Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: AI-Infused With All The Trimmings

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Battery And Charging

Samsung's smaller S24 variants got a bit of a battery boost this year, but the S24 Ultra remains at a healthy 5,000mAh. Samsung has also kept the same 45W charging speed. Sadly, the phone doesn't come with a charger, but few do in 2024. You'll be able to hit the maximum charging speed with any USB-PD plug that supports PPS, which is pretty easy to find these days. 

While 45W is not exactly slow charging, it's not as fast as we'd like to see for a phone that costs $1,300. It takes around an hour to recharge the Galaxy S24 Ultra at max speed. The ROG Phone 8 Pro can charge at 65W, and the OnePlus 12 can do 100W. In seven years when Samsung stops updating the S24 Ultra, that 45W charging speed could feel pretty sluggish. If you prefer wireless charging, the phone supports up to 15W, but only on select Qi chargers.

We've been impressed with the battery life of the Galaxy S24 Ultra so far. With a combination of web browsing, gaming, messaging, and watching video, the Galaxy S24 Ultra can eke out roughly seven hours of screen time before you need to recharge. This phone should easily last you a day, but making it to bedtime the following day would take some luck and careful battery rationing.


The PCMark battery test doesn't necessarily correspond to screen time in real-world usage, since it's an always-on test, but it does help evaluate the S24 Ultra compared to other leading smartphones. Devices like the ROG Phone 8 Pro and Moto Edge+ (2023) last much longer on a charge, but the S24 Ultra still puts up a very respectable score that clocks in one minute longer than last year's Galaxy S23 Ultra. The battery life is strong here but not significantly better than other devices. 

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review Conclusion: Truly An Ultra Flagship

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra gives you everything you could possibly want in an Android smartphone. There's a titanium frame, an enormous OLED screen, a stylus, the latest processor, Galaxy AI, lengthy software support, and a lot more. This is a phone that makes no compromises; not on the hardware and definitely not on the price. So you'll need to weigh the features and performance on offer here, versus your personal needs and budget. 


Make no mistake: there are better values in the world of Android smartphones currently. The OnePlus 12 is just as fast an costs a mere $800, and the Pixel 8 Pro is $1,000 with many of the same AI capabilities and a cleaner build of Android. At the end of the day, no one really needs a $1,300 smartphone. You're buying the Galaxy S24 Ultra because you want it all, the kitchen sink included, along with the top-shelf performance and future-proofing. And if you can justify the cost, you won't be disappointed. 

And you never know; it might turn out to be a good deal if the Galaxy S24 Ultra is still chugging along in seven years with its very healthy software support commitment from Samsung.