I’ve always been a fan of Samsung’s flagship phones and usually make them one of my daily drivers, but something strange happened with this year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra. It just didn’t quite make as deep of an impression on me, and while I’ve continued to use it on and off for roughly the last 9 months, I’ve opted to use other Android phones as my daily driver.
Samsung didn’t help itself by ditching the 10x optical zoom camera in last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra for a shorter 5x optical one with the S24 Ultra. These kinds of changes made everyone second guess the company, but luckily this controversial decision for me was put to rest once I took over 200 photos between the S24 Ultra and S23 Ultra to see how their cameras compared to each other.
In my Galaxy S24 Ultra review, I mention how its Galaxy AI features add a lot of value. However, it’s also abundantly clear that Samsung has a huge challenge ahead of itself with the Galaxy S25 Ultra if it has any chance to regain the top spot in our best phones guide — albeit, it is our number one pick for the best Android phones around.
Considering how I’ve been able to appreciate more of its features spread out over the last 9 months, here’s everything I love and hate about the S24 Ultra after using it long term. Plus, I'll tell you all the ways that Samsung could make improvements for the S25 Ultra.
Still the most robust camera app
I’ve tested many of the best camera phones around, including the iPhone 16 Pro Max that tops the list, but none of them comes close to matching the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s robust camera app. This native camera app has everything that the videographer in me craves, including a manual mode for video that lets me dial in settings like the shutter speed, ISO, and focus — all to my liking. There are also plenty of additional modes as well that cater to a broader audience, like Dual Recording that shoots video from two cameras simultaneously.
With the announcement of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, which could presumably power the Galaxy S25 Ultra, I want to see the camera app taken to a whole new level with the extra muscle power. Not only would it be fantastic to get the same 4K 120fps native video capture as the iPhone 16 Pro Max, but I’d want to see the ability to record video from all the cameras simultaneously.
Telephoto camera was surprisingly good, but could be better
Going back to my earlier sentiment about Samsung’s controversial decision, the 50MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom in the Galaxy S24 Ultra turned out to deliver better pictures than the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 10MP telephoto shooter with 10x optical zoom. Despite the shorter optical zoom, the S24 Ultra’s shots came out sharp and detailed — which shows how effective Samsung leverages pixel binning to enhance the quality.
However, I was hoping for bigger improvements — not solely with zooming. So far, the rumors hint that the S25 Ultra’s telephoto camera will have "variable capabilities" to a certain degree, which could help out with zooming while recording video. But I’d still want to see greater improvements because the S25 Ultra can’t fall short to the iPhone 16 Pro Max in our best camera phones guide.
Tons of Galaxy AI features, but nothing I could live without
With the launch of the Galaxy S24 series, it catapulted Samsung into the AI era with Galaxy AI. While there are people I know that make use of them, I haven’t been as reliant on them as I am with the Google Pixel 9 Pro’s set of AI features. That’s because despite having a broad set of AI features, like Note Assist, Interpreter mode, and other generative AI tools, I don’t use them as much.
Ironically, the AI feature I consistently use the most is Circle to Search — which debuted with the Galaxy S24, but has since been released on other Android phones. I’ve also found Google Gemini invaluable of late for helping me with all sorts of stuff, but again it’s something that I can access on other phones. With the Galaxy S25 Ultra, I’d at least love to see a few exclusive features to give people justification on buying it than the other phones in the series.
Outstanding battery life
From the moment I started using the Galaxy S24 Ultra, I could tell that it was going to get close to breaking battery life records. In our testing, it achieved an impressive time of 16 hours and 45 minutes from its 5,000 mAh battery — which I might add is the same size as the S23 Ultra. Its endurance is attributed to the power efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. I can’t tell you enough about how long it lasts on a full charge, especially given how I’m a power user.
The chip may once again be the sole differentiator for the Galaxy S25 Ultra because rumors hint it will likely stick with the same 5,000 mAh battery, so the Snapdragon 8 Elite will need to prove it’s better here if the S25 Ultra intends to overtake the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Softer looking display
Initially, I was dazzled by the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 6.8-inch Super AMOLED display. However, once I was made aware about the Mura effect and placed it alongside other flagships like the Pixel 8 Pro, I soon realized it was overall a softer looking display. On top of that, its peak brightness output of 1,363 nits was weak compared to its direct rivals.
That’s why I’m hoping for bigger improvements with the S25 Ultra. What’s really interesting is that I much prefer the 6.7-inch AMOLED display in the Galaxy S24 FE because it’s brighter and more vibrant looking. Samsung could simply take that same display, make it larger, and fashion it into the S25 Ultra. That would be enough to elevate it, but I know it needs to be much more if it stands any chance at regaining the attention it deserves. That’s because the Pixel 9 Pro XL has raised the bar with its record setting peak brightness of 2,469 nits.
S Pen and Samsung DeX in desperate need of an overhaul
Two distinguishing features of the S24 Ultra that show the phone’s expansive utility are the S Pen and Samsung DeX. With the former, I love using it not only for drawing and jotting down notes, but also as a handy navigational tool using it to scroll through pages with its Air Gestures — which allows me to use gestures with the S Pen to scroll up and down web pages in Chrome.
In reality, however, the functions of the S Pen and Samsung DeX haven’t changed at all. In fact, the previous Galaxy S23 Ultra offered the same exact functions. That’s why these two features need major overhauls with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. I would love to see something innovative and fresh to bridge the two experiences togethers. Perhaps using the S Pen so it could be used to act as a navigational tool to better navigate DeX?
Coming up short isn’t an option
Whatever ends up happening, I want Samsung to truly make people believe that the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a powerhouse. There’s a lot at stake here because the S24 Ultra failed to overtake the iPhone 15 Pro Max, let alone the even better iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple has triumphed over Samsung twice, so a third time would be a deep black eye for the company. We’re still a good few months away from a Galaxy S25 Ultra reveal, so there’s still time for Samsung to make the necessary changes to knock it out of the park.
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