Quick Verdict
Two years on, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the rare flagship that reviewers and owners agree has aged superbly: a class-leading 2,600-nit flat display, a versatile 200MP-plus-5x camera, the only built-in S Pen in the game, and an industry-first seven years of OS updates that keep it feeling current into 2031. The knocks are consistent and old news — hit-or-miss Galaxy AI, a high $1,300 launch price, and Samsung's image processing that purists still rate behind a Pixel. Buy this if you want a do-everything Android powerhouse that holds its value (now ~$500–$680 used) and stays supported for years; skip it only if you shoot a lot of moving subjects and prefer Pixel-style point-and-shoot processing, or if AI gimmicks were the whole reason you were tempted.
Pros reviewers agree on
Strengths consistently called out across sources
- The flat 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X with 2,600-nit peak (measured ~2,400 nits at 20% window) is one of the best, most usable outdoor displays ever put on a phone.
- The 200MP main plus 5x periscope and 3x telephoto is a genuinely versatile, top-tier camera system, with excellent portraits and zoom flexibility.
- The built-in S Pen remains a unique productivity advantage no other mainstream flagship matches.
- Seven years of OS updates (announced first with the S24 series) is the longest support on Android and the single biggest reason it still holds up in 2026.
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy with 12GB RAM is still fast and stutter-free two years later, comfortably handling heavy gaming.
- Gorilla Armor glass is exceptionally scratch resistant — multiple long-term owners report micro-scratch-free screens after 1–2 years.
- It holds its value and is now a standout used/refurbished buy at roughly half its launch price.
Cons reviewers agree on
Weaknesses flagged across multiple sources
- The $1,300 launch price was the highest ever for an Ultra and a recurring complaint at retail.
- Galaxy AI features are hit-or-miss and, by reviewers' own admission, not used as often as expected day to day.
- Samsung's camera image processing still trails the Pixel for moving subjects and natural rendering, per both reviewers and Reddit owners.
What reviewers disagree on
Points where expert verdicts diverge — weigh based on your priorities
- Camera vs Pixel — Samsung camp says the S24 Ultra finally beat the Pixel on hardware versatility and zoom; Pixel camp says Google still wins on standard shots and moving subjects despite weaker hardware.
- AI value — some reviewers call Samsung's AI suite the most useful of the big three; others (and many owners) say the AI features are gimmicks they rarely touch.
- Charging — reviewers split between 'fine, on par with Apple/Google' and 'embarrassingly behind Chinese rivals' that charge two to three times faster.
How This Review Was Created
17Publications
11YouTube Reviews
5Reddit Threads
33Total Sources
High ConfidenceLaunch reviews January 2024 through long-term revisits May 2026
This is a synthesis of expert reviews and user discussions; we may not have physically tested the product. See methodology.
Detailed Breakdown
Samsung swapped the S23 Ultra's curved screen for a flat one and added a titanium frame. Reviewers welcomed the flat display but noted the titanium brings little weight saving, and the iPhone-like flat sides drew comparisons.
- The display is now completely flat corner to corner, a change reviewers broadly preferred over the S23 Ultra's curve.— MKBHD
- Going to a flat display was 'the best move forward,' even though it was initially polarising.— SuperSaf
- The titanium frame brings little of the weight saving Apple achieved on the iPhone 15 Pro — it stays heavy.— Wired
- It uses grade-2 titanium, so it is not quite as premium-feeling as the iPhone 15 Pro Max.— SuperSaf
- The flat sides and flat screen look very iPhone-like all the way around.— MKBHD
- IP68 dust and water resistance and a fast USB 3.x port remain, and the build still feels fantastic after two years of caseless use.— YouTube — S24 Ultra in 2026 review
Universally praised. The 6.8-inch QHD+ LTPO AMOLED hits 2,600 nits peak with a new anti-reflective Gorilla Armor finish that makes it exceptional in bright sunlight.
