Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: all rumors we know so far

Samsung is rumored to be working on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is expected to be their best phone in 2024 within the new Samsung Galaxy S24 series. The challenge for Samsung will be to improve upon the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which already had top performance, great battery life, and impressive cameras. However, early rumors suggest that the Galaxy S24 Ultra will have exciting new features.

Some of the rumored improvements include a more powerful chip like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, better camera capabilities with a stronger telephoto lens, a higher refresh rate for the 6.8-inch display, and a new stacked battery design for longer battery life.

Based on leaks and specific rumors about the Ultra model, here’s what we know so far about the Galaxy S24 Ultra and what we hope to see from Samsung’s premium handset.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Rumored Release Date

According to rumors, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is expected to be released in January. One leak suggests a mid-to-late January release, while another specific rumor points to January 17 as the launch date. There are also claims that pre-orders will start on January 18 and the devices will begin shipping by January 30. For those in Australia, the announcement is said to take place at 5am AEDT on January 18.

However, it is also possible that the release could happen in February, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S23 line launched in February 2023.

It is worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has appeared on a certification database, indicating its imminent launch. Additionally, a second certification has confirmed the name of the S24 Ultra. This suggests that the phone will likely be available in the early months of 2024, making it one of the first major smartphone releases of the year.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Rumored Pricing

As for pricing, there are predictions that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra could be quite expensive. While the exact price has not been mentioned, it is expected to be higher than that of its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. To give you an idea, the starting price of the Galaxy S23 Ultra was $1,199.99 / £1,249 / AU$1,949. If it exceeds this price point, it would be one of the most expensive non-folding phones.

Our hope is that Samsung maintains or even lowers the cost of the phone compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s $1,199 starting price. However, given the premium features and rising smartphone parts costs, a price cut seems unlikely. Nonetheless, there is a rumor suggesting that Samsung might be able to save on production costs by using a combination of Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Exynos 2400 chips in its phones, which could potentially impact pricing.

We would be satisfied with the same $1,199 starting price, especially considering the rumored price increases before the launch of the Galaxy S23 earlier this year. It’s also worth mentioning that Samsung’s competitors, Apple and Google, raised prices for their flagship phones this fall with the releases of the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 8 Pro.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Rumored Design

This year, Samsung has expanded the Ultra’s design throughout the Galaxy S23 series and has even given its lower-priced Galaxy A phones a similar appearance to the Ultra. Therefore, we did not anticipate a significant design overhaul for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but this could be altered by adding bezels to the main display. Samsung appears to favor having a vertical line of camera lenses on the back of its phones and will likely continue with this strategy.

There could be a change in the materials used for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, according to various sources. The upcoming phone is rumored to replace Samsung’s Armor Aluminum with titanium sides, with the Ultra likely being the first model to receive it. Other models in the lineup may also feature it. Leaker Ice Universe suggests that this change could make the Galaxy S24 Ultra lighter than the S23 Ultra by approximately one gram.

As for color choices, black, gray, violet, and yellow are speculated as the four basic colors. Orange, light blue, and light green could be exclusive colors available only in Samsung stores.

Concept designs based on CAD information provide insights into what the Galaxy S24 Ultra might resemble – strikingly similar to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The edges could be more angular according to designs revealed by Technizo Concept.

Supposed dummy models of new Galaxy S24 phones hint at possible alterations to the S24 Ultra’s design compared to its predecessor. Its edges might be sharper which would lessen the curve of both display and back panel while resizing of its cameras might take place due to sensor changes.

Windows Report has offered what may well be our most clear view yet of the Galaxy S24 Ultra through published images claiming to show off the device. They also corroborate reports of a flatter display, titanium construction and four colors as previously mentioned.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Rumored Display

Leaks suggest the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s display could be a significant upgrade over the current model. Here’s what we’ve heard:

• Brightness boost: Multiple sources claim the S24 Ultra will reach a peak brightness of 2,500 nits or even 2,600 nits, making it one of the brightest smartphone screens on the market. This would surpass the current leader, the Pixel 8 Pro (2,400 nits), and leave iPhone 15 Pro Max (2,000 nits) and even the current S23 Ultra (1,750 nits) in the dust. OnePlus 12, however, is rumored to have 4,500 nits brightness.
• Potential refresh rate bump: One, albeit less reliable, source suggests the S24 Ultra might boast a 144Hz refresh rate, up from the standard 120Hz on most high-end phones (except gaming phones). This would result in smoother animations and scrolling.
• Next-gen display technology: The S24 Ultra could be the first Samsung phone to sport an advanced “M13” display, said to be more power-efficient than current models and on par with what’s expected in the upcoming iPhone 16 lineup. Another source backs this claim, adding that the M13 tech might be present in all S24 models, not just the Ultra.

It’s important to note that some of these claims, particularly the 144Hz refresh rate, lack strong evidence. Nevertheless, the S24 Ultra’s display appears poised for significant improvements in brightness, efficiency, and possibly refresh rate. Stay tuned for official confirmation from Samsung in the coming months!

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Camera Rumors

• Possible 5x zoom instead of 10x
• Other cameras might be like the S23 Ultra’s

There are many rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s cameras, and not everyone seems to agree.

The latest news leaker that Samsung won’t feature a 10x optical zoom camera on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Instead, it might have a 5x optical zoom and a second lens with a 3x zoom. Here the rumors about it:

According to a leak from the insider, @Tech_Reve, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is expected to feature a new 3-10x variable folded telephoto lens. This lens would replace the dedicated 3x and 10x lenses found on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The innovative lens is designed with a periscope structure and can adjust its focal length while connecting to a single sensor.

