Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Plus: Bridging the gap
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Intro
Now that both the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24 Plus are official, it's finally time to compare the large phone and the mid-sized handset and determine which one delivers the better value.
While it's absolutely normal that the Galaxy S24 Ultra is stealing the thunder everywhere it goes, the Galaxy S24 Plus is once again flying in the shadows of its more intriguing big brother. However, this time around, the mid-sized Galaxy has much more going for it and actually fares better than the larger Galaxy S24 Ultra in some areas, like battery life.
Surely, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the more exciting device, with extra features and significantly higher appeal, which leaves the Galaxy S24 Plus in the precarious position of being the less thrilling new Samsung phone. Totally undeserving, as it has scored much more improvement than its higher-tier sibling.
| Galaxy S24 Ultra | Galaxy S24 Plus |
|---|---|
| Flat titanium design, slightly bigger and heavier | A more compact Armor Aluminum candybar |
| Gorilla Glass Armor | Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
| Slightly larger 6.8-inch AMOLED screen with higher 2,600 nits peak brightness | Slightly smaller 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with smooth 120Hz refresh rate and same 2,600 nits brightness |
| Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in most countries across the globe; Exynos 2400 possible in some markets | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in US and China/Exynos 2400 in select markets |
| Four cameras on the back, including both a 3X zoom and a new 5X zoom periscope | Three cameras on the back, mostly the same setup as Galaxy S23 Plus |
| Comes with S Pen | No S Pen stylus support |
| Larger 5000mAh battery size (but battery life is yet to be seen) | Similar 4,900mAh battery |
| Faster charging speeds at up to 45W, 0-65% in 30 minutes | Possibly 45W fast charging, 0-65% in 30 minutes |
| Higher $1,299 starting price | Same $999 starting price |
Table of Contents:
Design and Size
Titanium is in
There aren't that many changes on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24 Plus in comparison with their previous generations. The Galaxy S24 Ultra reiterates the same design language that has been utilized since the Galaxy S22 Ultra, while the Galaxy S24 Plus has the same refreshed look that the Galaxy S23 Plus scored in early 2023. This design language is now uniform across the lineup, so the Galaxy S24 series carries the trend forward.
The only major difference is Galaxy S24 Ultra's switch from aluminum to titanium, which introduces slight weight savings and delivers a robust, more premium design to rival the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The Galaxy S24 Ultra also gets slightly flatter sides in comparison with its predecessor, but a slight curve still remains.
On the other hand, the Galaxy S24 Plus is now completely flat on all sides, just like an iPhone. Surely, it caves a little into the palm, making it not that ergonomic, but nothing too outrageous and certainly not something you wouldn't get used to quickly.
Both devices are water-tight and have the same amount of ports and buttons as you'd expect. Of course, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has the extra S Pen on board. This staple of Samsung's best phones is one of the unique and exclusive features that sets the Galaxy S24 Ultra apart from pretty much every other phone out there, Galaxy S24 Plus included.
Display Differences
Bright future ahead of us
In terms of screens, the Galaxy S24 Plus is bridging the gap to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. While the latter boasts a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, the Plus is actually getting a 6.7-inch screen, or 0.1 inches larger than the Galaxy S23 Plus. This is major, as it brings the two devices very close to one another.
Resolution is another area in which the Galaxy S24 Plus has scored an improvement. Unlike the FHD+ display on the Galaxy S23 Plus, the Galaxy S24 Plus scores a QHD+ display, which certainly puts it in Galaxy S24 Ultra's territory as far as sharpness goes.
Yet, the biggest improvement on both devices this year is the much, much brighter 2,600-nit display tech that's shared between all Galaxy S24 screens. Definitely a serious improvement over the 1,750-nit displays that Samsung had used in the past two generations. While one would expect that only the top flagship will get such a bright screen, Samsung surprised by outfitting the Galaxy S Plus with a similar screen.
It's no surprise that the Galaxy S24 Ultra retains the 1-120Hz refresh rate of its predecessors. However, the surprise here is that the Galaxy S24 Plus also scores a similar LTPO display capable of dynamically switching the refresh rate between 1-120Hz for a super-smooth scrolling experience.
In our independent testing, the Galaxy S24 Plus and the Galaxy S24 Ultra fare mostly similar in terms of maximum achieved brightness and minimum brightness. The main difference in our units is the default color temperature, which is much closer to the 6500K reference point on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. However, the Galaxy S24 Plus' screen is just as capable––and just as lovely to look at!
Performance and Software
Who invited Exynos to the party?
While the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S24 Plus exclusively feature a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the US, the Exynos 2400 chip makes an appearance on the Galaxy S24 Plus in most regions around the world. We happen to have the Exynos version on us as well. Although it was gone for a year, the Snapdragon/Exynos split is back.
Is there such a big difference between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Exynos 2400 flavors of the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Exynos 2400 flavors, respectively. The only major difference performance-wise is the slightly lower high score in 3DMark, which essentially means that the Exynos-powered Galaxy S24 Plus can potentially hit lower peak graphics performance than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered Ultra.
Some 12GB of RAM are available on both the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24 Plus, regardless of the storage capacity. Base storage starts at 256GB on both the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24 Plus.
With the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung totally knocks it out of the park by offering seven years of software updates, both major OS versions and security patches. This matches Google's similar pledge a few months back.