- The display is so easy to use outside in bright light that the reviewer wants every other manufacturer to copy it.— The Verge
- Peak brightness is rated 2,600 nits, up from 1,750 nits on the S23 Ultra — a big real-world jump for outdoor use.— Unbox Therapy
- Measured brightness reached ~2,408 nits on a 20% white window versus ~2,235 nits on the iPhone 15 Pro — a measurable win.— GSMArena
- It is a Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2,600 nits peak panel at QHD+ resolution.— GSMArena
- Two years later the 6.8-inch QHD+ AMOLED 'has aged like fine wine' with no screen burn-in and still buttery 120Hz.— YouTube — S24 Ultra 2 years later honest review
A 200MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto and new 50MP 5x periscope (replacing the old 10MP 10x). Reviewers rate it among the best, with standout zoom and portraits, but image processing remains the polarising point.
- The camera system is 'one of the best in the game' and comes with a fantastic portrait mode.— The Verge
- One of the best all-around camera packages out there after months of shooting, including an excellent and often-overlooked selfie camera.— SuperSaf
- The new 50MP 5x periscope fixes the S23 Ultra's weak 5–10x range; 5x portraits look really good and edge detection is among the best.— SuperSaf
- Main camera is a 200MP f/1.7 (HP2) with a 50MP f/3.4 5x periscope, 10MP 3x tele and 12MP ultrawide.— GSMArena
- The Pixel 8 Pro's ultrawide is preferred for sharper detail and more natural white balance than the S24 series ultrawide.— Wired
- Owners argue the Pixel still looks 'leagues ahead' on moving subjects despite the headline that Samsung finally beat the Pixel.— Reddit — MacRumors S24 Ultra thread
- Some Pixel owners find Samsung's camera the 'worst' experience to use even though stills quality is great.— Reddit — r/GooglePixel
- Eighteen months on, the camera is still excellent — great dynamics, colours, detail, portrait and zoom — and doesn't feel dated.— YouTube — Is the S24 Ultra the perfect 2025 phone
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy with 12GB RAM. Reviewers and long-term owners agree it remains fast and stutter-free, with strong but thermally warm sustained gaming.
- The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Android base 'shine through to deliver one of the best smartphone experiences out there.'— 9to5Google
- A much faster chip, brighter display and longer battery make a clear case for upgrading.— Engadget
- Two years later it still blows through long gaming sessions without missing a beat, with fast, reliable biometrics.— YouTube — S24 Ultra in 2026 review
- In a gaming test the phone reached ~39–40°C after ~25 minutes and held lighter titles at 90–120fps, with Genshin-class games around 50–60fps.— YouTube — S24 Ultra gaming thermals test
- Benchmark runs put it among high-tier devices (3DMark Wildlife ~3,720), better than the large majority of phones tested.— YouTube — S24 Ultra benchmark run
- Samsung still tends to lag Google and Apple on image processing speed/quality due to its processing pipeline.— 9to5Google
5,000mAh with 45W wired and 15W wireless. All-day battery is consistent praise; charging speed versus Chinese rivals is the recurring criticism, and there is a noted One UI update battery-drain bug.
- In a head-to-head battery test it lasted 12h31m, over an hour longer than the iPhone 16 Pro Max's 11h22m.— YouTube — S24 Ultra vs iPhone 16 Pro Max battery test
- 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired (65% in 30 min), 15W wireless and 4.5W reverse wireless.— GSMArena
- Charging is on par with Apple and Google but 'leagues behind rivals out of China' that charge far faster.— Stuff
- After two years, moderate use still delivers a full day with 25–30% left by bedtime; light use can stretch toward two days.— YouTube — S24 Ultra in 2026 review
- Measured battery health was 93% after two years (one heavy year, one moderate), per Samsung's hidden diagnostics.— YouTube — how to check S24 Ultra battery health
- A One UI 8.0 update introduced a battery-drain regression, with one user logging only ~3–5 hours screen-on-time on bad days.— YouTube — One UI 8.0 S24 Ultra battery drain
- GSMArena flagged that the phone keeps drawing power well past the indicated full state, making it a poor communicator of its charging status.— GSMArena
The S24 series debuted Galaxy AI and Samsung's industry-first seven-year update pledge. The update commitment is universally praised; the AI itself splits reviewers and owners.
