Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S24

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 line includes three phones – there’s the Samsung Galaxy S24 itself, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus, and then at the top of the range there’s the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. 

But just how much better is the S24 Ultra than the standard model? And is it really worth the extra money? 

To help answer those questions, we’ve compared these two smartphones in all the areas that most matter.

Design

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra are very different phones even at first glance. 

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has an angular, boxy design, with a rear that’s rippling in cameras, and a slot for its included S Pen stylus. The standard Samsung Galaxy S24 has curvier corners, fewer rear cameras, and no S Pen stylus. 

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is also larger and heavier, at 162.3 x 79 x 8.6mm and 232g, to the Samsung Galaxy S24’s 147 x 70.6 x 7.6mm and 167g. 

The Ultra uses more premium materials too, with a titanium frame rather than an aluminium one, and with its screen and back protected by Gorilla Glass Armour, while the standard Samsung Galaxy S24 uses less tough Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Both phones though have the same level of dust and water resistance, with an IP68 rating meaning they can be submerged up to 1.5 metres deep for 30 minutes. 

Finally, their available colours are similar but not identical. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra comes in Titanium Black, Titanium Gray, Titanium Violet, Titanium Yellow, Titanium Blue, Titanium Green, and Titanium Orange, while the standard Samsung Galaxy S24 comes in Onyx Black, Marble Grey, Cobalt Violet, Amber Yellow, Jade Green, Sandstone Orange, and Sapphire Blue.

Screen

There’s a big gulf between the screens of these two phones, with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s being far bigger at 6.8 inches, to the standard Samsung Galaxy S24’s 6.2 inches. 

It’s not just bigger though, it’s also higher resolution at 1440 x 3120 (for 505 pixels per inch), compared to the 1080 x 2340 and 416 pixels per inch of the Galaxy S24. 

However, both phones use AMOLED, both have a 120Hz refresh rate, and both have a peak brightness of 2,600 nits. 

In all, they both have superb screens, and some people will prefer the more compact size of the standard Samsung Galaxy S24’s display. But if you want one of the very best screens on a smartphone, then the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the only option of the two.

Power

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and it also has 12GB of RAM, while the standard Samsung Galaxy S24 has an Exynos 2400 chipset and 8GB of RAM. 

So the S24 Ultra has an extra 4GB of RAM, and its chipset is also more powerful – though not by much, as these are both among the very best chipsets available to Android phones. 

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra then is one of the most powerful phones on the planet, and while the standard Galaxy S24 doesn’t quite reach that level, it comes close. So we’d argue that the additional power offered by the S24 Ultra isn’t worth the extra money for most people.

Cameras

One aspect of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra that does go some way to justifying its price tag is its cameras. This phone has a quad-lens rear camera, with a 200MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, a 10MP telephoto offering 3x optical zoom, and a 50MP telephoto offering 5x optical zoom. 

The standard Samsung Galaxy S24 on the other hand has just a triple-lens camera, with a 50MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom. 

So in other words, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has an extra lens, extending the telephoto length to 5x (and allowing for an optical quality crop at 10x), as well as a far more pixel-packed main sensor. 

It’s a stunningly good camera system, and while the standard Galaxy S24 can still take great photos, it can’t come close to matching the S24 Ultra. 

Both phones do have a 12MP front-facing camera though, plus AI-powered photo editing features, and the ability to shoot video in up to 8K resolution.

Battery life, memory, and connectivity

Battery life is another win for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, with this phone having a big 5,000mAh battery, while the Samsung Galaxy S24 has a much smaller 4,000mAh one. 

According to Samsung, the Galaxy S24 Ultra can last through up to 28 hours of internet usage, 30 hours of video playback, or 95 hours of audio, while the standard Samsung Galaxy S24 can manage up to 25 hours of internet usage, 29 hours of video, or 78 hours of audio. 

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra also charges faster, at up to 45W, compared to 25W on the standard Galaxy S24 – though both also support 15W wireless charging. 

For memory, you can get either 128GB or 256GB in the Samsung Galaxy S24, and 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB in the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. So if you need a lot of storage then the Ultra wins there too. 

Both phones though support 5G and Bluetooth 5.3.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has a bigger, higher resolution screen than the standard Samsung Galaxy S24, as well as having more and better cameras. Those are arguably the two main reasons you might want to spend the extra to buy this, but they’re not the only ones. 

It also has a bigger battery, offering longer life and faster charging, and it’s slightly more powerful too, as well as coming with more potential storage, and benefitting from an S Pen stylus. 

Does that make it worth the extra money? That really depends on how much these features matter to you, but the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is easily one of the very best phones you can buy. 

The standard Samsung Galaxy S24 is no slouch though, offering much of the same experience in a more compact size and at a lower price, making it the perfect choice for some people.