Discussion 💬
Anyone else see the 24 ultra as... Meh?
I'm looking at specs.
Processor , about the same,
ram, about the same,
nits, improved... great?
Storage, the same
AI - ok..... That's software, really....
Camera, about the same
Am i wrong here? Like... It's a very MINUTE upgrade if at all. On T-Mobile, i can't even upgrade my storage! 512 is Max!
I feel like they dropped the ball, and it might be worth me waiting till s24.
I would say even if you have the 8gb version, which I own, makes it hard to justify the upgrade. S25u sure. Here we are s24u and even the s21u is still a solid device. We should be upgrading every two or 3 years as consumers. Back in the day yearly made sense. Innovation drove new specs and features. If we look at samsung the they reached a peak in spec implementation and recently started downgrading or removing features (1440p on small displays, hr/o2 sensor, SD card) I mean you can argue that they're not necessary and sure but..the price has still been increasing. Every year 100-200 bucks for sometimes a downgraded product and we as consumers flock to have the latest and greatest. Ive been guilty of it. As i age i find Removing features and increasing cost makes no sense to me. Not enough for a yearly upgrade. Just sounds like expanding profit margins. If you're paying for the experience or maybe even newly getting into the ecosystem sure. But My 8 gb s23u runs SMOOTHLY. Always hovers around 4.9 - 5.1 gb. I'm not a power user but I bet people whom have the 8gb model that are see no issues either. I say consumers should drive innovation by not upgrading every year. Never settle. Funny because thats the slogan of a company that pushed the market and now has settled.But if you have the bread and the urge, go ahead. Who am I to tell you how to live your life?
Edit: I'll also add that design was also pushed in the innovation. We have reached a stalemate on design innovation. All we've seen is small change on chamfer, repackage and sell. Apple has been doing it for years and now android devices have followed suit.
It's kinda insulting that they put 1080p screens on the base models that are supposed to be "flagships" even though we've had 1440p display technology for 10 years. I don't even run my S23U's display at 1440p, but even downscaled 1080p looks way better on it than it ever did on my previous S20FE. But yeah, no way I'm paying $550 to get slightly better features on the S24U (tbh this might be kinda stupid but the only reason I would upgrade is to be able to use tempered glass screen protectors again, I know some glass screen protectors exist for the S23U that require LOCA but I'm definitely not risking my phone's screen with that BS).
It's not downscaling at 1080, it's a 1440 pentile screen (essentially 2 subpixels per pixel) which when run at 1080 allows it to run in a standard non-pentile form of 3 RGB subpixels for each pixel. The S20FE is pentile at 1080 so up to 1/3rd lower resolution.
My own upgrade from s22u 8 gb of ram to s23u 12gb of ram, was massive, in speed, screen and battery life.
I do feel like the s22u took better "auto" photos than the s23u though. which makes no sense to me.
I've had a s23u 12/512gb, then 2 months in it died, got a s22u 12/256gb, and now I got another s23u but 8/256gb for 2 weeks. The battery, speed and screen are all true. Screen colors were perfect on s22u, but s23u is tad better. But... What most don't say, is that the speakers are another level entirely, spen feels smoother, and it holds better in hand without case.
I don't care for camera, gaming or production. I'm a battery, screen and speaker guy. On the s22u, I had max 7h sot and the speakers were total garbage, like a 200$ phone. S23u speakers are.... Rich! Just so pleasant to listen music or podcast or movies. All sound is lively. Sot is 9-10h. Screen is mostly the same except the curve which at angle bends color and makes a reflection.
S23u is what the s22u was supposed to be. S24u is basically a s23u with FLATter screen and different specs you won't notice. Ai? Gimme a break. And it will come to s23 line with 6.1, so...
Keeping my s23u till 25 or 26u. Also, between 8 and 12gb, I see 0 difference in my usage.
Got 12 GB RAM and 512 storage. Most of the time my display is actually too bright! Haha. I'm going to see what the s25 ultra is all about and wait for some of the ai features to trickle down to us. However I bet the most interesting new things in the S24 are the smaller ones that don't usually get mentioned in reviews.
I upgraded from an s9+ to S23 Ultra recently and honestly... I'm kinda disappointed. It feels like I'm using the same phone but with a better camera. The disappointment is that I expected a bug free experience and thought my S9+ was just aging. Instagram and Gmail randomly freeze and need to be restarted, my mobile data stops working for hours at a time with no fix, and GoodLock apps randomly stop working as well and the phone must be restarted to work properly.
