Samsung S24 Ultra Review - Goodbye iPhone?

Mrwhosetheboss
27 Jan 202425:07

Summary

TLDRThe Galaxy S24 Ultra review reveals a mix of advancements and setbacks. Despite its titanium frame and stronger glass, durability concerns remain with visible scuffs. Major improvements include a less reflective screen, enhanced software fluidity, and a comprehensive camera software overhaul, yet the hardware changes are minimal. AI features like instant translation and summarization impress, but live call translation needs improvement. The phone promises seven years of software updates, boosting its long-term value. While not perfect, the S24 Ultra's blend of design, performance, and innovative AI capabilities marks a significant step forward, prompting the reviewer to switch from an iPhone to the S24 Ultra as their primary device.

Takeaways

  • 😀 The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a gorgeous anti-glare display that greatly reduces reflections.
  • 👍🏻 The phone's software, UI customizability and smoothness have improved tremendously.
  • 🤔 The cameras capture great photos but lack major upgrades from the S23 Ultra.
  • 👎🏻 Instagram and Snapchat story quality is still subpar on the S24 Ultra.
  • 😡 Samsung's AI features will start charging subscription fees after 2025.
  • 🤯 The phone has incredible translation capabilities across messaging apps.
  • 🔥 The S24 Ultra delivers the best battery life ever in a Samsung flagship.
  • 📱 Circle to Search makes identifying objects on your screen extremely easy.
  • 🎮 The phone can smoothly emulate resource-intensive PS2 games.
  • 💪🏻 The S24 Ultra provides blazing fast performance but can get hot under extreme loads.

Q & A

  • What are some of the controversies around the Galaxy S24 Ultra launch?

    -The controversies include making the cameras worse than previous models, having 7 years of software support which some view as unbelievable, the chipset being a thermal nightmare, and mixed early reviews.

  • What are the upgrades to the Galaxy S24 Ultra's design?

    -Upgrades include a Titanium frame instead of aluminum, 4 times stronger glass, and a matte texture on the back, although it still scratches easily to expose the glossy layer underneath.

  • What is the biggest upgrade to the Galaxy S24 Ultra's screen?

    -The biggest upgrade is the significant reduction in screen glare and reflections, making it retain good visibility in various lighting conditions.

  • What software improvements help make the Galaxy S24 Ultra smooth and fluid to use?

    -Improvements include excellent scrolling acceleration, consistent and smooth animations when opening/closing apps, and an overall focus on refining small details to improve the experience.

  • What are some drawbacks compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max?

    -Drawbacks include worse audio quality, lack of MagSafe charging, more aggressive pushing of Samsung services, worse signal/connectivity, and issues sharing videos on Instagram/Snapchat.

  • How have the Galaxy S24 Ultra's cameras improved?

    -The cameras haven't improved much in terms of details/quality, but the camera app is faster, smoother, better organized and overall nicer to use.

  • What AI features on the Galaxy S24 Ultra stand out positively?

    -The instant translation features across messaging apps and the AI-powered note organization/summarization are quite useful and go beyond gimmicks.

  • What is the Circle to Search feature and why is it innovative?

    -It lets you circle anything on the screen to have Google identify/search for it without leaving the current app. It's very accurate and changes how you can search.

  • How long will the AI features remain free to use?

    -Samsung has said the online AI features will only remain free until the end of 2025, after which users may need to pay extra fees.

  • How does the Galaxy S24 Ultra perform under intensive tasks like gaming and emulation?

    -It can handle very intensive emulation well, although performance dips slightly compared to gaming phones after prolonged stress. But for most real-world use, its performance is excellent.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Galaxy S24 Ultra’s controversial launch and review

The first paragraph introduces the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and its controversial launch. It discusses initial negative reception around the cameras, software, chipset thermal issues, etc. But the reviewer has been testing the phone extensively and will provide a definitive review on its merits and whether they would permanently switch from an iPhone.

05:01

😄 Impressed by the S24’s design, display and software

The second paragraph highlights aspects of the Galaxy S24 that the reviewer really likes – the upgraded design materials, the near bezel-less display with glare reduction, the smooth and aesthetically pleasing One UI software, improved haptics and consistency in animations and app performance compared to previous Samsung devices.

10:02

📸 Cameras are better to use but not cutting edge

The third paragraph focuses on the S24 Ultra's cameras. While output quality hasn't improved much and lags behind expectations for an 'Ultra' device, usability is much nicer with a streamlined app, quicker shooting and a capable editor. Still, more innovation in sensors and zoom would have been welcomed.

