Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S23 Ultra: What’s different?

Samsung took the wraps off of its Galaxy S24 series, which includes the vanilla Galaxy S24, the mid-tier Galaxy S24+, and the top-end Galaxy S24 Ultra. As expected, all three phones bring upgrades over last year’s Galaxy S23 series phones. Wondering just how different is the new Galaxy S24 Ultra compared to last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra? Read on to find out.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra: Performance and storage

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, as compared to the Gen 2 powering the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Now, while both processors are extremely capable in their own right, the latest Snapdragon chip features onboard AI capabilities.

Speaking of RAM and storage options, the Galaxy S24 Ultra comes in a single 12GB RAM variant with either 256GB, 512GB, or 1 TB of storage, same as the the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra: AI powers

Perhaps the biggest upgrade the Galaxy S24 Ultra offers over the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the on-board AI capabilities, in the form of Galaxy AI. Galaxy AI is a collaborative effort between Samsung and Qualcomm, which brings generative AI capabilities from the cloud right to your devices.

This enables you to use some of the features offered with generative AI even when you’re offline. And not to mention, makes the process way faster, since your phone no longer has to contact remote servers to carry out the tasks you need it to.

Just some of the AI capabilities on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra include the ability to expand photos beyond their original dimensions, the ability to erase or manipulate objects, as well as real-time call transcripts and translations, website summarisation, and much more.

While the Galaxy S23 Ultra does miss out on these capabilities, who knows? Maybe it gets some, if not all of them, with the One UI 6.1 update, when it rolls out for the device.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra: Battery

The battery is where the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra may leave you wanting a little more, especially if you happen to currently be using a Galaxy S23 Ultra. This is because both devices get the same 5,000mAh unit, with 45W wired and 15W wireless charging support, as well as support for reverse wireless charging.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra: Design

At first glance, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and S23 Ultra appear largely the same from their silhouette and the camera setup at the back. However, there are a few minor, yet crucial, differences between the two.

First off, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has ditched the curved display this year, which was a standard feature on the Ultra variants. Having said that, the flat panel is actually better at preventing glare and accidental taps on the edges of the screen and helps with better grip in general.

In addition to this, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is also housed in a new titanium frame with a satin finish (àla iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max). The S24 Ultra’s display also gets new Corning Gorilla Glass Armor protection, as compared to the S23 Ultra’s Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

Both devices however, do come with an IP68 water and dust resistance rating, meaning they can handle the occasional spills and splashes with ease.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra: Display

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and S23 Ultra’s displays again are largely the same. Both devices sport a 6.8-inch WQHD+ resolution dynamic AMOLED display, with an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz. Both devices also come with an HRD10+ certification.

However, the S24 Ultra does get an upgrade in terms of peak brightness, which stands at 2,600 nits as compared to the S23 Ultra’s 1,750 nits.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra: Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra this year shares the same camera setup as last year’s S23 Ultra – a 200MP wide, 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP telephoto lens with support for 3x zoom at the rear.

But, the second telephoto lens is where the Galaxy S24 Ultra differentiates itself from the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The lens has an image resolution of 50MP, which is better than the S23 Ultra’s 10MP unit. However, it does lose out on the 10x optical zoom capabilities of the S23 Ultra and supports only up to 5X zoom.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra: Software support

Now, long-term support for software updates is perhaps another area where the S24 Ultra shines over the S23 Ultra. This is because the latest flagship device from Samsung gets a guaranteed seven whole years of full-fledged software upgrades, as compared to the four-plus-one year update guarantee on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra: Pricing in India

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is priced at Rs 1,29,999 for the base 256GB storage variant, while the 512GB and 1TB storage variants are priced at Rs 1,39,999 and Rs 1,59,999 respectively.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, on the other hand, is priced at Rs 1,24,999 for the 256GB storage variant, Rs 1,34,999 for the 512GB storage variant, and Rs 1,54,999 for the 1TB storage variant.

Is the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra worth the upgrade?

Despite the design, features list and even the price tags feeling similar, there are a bunch of upgrades that the Galaxy S24 Ultra brings over last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra. These updates may not be easily visible, but the under the hood upgrades could go a long way in enhancing the overall user experience.