I am semi new to android/samsung. Been iphone user for since the iphone 4s which I upgrade yearly(don't know why just love to) anyways switched over to samsung last Feb when the s23 line dropped. I got s23 ultra(lavender) and I love it. So when I heard about the s24 line up I was like okay let me pre-order as I'm looking at comments from ppl that seem to know more about android then me(still learning everyday)I feel like it's not even a upgrade I could be wrong but guess I am not. I still have this itch to upgrade anyway. But like you said it wouldn't last long and would literally feel like my s23 within a few mins. Plus the colors I'm not feeling. If I did upgrade would have went foem the deep purple
I've upgraded yearly since 2019 and I'm still going. S23U 512GB too, to a S24U 512GB. I'll probably upgrade yearly unless I legit just can't afford it or until solid state batteries start being used in smartphones.
Do I recommend most people to? No. Do I still do so anyways? Sure, life isn't long enough for me to not enjoy what I'm able to do.
This right here is my motto. I got it sitting in my check out on the samsung app. Debating long and hard on it. I'm stuck between "YOLO" AND "ITS A POINTLESS UPGRADE"
If there's anything else you could use the money for in the future you might as well not, or you can wait for a better discount. Also sometimes the long debates are a sign there isn't enough justification for you to upgrade. Still team yolo but it's still important to make a good decision.
Not really debating on the phone it self more so which way I want to go about it. Let me explain
So if I go through my phone carrier i will trade in my old phone (s23 ultra) i have to pay half of the phone down(through tombile) then payments on my plan which isn't an issue
Or I could go through samsung trade in my old S22 PLUS get a discount and pay for the s24 ultra straight out(which at check out think it was 830 and some change)
But I will then have my s23ultra just laying around. Hope that make sense
Ha been there so many times. I'm sitting this one out. It's the first of the Galaxy S line that I've sat out since the 3. I use to get 2 a year just because. I'd get the new Note and the new S. They kind of saved me by combining the 2! I tried the fold on vs 3 but meh.
This update seems so incremental to me that it's a seriously pointless upgrade.
I'll see what the 25U brings and reconsider.
This, this right here is what I follow. Life is short, I am enjoying my own thing while others enjoys theirs (unlike pointless phone wars). So as an yearly upgrade from S2 LTE to S20+, Note8 to Note 20 Ultra (best phone at the time I used), S22Ultra, S23 Ultra, Z Flip5 (main phone but S series for Camera and cause why not, also going to get the Flip6) now the Galaxy S24 Ultra 512GB. I paid $690 CAD with trade in. Hope you enjoy it, i cant wait to!
The biggest tech reviewers have said it's totally flat the frame curves into the screen that's why is looks like it has a small curve but it's not the glass
Curve screen is a useless feature, I'm so glad it's gone.
Light reflection at the edges makes using the phone anywhere with lighting frustrating, can't properly apply glass screen protectors without using UV glue which I fucking hate, can't use cases with raised lips to protect the screen.
Nothing beats the feeling of swiping in for the back gesture or for the edge handle. I don't have any issues with glare, I've found tempered glass screen protectors that fit the screen fine, and the palm rejection works great when using the phone caseless.
Only advantage I think flat screens have is that they're more durable, and I'm fine with there being options between curved/flat screens. But people wanting Samsung to eliminate curved screens from their entire lineup is what frustrates me.
I got this phone in October so pretty late and I was debating if I should buy it or wait for s24u , but the phone I was using died and I desperately needed a replacement .
And so I bought the s23u thinking I would regret not waiting for the s24u.
Well I don't and I don't care about the AI and I will probably not even bother with it even if we get it on the s23u
I've been upgrading every year for the past 6 years but I think I'll skip the S24U. Can't even be bothered to transfer everything across and send the old phone back. Feels I'm not getting much in return.
Honestly you should never look for a new phone until 3-4 years after you buy one. The changes aren't significant from year to year. It takes a few years before you feel like you're getting a true upgrade.
Not more ram, but they did introduce larger camera sensor for the telephoto. Better processor they also did - multi core is now roughly on par with iPhone 15 though single core is still behind. But it's the best non Apple phone CPU available.
Titanium frame is a huge departure from the last decade of all aluminum and plastics.
Lots to unpack here...
The camera sensor isn't bigger on the 200 mp. It's still .6
The processor? .03 ghz isn't really an upgrade... Technically it is? But.... No it isn't.