- Top-tier hardware but the highly touted AI features are hit-or-miss, and the price is higher than ever.— The Verge
- Seven generations of OS updates is industry-leading and matches Google's Pixel commitment — among the longest support on any phone.— Wired
- The reviewer admits he doesn't use the AI features as often as he expected to.— SuperSaf
- Generative AI photo edit (move/resize subjects, fill the rest) mirrors Google's Magic Editor and works well.— Wired
- Two years on, the S24 Ultra still has roughly 95% of the newest Galaxy AI experience plus all of Google's AI (Gemini, Circle to Search).— YouTube — S24 Ultra in 2026 review
- One UI is feature-rich; bloatware remains a divisive owner complaint though most apps are uninstallable.— Reddit — r/Samsung
The built-in S Pen remains the S24 Ultra's signature differentiator — a productivity tool no other mainstream flagship offers, and one long-term owners single out as a keeper.
- The built-in S Pen still 'feels like a magic wand' two years in and is a standout reason to own this phone.— YouTube — S24 Ultra in 2026 review
- The S Pen is loved and the reviewer is glad it's still here, with low-latency on-screen performance.— SuperSaf
- The S Pen is rarely used by some, but when it is needed it's extremely useful.— JerryRigEverything
- Multi-window productivity (four-way split screen) makes it a genuine pocket workstation.— Mrwhosetheboss
Launched at a record $1,300, but the seven-year update pledge plus strong durability make it one of the best used/refurbished flagship buys in 2026.
- Launch price was $1,300 — the highest ever for an Ultra and a sticking point at launch.— The Verge
- Renewed units have dropped to around $676, framed as one of the best flagship deals available.— Phandroid
- It's still safe to assume the S24 is worth buying in 2026, much as an iPhone 15 remains worth owning after the iPhone 17.— BGR
- Best Ultra ever at launch, with very little missing from the top Galaxy model.— Digital Trends
- After spending serious time with both, USA Today's Reviewed recommends the Galaxy S24 to most people over the Pixel 8 Pro.— Reviewed (USA Today)
- A premium design, exceptional display and helpful AI make it a top choice for power users six months in, despite price and size.— Android Faithful
Long-term Verdict
What creators say after 30, 100, or 365 days of real-world use — the post-honeymoon reality that launch-day reviews can't cover.
Long-term revisits at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years are unusually consistent: the S24 Ultra ages exceptionally well. The display stays scratch- and burn-in-free, battery health holds, and the seven-year update pledge keeps it feeling current — the only recurring complaints are the high original price and minor One UI quirks.
- Two years later the body has held up extraordinarily well and still feels like a very up-to-date, modern experience — especially worth picking up at its ~50% reduced price.— YouTube — S24 Ultra 2 years later
- After two years the 6.8-inch QHD+ AMOLED has 'aged like fine wine' with no screen burn-in and still buttery-smooth 120Hz.— YouTube — S24 Ultra honest 2-year review
- This is the first phone the reviewer has owned that doesn't get mysterious micro-scratches two months in, and the camera was still excellent 18 months later.— YouTube — Is the S24 Ultra the perfect 2025 phone
- After a year of regular use the screen remained completely scratch-free — even micro-scratch-free — the first phone in over a decade to do so for this reviewer, though fingerprint smudges became more noticeable.— YouTube — S24 Ultra 1 year later
- Measured battery health was 93% after two years — one heavy year plus one moderate year — read from Samsung's hidden battery diagnostics.— YouTube — check S24 Ultra battery health
- Two years in, with the battery capped at 90%, it still gives 5+ hours screen-on-time and the reviewer feels no urge to upgrade with five years of support still left.— YouTube — S24 Ultra after 2 years
- In 2026 it still feels very close to newer Ultras: ~95% of the latest Galaxy AI, S Pen 'still feels like a magic wand,' and 7 years of updates keep it functional to at least 2031.— YouTube — S24 Ultra in 2026 review
