls furthest from its peak potential. It falls to just 47.9%, 54.2%, and 43.6% of its peak performance in each respective test. Exynos falls to 54.9%, 56.5%, and 60.3% after 20 runs. That said, the 8 Gen 3 still outperforms the Exynos chip in standard rasterization. The exception is ray tracing, where the AMD architecture pulls ahead as heat builds up.

Snapdragon is the stronger gaming chip, but Exynos wins at ray tracing under stress.

Interestingly, the Exynos chip has marginally higher temperatures across all three of these tests. It averages about 2°C warmer than the Snapdragon phone under stress. Thankfully, neither phone breaches the dreaded 50°C mark.

Exynos offers better battery life

While Snapdragon has the edge in performance, our testing suggests Exynos Galaxy S24 customers will see better battery life than their Snapdragon counterparts. This was also the case with previous-generation chipset comparisons, including the Snapdragon 865 vs Exynos 990 and Snapdragon 888 versus Exynos 2100.

It’s not a clear-cut win for Exynos in all our battery life tests. Camera capture time clocks in at about the same on both models, and the Snapdragon version lasted 16% longer at 4K30 video capture.

However, the Exynos Galaxy S24 pulls ahead with 17% longer 4K video playback and gaming benchmark times, and a 14% lead in our Zoom call test. The biggest win, however, is 36% longer battery life in our automated web browsing test. When it comes to the tasks you’re likely to do most often throughout the day, the Exynos Galaxy S24 seems to last a fair bit longer.

Exynos steams ahead with at least a 15% lead in most of our battery life tests.

Why is this the case? There are a few possibilities. First, the Exynos 2400 has two additional small CPU cores and lower clock speeds across all ten of its cores. Using the lower-clocked CPUs for lighter workloads, such as web browsing, should consume less power because the background work is distributed across lower-power cores. Similarly, it could be that Samsung Foundry’s third-generation 4nm (LPP+) manufacturing process is as or even slightly more efficient than the TSMC 4nm process used by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

This could also factor into the longer video playback times we see with the Exynos model. It’s also possible that Samsung’s video decoder is more efficient, but we’re well into speculation here.

Of course, this test suite isn’t an exhaustive list of possible use cases, so your mileage will vary. Modem capabilities and the associated drain when roaming between towers will affect these results but are beyond the scope of what we can test. Likewise, background tasks and other options will drain the battery too, so this test is more of a rough guide than absolute battery life expectations. Still, the Exynos 2400 seems more frugal across most of our tests, pointing to longer battery life for global customers versus the Snapdragon model.

Snapdragon vs Exynos Galaxy S24, which is better?

Looking at this year’s Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus models, the regional trade-off is marginally higher gaming performance for Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 customers, especially when it comes to non-ray-traced titles. However, Exynos users may end up with battery life for many common workloads. Everyone will have their preference and priority here (I’d take the extra battery life).

Ultimately, there’s not a lot to be done about this anyway. Whether your region ships Exynos or Snapdragon versions of the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus is a lottery, and we’d hardly recommend the hassle of importing a different model. Afterall, the core Samsung Galaxy S24 experience is the same, regardless of which processor your phone features.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eB7ciQnvb0

An urban legend tells the tale of Google promising a cool feature for its Photos application: the magic ability to turn your old black-and-white photos into colorful pics. Google’s magnificent dataset of photos would help its AI engine figure out what a certain shade of grey should have been, originally. So your grandpa’s blue shirt would become blue again, and the tree behind him would return to its green shade.

Sadly, Google has yet to release this feature for its Photos application (it briefly tested it then took it back). In the meantime, Samsung has already taken the leap and added a Colorize option as part of its Galaxy AI features on the Galaxy S24 series. And it’s incredibly easy to use, but is it any good, for real? Can you rely on Samsung to turn your black-and-white photos into a colorful snap? I did some extensive testing.

You can only colorize what Samsung lets you colorize

Colorizing photos is an option Samsung reserves to itself, in a way. It’s not part of the generative edit magic button, and can only access it in Samsung’s Gallery app. It’s one of the smart suggestions that show up as a chip (on the bottom left of the photo) when you swipe up on a pic to see its details.

Once you hit the Colorize button, it only takes a few seconds for the Galaxy S24 to pop up the result. Samsung shows a before/after slider, so you can check the result before saving it (or saving it as a copy). The best part is that sometimes it understands that there are focal points in your photo, like in this collage of two of my photos. It gave me the option to zoom in on both faces to see the before/after transformation. Cool.

However, since this is a smart suggestion, I can’t force it on photos that Samsung doesn’t deem worthy of colorizing. I tested the feature with about 30 black-and-white photos and the Colorize suggestion popped up on all of them except the two below. Both sushi photos, for the fun coincidence. Since I didn’t get the option here, I can’t force colorize these pics in any other way. So my sushi platters will remain colorless for now.

Colorizing people and pets

I started my tests with photos of those we love the most — people and pets. Speaking from a personal perspective, the photos I’d want to colorize would be of my grandmas and grandpas, and the early childhood pics of my parents. We have dozens of albums’ worth of black-and-white snaps that could use an extra sparkle like this.

But since I don’t know the real colors of those photos and since I wanted to test Samsung’s ability to recreate those, I decided to run my test on photos where I have the originals. So I took some photos from my library, dropped the saturation down to zero, made them black-and-white, saved that as a new photo, and transferred them to the Galaxy S24.

In the first samples below, you’ll see how Samsung deals with people and pets. In general, it nailed what should be a skin tone (though the side of my face in that collage remained blue), the pink hue of lips, and the color of grass in the background of the dog’s photo.

