Samsung S23 Ultra vs S24 Ultra: Full Specs and Review

If you picked up the S24 Ultra and then reached for the S23 Ultra, you might honestly have grabbed the wrong phone. They look extremely similar. But behind those near-identical faces there are real changes, 

some subtle, some meaningful. This piece walks through the differences I pulled together from Samsung’s specs and a detailed hands-on review, then gives a straightforward verdict: who should upgrade, and who should wait.

Design

On the surface the story is simple: both phones keep the big, slab-style Ultra look with the same triple-ring camera layout and roughly a 6.8-inch screen. Size and weight are almost identical the S24 Ultra is just a hair smaller and about two grams lighter. That means if you liked the S23 Ultra’s feel, you’ll like the S24 Ultra’s feel too.

But Samsung changed the materials and a few small design details. The S23 Ultra uses an armor-aluminum frame and glossy finishes. The S24 Ultra moved up to a titanium frame with a matte finish, and it switched from a curved display to a flat one. Why that matters: titanium is tougher and feels more premium, while the flat screen is more practical (screen protectors fit better and the S Pen is easier to use near the edge). The S24’s front glass brings Gorilla Armor with an anti-reflective coating Samsung claims up to four times the scratch resistance and much less glare. In real use you’ll notice fewer reflections outdoors on the S24 Ultra.

Quick Table

Disclaimer: We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.

Display and everyday use

Both phones have high-end Dynamic AMOLED 2X panels, QHD+ resolution, and an adaptive 1–120Hz refresh rate. The S24 Ultra’s display has two big changes: it’s flatter and it gets much brighter. Peak brightness on the S24 Ultra jumps to around 2,600 nits versus roughly 1,750 nits on the S23 Ultra. If you live in bright sun or use your phone outdoors a lot, that extra brightness along with the anti-reflective Gorilla Armor makes the S24 noticeably easier to see.

There’s a tradeoff: some users report the S24’s screen looks slightly less punchy compared to the S23 when both are side-by-side. That seems tied to the anti-reflective treatment; colors can appear a tad more muted, but only when you compare the phones directly. For most people, the reduced glare and durability are bigger wins.

Cameras 

Both phones keep a strong core camera setup: a 200MP main sensor, 12MP ultra-wide and a 12MP selfie. The biggest hardware change is the zoom system. The S23 Ultra had a 10x optical telephoto (10MP), while the S24 Ultra replaced that with a 50MP 5x optical telephoto. At first glance moving from 10x to 5x sounds like a step back, but the S24’s larger high-res sensor and better optics actually give sharper, cleaner results in the most useful zoom ranges particularly between 3x and 10x where most people shoot.

What that means in practice: mid-range zoom (3–10x) is noticeably improved on the S24 Ultra, and it handles low-light zoom shots better thanks to letting in more light on the telephoto sensor. At full 10x the two phones are surprisingly close, because Samsung on the S24 uses clever cropping and the high-resolution sensor to match the reach. Moon shots and extreme telephoto images look very similar between the pair, but most real-world zoom photos favor the S24.

Other camera notes: the S24 feels snappier with less shutter lag and it picks up a few extra video options like 4K at 120fps in Pro mode. Samsung also removed the quirky super slow-mo feature on the S24, which most people probably won’t miss.

Performance, software and AI

Under the hood the S23 Ultra ships with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 “for Galaxy,” while the S24 Ultra runs the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy. The S24 has a larger vapor chamber for cooling and comes with 12GB of RAM across the board (the S23’s base model can start at 8GB). Expect smoother high-intensity gaming, better thermals and slightly faster everyday app work on the S24. If you do a lot of gaming or heavy multitasking, the S24 will feel more capable.

Software is where Samsung made one of the clearest breaks: the S24 ships with Android 14 and One UI 6.1 and is being promised seven major Android updates (plus extended security updates). The S23 Ultra was originally promised four major Android updates and five years of security. For people who keep phones for many years, the S24’s longer update window is a real draw.

The S24 also brings new on-device AI tricks: image editing suggestions, call translation, an interpreter mode, Circle to Search, and other generative tools. Samsung has said some of these services will remain free through 2025 and might later become paid. Some of these AI features will come to the S23 via software updates, but a few are tied to the newer chipset and might remain exclusive.

Antutu and Benchmark Scores

When it comes to raw performance, the difference between the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra becomes clear in benchmark scores. On AnTuTu (v10), the S23 Ultra averages around 1.52 million points, while the S24 Ultra pushes past 1.8 to 2.0 million, showing a noticeable leap in overall processing, graphics, and memory performance. This aligns with the shift from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip in the S23 to the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy in the S24, which also benefits from a larger vapor chamber to handle heat more efficiently. In Geekbench tests, the S24 scores higher in both single-core and multi-core performance, meaning it can handle demanding tasks, heavy multitasking, and high-end gaming more smoothly. While real-world use won’t always match benchmark numbers, these scores confirm that the S24 Ultra delivers faster, more responsive performance across the board.

Battery, S Pen and speaker changes

Both phones use a 5,000 mAh battery and support similar wired and wireless charging speeds. In real-world tests the S24 is only a bit more efficient, maybe a few percent better thanks to the chip and display tweaks. If battery life is your top concern, you won’t see a dramatic difference.

The S Pen remains built in and unchanged if you use it regularly, both phones deliver the same experience. Speakers on the S24 are slightly louder and clearer, with a revised bottom grille design instead of dots.

Price and who should upgrade

At launch, the S24 Ultra’s base price tracked around the S23 Ultra’s UK launch price but was higher in some markets like the US. Samsung did run aggressive trade-in and pre-order deals, including storage-doubling offers and instant credit, so if you can trade in an S23 Ultra you may get a very good deal on the S24.

So who should upgrade?

• Upgrade if you want the best long-term software support (seven years), brighter screen and the newer zoom camera performance. Gamers and power users will appreciate the faster chip and better cooling.
  
• Keep your S23 Ultra if it’s working fine for you. The core experience screen, main camera, battery and S Pen are excellent on the S23 and will remain so for years. If you don’t need the latest AI features or the longer update runway, you’ll save money by holding on.
  

Final take

The S24 Ultra is an evolutionary update: it doesn’t reinvent the Ultra formula, but it refines it with stronger materials, a brighter and less reflective display, and a much improved zoom camera for the most useful focal ranges. For most S23 Ultra owners the short answer is: you don’t have to rush to upgrade. But for older Ultra users, heavy zoom shooters, gamers, or anyone who values longer software support, the S24 Ultra is a sensible, worthwhile step forward.

At the end of the day, both phones are top-tier. If you love what you have, keep it. If you’re tempted by the new features and a good trade-in deal, the upgrade will feel satisfying rather than essential and that’s an honest place to be.

Interested in Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs Galaxy S25 Ultra.

FAQs