Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra First Impressions

My Galaxy S24 Ultra arrived today along with two cases and a 24-watt power supply, thanks to Samsung’s launch-day promotions. And while I’m trying to keep an open mind, nothing I’ve seen so far has changed my opinions about this company’s horrible apps and services. And the differences between the S24 Ultra and my wife’s two-year-old S22 Ultra are even more subtle than I’d imagined.

All I can say is, this camera better be as good as Samsung claims.

From a hardware perspective, the unboxing experience was quite Apple-like, in keeping with the entire industry. The packaging is minimalist, and the device lifts out of the small box using a small tab built into the packaging, making it seem more like a fun gift than an overly expensive digital device. In the end, it’s just a gigantic, heavy slab of metal and glass, one that somehow manages to look much bigger than my Pixel 8 Pro despite being nearly identical in size.

Because Apple switched its iPhone 15 Pro series from stainless steel to titanium for the weight savings, Samsung did the same with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. But because previous Ultras were made of aluminum, this new device is no lighter than its predecessors. In fact, it’s a bit heavier, at 8.18 ounces vs. 8.04 ounces for the S22 Ultra.

Samsung markets the new material as being more scratch-resistant. But this doesn’t matter too much, as I will keep it in a case, like most customers. I received two cases because I got $100 in Samsung Store credit for making this purchase, a silicone case of the type I prefer, and the S-View Wallet Case my wife will use when I inevitably hand it over to her.

But the color scheme is at least interesting: I would have gone with the dark Titanium Violet color, but I let my wife pick the color and she chose Titanium Green. This is quite light and I like that the titanium sides are dark, and not a dull gray, giving it a bit of contrast. That, again, I have since covered up with the case.

Aside from the color, the rear of the S24 Ultra is quite distinct from other smartphone flagships. Where iPhone has its spider eyes-like camera array and the Pixel has its iconic camera bar, Samsung has likewise used the rear camera system to create a unique look for its Galaxy phones, and I like the design of the Ultra models quite a bit. Granted, it’s almost identical to my wife’s S22 Ultra, with three large lenses stacked vertically on the left and a smaller lens, a laser auto-focus sensor, and the flash just to their right. Of course, this lopsided configuration makes the S24 Ultra as wobbly on a table as any iPhone. But the case fixes that issue.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra’s display might be the game-changer. Unlike previous Galaxy S-series phones, including my wife’s, this one is flat, not curved, and it makes a big difference. It’s also the first and only smartphone coated in Corning Gorilla Armor, which is much more scratch-resistant than any other smartphone glass and dramatically reduces glare. Add in the internal display improvements that elevate the quality of this display above that of the iPhone 15 Pro Max display (which Samsung also makes), and we have a real differentiator here, and some rationale for the upgrade.

Aside from the display, the physical differences between the S24 Ultra and my wife’s phone are minor. The S Pen on the S24 Ultra sticks out a bit when docked for some reason, where the S22 Ultra’s does not. And the bottom speaker is a single rectangular slit, where the S22 Ultra’s was covered in a grid of small holes. Nothing major.

Stepping through Samsung’s out-of-box experience was a depressing reminder of all the issues I have with this company and its business practices. Samsung heavily customizes the standard Android experience so that it can push its many services and try and convince you to give up your privacy. There’s no way to opt out of a Samsung account during setup, and the resulting screen forces you to agree to the Samsung Service Terms and Conditions, Special terms, Notice of Financial Incentives, and then a longer list of optional choices that include Turn on Customization Service, Turn on Offline finding, Get special offers and product news through email, push notifications, and third-party platforms, Improve personalized ads with Samsung account data, and Improve personalized ads with precise location data. The goal here is to overwhelm the user and hope they simply tap the last option, “All,” before tapping Agree.

I’m unwilling to do that. And as of this writing, I’ve had to step through this series of options three times because the email Samsung has alleged sent to my email address to verify this account never arrived. I bet it would work if I opted into everything. How intrusive.

When I finally bailed out of that nonsense, I arrived at a minimalist home screen with Samsung’s OneUI customizations. I do like the look of Samsung’s icons, but I’m surprised that it still uses (virtual) button-based navigation by default and Samsung’s weird horizontally scrolling all apps view. I enabled gesture-based navigation because it’s the 21st century, and I looked for, but did not find, a way to make all apps work normally.

I give Samsung a lot of flack for the superfluous and redundant collection of apps it puts on its phones, but this configuration doesn’t seem horrible at first glance, and Apple is worse: It spams the iPhone with multiple home screens worth of app icons to a degree that kind of puts this in perspective. But I spent a few minutes deleting the apps I don’t and will never use. Some, like Internet (a browser), cannot be uninstalled, another issue I have with Samsung. And then I had to get started downloading and configuring the apps I do want.

I’m just getting comfortable with this thing, But I’ll look at some more interesting topics soon, like the new AI features and its updated camera system. Both look impressive at first glance, but I hope they can overcome my qualms about the whole Samsung experience.

More soon.