15:03

✏️ Appreciating the S Pen more over time

The fourth paragraph discusses the S Pen stylus experience. While easy to forget it's there, the reviewer finds the freedom of quick note-taking without unlocking invaluable for ideation. One request is moving its slot to the right side for easier access when writing.

20:04

💰 Concerns over free AI features becoming paid subscriptions

The fifth paragraph pivots to discussing the AI capabilities. While impressed by translation and summarization, concerns are raised over Samsung's disclaimer that AI features will transition to paid subscriptions after 2025 despite being marketed as selling points of the S24 phone.

⚡ Blazing fast with great battery but some thermal throttling

The sixth paragraph focuses on performance. The S24 Ultra is among the fastest phones with great battery life. While thermal throttling occurs in sustained max load scenarios, it hasn't affected normal usage. Emulation capabilities are particularly impressive.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Phone design

Refers to the physical appearance, materials, and build quality of the Galaxy S24 Ultra phone. A major theme of the review is assessing whether changes to the design, like a titanium frame and stronger glass, actually make the phone more durable or are largely marketing claims.

💡Software experience

Covers how it feels to actually use the phone on a day-to-day basis, including the user interface, system fluidity, customization options, etc. The video evaluates if Samsung has resolved long-standing software weaknesses like lagginess and poor audio.

💡Cameras

The camera capabilities are a major focus, analyzed from both a hardware sensor perspective and the quality of images/videos produced. There is discussion around whether changes from the S23 Ultra represent meaningful improvements or fail to 'break new ground' as expected for an Ultra model.

💡Battery life

How long the phone lasts per charge, an important consideration for usability. The review finds battery life has improved over previous Samsung flagships thanks to greater efficiency, lasting 8-9 hours screen time.

💡Performance

Speed and responsiveness when using apps, gaming, etc. Benchmarks reveal some thermal throttling during prolonged intensive tasks, but performance is still rated as top-tier overall.

💡Galaxy AI

Samsung's brand name for the AI and automation-enhanced software features. The review evaluates the usefulness of additions like instant translation, visual search, and intelligent summaries.

💡Pricing

Refers to the affordability of the phone, which retails at a premium price point. There is discussion around whether new S24 features justify an upgrade over buying last year's model.

💡Durability

How well the phone withstands damage from drops, scratches etc. over time. Despite changes intended to improve sturdiness, the review unit still picked up scuffs and scratches with careful use.

💡Display

The quality of the phone's screen, including resolution, colors, brightness, etc. A standout highlight is nearly eliminating glare/reflections for better visibility.

💡Audio

The loudness and sound reproduction from speakers. Audio is rated slightly below leading alternatives like iPhone, but still very capable overall.

Highlights

The Galaxy S24 Ultra has had a controversial launch with worse cameras but better software

The screen has majorly reduced glare, making it the standout improvement

The fluidity, animations and visual design of the software are much improved

The camera app is smoother and faster, but image quality hasn't improved much

The editing features like portrait mode and effects are excellent

The AI translation features are game-changing for communicating across languages

The AI summarization makes browsing forums and notes much more efficient

Circle to Search is incredible for identifying objects, products, places in photos

Instant slow-mo video works well and has huge potential if polished

Live translation is very poor compared to the text translation features

The phone has top-tier performance, running PS2 games smoothly

Battery life is the best ever in a Samsung flagship

It switches between high and low drain states, so average battery life is 8-9 hours screen on

The iPhone is now relegated to a secondary phone due to Samsung's software improvements