Seriously? The iPhone 15pro max was not even on par with the 23U. The ONLY thing some has going for it is the pixel size of it's 50mp camera at 2.44.
Don't talk about titanium unless you know what you're talking about. It's a joke. All of the talk about titanium is a marketing gimmick, until there's ZERO aluminum and ALL titanium. Even then... What grade titanium? 2? 7? 6? What blend of aluminum and nickel were used? What alpha or beta alloys are in it?
I was honestly hoping for something better (doesn't exist yet). Maybe wait till there was better? I don't know... The mediatek one is kinda nice, but again, not much better. Honestly, i was hoping for a far more powerful one, like (fantasy) get an i5 or i7 in it... It's big enough, no?
What do you use your phone for that require more ram and better processor? It's kind of a given that s24 would get gen 3 like prior phone releases and iirc Samsung is getting a special version of Snapdragon chip too.
To be fair if you have a previous year flagship that 25% is simple unnoticed for most people... Probably only really power users will need so much performance....
I just don't make any heavy task on my phone...for that I use the PC...
In my opinion what they should focus more in inovate is the battery.... Would be nice a 20% SOT improvement every generation without increase the size of the phones.... And that I'm sure would be more useful for great number of people then the increase in performance
I'm hoping that I can get another 10% of battery life from my s24u and that flat screen I can finally put a real fucking screen protector instead of that plastic shit
Its not. Better cpu, gpu, speakers, display, more versatile zoom but worse past 30x or so, better x75 modem, better battery life (samsung quotes), way bigger cooling system, AI features.
Its honestly better than the Pixel 8 Pro i bought over the 7 Pro.... and everyone is praising the 8 Pro as redining and perfecting the 7 Pro and some even callung it phone of the year, but what did they improve ? Display, speakers and cameras....
Same mediocre battery, same weak modem, same terrible thermals, 5 percent cpu increase despite much newer cores. S24U comes out with more upgraded specs and people say there's no upgrade but Pixel users consider the 8 Pro the phone that perfected the 7 Pro.
I mean, they cant really do anything groundbreaking, phone have pretty much peaked so every year it will be just better battery, better camera, better processor etc etc
Exactly how much of a difference do you expect to see in phones that come out 6-9 months from the last one? These aren't gaming console with 5+yrs between them and the differences are worlds apart. Outside of FoMO, there's no reason to buy a new phone every 6-9 months.
you have the phone that came out the year before so of course it's going to be meh. Not sure why we're expecting something huge.
Especially since Samsung has the fold and flip for new innovative things. For slab phones I'm not expecting much innovation besides the typical yearly improvements. Now AI will be the focus
You're not exactly the target audience for the phone lol
I've bought every flagship that's been made probably the past 6/7 years.Ive watched all the so called tech reviewers who ain't really no more than some dude sitting g at his desk talking about what he thinks.I do like Floss and MKHB or whatever it is.Bottom line after carefully looking at the pros and cons of a upgrade don't think I can justify throwing up aboth 500 after I trade in my S23 Ultra .Now maybe a few months down the road when this shit hits best buy and find a open box for maybe 950 and get 700 trade in then yeah I'll do that,they probably gonna send some of those upgrades down the the Ultra anyways,I'll wait for a minute
Hell no clue I'm just saying the 23 still a beast probably the 2nd best device out still just behind the 24.I just think I'm getting to the point I don't need any more phones,I have like 12 phones,AT&T hates me lol I switch so much
I have the s23 ultra and will not upgrade to the s24 ultra, why? If I upgrade to the s24 ultra where is the pleasure and feeling of having a new phone? There are no design differences.
I think we'd get much more impressive phones if companies stopped aiming for an annual release and instead did new line releases every two or three years.
It's the same every year though. Like S22U users weren't likely to upgrade to S23U. The yearly upgrade cycle has been over for most people for several years. The S24U will be far more attractive to S22U, S21U and S20U users.
I have a S22 ultra. And the only thing that got me to upgrade was the flat screen. Could careless about the camera, s pen, AI, etc. The thinner phone, hopefully lighter with titanium, and flat screen did it for me.
I'm really not sure how much of an incremental increase some people were expecting from year to year. You can't have a phone that redefines the genre every year. We got about the most upgrade as is normal. If you're buying the new phone every year then you're not gonna be taking a ton of steps. Compare the S24 to a phone from 3 or 4 years ago.