@Tech_Reve further speculated that we might see a 200MP primary camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and two telephoto cameras on the new model. These include a 50MP lens with 5x optical zoom and a 10MP lens with 3x optical zoom. It’s also predicted that the front camera will have a resolution of 12MP.

Well-known leaker @Ice Universe fueled these rumors by forecasting improvements in the telephoto lens. They expressed strong belief that the Galaxy S24 Ultra has enhanced the performance of the 3x camera, which should significantly improve image quality from 3x to 10x zoom. They also suggested Samsung might incorporate a high-resolution 50MP telephoto lens with a 3x zoom in the Galaxy S24 Ultra, an idea supported by another leaker, @Yogesh Brar.

More recently, @Ice Universe claimed that Samsung plans to use both a 10MP lens with 3x zoom and a high-quality 50MP lens with 5x zoom on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. While this may seem like bad news since it means no more 10x optical zoom, it’s hoped that the higher-quality 5x sensor will compensate for this – similar to how Apple uses pixel binning on their iPhone models. Despite this change, it’s believed that it won’t impact the phone’s capacity to achieve up to an impressive maximum of 100x zoom, similar to its predecessors.

This would match the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Google Pixel 8 Pro’s 5x zoom. However, Samsung has been leading in optical zoom for years, so it would be surprising if they fell behind.

Twitter insider @AhmedQwaider888 has also revealed other potential camera features. These include a 5x zoom while recording in 8K, a 5x zoom for portrait mode, and an AI objects-aware engine. Leaker @Alvin suggests that these AI photo enhancements could play a crucial role in enhancing Galaxy S24 Ultra’s image quality, with other sources suggesting features such as a 200MP AI optimization mode and improved low-light performance.

Ultimately, there might not be many hardware upgrades for the camera. However, software improvements could be significant as Samsung has applied to trademark terms like Magic Pixel, Flex Magic and Flex Magic Pixel. It’s believed these could refer to AI photography modes coming to the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Battery Rumors

Rumors have suggested that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra may come with a new stacked battery and improved cooling system, which would provide more power in a smaller space. This could potentially result in a 10% improvement in battery performance. Additionally, there have been talks about increasing the maximum charging speed to 65W, making it almost 50% faster than the previous model.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra AI and Software Rumors

The latest software update, One UI, is being rolled out to current Samsung phones. It will be interesting to see how One UI will be adapted for the Galaxy S24 Ultra. There is limited information available about this, but it seems that Samsung is heavily investing in artificial intelligence to enhance the capabilities of the device.

One notable feature is Samsung Gauss, the company’s own generative AI, which will be integrated into the Galaxy S24 series. Gauss is expected to assist users in composing emails, translating content, summarizing documents, and more. It may also include an AI-generated image creator for photo editing purposes.

It’s worth mentioning that Samsung Gauss will operate on the device itself, rather than relying on cloud-based AI models like ChatGPT. This means that the S24 Ultra can run these models faster and without requiring an internet connection. However, there is a rumor that certain AI-assisted features may only be accessible through a paid subscription.

Leaks suggest that One UI 6.1 will introduce some exciting features for the Galaxy S24, including AI-generated wallpapers and in-call translation. Furthermore, additional features have been teased for the S24 Ultra, such as support for tracking up to 10 speakers during voice recording and the option to use a telephoto camera with Samsung’s Single Take photo/video mode.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Performance and Other Features Rumors

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, the next generation of the chipset used in the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. There is some uncertainty, however, as there are rumors that Samsung may use a combination of Snapdragon and Exynos chipsets in different models of the Galaxy S24 line, depending on the region.

In the past, Samsung has used different chipsets for different regions, with some getting Snapdragon and others getting Exynos. Leaker Yogesh Brar claims that there will be both Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Exynos 2400 versions of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

It is unfortunate that one of these chipsets will likely be weaker than the other, and based on past form, it will probably be the Exynos chipset. However, other sources suggest that Samsung plans to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in all versions of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, with the standard Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus getting the Exynos 2400.

Early benchmarks for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra show significant improvements compared to its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. However, these scores are not as high as some leaks claimed them to be or surpassing the iPhone 15 Pro‘s A17 Pro.

The benchmark scores achieved by Geekbench show a single-core score of 2214 and a multi-core score of 6744 for Samsung’s next flagship. For reference, our own testing found that the iPhone 15 Pro Max achieved benchmark scores of 2935 and 7207 respectively, while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra achieved scores of 2011 and 5365 respectively.

AnTuTu benchmark also indicates impressive numbers for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, with approximately a 15% increase in CPU performance and a 39% increase in GPU performance compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Regarding RAM and storage, there is some disagreement among sources. One benchmark mentions only 8GB of RAM, but it is likely that other configurations will be offered as well. Other sources claim that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will have either 16GB or 12GB of RAM in all configurations, with storage options starting at 128GB or 256GB and going up to an enormous 2TB.

On the software side, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will run on Android and is expected to have various AI capabilities. Some leaks suggest features like live voice call translation, object and people manipulation in photos, and an AI wallpaper feature similar to the Pixel 8. Samsung has also applied to trademark the terms “AI Phone” and “AI Smartphone,” suggesting a focus on AI for the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Samsung recently announced Samsung Gauss, its first on-device large language model (LLM), which could potentially debut on the Samsung Galaxy S24 line. However, there are rumors that these AI features may be offered as a subscription service, requiring an additional payment to access them.