It's unclear how the AI features will work long-term after the free period ends

Transcripts

play00:00

the Galaxy s24 Ultra has had a

play00:02

controversial launch oh my God AI That's

play00:04

amazing wait did they just make the

play00:06

cameras worse 7 years of software

play00:08

support are you kidding this chipset is

play00:09

a thermal nightmare I've been seeing it

play00:12

I've been reading it while I have also

play00:14

been testing it this is my definitive

play00:16

review of Samsung's flagship phone of

play00:18

the year the s24 ultra and also whether

play00:20

or not I'm going to be permanently

play00:22

replacing my iPhone for it so let's

play00:24

start with the outside even though

play00:25

Samsung swapped out their phone's frame

play00:27

from aluminium to Titanium and even

play00:29

though they've now got this brand new

play00:30

four times stronger than the competition

play00:32

glass this phone is still not difficult

play00:34

to damage I've got a whole load of small

play00:36

scuffs over the sides and they expose

play00:38

the fact that this matte texture you see

play00:40

here is only a very thin layer wherever

play00:42

it's scratched it becomes glossy making

play00:43

it immediately obvious and the screen is

play00:46

still wearing and tearing just like

play00:48

every other phone now maybe this glass

play00:49

is stronger and maybe if the exact same

play00:51

things that had happened to this had

play00:52

also happened to other phones they might

play00:54

be worse off but the point is I have

play00:56

been very careful with this phone I've

play00:58

not dropped it I have not tried to

play00:59

damage it so basically it's not some

play01:02

sort of Miracle glass that's going to

play01:03

solve your durability problems like

play01:05

Samsung might want you to believe I tell

play01:06

you I would though if the company still

play01:08

pre-installed your screen protector like

play01:09

they used to now that said this design

play01:12

overall I actually like it even more as

play01:14

time's gone on every time I picked the

play01:16

thing up I do think wo this is such a

play01:19

pretty phone the texture feels great

play01:22

those even screen borders very

play01:24

aesthetically pleasing and I'm even

play01:26

coming around to the flat screen since

play01:27

the way that Samsung's curved the body

play01:29

of the phone it doesn't have the

play01:31

problems that normally come with flat

play01:32

screens but actually lowkey the biggest

play01:34

upgrade to the screen which Samsung has

play01:35

done an awesome job of implementing but

play01:37

an awful job at communicating is this

play01:39

reduction to screen glare the s24 ultra

play01:42

almost completely kills incoming

play01:44

Reflections which is something we've

play01:46

seen some phone screens do a little

play01:47

better than others over the years but

play01:49

this is the biggest standout that I can

play01:51

remember and as soon as you experience

play01:52

it once it becomes instantly clear that

play01:55

this is the obvious next logical step up

play01:57

for all screens cuz I mean companies

play01:59

have spent so many years trying to make

play02:01

their screens more color accurate trying

play02:02

to make them brighter trying to make

play02:03

them more contrasty and now you canot

play02:05

just get that experience but you can

play02:07

actually retain that experience

play02:09

irrespective of whether you're sitting

play02:10

next to a window or whether there's

play02:12

bright sunlight casting over you it

play02:14

makes this my favorite screen on a phone

play02:16

full stop so the outside of the phone is

play02:18

A+ but it's living with the software

play02:21

that I assumed would be the difficult

play02:22

part for me you know when I permanently

play02:24

made the jump from Samsung 2 iPhone 3

play02:26

and a half years ago the reason I did it

play02:28

was all these little things little

play02:30

things that build up into what felt like

play02:32

a bigger thing that it didn't seem like

play02:34

would ever be fixed because they're

play02:36

little things like voice notes they used

play02:38

to sound so muffled that it was like I

play02:40

was trying to have a conversation with

play02:42

someone while wearing three face masks

play02:44

on top of each other animations which

play02:46

sounds like a really silly thing but I

play02:48

was getting tired of phones that kept

play02:50

bragging about how bleeding edge their

play02:51

processors were but that still didn't

play02:53

feel fluid and Instagram stories I kept

play02:56

thinking to myself what is the point

play02:58

having the best set of cameras if the

play03:00

moment I try to share the content from

play03:01

them it just gets compressed beyond

play03:03

belief it's this kind of stuff and I

play03:06

honestly came into the s24 ultra

play03:08

expecting none of it to have changed I

play03:10

was wrong for one voice notes they sound

play03:12

crystal clear now drisha has

play03:14

begrudgingly confirmed to me that even

play03:16

though she likes the idea of me using an

play03:17

iPhone that this does sadly sound just

play03:20