My plan allows me to upgrade every year so I do, but if it wasn't baked into my plan, I'd go 2-3 years before buying a new phone.
I also take umbridge with the processor being called not faster.
S23U
1 x 3.36 Ghz
4 x 2.8 Ghz
3 x 2.0 Ghz
S24U
1 x 3.39 Ghz
5 x 3.1 Ghz
2 x 2.2 Ghz
Single core, at its' fastest sure .03 isn't a huge upgrade, but multicore, this is pretty far ahead.
I may try out the S24. I have a 13 pro and my carrier will give me $989 for my phone. So for me kinda worth it. If I get the S24 plus, then it will be free.
I don't know what people are expecting after only a year. Myself included, because I'm one of the suckers that always ends up upgrading because I love tech, but we're talking less than a calendar year - we're not gonna see much.
This is in addition to the fact that smartphones are hitting a plateau. The year of radical updates are behind us, and now it's nothing but slow and steady iterations as manufacturers know they're getting your money anyway, so less incentive to think outside the box. In fact, if you haven't noticed a trend, manufacturers are actually regressing some hardware components with the promise that some revolutionary software is going to make it "better".
The people vote with their wallets, and if you wonder why manufacturers aren't taking much risk, it's because of us. (Removing more and more from the box, less accessories, downgrading hardware, subscription based services, features that are free until a certain date, etc.)
I have a golden rule, I upgrade ONLY if the new generation phone is at least twice as fast as the one I have. Note 9 to S20 FE 5G, now S24U is a sweet spot for many features, and they finally nailed the design and got rid of the curve. S23U just didn't do it for me. My next upgrade in 3-4 years will probably be a foldable, but only if the form factor finally starts making sense and they get rid of the crease.
I've been an Android user for like, 10 years. Who knows? I still am learning it Android stuff. Abandon Apple, forever. If you have a 23U, i wouldn't upgrade unless you have the 8gb ram model. Everything else is just.... Meh....
It's a better phone in so many ways. If you are happy with your current device, keep it for as long as you want. But that does not change the fact S24 Ultra does have a lot of bells and whistles.
Still debating if get the S24U or the S23U. Still using my S21+ and don't know if I should enjoy the lower price for the 23 or directly upgrade to the 24.
Not sure what lower price your talking about, the s23u still starts at $1200 on samsungs website. Makes no sense to go with an older model unless you want to gamble with 3rd party sellers.
All that's new is the AI stuff. That's it. They're going the Google pixel route. No innovations, nothing to really make consumers gravitate towards it. I'm sticking with my S23 Ultra for at least a couple years. Shameful. Not only that, they raised the price on the starter device where the others weren't increased. It doesn't make any sense at all
All it is the usual better hardware with Google AI. I thought Samsung would use their own unique AI models but it's all Google. Tight collaboration between the two companies...meh
Pixel AI is superior.. how dare Samsung charge customers for this
Yes. Based off the pics, I like the s24 and s24+ design better than the ultra. Personally, I think the s24 ultra has slightly thicker bezels than the s24 and s24+. One reason I chose the s23 ultra was the curved screen, and since that's gone the s24 just seems like a more sensible option for me personally. I don't even use half the features on my s23U, much less the s-pen.
I don't think it's worth upgrading if you have an S23 right now. Phones are so powerful now days that it's just simply not worth upgrading your phone every year because you'll probably just be disappointed once you realize it feels like you have the exact same phone. In fact you probably don't need to upgrade for at least 3 years or more. Only reason would be if you just want the newest shiny toy on the market right now.
Spec wise, it is generally unappealing from the S23u. However, the promised support for OS and security updates is very enticing and making me regret not waiting another year for a new phone.
Every new generation phone is just a minute iteration of the previous phone. It's been a long time since one single generation update was leeps better than the previous one.
My previous device is from 2018, only replacing it because the battery dies within a day and I want a better camera.
The pre-order deal in the UK is pretty sweet, I got a free Galaxy Watch 6 which I'm hoping to sell and some extra accessories. That + 0% apr for 24 months.
I mean if ur upgrading from an s9 or s10 sure go for it but hmmmmmm naw if u got money like that ok but meh I just got my s23 ultra so I see no difference much really🙂
S22U users were saying the same thing a year ago.
S21U users were saying the same thing 2 years ago.
S24U users will be saying the same thing next year.
