Samsung has presented – sooner than expected – what will be its flagships for 2024; The Galaxy S24, which arrives for another year in three different versions that are joined by a novelty that we have not stopped seeing throughout 2023 and that everything indicates that this year we will continue to see very closely: AI. In Hypertextual We have been able to test, before their official launch, the three models. The protagonist, however, is the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
It is because, despite the fact that it shares the same AI functions with its little brothers (which Samsung has named Galaxy AI), It is very different in the rest of the characteristics. The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a larger screen, more advanced cameras with higher resolution, a larger capacity battery and a slightly more powerful processor than the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus. That is to say: it is the maximum exponent of what Samsung knows how to do in mobile telephony.
But the big news is, as I said, AI. In the first contact with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, in fact, Samsung only mentioned artificial intelligence features. He only briefly summarized the hardware news to quickly give way to everything related to it. A communication strategy that makes it clear from the first moment what the strength of this model is to face a very tight high-end range. But, Is it really enough? Does the Galaxy S24 Ultra represent a generational leap compared to its predecessor? Or is it nothing more than a handful of functions that will be forgotten?
Galaxy S24 Ultra: technical sheet
Screen | 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED panel with QHD+ resolution and variable refresh rate from 1 to 120 Hz. |
Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy. |
RAM | 12 GB. |
Storage | 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB. |
Cameras | Rear: *200 MP wide angle (OIS, f/1.7, FOV 85˚). *12 MP ultra wide angle (f/2.2, FOV 120˚). *50 MP telephoto lens (5x optical zoom, OIS, f/3.4, FOV 22˚). *10 MP telephoto lens (3x optical zoom, OIS, f/2.4, FOV 36˚). Frontal: *12 MP sensor (f/2.2, FOV 80˚). |
Connectivity | 5G, WiFi 7, WiFi Direct, Bluetooth 5.3. |
Battery | 5,000 mAh with support for fast wired charging of up to 43 watts. Compatible with wireless charging and PowerShare. |
Dimensions and weight | 162.3 x 79 x 8.6 millimeters. 233 grams (mmWave version). 232 grams (Sub6 version). |
OS | Android 14 with One UI 6.1 customization layer. |
Others | S Pen. IP 68 water resistance certification. |
AI is the star
Samsung has named its set of functions powered by artificial intelligence Galaxy AI; Although the truth is that not all the features are developed by Samsung itself. The company confirmed that some are from Google, although it has barely specified which ones. In any case, all of them are worth mentioning. And, while there are some that are only intended for a small number of users – for example, professionals – others can be especially useful for everyday use.
One of the most striking features is the possibility of translating messages in real time; something that even works in third-party applications through an API that Samsung provides to developers. At the moment, however, it is only available in a small number of applications, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger.
Its operation is very simple: you just need to select the language you want to translate into on the keyboard and write the message. AI will take care of the rest; and not just translating our text — that is, we can write in Spanish so that the AI translates it into English, for example. You can also automatically change the language of the messages we receive; all from the chat window and in a very intuitive way.
Related to translation, Samsung Also allows real-time translation of audio calls through the phone app of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. In this case, through a specific button that appears on the call screen, although it is also possible to assign a translation for a contact and have the translator activated automatically when we call them.
Another AI feature that, in this case, has been developed together with Google, is Circle to Search. This, specifically, allows the user to search for something that appears on the screen directly in Google using Google Lens technology. To do this, you just need to hold down the start button and circle a monument that appears in a video, a photo of an object or anything else. Google will detect the image and search for information about it. Not only can it be useful on many occasions, but it works really well, even with very generic images — like a waterfall, for example.
Then, there are other AI functions more focused on productivity, such as the possibility of transcribe a recording —and translate it, if necessary— or create summaries in the notes application and convert those written by hand (for example, with the S-Pen), to text.
Some of these tools, like Circle to Search, can be quite useful. Others, however, They don’t have much artificial intelligence, despite the message that Samsung is trying to communicate. The Galaxy S24 Ultra’s message translation feature, for example, is simply a text translation tool, like Google Translate has been offering for years. This feature also requires developers to include it in their messaging applications, which makes its expansion considerably difficult.
Other features of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, such as the ability to transcribe voice notes, They are intended for a very specific audience; as journalists. Not to mention that they are features that we hardly use actively; It’s not every day that we need a translator for calls, or for the notes application to summarize our notes, for example.
Conservative chambers with some exceptions
To the handful of AI functions mentioned above – and, we reiterate, that they also reach the rest of the smartphones in the Galaxy S24 family – we must add many others focused on capturing and editing images. But let’s first talk about the camera itself.
Samsung has also remained very conservative in this regard. The Galaxy S24 Ultra maintains the same configuration as its predecessor, except for one of the telephoto lenses, which increases in resolution. We find, therefore, a 200 megapixel main sensors; a camera 12 megapixel ultra wide angle and then two telephoto cameras
On the one hand, a secondary 10 megapixel one that allows you to capture images with a 3x optical zoom. On the other hand, a 50 megapixel sensor with an f/3.4 aperture capable of taking photos with a 5x optical zoom and a hybrid zoom up to 10x. By the way, it is now also possible to take photos with night mode using the 5x zoom.
The main novelty of the Galaxy S24 Ultra cameras, as I said, depends on AI. And, more specifically, the new engine ProVisual Enginewhich works both in capturing images and editing them.
For example: the aforementioned 10x zoom of the 50 megapixel sensor is possible thanks to the combination of physical lenses (which go up to 5x) with the aforementioned artificial intelligence improvements. Of course: it is a somewhat strange strategy if you take into account that the Galaxy S23 Ultra had a telephoto camera capable of taking a zoom 10x magnification 100% optically. We assume that the combination of the new 50 megapixel sensor and AI features They will be able to improve the results compared to their predecessoralthough we will have to check how much.
Likewise, it will also be necessary to validate how much impact the AI-based ProVisual Engine has on the processing of the images captured by the different cameras, something in which the new ISP of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
In terms of photo editing, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s AI engine allows you to use modes such as Generative Edit to fill, using generative artificial intelligence, the empty edges that are created in an image when resizing it or moving a subject or object; which is something we can also do through this function. Samsung has also added a tool called Instant SLow Mor that allows generating additional frames to reduce the speed of the video, even if it is not recorded in slow motion.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is boring
Regarding hardware, the new features of this Galaxy S24 Ultra are quite subtle. The frames are now made of titanium, which offers, a priori, a little more resistance. The screen remains static in size and resolution, but now has fewer bezels and can raise its brightness to 2,600 nits. It is also completely flat, finally eliminating the tedious double curvature that we saw in previous generations. And finally, it has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which offers, in addition to better performance, greater efficiency.
All these improvements, however, they are boring. The Galaxy S24 Ultra does not provide anything really new or disruptive compared to its predecessor, beyond four AI functions that, except in very specific cases, you will probably only use the first weeks simply to browse.
This does not mean that it is a bad product. In fact, It is probably one of the best we will see in 2024. Its screen continues to be excellent, its cameras are promising and the combination of performance and autonomy will most likely not leave anyone indifferent. But, as he said, it’s a boring phone.