as good as the 15 Pro Max the fluidity

play03:22

of the phone has gone at multiple levels

play03:25

in a lot of ways this actually feels

play03:26

smoother to use than my iPhone 15 Pro

play03:28

Max like you can really really tell with

play03:30

this new one UI software that Samsung

play03:32

has gone all in on the little things

play03:34

like the scrolling acceleration to make

play03:36

things feel truly like they are gliding

play03:38

underneath your fingertips and the way

play03:39

the apps open and close now it is

play03:41

consistent continuously smooth

play03:43

animations and it's not just that it

play03:44

feels quick it looks nice too I was

play03:47

never a massive fan of Samsung's theming

play03:49

but in just a couple of generations

play03:51

they've gone a long way to completely

play03:53

flipping that narrative this is the

play03:55

first Samsung phone that I would say is

play03:57

right out of the box gorgeous you know

play03:59

the quick panel the way it's organized

play04:01

the rounded Corners the precise even

play04:03

spacing between every section like yes

play04:06

finally the lock screen and the fact

play04:08

that you can now add widgets you can

play04:09

change up the style you can scale your

play04:11

clock to the exact size you want and not

play04:14

have to conform to some arbitrary

play04:16

predefined options the fact that it

play04:18

gives you enough flexibility that you

play04:19

can very much make it yours while also

play04:22

building in enough structure that it's

play04:24

easy it's not overwhelming and whatever

play04:26

you do it's going to look good and also

play04:28

the new dark mode running through the

play04:29

phone it's not actually black anymore

play04:32

it's a sort of dark gray which is one of

play04:34

those things that for me instantly made

play04:36

the whole phone look a lot better but I

play04:38

couldn't immediately place my finger on

play04:39

y I'm sure there will be people who

play04:41

don't like it but to me there's

play04:43

something really Pleasant about not

play04:44

feeling like you're in ultra high

play04:46

contrast mode all the time it feels less

play04:48

straining now there are problems with

play04:51

this software I'm getting to them but my

play04:53

prevailing feeling is that there's a lot

play04:55

to like for example when you're on a

play04:57

video call you just swipe down here and

play04:58

you've got video effects and microphone

play05:00

effects it actually works in a very

play05:02

similar way to the iPhone but it has a

play05:05

lot of options like you just tap here it

play05:06

instantly blows the background very

play05:08

cinematic you can have a colored

play05:09

background you can pick an image for

play05:11

your background and you can also even

play05:13

adjust the smoothness of your face and

play05:15

because it works on a core software

play05:17

level it can persist across whatever app

play05:19

that you're calling on the haptics are

play05:21

awesome like typing has never felt

play05:23

better on any phone and while some past

play05:25

Samsungs used to have this tiny bit of

play05:27

lag every now and again while typing it

play05:29

seems have been ironed out you've got

play05:30

the whole goodlock Suite of

play05:32

customization tools which is kind of the

play05:34

opposite of what I was saying for the

play05:35

lock screen this is where you go deep

play05:37

like since this is Samsung's first

play05:38

titanium phone I decided to use good

play05:40

luck to Kit mine with a titanium style

play05:43

animated volume rocker it's just fun oh

play05:45

and then the icing on the cake is 7

play05:47

years of OS updates considering that

play05:49

just a few years ago the industry

play05:51

standard was 2 to three that is an

play05:53

absolutely insane promise and even if

play05:55

you're not going to use your phone for 7

play05:57

years you still benefit because when you

play05:58

come around to selling it if your phone

play06:00

is still being supported it's likely

play06:02

going to retain more of its value but

play06:05

you saw this coming it's not all

play06:07

sunshine and rainbows as well as all the

play06:09

upgrades there are quite a few things

play06:10

that have felt like a downgrade coming

play06:12

from the 15 Pro Max like Instagram and

play06:14

Snapchat stories they looked subpar

play06:16

before they still look pretty subpar

play06:18

it's not really photos that are the

play06:19

issue it's just the videos it's like 50%

play06:22

of the processing and the stabilization

play06:24

that makes the cameras good disappears

play06:26

you can kind of get around it by

play06:28

recording in your native Cera app and

play06:30

switching to 1080p instead of 4K to

play06:32

avoid being hit with Instagram

play06:33

compression but that definitely feels

play06:35

clunky Samsung's face scanner I mean

play06:37

they've tried like they give you an

play06:39

option to add an alternate appearance if

play06:41

say sometimes you wear glasses sometimes

play06:43

you don't or you can set your screen too

play06:45

brighten when scanning at night so that

play06:47

this front camera can actually see you

