Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S24: all the differences explained
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Intro
If you want a new Galaxy phone, but can't quite decide if you should go for the big, S-Pen-wielding Galaxy S24 Ultra, or the more compact and light-weight Galaxy S24, then read on as in this article we lay out all the differences between the two.
Obviously, you have the sheer size difference, but it is not the only one. The two also have different battery life, design, camera quality and - believe it or not - even the performance can differ as the cooling plate can be larger on the Ultra model.
So, let's waste no time and start with all the Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S24 differences in a nutshell:
| Galaxy S24 Ultra | Galaxy S24 |
|---|---|
| Big and heavy phone | Much smaller and lighter phone |
| Titanium frame | Armor Aluminum frame |
| Large, 6.8-inch screen | Smaller, 6.2-inch screen |
| Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in some countries Exynos 2400 in select markets |
| Runs on Android 14 with Samsung One UI 6.1 | Same Android 14 with One UI 6.1 |
| All versions to come with 12GB RAM | 8GB RAM |
| Four cameras on the back, including both a 3X zoom and a 5X zoom lens | Three cameras on the back, only one zoom camera at 3X |
| Comes with S Pen | No S Pen stylus support |
| 5000mAh battery size | Smaller, 4000mAh battery |
| Faster charging speeds at up to 45W | Slower 25W charging speed |
| $1,300 base price | $800 base price |
Table of Contents:
Design, Display and Size
David vs Goliath
There is a big difference in size between the S24 Ultra (on the left) and the S24 (on the right)
These are as different as phones get these days in terms of size: the Galaxy S24 Ultra is a big, 6.8-inch phone, while the Galaxy S24 is what we now call "compact" with its 6.2-inch form factor.
The styling of the two is slightly different. While the smaller Galaxy S24 has your typical smartphone look with rounded corners, the Galaxy S24 Ultra uses a passport-like design with sharp corners.
Both have flat sides, a change from last year's models which were slightly curved.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is also the first Samsung phone to use a titanium frame, while the regular S24 version will use Armor Aluminum.
The S24 Ultra features a glare-free screen that looks marvelous outdoors
The Ultra model also now uses a flat screen for the first time. The vanilla Galaxy S24 also has a flat screen (but this smaller model has had a flat screen even in previous generations). One other area where the two are now identical is refresh rate, as both support 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate.
The S24 Ultra, however, has a slightly sharper screen with 1440p resolution, while the Galaxy S24 has a 1080p screen. Not a big deal for most people as you need to really stare up close to spot the difference.
Both phones have the same IP68 certification. And of course, you have the S Pen on board the Galaxy S24 Ultra. This has been a staple of Samsung phones for years and it's still here, and that would be one reason to get the Ultra over the vanilla S24 version, which does not have it.
Performance and Software
A difference in cooling and for intense gaming
No huge difference in performance between these two
Тhe Galaxy S24 Ultra runs on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, while the smaller Galaxy S24 has split personality: it features the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip if you buy it in the United States, but runs on a different, Samsung-made Exynos 2400 processor if you buy it outside the US.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra also has 12GB of RAM on board, while the vanilla S24 version only features 8GB of RAM. Compact phone lovers won't be too happy about this.
The Galaxy S24 version that we tested for this review runs on the Exynos 2400 chipset and we notice a bit of stutter in daily use, something that we do not see on the S24 Ultra.
In benchmarks, however, both phones score excellent. The Ultra model has an advantage in gaming thanks to its larger form factor which is more efficient in dissipating heat.
There is also a difference in the configurations: the base S24 Ultra has 256GB of storage, while the base Galaxy S24 comes with 128GB of on-board storage.
When it comes to software, both come with Android 14 spiced up with Samsung's new One UI 6.1 at launch. Samsung has committed to a whopping SEVEN years of both OS upgrades and security patches, which is a big improvement from previous models that only supported 4 OS upgrades.
Camera
The S24 Ultra has the better long-range zoom, but for all the rest the camera systems produce similar results
On the camera front, Samsung sticks with four cameras on the back of the S24 Ultra, and three cameras on the S24. The difference maker is the new 50MP 5X zoom camera, exclusive to the Ultra model. With this new sensor Samsung promises lossless quality at 5X AND 10X zoom.
The rest of the camera changes focus more around the new Galaxy AI and the processing.
