Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review (2025): Still the Android King?

🚀 Introduction: The Android Crown Re-examined

In this Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review, we dive into its performance, AI upgrades, and whether it still leads the Android pack in 2025. Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra arrives with bold claims: the best camera, the most powerful chip, and a truly next-gen AI experience baked into every interaction. It’s been a mainstay in the premium Android space for years — but in 2025, competition from Google, Xiaomi, and OnePlus has never been fiercer.

In this Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review, we explore whether Samsung’s flagship still dominates the Android world in 2025.

💡 Design & Build: Familiar Yet Refined

From the outside, the Galaxy S24 Ultra may not look drastically different from its predecessor — but subtle refinements make a big impact. The titanium frame (borrowed from the S23 Ultra) is now lighter and more durable, while the squared edges offer a confident in-hand grip.

🧲 Notable design features:

• Titanium edges for improved strength and reduced weight

• Flat 6.8-inch display for better screen protector compatibility

• Corning Gorilla Armor Glass for scratch and drop resistance

• Slimmer bezels and a more symmetrical front face

In short, the S24 Ultra refines what was already one of the most premium phone designs on the market.

📸 Camera System: Still the Benchmark?

Samsung built its Galaxy Ultra reputation on camera dominance, and the S24 Ultra once again comes loaded with an impressive setup:

• 200MP main sensor

• 50MP 5x telephoto lens (replacing the old 10x)

• 12MP ultra-wide

• 12MP selfie camera with Dual Pixel autofocus

But the story in 2025 isn’t just about megapixels — it’s about AI-powered photography.

🤖 New AI Enhancements:

• Real-time object segmentation for studio-style portraits

• Generative Edit for removing or repositioning objects in photos

• Smarter night mode with less noise and more natural color

• AI-assisted video stabilization and auto-frame tracking

In real-world testing, the 5x zoom sensor actually performs better than last year’s 10x in most lighting conditions, offering a sweet spot between clarity and usability. While purists might miss the periscope reach, the image quality is sharper and faster to capture.

📷 Verdict: The S24 Ultra remains the top Android camera phone, but Google’s Pixel Fold 2 and the Vivo X100 Pro are starting to close the gap — especially in low-light and natural bokeh.

⚙️ Performance & Software: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 + Galaxy AI 🔥

Under the hood, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, an exclusive overclocked version of Qualcomm’s flagship chip. Coupled with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage, this phone is an absolute powerhouse.

🚀 Benchmarks & Gaming Performance:

• Geekbench 6 multi-core: ~7200

• 3DMark Wild Life Extreme: 4300+

• Genshin Impact on max settings: smooth at 60FPS

• Ray tracing support for next-gen mobile games

Whether you’re multitasking, gaming, editing 4K video, or running multiple apps at once, the S24 Ultra handles it all without breaking a sweat. The vapor chamber cooling system is also larger this year, meaning less thermal throttling during extended sessions.

🧠 Software & Galaxy AI Features:
Running on One UI 6.1 atop Android 14, the S24 Ultra debuts Samsung’s full suite of Galaxy AI features:

• Circle to Search (powered by Google): circle anything on-screen to instantly search it

• Live Translate: real-time translation in calls and messages

• Note Assist: summarize and format notes automatically

• Transcript Assist: turn recordings into polished summaries

These tools actually feel useful in daily life, especially for students, professionals, and travelers. Samsung promises four major Android updates and seven years of security patches, making this a long-term investment.

⚡ Verdict: Easily one of the fastest and smartest Android phones of 2025. The AI doesn’t feel gimmicky — it enhances productivity in real, practical ways.

🔋 Battery Life & Charging: Reliable but Not Revolutionary 🔌

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra packs a 5,000mAh battery, which has become the standard for flagship phones. But thanks to the efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and refined software optimization in One UI 6.1, the phone offers noticeably better endurance than its predecessor.

⏳ Real-World Battery Performance:

• Up to 7–8 hours of screen-on time with mixed use

• 1.5 days of moderate use (social media, messaging, light camera)

• Around 1 full day with heavy tasks (gaming, video, 4K recording)

Samsung didn’t introduce any changes in fast charging, which remains:

• 45W wired charging (0–65% in ~30 minutes)

• 15W wireless charging

• 4.5W reverse wireless charging (e.g., Galaxy Buds, smartwatches)

While not bad, this charging setup falls behind rivals like OnePlus or Xiaomi, which offer 100W+ fast charging.