play06:49

but night is like the one time that you

play06:51

don't want to be blasted by light and in

play06:53

most middle lighting conditions it's

play06:55

fine but it's just slow it's actually

play06:57

quite surprising to me that such a big

play06:59

company with such successful products

play07:01

still has such a gaping hole cuz there's

play07:04

no doubt that face scanning is

play07:05

definitely the more automatic

play07:07

alternative to fingerprint scanning it's

play07:09

the future but until Samsung adds in

play07:11

some sort of infrared 3D scanning Tech

play07:13

like the iPhone you're not really going

play07:15

to want to use this for much and there's

play07:16

a few more things the audio quality is

play07:18

not quite as good as the iPhone it's a

play07:20

tiny bit less loud and a tiny bit less

play07:22

full not having mag safe is actually a

play07:25

massive downgrade since being able to

play07:27

charge wirelessly while still being able

play07:28

to have your phone propped up so that

play07:30

you can see the

play07:31

screen is very useful to me Samsung

play07:34

software while very pretty is definitely

play07:37

a little more aggressive than it used to

play07:38

be in an annoying way now more than ever

play07:40

it really pushes you towards Samsung

play07:42

services like Samsung pass to store your

play07:45

passwords So eventually you just get fed

play07:47

up of it so you click okay but then it's

play07:48

like oh you need to download the latest

play07:50

version of pass so you download it and

play07:52

then it's like oh you need to set up

play07:53

pass and I'm like go away I'm just

play07:55

trying to play a game of Bloons the

play07:56

company knows that the best way to lock

play07:58

users in is long-term Samsung is to get

play08:01

them using as many Samsung services as

play08:03

possible and you definitely feel it

play08:05

getting shoved down your throat a bit

play08:06

and then the last gripe which is a

play08:08

little alarming signal I seem to spend

play08:11

all my time with this phone on either

play08:13

two to three bars while I'm outside and

play08:15

then literally 0 to one when I'm

play08:17

inserted and we did actually have a

play08:19

storm last week and my wi I went so I

play08:21

was hotspotting from this I was barely

play08:23

getting anything speed wise now that is

play08:25

serious if there's actually a persistent

play08:27

issue but signal is one of those very

play08:30

subjective things everyone has a

play08:31

slightly different signal experience

play08:33

mine's been bad but it's totally worth

play08:35

checking out some other reviews too to

play08:37

see if it is a trend or if I just got

play08:39

particularly unlucky the high level

play08:41

takeaway for software should still be

play08:43

the fact that Samsung has improved a lot

play08:45

to the point where this might just be

play08:46

now my favorite Android skin we'll get

play08:49

to the Galaxy AI stuff in a minute cuz I

play08:51

have thoughts but I want to touch on

play08:53

cameras because it's been a bit of a

play08:55

hotly debated topic as you might have

play08:57

seen in my camera comparison the s24

play08:59

Ultras cameras are a pretty big

play09:01

Improvement to the s23 Ultras but just

play09:03

not in the way that we've come to expect

play09:05

we're pretty used to each year phones

play09:07

getting a bit more detailed getting a

play09:09

bit better in low light zooming a bit

play09:10

further Samsung's not really done much

play09:13

of that at all and that's a little sad I

play09:16

feel like the purpose of an Ultra phone

play09:17

should be to break new ground to be a

play09:20

spectacle and to showcase the most

play09:21

Cutting Edge Tech that the company has

play09:23

to offer whereas this time around I'm

play09:25

not pulling it out excitedly on the

play09:26

street to just see what it can do and I

play09:28

don't get that brand new toy to play

play09:30

with feeling because its output is quite

play09:33

similar to last time but two things one

play09:35

that doesn't mean it's a bad camera it's

play09:37

building on what was already a very

play09:39

strong foundation and two what they have

play09:41

done this time as part of this massive

play09:43

software overhaul is made the camera

play09:45

nicer to use it looks better it's

play09:47

organized better the animations are

play09:49

smoother and it captures faster oh and

play09:51

the screen is so bright that you will

play09:52

never ever have a problem seeing what

play09:54

you're shooting again do I wish they'd

play09:56

also improve the output with a brand new

play09:58

400 megapix main sensor yeah of course

play10:01

but was this a much needed Improvement

play10:03

nonetheless and has the company made

play10:05

enough improvements in other parts of

play10:06

the phone for me to forgive them also

play10:09

yes and the editing the editor on this

play10:11

phone is one of the things that

play10:12

constantly reminds me that we're working

play10:14

with powerful technology you can do

play10:16

something as obtuse as taking a photo of

play10:18

another photo yes this is me the phone

play10:21

