The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is the largest and most powerful smartphone available right now, and it fulfills everyone’s desire. One of the greatest smartphones on the market right now is Samsung’s latest flagship model, which just dropped. Not just any smartphone, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is incredibly powerful and comes with some of the most cutting-edge AI features yet seen on a smartphone. It also has a long battery life and a great camera. To put it plainly, it’s amazing.
But hey, what do you know? It’s not actually necessary for you to buy it. Even though the Galaxy S24 Ultra is an amazing smartphone, there are many others that are similar or even surpass it in some important respects.
Not sure if you should spend $1,300 on the latest Samsung device? Consider buying one of these five smartphones instead of the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Galaxy S24 Plus Samsung
The phone that caused us to forget about the Galaxy S24 Ultra was the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus. After a favorable evaluation, you were ready to see the S24 Ultra as Samsung’s best option going forward. But then the Galaxy S24 Plus arrived and changed our viewpoint.
It is essentially the S24 Ultra with every “extra” carefully taken out. The Galaxy S24 Plus, which costs $300 less, has the same fast Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 engine, a 1440p AMOLED panel with a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, and 45W charging speeds as the Ultra, but without the S Pen or periscope zoom lens. The screen size and battery are slightly weakened, but only slightly—the diagonal screen size is decreased by 0.1 inches, and the 5,000mAh battery has 100mAh less capacity. These are essentially unnoticeable changes, and even without the extremely high megapixel counts of its larger sibling, the camera performance is still excellent.
Comparable Performance, Lower Price
Certainly the S24 Ultra offers more features, but the question is whether these extra features are worth the extra $300. This can only be decided by you. In our opinion, the S24 Plus offers excellent value for money and is the best Samsung Galaxy S model this year.
Galaxy S23 Ultra from Samsung
It’s simple to become fascinated with the newest model, but it’s important to keep in mind that “new” doesn’t always equate to “better.”
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is still a fantastic phone, even though the S24 Ultra represents a technical advancement. Unless you look closely at the technical details, it’s difficult to tell the two apart. The older variant has a slightly older chipset, a few fewer pixels in the display, and weighs a gram less. Even yet, it’s still a powerful, high-end gadget with an amazing screen and lots of computing power hidden inside an attractive design.
Galaxy AI is the S24 Ultra’s new highlight feature, although you can live without it for the most part. Surprisingly, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra features a little bit more than its more recent version when it comes to smartphone amazing. Do you recall the 5x periscope zoom lens on the S24 Ultra? In the past, the 10x zoom lens on the S23 Ultra seems a little excessive. Truly, who requires that much zoom? Most likely no one, which is exactly why Samsung canceled it. But that’s the whole point of the Ultra line, so when it goes above and beyond, we should be grateful for it. Choose the Galaxy S23 Ultra instead, which is nearly identical and comes with a good discount.
OnePlus 12
The OnePlus 12 isn’t trying to beat the flagship phone (that’s what the OnePlus 12R does), but there’s good reason to call it a competitor to the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
OnePlus has established itself by prioritizing powerful specs and eliminating unnecessary features. This is essentially the opposite philosophy from the S24 Ultra, where specs and special features are equally important. Powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, it has the same powerful processing power as the S24 Ultra. But OnePlus goes a step further with up to 512GB of storage and an impressive up to 16GB of RAM. These specs are complemented by his 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate on his 1440p display, which is the same size as the S24 Ultra. This phone stands up to the rugged Ultra in every way. 80W fast charging speed also allows for faster charging.
The camera is still an excellent shooter, even though it may not be as good as the S24 Ultra, and the significant price difference more than makes up for it. At $800, the OnePlus 12 represents a stunning $500 discount. While this is, of course, for the 256GB model with 12GB of RAM, the above features are similar to those of the S24 Ultra base configuration, so the comparison is fair. The OnePlus 12 is a great option that keeps a good amount of money in your pocket if you’re looking for a big phone with amazing features.
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Google’s Pixel series may not be as popular as Samsung’s Galaxy, but it’s highly regarded for compelling reasons.
Years ago, it would have been easy to say that Google Pixel smartphones are the best camera smartphones. But this year, in a camera comparison between the S24 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro, the Galaxy S24 Ultra surprisingly won. But there are still plenty of compelling reasons to choose the Google Pixel 8 Pro over Samsung’s giant smartphone. The camera system is still excellent, capturing shots in true-to-life colors and avoiding the vibrant saturation often found in Samsung’s cameras. While its wide-angle and telephoto shots may not match Samsung’s, it would be a mistake to underestimate the Pixel 8 Pro’s excellent camera system.
That’s not all the Google Pixel 8 Pro has to offer. It’s a similar size to the S24 Ultra, so you won’t miss out on that, and it has similar display specs, including a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate. The Tensor G3 processor developed by Google is robust, fast, and has comparable AI capabilities. The S24 Ultra is because Google pioneered it.
CLEAN ANDROID
Battery life is a little short at just a day on a single charge, but the Android version of Pixel makes up for it with a clean interface and useful features that don’t overwhelm the phone. While we appreciate the S24 Ultra’s One UI, there’s no denying that it includes additional features, and purists will appreciate what Google has to offer.
The last thing to consider is price. The Pixel 8 Pro is a powerful phone with the same performance, camera system, and features as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, but at a much lower price. Google Pixel 8 Pro starts at $999, which is $300 cheaper than the S24 Ultra. Upgrading to 256GB of storage (Ultra equivalent) still costs $1,059, which is still well below the price of Samsung’s latest offerings.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
A compelling reason to choose the S24 Ultra is that it offers the pinnacle of smartphone technology with exceptionally powerful specs, a great camera, and about the most advanced display money can buy. Why “almost”? Because the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is out, and if you’ve already invested at least $1,300 in a smartphone, why not take the plunge and buy the most advanced device available?
Comparable to the S24 Ultra in terms of specs, but not quite as powerful. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is a great chip with more power than you probably need, and the camera is still great. But everyone knows that the real attraction is the folding umbrella. The 7.6-inch built-in display has the same refresh rate as his S24 Ultra and is almost twice as wide. There’s also a 6.2-inch display on the outside if you don’t have access to a larger screen like a tablet.
Unlike most options on this list, the Z Fold 5 is more expensive than his S24 Ultra, starting at $1,799. But if you’re already looking to spend a lot of money on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and obviously want a little more, why not take it a step further and aim for the stars?
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra boasts great specs and features, but its high price may not be for everyone. Fortunately, many attractive alternatives offer similar performance, camera capabilities, and innovative features, often at more affordable prices, including the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus, S23 Ultra, OnePlus 12, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and even the foldable Galaxy Z Fold 5. This allows customers to make informed decisions that best suit their needs and budget.
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