Main Camera
First, both phones benefit from Samsung's new color science. The oversaturated tones are replaced with more natural looking images, and the excessive oversharpening is dialed back. All great things!
As for the rest, the main camera on the S24 Ultra remains the familiar 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor, while the Galaxy S24 re-uses the 50MP GN3 sensor for yet another year. In just pure size, the main camera sensor on the Ultra is nearly 20% larger than the vanilla version, so image quality is expected to still be slightly better out of the Ultra, but the real-life differences are small.
Zoom Quality
Not surprisingly, the Ultra version does better with long-range zoom, but you often have to really pixel peep to notice. The smaller S24 is one of the more capable phones for zoomed-in photos after all.
Ultra-wide
Both the Galaxy S24 Ultra and S24 stick with the 12MP Sony IMX564 sensor for the ultra-wide camera, the same sensor with the same 1.4µm pixel pitch the company used last year. The differences here in quality are visible, but they are probably due to the different chipsets.
Detail is comparable across both phones.
Selfies
Selfies also look very similar on these two phones.
Video Quality
And this is what video quality looks on both these phones.
Audio Quality and Haptics
The S24 Ultra speakers are more boomy and get loud, but both phones lack in bass
When you listen to the loudspeakers on the the S24 Ultra and the S24, it is clear that the Ultra model gets boomier.
But they are also similar in their sound profile, with very distinct vocals, but less emphasis on the lower frequencies which we found lacking. In bass heavy tracks, these two don't sound nearly as good as other flagships on the market, but for talking head videos the voice comes through very clearly.
Haptic feedback, however, is identical between the two models. You get well-defined, sharp feedback while typing, but you don't quite have the refinement of the best haptic motors like you do on the OnePlus 12 or iPhone series.
Battery Life and Charging
Slightly longer battery life on the S24
The S24 Ultra battery life can stretch to two days, while the S24 is strictly a one-day phone
The Galaxy S24 Ultra features a 5000mAh battery size (same as on the previous S23 Ultra model), while the smaller Galaxy S24 comes with a 4000mAh battery (a 100mAh increase compared to the S23).
So the gap in battery life between the S24 Ultra and S24 closes a bit.
We perform three different battery tests here at PhoneArena. In our lightest web browsing test, the S24 Ultra scored around 20 hours, in the top end of the charts, while the Galaxy S24 mustered around 16 hours and 20 minutes, still very good, but not quite as long.
Interestingly, for YouTube video playback, both phones scores in the middle of the charts and even slightly below average with a nearly identical result of around 8 hours and 20 minutes. Samsung phones have always underperfomed with YouTube, which is strange.
And for gaming, the S24 Ultra got an hour longer playtime compared to the small S24.
Charging-wise, the S24 Ultra supports 45W wired charging, while the S24 only gets 25W speeds.
PhoneArena Charging Test Results:
Specs Comparison
Here is a summary of the Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 specs:
| Galaxy S24 Ultra | Galaxy S24 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size, weight | 162.3 x 79 x 8.6 mm 233 grams | 147 x 70.6 x 7.6 mm 167 grams |
| Screen | 6.8" OLED WQHD+ 1440p 1-120Hz | 6.7" OLED 1080p 1-120Hz |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy 4nm | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy (US) Exynos 2400 (Limited Markets) 4nm |
| RAM, Storage | 12/256GB 12/512GB 12/1TB | 8/128GB 8/256GB |
| Cameras | 200MP main, f/1.7 12MP ultra, f/2.2 10MP 3X telephoto, f/2.4 50MP 5X telephoto, f/3.4 12MP front | 50MP main, f/1.8 12MP ultra, f/2.2 10MP 3X zoom, f/2.4 - 12MP front |
| Battery | 5000mAh | 4000mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 45W wired 15W wireless Reverse wireless | USB-C 25W wired 15 wireless Reverse wireless |
Summary
Choosing between the S24 Ultra and S24 boils down to the following: do you want a bigger or a smaller phone?
The other big factor remains the improved battery life that comes with a larger phone and the S Pen support on the Ultra.
The software features are practically identical (hurray for seven years of Android updates!), including all those cool rumored Galaxy AI features, which is nice.
The larger Ultra model is better for gaming with its larger cooling plate, though.
For everything else, though, the S24 is still the way to go for small phone lovers, and it's better than before, while those who want it all and in a larger size should go for the S24 Ultra.
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