will understand that photo and still be

play10:22

able to instantly apply the portrait

play10:24

mode effect to make it feel like it is

play10:26

popping out of your screen and these

play10:28

instant effects have actually ended up

play10:29

being a much bigger deal to me than what

play10:31

Samsung is tting as the key new thing

play10:33

the generative image editor well that

play10:35

one obviously is the cooler feature the

play10:38

better party trick it's actually very

play10:40

rarely after I've taken a shot do I

play10:41

think to myself yeah it would actually

play10:43

be great if this person was here instead

play10:45

of here I'm glad it exists and I'm

play10:47

curious to see how it evolves but there

play10:49

is something that does feel a little

play10:51

inauthentic about it like it's different

play10:52

to normal photo editing where you feel

play10:54

like you can still be proud of a photo

play10:56

that you took here it's it's almost

play10:58

bordering on digital art which is cool

play11:00

but it's not as rewarding in a way plus

play11:03

the feature is still a bit of effort to

play11:04

use if it was as simple as you're just

play11:06

browsing in your gallery you see a

play11:08

person you pick them up and you move

play11:09

them and then that's it I'd probably use

play11:11

it quite a lot to make subtle

play11:12

adjustments to things that aren't quite

play11:14

right but as it is where it's like you

play11:16

hit the editor then you hit the

play11:18

generative editor you do your tweaks you

play11:20

confirm your tweaks you wait for about

play11:21

10 seconds and then you hit done it's

play11:23

still a bit long considering that in a

play11:25

big day out you might take 30 photos

play11:27

you're not going to do that 30 times and

play11:29

that is actually a pretty good segue

play11:31

into Galaxy AI in general what I've been

play11:33

really trying to work out over the last

play11:35

few weeks is are these AI features

play11:37

actually groundbreaking or are they just

play11:39

gimmicks I'll start with the good news

play11:41

all of this instant translation stuff

play11:43

that actually has me buzzing I've never

play11:45

mentioned this before but part of my

play11:47

extended family is Italian and I mean

play11:49

like proper Italian so it's often not

play11:52

the easiest to communicate but check

play11:54

this out this is what I do now when I

play11:56

enter the chat it already knows that I'm

play11:58

wanting to to talk in Italian so it's

play12:00

got the Italian translator pre-loaded I

play12:02

type my message into that translator

play12:04

wait a couple of seconds and then the

play12:05

translated text appears in my WhatsApp

play12:08

chat window ready to hit send and the

play12:09

fact that it is just set it and forget

play12:11

it the fact that it knows in which chats

play12:13

you want the translation and in which

play12:14

chats you don't the fact that it works

play12:15

across all your different messaging apps

play12:17

like SMS WhatsApp Instagram is

play12:20

absolutely amazing it means you're going

play12:22

to talk more with people you otherwise

play12:23

might not it means you're going to be

play12:25

able to express yourselves better and

play12:27

also people like being talked to in

play12:29

their own language it's funny actually

play12:30

my sister-in-law was so taken aback by

play12:33

my sudden Italian fluency she genuinely

play12:35

thought someone had hacked my phone and

play12:37

called my mom to check now it isn't

play12:40

perfect the translation isn't instant

play12:42

and Samsung's quality of translation is

play12:44

definitely not as good as Google's like

play12:46

if I type in is this Italian working BTW

play12:48

Samsung gets very confused whereas

play12:51

Google understands that BTW means by the

play12:53

way and then makes the translation

play12:54

accordingly and can also better

play12:56

understand if something is a question

play12:57

even if you've not EXP explicitly added

play12:59

a question mark and you are still going

play13:01

to run into dialect problems current

play13:03

translation tools are good for simple

play13:05

requests but actually trying to have a

play13:07

conversational tone is still not quite

play13:10

possible because a lot of things don't

play13:11

translate literally but as a first stab

play13:15

this is pretty awesome because Samsung

play13:16

has now set the precedent for what one

play13:18

day absolutely will be a game changer

play13:21

the other thing that's been surprisingly

play13:22

useful is the AI summarization features

play13:24

like while I'm on Android I've always

play13:26

been a Google Chrome user I'm now

play13:28

actively choosing to use the Samsung

play13:30

browser because of the summaries I don't

play13:32

use it all the time but let's say you

play13:33

hop onto a forum discussion post this AI

play13:36

can actually read everything that every

play13:38

single person has written and then give

play13:40

you a 30-second summary of all the key

play13:42

opinions and that same AI technology

play13:44

also helps you out with your notes I've

play13:46

mentioned this before but my notes used

