The Samsung Galaxy S24 / Ultra

[Technerd108]

This year has been extremely difficult financially. I generally have two phones. I have a Pixel 8 Pro and the s24 ultra. My son has an iPhone 11 and it is showing it's age.

I can't afford to buy him a new phone. So I decided to give him my Pixel and Pixel watch 2 and will keep the s24 ultra. It is hard because software wise I prefer the Pixel.

However, Samsung has been good to me over the years and I do think this is the best phone of 2024. If Samsung offers sweet pre order deals I still can't afford to upgrade this year. So whatever phone I chose for myself I am stuck with for at least the rest of this year and probably longer.

People will always complain and Samsung, Apple and Google all have their own advantages and disadvantages. If any phone maker made a phone truly perfect then there would be no need for people to buy the next year's model. I don't expect a perfect phone. I expect a reliable, fast, and useful phone and I can't think of a phone that fits those criteria better than the s24 ultra.

The funny thing is I almost got the s24 plus. It is a great phone too but I am so glad I got the Ultra due to my budgetary constraints.

The s24 ultra is not perfect but it is close enough with a pretty future proof screen and processor to keep me going for years to come.

 

[Tulani]

Merry Xmas to all the Android Mafia in these threads 🎄

 

[Bkdodger]

Same to you and I hope everyone had a great holiday. Today’s the day we recoup a little bit lol

 

[mjschabow]

This year has been extremely difficult financially. I generally have two phones. I have a Pixel 8 Pro and the s24 ultra. My son has an iPhone 11 and it is showing it's age.

I can't afford to buy him a new phone. So I decided to give him my Pixel and Pixel watch 2 and will keep the s24 ultra. It is hard because software wise I prefer the Pixel.

However, Samsung has been good to me over the years and I do think this is the best phone of 2024. If Samsung offers sweet pre order deals I still can't afford to upgrade this year. So whatever phone I chose for myself I am stuck with for at least the rest of this year and probably longer.

People will always complain and Samsung, Apple and Google all have their own advantages and disadvantages. If any phone maker made a phone truly perfect then there would be no need for people to buy the next year's model. I don't expect a perfect phone. I expect a reliable, fast, and useful phone and I can't think of a phone that fits those criteria better than the s24 ultra.

The funny thing is I almost got the s24 plus. It is a great phone too but I am so glad I got the Ultra due to my budgetary constraints.

The s24 ultra is not perfect but it is close enough with a pretty future proof screen and processor to keep me going for years to come.

For the first time in maybe 10 years, I didn't upgrade my phone at all this year and I'm still chilling on my iPhone 15 PM, for kind of the same reason. We're comfortable, but with so many new expenses, it seemed irresponsible to buy a new phone. The experience is just fine. I'm really thinking about making my upgrade cycle and every 2 year thing from now on. I think it'll actually feel like a cool upgrade then! The only thing that sucks us that my battery health is at 88% and I definitely feel the decrease in battery life. But again, when I upgrade next September, the increase in battery life just from having a new phone alone will feel more impactful.

 

[tbayrgs]

For the first time in maybe 10 years, I didn't upgrade my phone at all this year and I'm still chilling on my iPhone 15 PM, for kind of the same reason. We're comfortable, but with so many new expenses, it seemed irresponsible to buy a new phone. The experience is just fine. I'm really thinking about making my upgrade cycle and every 2 year thing from now on. I think it'll actually feel like a cool upgrade then! The only thing that sucks us that my battery health is at 88% and I definitely feel the decrease in battery life. But again, when I upgrade next September, the increase in battery life just from having a new phone alone will feel more impactful.

This generation of iPhones was also the first I did not upgrade to, dating all the way back to the original iPhone. I think the 16s are great upgrade for people coming from a 3+ year old phone but new smartphones really have become incremental year over year.

I did upgrade my OG Pixel Fold to the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold but prior to that it had been years since my Pixel 4 XL and I don’t expect to upgrade it again this year—it’s a pretty damn great phone.

I think I’m just realizing as I get older that I don’t have the stamina to yearly upgrade all my tech. There’s literally nothing on my 2025 upgrade draft board so not sure what my next tech purchase will be.

Now, convincing my wife that it’s time to upgrade my motorcycle…😏

 

[mjschabow]

This generation of iPhones was also the first I did not upgrade to, dating all the way back to the original iPhone. I think the 16s are great upgrade for people coming from a 3+ year old phone but new smartphones really have become incremental year over year.

