Samsung S24 Ultra - worth an upgrade ?

[anticpated]

So yet another year and another new Samsung flagship release. 

Nothing is really officially announced yet however there are enough details available to compare to older models.  Exynos models will be S24 in Europe it appears. Snapdragon versions will incorporate AI. 50 megapixels seems to be a typical figure surrounding the sensors on the camera side of things.

All brand new Android Os in the form of ui 6.1 to support the new hardware AI features.  Support for 24 megapixels in native file size.  That means 4 times more detail or more room to crop in with much loss of resolution in wide angle or better results when using optical zoom.

Larger storage options by default with 1tb being a to go for amount.  Screen being up to the usual bright standard up to 2600 nits brightness (viewability in strong sunlight). Satellite connectivity has been removed for now.

The chassis is to come with titanium or aluminium edging on the sides. Gorilla glass  victus. 

It all looks good on paper; is it enough to persuade or motivate other handset users to migrate?

Personally I am looking forward to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra Pro which in many cases is a lightweight alternative to a compact/bridge camera.  Let's not split hairs and compare it to a micro four thirds sensor or bigger.

[H3LLCAT505]

I think them going back to Europe getting the Exynos chipset while USA gets Snapdragon is huge step backwards. They say this exynos chip is great on benchmarks but they always say that till released and users find out their version about 20% slower and battery doesn’t last as long either compared to other markets. I think it’s terrible that Samsung treats Europe like this and surprised they get away with it if I’m honest. It one of the main reasons I jumped from Android to Apple, although I happily jump back if the right phone appeared in the future. 

[Enlli]

Wondering when the S24 posts would statrt

[anticpated]

Personally I don't see either Samsung or iPhone as upgrade options for me. Despite the 1984 ideologies behind using a Chinese mobile telephone I think they offer better options despite the software being saturated with preinstalled apps. For us mere mortals who don't care about the latest tech I think they will think with their wallet rather than anything else.

[Oxonian]

@anticpated 

Given that Samsung now include four years of updates with each 'phone, there would have to be some huge improvements to persuade me to upgrade more than once every four years. And from what has been leaked so far about the S24 series, there is nothing sufficiently ground-breaking    

[jonsie]

Something needs to change so that phone manufacturers stop releasing a new flagship phone once a year like clockwork

It's rare that there is any significant upgrade year on year

Pandering to people who must have the latest tech come what may...

Expensive hobby!

[Oxonian]

@jonsie 

Agreed. And most users with the latest 'phones don't use half of the features anyway. 

This article summarises the position nicely :-

Please Stop Making New Smartphones Every Year (howtogeek.com)

https://www.howtogeek.com/145957/please-stop-making-new-smartphones-every-year/

[anticpated]

I am still using my s21 ultra on android 14/ui 6. Although I want to upgrade my mobile camera tech now. The current array of Samsung s2x options are not compelling enough for me.  The 200 megapixel sensor is a glorified 12 megapixels in real terms. Only a larger sensor or stacked one is going to make a significant difference in image quality. 

So my goal is to get one with an IMX989 or Lytia image sensor as photography is kind of my thing. Also much of the new stuff is AI or computational improvements on Samsung devices.  This is why I can't justify paying around the same for underwhelming results (in my humble opinion).

[Oxonian]

@anticpated 

That sounds a well thought-out plan to me. 👍