📉 No Charger in the Box:
As with recent Galaxy phones, the S24 Ultra doesn’t come with a charger — only a USB-C cable. If you want to hit 45W speeds, you’ll need to buy Samsung’s official charger or use a PPS-compatible alternative.

⚖️ Verdict: Battery life is great, but charging speeds remain underwhelming in 2025 standards. It’s a trade-off Samsung loyalists may overlook, but power users might not.

For full specifications, visit the  official Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra page.

📸 Camera System: A 200MP Beast with Smarter Zoom 🦅

Samsung continues to flex its photographic muscle with the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s quad-camera setup, led by a headline-grabbing 200MP main sensor. But it’s not just about megapixels — this year’s improvements are focused on AI-powered processing and smarter zoom capabilities.

🔍 Camera Specs:

• Main: 200MP f/1.7 (OIS, Laser AF)

• Ultra-wide: 12MP f/2.2, 120° field of view

• Telephoto 1: 10MP, 3x optical zoom

• Telephoto 2: 50MP, now upgraded with 5x optical zoom

• Front Camera: 12MP f/2.2, autofocus

Samsung replaced the old 10x telephoto with a higher-resolution 5x lens, arguing that AI zoom and in-sensor cropping can now maintain quality beyond 10x — and surprisingly, it works well.

📷 Real-World Performance:

• Daylight shots: Razor-sharp detail, vibrant colors, excellent dynamic range

• Low-light shots: Great noise reduction, but sometimes a little over-processed

• Portraits: Natural edge detection, solid background blur

• Zoom: 3x and 5x look amazing; 10x is still usable, just softer

• Video: 8K at 30fps or 4K at 60fps with strong stabilization

• Throughout our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review, we found the 5x zoom surprisingly effective.
  For a complete list of camera specs, check out Samsung’s official product page.

🤖 AI Editing & Features:

• “Generative Edit” lets you remove or move objects in photos

• “Instant Slow-mo” uses AI to generate slow-motion footage from regular videos

• Enhanced night mode, Astro Hyperlapse, and Auto HDR tuning

📸 Verdict: It’s not just the hardware — it’s Samsung’s AI that elevates the S24 Ultra’s camera from great to industry-leading.

📱 One UI 6.1 & Galaxy AI: Samsung’s Smartest Software Yet 🧠

The Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn’t just impress with hardware — it’s the debut platform for Samsung’s Galaxy AI, baked directly into One UI 6.1, based on Android 14. The combination delivers a smarter, more helpful, and polished software experience. In this Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review, one standout feature is Galaxy AI for sure.

🤖 Galaxy AI Features:

• Live Translate: Real-time two-way translations during phone calls, even if the other person doesn’t have a Galaxy device.

• Chat Assist: Offers suggestions to make your tone more professional or polite in messages.

• Note Assist: Automatically summarizes, formats, and generates bullet points from messy notes.

• Transcript Assist: Transcribes and summarizes voice recordings using AI.

• Circle to Search (with Google): A standout feature — just circle anything on your screen (text, image, video) and Google instantly searches for it.

These tools aren’t just flashy gimmicks — they actually save time and enhance productivity, particularly for power users, students, and content creators.

⚙️ One UI 6.1 Interface:

• Clean, fluid, and extremely customizable

• New lock screen widgets, dynamic weather effects, and better notification controls

• Improved battery settings and power usage insights

💡 Notable Add-On: Samsung has committed to 7 years of software updates, putting it on par with Google’s Pixel lineup — a major win for long-term buyers.

📱 Verdict: With Galaxy AI, the S24 Ultra becomes more than a phone — it’s your intelligent digital assistant.

🔋 Battery Life & Charging: Power That Lasts, Speed That Counts ⚡

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra packs a 5,000mAh battery, just like its predecessor. But thanks to Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s efficiency and software optimizations from One UI 6.1, battery life is noticeably improved — even under heavy use.

🔄 Real-World Endurance:

• Screen-on Time: Up to 8–9 hours with mixed use (YouTube, browsing, social media, and camera)

• Standby Drain: Almost negligible overnight thanks to improved AI-based battery management

• Gaming: Sustains high frame rates while avoiding overheating or excessive power drain

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review: What is the charging like?

