Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Vs. S23 Ultra: What's The Difference Between These Phones?

Samsung's Galaxy S lineup of smartphones is easily one of the leading smartphone brands on the market, up there with iPhone and the Google Pixel. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is its newest in the series, debuting in January 2024. Samsung has boasted that the S24 series marks the beginning of the AI phone era due to the S24's "transformational Galaxy AI capabilities." President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics, TM Roh, went on to say, "Designed to be an essential part of our daily lives, Galaxy AI will permanently change the way people interact with the world."

What if one doesn't want to pay the premium price that the S24 costs, but they still want a phone with impressive performance? There's always the S23 Ultra, which is only one generation behind this new lineup. As of December 2024, the S24 Ultra comes with a price tag of $1,299.99 if you buy from Samsung online. If you want the S23 Ultra, you'll only be able to get a "re-newed" model for $1,069. 

There's also Samsung's trade-in program, which can significantly drop the total cost of any purchase made on the company's official website. The big question is, how does the older S23 Ultra measure up against the S24 Ultra? We looked at the specs and compared them so you don't have to.

As much as Samsung praises it for its AI capabilities, don't buy the S24 Ultra for its AI. There are plenty of other reasons to get it. Firstly, because we live in a world where social media is a priority and posting pictures and videos is a favorite pastime, the S24 Ultra's cameras are impressive. It comes with four rear-facing lenses, giving users a wide variety of options for their photographic endeavors. The main wide resolution lens boasts 200 megapixels, producing some of the sharpest images seen from a phone. 

It also comes with a 12 MP ultrawide lens along with a 10 MP and a 50 MP lens that are capable of 3x and 5x optical zoom. If its Adaptive Pixel Sensor is enabled, it can give users between a 2x and 10x optical zoom. Lastly, for the selfies, there's the front-facing 12 MP camera.

When it comes to memory, the S24 comes with 12 GB of RAM, but users can choose between 256GB, 512GB, or even 1TB of internal storage. Of course, the storage varies since there's always pre-installed apps on each. The first feature anyone will notice is its 6.8-inch dynamic AMOLED 2x display with 3120 x 1440 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, making every movement on the screen as smooth as butter. The 5,000 mAh battery claims 30 continuous hours of video watching or up to 95 hours of strictly audio. Naturally, that duration will vary depending on other activities users engage in. 

It's easy to assume that a smartphone that came out a year before the S24 Ultra would be significantly behind the newer model. That's not really the case, though. The cameras on the Galaxy S23 Ultra are nearly identical to the S24 Ultra. The only difference is its telephoto lens that provides a 10x optic zoom at 10MP. Users also get a choice between 8GB and 12GB of RAM, but Samsung offers the same options for its internal storage as its newer model. Both phones are compatible with the S Pen

Unlike the S24's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with a core speed of up 3.39GHz, the S23 Ultra's Gen 2 processor provides a core speed of 3.36GHz. It's not a big enough difference to be noticeable to the naked eye, but it can give you bragging rights. The same goes for the display, which is the same size as the S24 Ultra, but with a marginally lower resolution at 3088 x 1440. These two phones, as typically goes for a series only a year apart, are nearly identical in size as well. The S23 Ultra is 163.4mm long, 78.1mm wide, and 8.9mm deep, slightly larger than the S24 at 162.3mm long, 79mm wide, and 8.6mm deep. It's not a big enough difference for any users to really notice.

Most importantly, both phones support USB-C. Any S23 Ultra owners feeling like they need to upgrade can easily wait until the Galaxy S25 Ultra hits the market.