I would say my husband’s photo above is the most realistic colorization of the bunch. Yes, it failed at getting the colorful ceiling panels above him, but the face and shirt look good if a little cold. I could add a bit of warmth to that photo and you wouldn’t be able to tell it started as a black and white photo.

In general, Samsung nailed what the colors of skin, hair, lips, and tongues.

The other two photos above exhibit a filter-like effect. The saturation is too weak, my indigo sweater looks almost black, and the grass beyond the dog is too pale. Given Samsung’s propensity to over-saturate its own camera photos, it’s weird to see it go the other way in this colorization exercise.

My biggest disappointment is in the Samoyed’s colorization. A proper AI should recognize the dog’s breed and know they’re white, not pink-purple. This shouldn’t be a question.

Bringing landscapes back to life

Moving on to landscapes, I had high hopes. This is the exact opposite of people: Given an extensive dataset of photos and locations, colorizing a greyscale landscape should be kids’ play for an AI engine.

The Galaxy S24 disappointed me a bit here. The first two landscapes of the Swiss mountains and Lake Bled, respectively, turned up too warm and vintage.

The third photo is the best colorization result I’ve seen among all 30+ images I tested. It looks nearly perfect, and both the blue and green hues are quite close to the original pic’s colors.

Adding some colors to flowers

My disappointment continued with photos of flowers. Once again, given a proper dataset, the AI should know the flower’s exact species and figure out exactly what color it should be. In my tests, that wasn’t the case.

I expected Samsung's AI to know the flower's exact species and colorize it accordingly. It didn't.

The first colorization is fine, until you notice the pink center of the hibiscus is nowhere to be found. But the other two are more of a crime against botany everywhere. Gone is the blue-purple of the globe thistle, replaced by a warm yellow-green shade. The orange and yellow of the Peruvian lily are barely colorized into a blue-green tint. There aren’t many colors of these flowers, so Samsung shouldn’t get them wrong.

Colorizing food is hit-and-miss

If you were already thinking that there isn’t a lot of extra “intelligence” going on behind this feature, this should seal the deal. While the burger and fries photo is fine (and probably the second best after the green and blue landscape above), the fruit bowl is an absolute disgrace if you ask me.

Samsung turned strawberries, blueberries and bananas into three shades of brown.

Even in the black and white photo, you can tell these are bananas, blueberries, and strawberries. You can’t turn them into three shades of brown!

The same is true of the pizza photo, where the pink of the ham is brought back as a boring light brown mush. I’d forgive missing the red of the platter because there’s nothing to hint at it in the original photo, but the pink ham should be an easy one.

From simple scenes to challenging colorful scenes

I knew I was hitting a wall with this feature, but I decided to push it a bit more. First with a few simple scenes that it handled rather fine. It didn’t choose the right color tone in the first two underground and cellar photos, but the result is realistic. I’ll also give it some extra points for recognizing the white and red of the lighthouse.

Things became tougher as I went on. Photos with multiple colors result in a boring single-hue colorization. I don’t blame Samsung for not knowing the exact colors here, but it’s proof that the AI has limits. It sees shades of grey and figures out a middle hue value that makes sense. It isn’t using geolocation or a huge public dataset to colorize photos.

Samsung isn't using geolocation or a huge public photo dataset to colorize photos.

Case in point: Bilbao’s building (first photo) and Le Havre’s Catène de Containers (third pic) become orange mush and whatever that blue-green’ish shade is for the shipping containers.

Pushing further, I tested the Colorize option on extremely busy photos and the results were a bit bad in the first two samples (too vintage-feeling and desaturated), while the third one nailed the trees and lights colors quite well.

Red is the toughest color

You might have noticed that in many of the examples above, the Galaxy S24’s colorization engine is often choosing to veer away from reds. The only times it really added some reddish hues were for pink lips and the lighthouse. For the flowers, strawberries, pizza ham, and many other red elements, it just ignored the red color. This is another example. The red lighthouse is turned into a blueish grey.

Verdict: Can Samsung really colorize your black-and-white photos?

For photos of people, I’m convinced that Samsung will do a good job of bringing those old black-and-white snaps into life. All of the examples I tested (including the ones I didn’t share here for privacy purposes) got a good skin tone, proper pink for the lips, and decent enough hair coloring. Now if you have red hair or blue eyes, lower your expectations. The Galaxy S24 might not guess that.

For all other photos, the results are mitigated. I expected Samsung to use different factors (subject of the photo, location, and its own image dataset) to get some color back into photos. But as shown by the examples of the dog, flowers, different landscapes, and those brown strawberries and blueberries — sorry, I just can’t forget those! — that isn’t the case.

I suspect that Samsung's AI, in search of speed, is dividing photos into specific areas, and sometimes lumping the entire pic into one.

Plus, I have a suspicion that Samsung’s AI engine, in search of speed, is attempting to divide any photo into specific areas before it colorizes it. Most times the whole photo ends up lumped together and gets the same treatment.

You’ll see this in colorized photos that are basically just a single tone (sea port lighthouse above, Bilbao buildings, fruit bowl, pizza, flowers photos, most of the landscapes, and the dog photo). And that tone is often too warm or too cold, not saturated enough, and definitely too vintage filter-like.

In some photos, though, you get two or three different zones and a different tone between each. These are the ones that are the closest to reality and the original photo. This is true for the first lighthouse photo, the green and blue river landscape, and the burger. Those are my favorites of the bunch.

For old photos of people, you don't know what you're missing on, but you know what you're gaining. The feature is a win then.

In conclusion, I’d personally try this feature on photos of people, and I’d expect it to do things mostly right. If I’m colorizing super old photos, I won’t know what colors I’m missing on, but I’ll know what I’m gaining. So it’s a win. For anything else, it’s a coin toss. I wouldn’t waste my time. Keep the vintage black-and-white instead of a bad yellow or blue filter.