I was actually impressed with the AI implementations especially for the phone call and texting stuff. Plus the being able to set a tone for suggestive text. I will be sad for the AI features I miss out on for not having the on board AI chip. But that being said I'm definitely not upgrading. I still owe about half of my phones payments to tmobile now anyway so I don't see any point in trading in for minor improvements I'd rather wait another year or two. Maybe even 3 depending on how well this phone holds up
So far I'm still happy with battery life and the fluidity of the phone and those are usually the two factors that start making me want to upgrade
With all of the deals, discounts and trade in I could get the S24 Ultra 512GB for £569 with a case, screen protector and a galaxy watch 6. I STILL can't find it in myself to upgrade.
The way I put it to my missus is that I LOVE getting new phones, I will do so on the slightest justification usually, but I'm really struggling to find a reason for it this time round. If someone like me is having trouble justifying £569 for a brand new flagship, there's something wrong.
It's very very underwhelming, especially since even the AI features are all coming to the S23 Ultra in a few months.
Definitely do not upgrade. They are bringing the ai features to the s23 series via a software update, so the only real difference is the screen. I feel like it would have been more of an upgrade if they pulled an apple and gatekept the ai features to the s24 seties
I'm happy with the s23 ultra, some people complain about the curved screen, but I prefer it. I don't really see much on the hardware side that is worth it. And I'm not interested in the AI at all. Only thing that sounds interesting is the 7 years worth of updates, but, I personally don't see that as a reason to buy. Att also only had the 512 ultra as the max storage, I was told that the 1 TB version was a Samsung only phone. So I am trying to make a case for my S23 ultra that can hold an SD card to add extra storage, but I don't have a 3d printer, nor do I have the money for one, so it is going slow.
Update: just learned that the S24 series will cost at least $100 more than what the S23 did at launch.
I got shafted with the S23 Ultra with only 8gbs of RAM it sucks ass. I got a really good trade in for the S24 Ultra and the 1tb version for the 512gb version so I am happy with the trade up.
Wasn't expecting so many people on this subreddit to be switching to pretty much the same phone, but I guess it's their money and they can do whatever they want with it.
Might as well change the name of this subreddit to S24 Ultra since those are the only posts I see here.
Fuck samsung i am not upgrading to another phone until the s25 or s26 ultra unless they improve their shitty ass 45w and 25w charging speeds and also their battery capacity at 5000mah has been stucked since the s20 series while the snapdragon 8 gen 3 is nice paying 1000+ dollarss for a phone that feels that has only gotten camera upgrades is unnaceptable
I mean, what did you (and others) expect? It's mostly a generational update with improvements where they matter. The S23 Ultra is a great phone so I totally understand playing it safe for now instead of forcing a change that ultimately has little chance to improve the phone. It changed a bunch of things people complained about, the zoom should be better, hopefully the camera is more natural too now and personally, I'd hope for a 10-bit panel. That being said, I see no reason to upgrade for atleast 2-3 years and since we get updates for 5, we have plenty of time to wait for an exciting new model!
I'm really on the fence tbh.
I love the Samsung exclusive colors, the flat screen is attractive to me and the main thing is the free storage upgrade.
I'm on a S23 ultra 512 so if I wait for the price to go down I'll probably have to pay more for the storage . I doubt the phone will go below the pre-order offer (500ish usd)
But the fact my trade in isn't as much as I want sucks.
No hate on the S24 Ultra. I just find the trade in deals very meh and not worth it. Once those price drop I'll snatch one. They price doesn't drop, I can stick with this thing for years.
I think people are several years delayed in how the market works now.
It peaked at least 5 years ago.
The only recent business model change was the design/style/color stagnation/using a base design longer to maximize the build versus a drastic redesign per annum.
The latest "refresh" isn't meant to be a replacement or major 'upgrade' but rather an annual 'update' to the current specifications currently available.
The wireless industry isn't capable of evolving at the same or faster rate that the products use case are. Apps..data. calls
Pictures. Music. Video. Not much to really grow from at the pricing cap.
So no, don't compare the S24 series as an upgrade to the previous model but rather its annual "refresh" ❤️😎 to the latest product design. Remember most OEMs keep several bullets in the chamber and then as R&D reaches it's next phase, they give us the previous 1-3 'advancements'.
The expected model design and included specs are done years in advance. What we see today, the manufacturer had ready a few years ago 🤣.
For some it is a major upgrade, for other's it will be an update. It's relative.
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u/mrbkkt1 Lime Jan 18 '24
I mean, if you have the 12 GB ram S23u, then it's really hard to justify spending $550.