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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. the competition: A new titanium contender

Here's how Samsung's latest flagship compares to the best iPhone and Pixel phone on the spec sheet.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Samsung formally unveiled its Galaxy S24 line of smartphones at its latest Samsung Unpacked event on Wednesday, including its newest flagship, the Galaxy S24 Ultra. For a fuller idea of what to expect, you can check out my colleague Sam Rutherford's hands-on impressions. In short, though, the main updates are a new titanium frame with flatter edges, a promised seven years of software updates, an expected processor bump, a slightly tweaked camera setup and a host of new generative AI features. Starting at $1,300, the device is also $100 more expensive than its predecessor, though there are some early pre-order deals to lessen that blow a little.

If you're thinking about taking the plunge, we've broken down how the Galaxy S24 Ultra compares to two other top-end handsets, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Google Pixel 8 Pro, on the spec sheet. As always, specs can't tell the full story, but if you want a reference for what $1,300 (or more) gets you in early 2024, here's how the new phone stacks up.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

Google Pixel 8 Pro

Pricing (MSRP)

$1,300 (256GB), $1,420 (512GB), $1,660 (1TB)

$1,199 (256GB), $1,399 (512GB), $1,599 (1TB)

$999 (128GB), $1,059 (256GB), $1,179 (512GB), $1,399 (1TB)

Dimensions

6.4 x 3.11 x 0.34 inches

6.29 x 3.02 x 0.32 inches

6.4 x 3.01 x 0.35 inches

Weight

8.22 ounces

7.8 ounces

7.5 ounces

Screen size

6.8 inches

6.7 inches

6.7 inches

Screen resolution

1,440 x 3,120

1,290 x 2,796

460 ppi

1,344 x 2,992

489 ppi

Screen type

LTPO AMOLED

Up to 120Hz (1-120Hz)

Up to 2,600 nits brightness

Gorilla Armor

LTPO OLED

Up to 120Hz (1-120Hz)

Up to 2,000 nits brightness

Ceramic Shield

LTPO OLED

Up to 120Hz (1-120Hz)

Up to 2,400 nits brightness

Gorilla Glass Victus 2

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy

Octa-core CPU

Apple A17 Pro

Hexa-core CPU (up to 3.78GHz)

6-core Apple GPU

Google Tensor G3

Nona-core CPU (up to 2.91GHz)

Arm Mali-G715 MP7 GPU

RAM

12GB

8GB

12GB

Battery

5,000mAh

Up to 30 hours video playback

"Up to 29 hours video playback"

4,950mAh

"Beyond 24 hours"

Charging

USB Type-C 3.2

Up to 45W wired

Wireless charging up to 15W (with proprietary charger, up to 10W with other Qi chargers)

Reverse wireless charging

USB Type-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2)

"Up to 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes"

MagSafe/Qi2 wireless charging up to 15W

Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W

Reverse wired charging

USB Type-C 3.2

Up to 30W wired

Up to 23W wireless with Google Pixel Stand (2nd gen)

Qi wireless charging up to 12W

Reverse wireless charging

Storage

256GB, 512GB or 1TB

256GB, 512GB or 1TB

128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB

Rear camera

Main: 200 MP, f/1.7

Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2, 120 degree FOV

Telephoto: 50 MP, f/3.4, 5x optical zoom

Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 3x optical zoom

Main: 48 MP, f/1.78

Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2, 120 degree FOV

Telephoto: 12 MP, f/2.8, 5x optical zoom

Main: 50 MP, f/1.68

Ultrawide: 48 MP, f/1.95, 125.5 degree FOV

Telephoto: 48 MP, f/2.8, 5x optical zoom

Front camera

12 MP, f/2.2

12 MP, f/1.9

10.5 MP, f/2.2

Video capture

Rear: 8K at 24/30 fps, 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60/240/960 fps

Front: 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30 fps

Rear: 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p at 25/30/60/120/240 fps

Front: 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p at 25/30/60/120 fps

Rear: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 24/30/60/120/240 fps

Front: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60 fps

Water and dust resistance

IP68

IP68

IP68

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 7

Wi-Fi 6E

Wi-Fi 7

Bluetooth

v5.3

v5.3

v5.3

OS

Android 14, One UI 6.1

"Seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates"

iOS 17

Android 14

"Seven years of OS, security and Feature Drop updates"

Colors and finish

Titanium frame

Titanium Gray, Titanium Black, Titanium Violet, Titanium Yellow, Titanium Green, Titanium Blue, Titanium Orange

Titanium frame

Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium, Black Titanium

Polished aluminum frame

Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay