Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: Titanium Build & 200MP Camera

Our Review and Specifications

Range: Samsung Flagship | Standout Feature: 200MP main camera with 5x optical zoom | Unique: Titanium Frame with Built-in S Pen stylus

The Galaxy S24 Ultra was the phone that made Samsung’s “Galaxy AI” branding a household term, and two years on it’s aged far better than most flagships manage. The titanium frame hasn’t dented, the 200MP camera still holds its own against newer rivals, and with the S26 Ultra now the one grabbing headlines, prices on the S24 Ultra have fallen hard enough to make it one of the smarter buys in Samsung’s back catalogue. We’ve spent time with it to see whether it’s worth picking up in 2026, or whether the ageing Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip is reason enough to look elsewhere.

Design and Build Quality

Samsung carried the S23 Ultra’s boxy, flat-edged design straight over to the S24 Ultra, so if you’ve handled the previous model there are no surprises here. What did change is the frame material, swapped from aluminium to titanium, and the front and back glass, now Corning Gorilla Armor rather than standard Gorilla Glass Victus. The result is a phone that shrugs off scratches better than its predecessor and feels noticeably stiffer in hand, even if the extra rigidity does nothing to hide the weight.

At 232g (233g for the titanium colourways), this is not a phone you forget you’re carrying. Samsung ships it in seven titanium finishes, from the understated Titanium Grey and Black through to a punchier Titanium Violet and Yellow, and the corners are squared off enough that the S Pen slots neatly into its silo at the base without fuss. IP68 water and dust resistance carries over unchanged, rated to 1.5 metres for 30 minutes.

Display

The 6.8-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X panel is where the S24 Ultra still competes with phones twice its price. QHD+ resolution at 1440 x 3120 pixels gives a sharp 505ppi; the adaptive refresh rate scales from 1Hz up to 120Hz depending on what’s on screen, and peak brightness hits 2600 nits, enough to keep the screen legible in direct sunlight. HDR10+ support means Netflix and YouTube HDR content looks properly punchy rather than washed out.

Where Samsung made a genuinely useful change is the flat display itself. Unlike the curved edges on older Ultra models, the S24 Ultra’s screen is completely flat, which cuts down on accidental touches and makes handwriting with the S Pen far more predictable. Two years on, this remains one of the best mobile displays you can buy, full stop.

Camera

The headline spec is still the 200MP f/1.7 main sensor, and it remains genuinely impressive in 2026. Daylight shots are sharp with accurate colour, and the sensor’s pixel-binning does a good job of controlling noise once the sun goes down. Samsung paired it with a 50MP f/3.4 periscope telephoto offering 5x optical zoom, a 10MP f/2.4 telephoto for 3x, and a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, giving four genuinely usable focal lengths rather than the token macro lenses some rivals still bundle in.

The 5x periscope zoom is the standout. Shots at 5x stay crisp, and Samsung’s Space Zoom digital processing stretches usable results out to 10x before quality drops off a cliff. Video tops out at 8K/30fps, and gyro-EIS keeps handheld 4K footage steady enough for casual use. Front-facing selfies come from a 12MP f/2.2 sensor that handles skin tones well, if without much creative flair. The main trade-off against newer flagships is processing speed on Night Mode shots, where a couple of extra seconds is noticeable if you’re used to a 2026 chipset.

Performance and Software

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, paired with 12GB of RAM, still handles everyday multitasking, One UI animations and most mobile games without complaint. It’s only in sustained sessions of graphically demanding titles that the age of the chip shows, with thermal throttling kicking in after 15 to 20 minutes and frame rates dipping noticeably. For anyone using this as a daily driver rather than a gaming rig, that ceiling is unlikely to matter.

Software is where the S24 Ultra earns its keep long-term. It launched with Android 14 and One UI 6.1, and Samsung has committed to seven years of OS upgrades and security patches, a promise that runs until 2031. Galaxy AI features introduced at launch, Circle to Search, Live Translate, and generative photo editing, are still receiving updates and remain genuinely handy day to day rather than feeling bolted on.

Battery Life

The 5,000mAh battery comfortably gets most users through a full day of mixed use, screen-on time typically landing between six and seven hours depending on how hard the display and camera get pushed. Wired charging tops out at 45W, which isn’t quick by 2026 standards, and Samsung still doesn’t include a charger in the box, so budget for that separately if you don’t already own a compatible brick. Wireless charging is capped at 15W, with reverse wireless charging available for topping up earbuds or a smartwatch.

Verdict

Samsung launched the Galaxy S24 Ultra at £1,249 for the 256GB model in January 2024. With the S26 Ultra now the flagship getting Samsung’s marketing attention, naturally new S24 Ultra units have dropped well below that figure.

Solid all-rounder that’s aged unusually well. The 200MP camera, titanium build and built-in S Pen still hold up against 2026 flagships, and Samsung’s seven-year update promise means it won’t feel outdated any time soon. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 shows its age under sustained gaming load, and the design is a close copy of the S23 Ultra, but neither is a dealbreaker for most buyers. Worth it if you value substance over having the newest chip

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Specifications