I did upgrade my OG Pixel Fold to the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold but prior to that it had been years since my Pixel 4 XL and I don’t expect to upgrade it again this year—it’s a pretty damn great phone.

I think I’m just realizing as I get older that I don’t have the stamina to yearly upgrade all my tech. There’s literally nothing on my 2025 upgrade draft board so not sure what my next tech purchase will be.

Now, convincing my wife that it’s time to upgrade my motorcycle…😏

That's for sure. Plus, my guitar (and effects) addiction has taken over my former tech addiction, lol.

I think I'll probably upgrade to the iPhone 17 PM in September, just because I'd hate to see what my battery capacity is in 9 months. I'm still always very tempted by what Android has to offer, but on the flip side, I don't have a true reason to actually switch other than the fact that I don't like Apple as a company and I just don't think they're visionary like they once were. That's not a reason for me to go and switch though, haha, though I really appreciate the boundaries that Samsung pushes with their devices.

 

[Technerd108]

So how many s24 ultra users are upgrading to the s25 ultra?

I can't afford to this release but I don't know even if I could afford to upgrade if I would. I don't like the new rounded corner and copy of iPhone design language.

One of the things I really liked about the s24 ultra was the square brick shape. I know everyone complains about the sharp corners but I don't find it to be a problem at all.

What set the ultra apart from iPhone was the very different design language and the rectangular shape and screen. The screen has more usable space because of the shape. While using rounded corners decreases usable space. The rounded corners are small but again it takes away from the uniqueness of the ultra.

What do you think?

I bet most people love the new design and I can understand it. I am sure the s25 ultra will be a great looking phone and nice upgrades but I like the older design.

 

[lpolarityl]

So how many s24 ultra users are upgrading to the s25 ultra?

I can't afford to this release but I don't know even if I could afford to upgrade if I would. I don't like the new rounded corner and copy of iPhone design language.

One of the things I really liked about the s24 ultra was the square brick shape. I know everyone complains about the sharp corners but I don't find it to be a problem at all.

What set the ultra apart from iPhone was the very different design language and the rectangular shape and screen. The screen has more usable space because of the shape. While using rounded corners decreases usable space. The rounded corners are small but again it takes away from the uniqueness of the ultra.

What do you think?

I bet most people love the new design and I can understand it. I am sure the s25 ultra will be a great looking phone and nice upgrades but I like the older design.

I plan to stick with my S24 Ultra, it is still and will be a very capable device for years to come, plus the design is awesome. I was pondering moving back to an iPhone when the 17 comes out, just waiting for more changes and improvements in iOS before I switch back.

 

[Ludatyk]

I plan to stick with my S24 Ultra, it is still and will be a very capable device for years to come, plus the design is awesome. I was pondering moving back to an iPhone when the 17 comes out, just waiting for more changes and improvements in iOS before I switch back.

Out of curiosity… what specific changes or improvements in iOS are you looking for?

 

[sjsharksfan12]

So how many s24 ultra users are upgrading to the s25 ultra?

I can't afford to this release but I don't know even if I could afford to upgrade if I would. I don't like the new rounded corner and copy of iPhone design language.

One of the things I really liked about the s24 ultra was the square brick shape. I know everyone complains about the sharp corners but I don't find it to be a problem at all.

What set the ultra apart from iPhone was the very different design language and the rectangular shape and screen. The screen has more usable space because of the shape. While using rounded corners decreases usable space. The rounded corners are small but again it takes away from the uniqueness of the ultra.

What do you think?

I bet most people love the new design and I can understand it. I am sure the s25 ultra will be a great looking phone and nice upgrades but I like the older design.

I'm sticking with the 24 Ultra. Even if I wanted to Upgrade, I have done too many upgrades recently and I really should just allow the phone I currently have to actually age. Also, I'm still paying it off with my carrier.

 

[mjschabow]

It's funny to see so many people here no longer upgrading yearly. If the tech geeks aren't even doing it anymore...

 

[Ludatyk]

It's funny to see so many people here no longer upgrading yearly. If the tech geeks aren't even doing it anymore...

I’ve always taken the every other year approach ever since Apple decided to charge 1k for the iPhone X… once they did that, the whole industry followed suit.

Before that, I was upgrading annually… salute to those that still do. But it didn’t make sense (to me) when nowadays improvements were minor. As much as I’m interested in the rumored bigger chassis of the upcoming Fold 7… I’ll most likely wait for the Fold 8.