play13:48

to be a big old mess because of the

play13:51

chaotic nature of thoughts and my notes

play13:53

being the way that I keep track of those

play13:54

thoughts they're the one part of my

play13:56

digital life that's had no trace of

play13:58

organization

play13:59

but this phone changes that for starters

play14:01

while every note would normally be

play14:03

whatever grammar my keyboard spits out

play14:04

in the moment the AI grammar checker

play14:06

here actually makes those notes feel

play14:08

like way more composed deliberate

play14:11

thoughts which then in turn makes you

play14:12

want to look after them and organize

play14:14

them the way it formats your notes too

play14:16

like if I'm writing a list of holiday

play14:17

destinations the thing will actually

play14:19

categorize them based on continent which

play14:21

is exactly how I would have done it but

play14:23

it just would have taken me like 10

play14:25

times as long and then to finish the

play14:27

whole thing off the phone even generates

play14:29

AI powered covers for your notes which

play14:31

kind of packages each one into what

play14:33

feels like its own distinct novel almost

play14:36

it'll even go through and read through

play14:37

the handwritten writing on those notes

play14:39

for info about what to title the note

play14:41

now I do think the phone should just do

play14:43

this automatically as opposed to you

play14:44

having to click generate but still

play14:46

compare this to my iPhone Notes Library

play14:49

there is a world of difference and on

play14:51

that note yes there is still an S Pen

play14:55

inside of this phone and for me it's one

play14:57

of those things that I completely forget

play14:58

it exists 99% of the time and some part

play15:01

of me wishes Samsung had just swapped it

play15:02

out for an even bigger battery until the

play15:04

1% of times where I really need it and I

play15:07

count my lucky stars that it's right

play15:08

there in front of me there's something

play15:10

that feels very free form about writing

play15:12

as opposed to typing which is why

play15:14

whenever I'm ideating I'll always use my

play15:15

remarkable tablet but do you know what

play15:18

this has kind of absorbed the

play15:21

functionality of that too being able to

play15:23

just whip this SP pen out and write even

play15:25

when my phone's locked so I'm not

play15:26

getting distracted it pretty much takes

play15:28

the same box my only complaint is that I

play15:30

really feel like it should be on this

play15:31

side given that I imagine most people

play15:33

are going to be writing with their right

play15:35

hands and so would want to take it out

play15:36

from here I imagine the reason they've

play15:38

done this is the cameras now take up a

play15:40

little bit too much space to put it on

play15:41

that side but Samsung didn't want to

play15:43

move the cameras because that's become

play15:45

their branding all right so then we've

play15:47

got Circle to search which is basically

play15:49

hold the bottom part of your screen and

play15:50

you enter this new mode this mode where

play15:52

you can take whatever is on your screen

play15:54

zoom in zoom out move around and when

play15:55

you're ready Circle something and Google

play15:57

will tell you what it is and for the

play15:59

first 5 days of using this phone I

play16:01

actually completely forgot this feature

play16:03

existed cuz you know your default is to

play16:06

use your phone the way you already know

play16:07

how to use your phone Circle to search

play16:09

requires a very conscious shift in how

play16:11

you think about searching but when it

play16:14

clicked for me it clicked hard this

play16:17

feature is absolutely incredible you see

play16:20

a photo of a cool product and you want

play16:21

to know what it is circle you see a

play16:23

photo of a phone you don't recognize

play16:25

Circle you want to Reby whatever flowers

play16:27

are in the house Circle to find out

play16:29

exactly what they are you see a photo of

play16:31

the most beautiful hotel View Circle it

play16:33

to find out exactly which hotel it is

play16:35

and I am continuously surprised at how

play16:38

accurate it is it's very easy for a

play16:40

feature like this to just be a gimmick

play16:42

this is actually based on something

play16:43

Google made years ago called now on tap

play16:46

where you hold down your home button and

play16:47

your phone tells you exactly what's on

play16:49

your screen it was a gimmick then but

play16:51

the seamlessness how it doesn't exit the

play16:53

app you're currently in meaning you can

play16:55

find out what you want to find out and

play16:56

with one swipe be back where you were

play16:58

the fluidity how you can Circle you can

play17:00

scribble you can just tap and the phone

play17:02

always seems to get what you're trying

play17:03

to highlight and then the intelligence

play17:05

of the results makes this I'm going to

play17:07

say GameChanger category like just

play17:09

yesterday this is going to sound like

play17:11

one of the most first world situations

play17:13

ever we got this snack in my kitchen on

