Samsung announces the Galaxy S24 Ultra, with a new titanium finish, a 6.8" 1440p display, a 50-megapixel camera with 5x zoom, shipping on January 31 from $1,299

For several years running, Samsung's S-series Ultra has been that device, and the company is going just as big with the Ultra for 2024.

The Verge 2024-01-18 Allison Johnson

Context & Ripple Effects

Samsung has iterated the Ultra line through a 6.8-inch, S Pen-equipped flagship in 2022 and a $1,200-plus S23 Ultra centered on camera upgrades in 2023. The S24 Ultra continues that premium tier while lifting its entry price to $1,299.

The same-day hands-on found the matte titanium frame and flat display practical for a large stylus phone, while a later review praised its screen and camera but questioned whether its AI features justify the price. That makes the launch a test of how much refinement can sustain the Ultra premium.

First-order effects

Samsung begins taking the S24 Ultra to market as its highest-priced mainstream S-series model, with a January 31 ship date and a $1,299 starting price.
Buyers get a revised materials-and-camera package: titanium exterior treatment, a 6.8-inch 1440p display, and a 50MP 5x-zoom camera.

Second-order effects

The higher starting price raises the feature bar that rival premium Android phones must meet on materials, large-screen hardware, and telephoto photography to compete in the same segment.
Samsung’s own older Ultra models face a clearer trade-off: customers considering the S23 Ultra can weigh its established 200MP camera proposition against the new model’s titanium build and 5x zoom setup.

Third-order effects

If this cadence holds, premium-phone competition will rely less on major form-factor changes and more on bundled refinements—materials, display usability, cameras, and software—to defend higher prices.
The later emphasis on Circle to Search and mixed AI results suggests that durable flagship differentiation may increasingly depend on whether software features prove useful, not merely whether they are announced.

The trend: The S24 Ultra is part of the premium-smartphone trend toward sustaining higher price tiers through incremental hardware refinement paired with increasingly prominent AI software features.

Discussion

@adamjmatlock @adamjmatlock on x
Wow, really Samsung? Galaxy AI features are only free until the end of 2025? What the heck!? Not cool at all, Samsung. #s24ultra #s24 #Unpacked [image]
@sondesix Alvin on x
Samsung finally gets rid of the curved display on the Galaxy S24 Ultra for the first time in 9 years. This might be great for some people, but for those who like curved displays, this might be disappointing. But, I think we can agree that it makes using the S Pen a lot easier. [i…
@razar_the_raven Raven on x
The Galaxy S24 Ultra can seamlessly switch from all cameras at 4K@60 HDR10+ And an additional 4K@120 option for Pro Video 📷 [video]
@mishaalrahman Mishaal Rahman on x
Confirmed: the Galaxy S24 series captures photos in Google's Ultra HDR format introduced in Android 14! [image]
@its_shevi Shevon Salmon on x
Samsung claims that the S24 Ultra now has native in app camera experience with social media apps like Instagram and Snapchat. I can't wait to test that 😆
@shishirshelke1 Shishir on x
Didn't Samsung users say Apple's wallpaper-enabled AOD is the worst implementation of Always-on-display on a smartphone? The Galaxy S24 series also gets the same feature. Let's see what they have to say now 😂 [image]
@lanceulanoff Lance Ulanoff on x
The photo suggestions and instant removal of things like reflections and shadows are quite cool. I was impressed with how quickly and seamlessly it worked on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. #Unpacked [image]
@joannastern Joanna Stern on threads
Samsung's got an AI phone that does more than a...iPhone. My take on the new Galaxy S24 and all its generative AI features: https://www.wsj.com/...
@florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x
@tomwarren Samsung's partnership with Google, particularly when it comes to smartphones, is a package deal. It's possible that Google made concessions in other areas for the AI part. The Epic v. Google trial (great coverage from The Verge) shed light on non-AI Google-Samsung nego…
@gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x
“the newest Galaxy S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra smartphones really are all about artificial-intelligence features that go beyond a voice assistant Great take by ⁦@JoannaStern⁩ Apple execs busy calling press & analysts to say AI on phones doesn't matter https://apple.news/...
@gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x
@JoannaStern Gee, you think that might happen? Remember at WWDC when Apple opened with Siri doing Samsung jokes? Hope all is well with you and yours old friend.
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
@Gartenberg Until June when they say it does!
@thomasortk Thomas Kurian on x
We're announcing a new partnership to bring Google Cloud's generative AI technology to @SamsungMobile smartphone users around the globe, starting with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@sondesix Alvin on x
Galaxy AI will be available for select Samsung devices starting the first half of 2024! Yes, you don't have to get the Galaxy S24 Series to enjoy most Galaxy AI features. [image]
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
interestingly, Samsung has chosen to partner with Google, not Microsoft, for its generative AI features on the Galaxy S24 series. Samsung is also one of Google's first customers to test Gemini Ultra, and will use Gemini Nano as part of Android 14 https://www.theverge.com/...
@patrickmoorhead Patrick Moorhead on x
Samsung Live Translate is a great example of on-device AI. Audio and text. All phones and works in person. Translations right in the messaging chat window, too. Hope it works as it demoed. Very powerful. #Unpacked [image]
@lanceulanoff Lance Ulanoff on x
Samsung is spreading translation all over the place, including Chat. #Unpacked [image]
@sondesix Alvin on x
This is just as long as Google and even better than Apple. 👀
@androidauthority @androidauthority on threads
👀👀👀
@lanceulanoff Lance Ulanoff on x
The Instant Slow Mo is a total sleeper feature on the Galaxy S24 that is going to surprise and delight a lot of people. #Unpacked [image]

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