And with One UI 7 coming soon.. my Fold 6 will get a whole new experience.

 

[sjsharksfan12]

It's funny to see so many people here no longer upgrading yearly. If the tech geeks aren't even doing it anymore...

I'm not a tech geek, just a consumer. There really isn't any reason to upgrade anyway. For me, I barely use the camera so what is it that is worth the upgrade? I'm more looking forward to One UI 7, anyway.

 

[lpolarityl]

Out of curiosity… what specific changes or improvements in iOS are you looking for?

There are a few things:

• Notifications. I simply prefer how Android handles notifications.
  • iOS' consolidation method is not very good. The way it handles many notifications (especially when you have a lot of them from the same application; MS Teams, Outlook, work related notifcations in my example) leaves a lot to be desired.
  • You can't long press or quickly change a single applications notification behavior. You have to go deep into the Notification settings. On Android, you simple long press the notification and then you can change the settings for that app. It takes you directly to the notification options/settings for that app.
• More homescreen customization would be nice. Example, the grid lockdown (forcing a maximum of 4) is a bit silly, especially on large screen devices. Letting users decide if they want 4 or 5 would be a welcome change.
• iOS still doesn't have a proper universal BACK gesture. You use android long enough, not having this feels like a huge step back, pun intended.
• The keyboard isn't as good as GBoard or Swiftkey. You also don't get all the same features by installing them on iOS, things are still limited/restricted.
• General OS navigation is... it just feels dated.
  • iOS' animations are very nice, but they sometimes cause a little delay, like you have to wait for the animation to complete. This is exasperated on non-Pro motion 60Hz variants. A good example is scrolling pace/length. It feels like you have to scroll many times to match a single scroll in android (Reddit, any large content forum).
  • Getting to asystem setting or app setting feels like a huge chore, it shouldn't be that way. You shouldn't have to go 3-5 menus deep to get a simple setting.
  • Long press is not utilized enough to expedite things. Android supports the long press feature for almost every single thing, it is really nice.
• Sound/audio management. iOS needs to let you change sounds for all types of sounds, specifically right from the audio rocker. You shouldn't have to go into mutiple menus to alter sound settings per type (ringer, notifications, media, etc.). Android handles this properly.

 

[jamezr]

I received the latest One UI 7 beta 3 update yesterday on my S24U. Man One UI 7 is so smooth and fast.

 

[aggie99]

It's funny to see so many people here no longer upgrading yearly. If the tech geeks aren't even doing it anymore...

Yea, I'm done with the yearly upgrading game on all these devices. MAY upgrade my 9 Pro Fold depending on what Google does with the SOC but keeping my 9 Pro XL, 16 Pro Max, and S24U for another year. Gotta put those play funds toward buying the kiddo a car this year so I'm kinda detaching from my addiction a bit. The manufacturers are helping with that as there is just not that much of a compelling reason to upgrade now other than AI which is just not a huge deal for me.

 

[Sensamic]

Sincerely hoping OneUI 7 gets release for the S24 lineup during this month.

 

[Ludatyk]

Sincerely hoping OneUI 7 gets release for the S24 lineup during this month.

You didn't jump on the beta? But I suspect it's coming this month along for several other devices... including the S23 and latest Z series phones. Samsung had announcement they will have all S series phones updated by March.

 

[Technerd108]

Android 15 just by itself will offer battery life improvements, speed improvements, true variable rate refresh to the screen and then you add in OneUI 7 with all of Samsungs tweaks and optimizations and it should make s23 and s24 series feel like new phones.

As I am seeing the s25 ultra in real life it looks like a very nice incremental upgrade. If I had an s22 Ultra I would have upgraded for sure. I am actually happy the more I think about it that OEM's are not making huge design changes year over year as it allows a better refinement of the overall product. That being said if you have an s24 plus or Ultra I would find it hard to justify around $500 to upgrade with discounts and perks.

Going from the s23 Ultra to the s24 Ultra was a pretty big leap simply due to the Gorilla Armor AR screen tech and the Titanium frame. Processor wise the 8 gen 2 was pretty good and the 8 gen 3 was even better but now with the Elite series with new QC tech the processor upgrade is a bit more significant. I think as the Elite series matures it will be a lot better.

When considering an upgrade from the s24 Ultra to s25Ultra losing bluetooth in the spen was kind of a big blow. We may barely use it but when you do it is a really nice feature to have. The new design is cool and I get for a lot of people the rounded corners and flat edge are welcome changes.