Camera
The big change with the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the axing of the ultra-long 10X periscope. It got substituted for a 50MP 5X telephoto camera, which allows users to optically zoom up to 10X without losing any quality. Surprisingly, the 100X Space Zoom that the Galaxy S23 Ultra and its predecessors achieved is retained here.
Samsung has kept the 200MP wide-angle sensor, but has introduced lots of improvements, namely larger pixel size for better low-light capabilities. The new ProVisual Engine also helps greatly. The latter enables improved Nightography, which captures more light in dim environmental conditions. Enhanced OIS makes certain that your photos will no longer suffer from motion blur, as well as new Dedicated ISP block for improving noise reduction.
In the other camp, the Galaxy S24 Plus has scored virtually no hardware changes in its camera setup. It still comes with a a 50MP main camera, aided by a 10MP telephoto one delivering 3X optical zoom, and finally, a 12MP ultra-wide camera.
The brunt of improvements in the camera app is actually on the software side, the AI side of it to be precise. There's a plethora of AI features that aim to make the Galaxy S24 series camera experience substantially better and smarter than before. Magic Eraser, Generative Edits, and improved remaster are coming to the Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 Ultra. You can also remove reflections from photos with the power of on-device Galaxy AI.
Main Camera
The verdict is in, and it's most favorable! Both the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24 Plus take lovely photos, lacking the over-processed look that was synonymous with the Galaxy S23 camera. Photos have plenty of detail, but aren't over-sharpened, while dynamics are excellent. Sure, the Galaxy S24 Ultra might have the upper hand when it comes to overall camera prowess, but we shouldn't disregard the Galaxy S24 Plus in any way.
Zoom Quality
At 3X optical zoom, the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S24 Plus are mostly similar, but at 5X, the Ultra pulls up, achieving much better results. And the further we zoom in, the bigger the Ultra's dominance.
Ultra-wide
Selfies
Video Quality
And this is what video quality looks like on both the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24/Galaxy S24 Plus.
Audio Quality and Haptics
Both the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24 sound mighty fine. They aren't the next big thing in portable audio, sure, but they sound mighty fine, loud and clear.
Haptic feedback is a traditional strength of the Galaxy flagship lineup, and neither the Galaxy S24 Ultra or the Galaxy S24 Plus disappoint in this regard.
Battery Life and Charging
Galaxy S24 Plus retakes more ground
The Galaxy S24 Plus has scored a very decent battery capacity boost to 4,900mAh, up from the 4,700mAh battery available on the previous model. This is bridging the gap with the Galaxy S24 Ultra extremely close, as the latter is still equipped with just a 5,000mAh battery, which starts to feel tiny in early 2024.
This has been the same battery capacity since the Galaxy S20 Ultra, and while it's fairly standard as far as flagship phones are considered, it might soon leave us wanting more out of Samsung's top phones. For example, the OnePlus 12 comes with a larger battery in a slightly more compact body.
And surprise, surprise, the 5,000mAh battery inside the Ultra isn't enough to help it achieve better battery life than the Galaxy S24 Plus. All things considered and taking the smaller 4,900mAh battery of the latter in consideration, the Galaxy S24 Plus turns out to be the more efficient device. In our custom battery tests, which are conducted with the screens set at 200 nits, the Galaxy S24 Plus beats the Galaxy S24 Ultra in the web browsing, 3D gaming, and video playback tests.
Charging-wise, both phones max out at 45W wired charging and 15 fast wireless charging. Thus, a full charge takes around an hour and nine minutes on both phones, which is acceptable but slightly on the slower side in comparison with most contemporary Android flagships hailing from China.
Naturally, no phone comes with a charger in the box, so you will have to supply your own.
Specs Comparison
How do the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S24 Plus specs compare? Here's a quick rundown of the most important specs.int
| Galaxy S24 Ultra | Galaxy S24 Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Size, weight | 162.3 x 79 x 8.6 mm | 158.5 x 75.9 x 7.7 mm |
| Screen | 6.8" OLED WQHD+ LTPO 3.0 1-120Hz 2,600-nit peak brightness | 6.7" OLED WQHD+ LTPO 3.0 1-120Hz 2,600-nit peak brightness |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy 4nm | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy (US) Exynos 2400 (ROW) 4nm |
| RAM, Storage | 12/256GB 12/512GB 12/1TB | 12/256GB 12/512GB |
| Cameras | 200MP main 12MP ultra 10MP 3X telephoto 50MP 5X telephoto 12MP front | 50MP main 12MP ultra 10MP 3X zoom 12MP front |
| Battery | 5000mAh | 4900mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 45W wired Wireless charging Reverse wireless charging | USB-C 45W wired Wireless charging Reverse wireless charging |
Summary
If you've expected that the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24 Plus would introduce tons of changes to the Galaxy flagship formula, then you should probably re-evaluate your expectations and take a look at Samsung's three or four most recent flagship releases.
The company has been focusing on gradual improvements and a slow evolution across its phone lineups. Just like most of its rivals, Samsung is aiming to introduce incremental updates that will gradually evolve its flagships rather than try reinventing the wheel with the Galaxy S24 series.
As far as the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S24 Plus are concerned, the gap between the top-tier and middle-tier devices is getting smaller and smaller with each year. One will have all the features, including the useful S Pen and the extra camera, while the other will surely be more affordable and easier to slip in a pocket, but aside from that, both deliver the exemplar Galaxy experience.
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