- After two years of caseless use it still looks and feels fantastic with only a few micro-scratches, and now offers better value at around $500 in good condition.— YouTube — S24 Ultra still worth it in 2026
- It's one of the best used devices you can buy with ~5 years of software updates left — but expect a used unit's battery to have degraded.— YouTube — S24 Ultra still worth buying
- One year after switching from an iPhone it held up so well it still looked nearly brand new despite drops and heavy travel, ending most days with 10–20% battery.— YouTube — S24 Ultra 1 year after switching from Apple
- One year later it still feels fast on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, delivering a full day of heavy use or up to two days of mild use — 'one of the best smartphones you can buy.'— YouTube — S24 Ultra after one year
- 100 days in, the price had already fallen to ~$1,100 for the 256GB base; the reviewer argues the spend is only justified if you specifically need the telephoto, S Pen and latest Snapdragon.— YouTube — S24 Ultra 100 days later
- Around four months in, raw editing was smooth though 200MP photos still take ~5 seconds to process, and the reviewer noted general iterative-upgrade fatigue versus cheaper phones doing 95% of the job.— YouTube — S24 Ultra long-term user review
- Six months in it 'just feels solid,' though the titanium didn't reduce weight and there are a couple of minor One UI lock-screen player quirks.— YouTube — S24 Ultra 6 months later
Real-World Tests
Battery drain runs, durability tests, camera shootouts, and gaming benchmarks — the numbers that only video testers capture.
Hands-on testers ran the S24 Ultra through timed battery drains, JerryRigEverything-style durability, sustained gaming thermals, benchmark runs and camera shootouts. Numbers below are from measured tests, not spec sheets.
- In a head-to-head endurance test the Galaxy S24 Ultra lasted 12 hours 31 minutes — over an hour longer than the iPhone 16 Pro Max's 11 hours 22 minutes.— YouTube — S24 Ultra vs iPhone 16 Pro Max battery test
- Durability test: the new Gorilla Armor glass is rated for ~4x the micro-scratch resistance of prior glass, and the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor still scanned reliably even through level-7 scratch grooves.— JerryRigEverything-style durability test
- Under direct flame the 6.8-inch AMOLED lasted about 30 seconds before going white and not recovering — typical OLED behaviour.— JerryRigEverything-style durability test
- Sustained gaming hit ~39–40°C in the middle of the frame after ~25 minutes; demanding titles ran ~50–60fps while lighter games held a consistent 90–120fps with CPU/GPU utilisation under 50%.— YouTube — S24 Ultra gaming thermals test
- In one game the gaming-focused ROG Phone 8 ran ~10fps higher, but the S24 Ultra was rendering at a higher native resolution at the time.— YouTube — S24 Ultra gaming thermals test
- Benchmark run logged a 3DMark Wildlife score around 3,720 with an overall composite ~6,224, rating better than 84–96% of devices tested.— YouTube — S24 Ultra benchmark run
- Camera shootout vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: the very bright, low-glare display made the shooting experience tangibly better, but most testers preferred the iPhone's 4K footage to Samsung's 8K and noted Samsung video shortcomings.— YouTube — iPhone 16 Pro Max vs S24 Ultra camera battle
- A One UI 8.0 update introduced a battery-drain regression: on bad days the tester logged only ~3–5 hours of screen-on-time with very high battery usage.— YouTube — One UI 8.0 S24 Ultra battery drain
- With a clip-on active cooler the 6.8-inch S24 Ultra mounts fine (rated for up to 7-inch phones) and its 2,100mAh cooler pack runs 2–3 hours per charge for extended gaming.— YouTube — S24 Ultra cooler accessory test
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Frequently Asked Questions about Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Update History
- May 19, 2026— Review refreshed with latest sources
- May 19, 2026— Added Real-World Tests section (9 points)
- May 19, 2026— Added Long-term Verdict section (14 points)
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This synthesis review was compiled from 33 independent sources. TechTalkTown did not receive products or compensation from Samsung.