I am so happy with my s24 Ultra and it's performance and battery life I just don't see a reason to spend the $500 with taxes and now it is even more for some reason although it is still a pre order.

This year funds are very tight BUT my M2 MBA I got since close to release and my iPad Air 5th gen have been so good along with the s24 ultra I have no regrets not upgrading. First year I can remember in a long time I didn't feel the need and want to upgrade my devices and I feel like they still have a few more years of useful life left in them.

The S24 Ultra being the last Ultra with the boxy shape and bluetooth s pen I think I may keep it a while as I feel it is iconic Samsung design. Can't wait for OneUI 7 though!!

 

[Sensamic]

You didn't jump on the beta? But I suspect it's coming this month along for several other devices... including the S23 and latest Z series phones. Samsung had announcement they will have all S series phones updated by March.

I think the beta program was not available in Spain, where I live.

 

[Sensamic]

Android 15 just by itself will offer battery life improvements, speed improvements, true variable rate refresh to the screen and then you add in OneUI 7 with all of Samsungs tweaks and optimizations and it should make s23 and s24 series feel like new phones.

As I am seeing the s25 ultra in real life it looks like a very nice incremental upgrade. If I had an s22 Ultra I would have upgraded for sure. I am actually happy the more I think about it that OEM's are not making huge design changes year over year as it allows a better refinement of the overall product. That being said if you have an s24 plus or Ultra I would find it hard to justify around $500 to upgrade with discounts and perks.

Going from the s23 Ultra to the s24 Ultra was a pretty big leap simply due to the Gorilla Armor AR screen tech and the Titanium frame. Processor wise the 8 gen 2 was pretty good and the 8 gen 3 was even better but now with the Elite series with new QC tech the processor upgrade is a bit more significant. I think as the Elite series matures it will be a lot better.

When considering an upgrade from the s24 Ultra to s25Ultra losing bluetooth in the spen was kind of a big blow. We may barely use it but when you do it is a really nice feature to have. The new design is cool and I get for a lot of people the rounded corners and flat edge are welcome changes.

I am so happy with my s24 Ultra and it's performance and battery life I just don't see a reason to spend the $500 with taxes and now it is even more for some reason although it is still a pre order.

This year funds are very tight BUT my M2 MBA I got since close to release and my iPad Air 5th gen have been so good along with the s24 ultra I have no regrets not upgrading. First year I can remember in a long time I didn't feel the need and want to upgrade my devices and I feel like they still have a few more years of useful life left in them.

The S24 Ultra being the last Ultra with the boxy shape and bluetooth s pen I think I may keep it a while as I feel it is iconic Samsung design. Can't wait for OneUI 7 though!!

Yeah, for me it didn't make sense to upgrade either. The Ultra is always too big for my liking, so I go with the Plus. This year there's almost no difference at all: same cameras, same design, same screen, same battery, same ram... Only chip upgrade, OneUI 7 and new colors I believe?

Can't justify 450€ to upgrade, for the Ultra it would be around 600€, but I already have problems carrying the Plus in my pockets.

 

[sjsharksfan12]

You didn't jump on the beta? But I suspect it's coming this month along for several other devices... including the S23 and latest Z series phones. Samsung had announcement they will have all S series phones updated by March.

This is my primary phone so I was afraid to jump on the Beta. I expect it to come by the middle of the month. Maybe in a couple weeks.

 

[TPadden]

I purchased a new S24 Ultra last month when a Samsung $500 discount showed up. Really weird; it had a much bigger discount with no trade-in, by over $200, than with a S23 in trade.

Tom

 

[Ludatyk]

This is my primary phone so I was afraid to jump on the Beta. I expect it to come by the middle of the month. Maybe in a couple weeks.

I’ve always been willing to try out betas (especially through apps)… if the beta ends up being too buggy or have some instability, I’d revert back to the stable build.

I understand how some play it safe which is perfectly reasonable. But my thought process is that these companies wouldn’t put out a public beta if there were some serious issues with it, they do internal testing first.

 

[sjsharksfan12]

I’ve always been willing to try out betas (especially through apps)… if the beta ends up being too buggy or have some instability, I’d revert back to the stable build.

I understand how some play it safe which is perfectly reasonable. But my thought process is that these companies wouldn’t put out a public beta if there were some serious issues with it, they do internal testing first.

How do you downgrade. I know you have to back up but it's always confused me, especially so on Android phones where it's a bit more open source.