⚡ Charging Tech:

• 45W wired fast charging (~65% in 30 minutes, full charge in ~1 hour)

• 15W wireless charging

• Wireless PowerShare to juice up earbuds or another phoneAlso read: MacBook Pro M4 Review

🧪 Compared to competitors like the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 8 Pro, the S24 Ultra lasts longer in real-world usage, especially with intensive tasks like 4K recording or multitasking with DeX mode.

✅ Verdict: While charging speeds haven’t improved dramatically, the battery life is excellent — enough to comfortably last even power users through a full day.

🎮 Performance & Gaming – Inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra Review

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, a custom-tuned variant of Qualcomm’s latest chipset, offering blistering speed, improved efficiency, and powerful AI processing.

🚀 Benchmark Performance:

• Geekbench 6 scores: ~2250 single-core / ~6800 multi-core

• AnTuTu: Over 1.5 million points

• 3DMark Wildlife Extreme: Smooth, sustained performance with minimal thermal throttling

The 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage options (up to 1TB) ensure lightning-fast multitasking and app loading speeds.

🎮 Gaming Experience:

• Titles like Genshin Impact, CoD Mobile, and PUBG run at max settings with high frame rates and almost no stutter

• Vapor chamber cooling system keeps thermal performance in check

• AI-based frame prediction helps enhance responsiveness in real-time games

💡 The S24 Ultra is not just a phone — it’s a pocket powerhouse. It can even run Samsung DeX for a desktop-like experience when connected to a monitor, further showcasing its beastly performance.

📱 Software & Updates: One UI 6.1 + AI Brilliance 🤖

Out of the box, the Galaxy S24 Ultra runs One UI 6.1, layered over Android 14, delivering a clean, customizable, and feature-rich experience. But what really sets it apart this year is the deep integration of Galaxy AI.

🌟 Noteworthy Features:

• Circle to Search (w/ Google): Draw a circle around anything on your screen to instantly search it with Google — no app switching needed.

• Live Translate: Real-time voice translation for calls and text — perfect for travel or international work.

• Chat Assist: Rewrites your messages in different tones (formal, friendly, etc.) for texts, emails, or DMs.

• Generative Photo Editing: Move objects in photos or expand backgrounds — similar to Photoshop, but built-in.

• AI Summarizer: Built-in summarizing for Samsung Notes, emails, and articles.

🔐 Seven Years of Software Support: Samsung has committed to 7 years of OS and security updates, matching Google’s Pixel lineup and making this phone a long-term investment.

One UI 6.1 continues to be one of the most refined Android skins available — intuitive, flexible, and now smart in ways that are truly useful, not gimmicky.

🏁 Final Verdict – Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review Summary

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra confidently retains its crown as the Android king in 2025. From its elite titanium build and stunning display to its upgraded Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip and AI-powered camera enhancements, it’s clear that Samsung focused on meaningful improvements across the board.

Whether you’re a power user, a mobile gamer, a content creator, or someone who simply demands the best, the S24 Ultra delivers an experience that is refined, intelligent, and future-proof.

It’s not without flaws — the price remains high, and the size may not suit everyone — but no other Android device offers this level of performance, longevity, and polish in one package. This Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review confirms it’s a phone built for long-term power users.

📝 One-Sentence Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review

It’s fast, smart, and still the Android king of 2025.

✅ Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Pros

• 📸 Best-in-class camera system with 5x optical zoom and AI processing

• 🔋 Massive 5,000mAh battery with reliable all-day endurance

• ⚡ Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: Blazing fast performance

• 🧠 Innovative AI tools that are actually useful

• 🪨 Titanium frame = improved durability and premium feel

• 📲 7 years of guaranteed updates — future-proof investment

• 🌈 Bright, stunning AMOLED 120Hz display

• 🔊 Loud, immersive stereo speakers

❌Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Cons

• 💸 Expensive (starting above £1,200 in the UK)

• 📐 Large and heavy — not for everyone

• 🧊 Cooling under sustained gaming can still be a challenge

⭐ Overall Rating: 9.5 / 10

Samsung has taken an already excellent formula and elevated it into a true flagship experience for 2025. The Galaxy S24 Ultra isn’t just powerful — it’s smart, future-ready, and incredibly satisfying to use.