play17:15

the opposite side to where I was sitting

play17:17

I just remembered we were running out of

play17:18

that snack and I wanted to top up but I

play17:20

couldn't remember what they were called

play17:22

so pulled out my Samsung zoomed all the

play17:24

way into that snack entered Circle to

play17:26

search and within about 5 seconds that

play17:29

exact product was in my Amazon basket

play17:31

now obviously that's a dumb example but

play17:34

I think it kind of illustrates how

play17:36

Circle to search almost opens the

play17:38

floodgates to what becomes searchable it

play17:40

makes your phone genuinely feel like

play17:42

your own personal interactive interface

play17:45

with the world and now picking up my

play17:47

iPhone which doesn't have it it feels

play17:49

old school and then the final AI feature

play17:51

that I like is the instant slow-mo it's

play17:53

a top tier idea with good execution it

play17:56

just needs a bit of Polish sometimes

play17:58

when you use use it the video will

play17:59

either lag at the start till the phone

play18:00

catches up or create weird artifacts as

play18:03

it's not quite able to insert the

play18:05

perfect in between frames when slowing

play18:07

videos down okay all that said there is

play18:10

some stuff that I don't like like the

play18:12

live call translation which is

play18:14

significantly worse than the text

play18:16

message translation basically because

play18:17

it's the same thing but all of a sudden

play18:19

has to happen in real time to be clear

play18:21

I'm really glad Samsung's made this it

play18:23

just needs to get better let me give you

play18:25

an example I'm trying to decide between

play18:27

pineapple and pizza and pineapple and

play18:29

pasta what do you think I should go

play18:34

for I think you should go to

play18:37

[Applause]

play18:39

jail oh yeah and uh if you're enjoying

play18:41

this video then a sub to the channel

play18:43

would be jeans Waits a moment oh yes

play18:47

jeans you could just use my mom maybe

play18:50

what no that's not what you were trying

play18:54

to say right so do you have a sub to the

play18:56

channel word fantastic wonderful the

play18:58

best YouTube channel yes we got there

play19:02

however there's also some more General

play19:04

caveats Worth bearing in mind for all of

play19:06

this AI stuff one that a lot of

play19:08

Samsung's AI is actually based on Google

play19:10

tech and so even some of the things that

play19:11

Samsung made seem like an exclusive

play19:14

almost definitely will not stay that way

play19:15

for very long two that a lot of these AI

play19:17

features aren't actually going to

play19:19

require you to buy the S

play19:23

24sp not being made clear so you feel

play19:25

like you need to buy the new thing and

play19:27

then three is is the fine print the

play19:29

little disclaimer that we all knew would

play19:31

pop up as soon as we found out that a

play19:32

lot of these AI features are relying on

play19:34

Samsung's online servers that the online

play19:37

AI features are only going to be free

play19:39

until the end of 2025 I don't like it

play19:43

cuz you know the company comes on stage

play19:44

and they say our new phone does this

play19:47

amazing thing and like these s24 phones

play19:49

they're expensive so naturally most

play19:51

people are going to assume that price is

play19:54

your price of Entry to use those

play19:55

features that's how it's worked with

play19:57

every single phone up until this point

play20:00

so having this hidden charge to use the

play20:02

headline feature you're launching your

play20:03

phone with doesn't sit well with me and

play20:06

yes Samsung is taking on extra cost from

play20:09

the servers they're going to have to use

play20:11

to host these AI requests I get that but

play20:13

then either don't release the feature

play20:15

till it can run without that or don't

play20:17

sell it as a feature of the phone

play20:19

because it's not then it's a feature of

play20:21

your servers and yes they're saying the

play20:23

AI will be free till the end of 2025 but

play20:26

if anyone buys this phone now then even

play20:29

if you're just on a short 24mon plan you

play20:31

will still just enter the period where

play20:34

you will have to hand over your credit

play20:35

card details for what could well be yet

play20:38

another monthly subscription on top of

play20:40

the monthly fees you're already paying

play20:41

for your data on top of the price of the

play20:43

phone okay I've had my moan so final

play20:46

couple of things before we bring this

play20:47

all together in case I didn't already

play20:48

make this clear this is also the fastest

play20:51

Samsung I've ever used but what happens

play20:53

when you push it well I have recently

play20:56

come to the realization that the

play20:57

PlayStation 2 can finally be properly

play20:59

emulated on Android phones and bear in

play21:02

mind emulation is a very resource

play21:04

intensive task cuz it's not just that

play21:06

your phone has to run a game it's

play21:08

actually that it has to use its power to

play21:10

simulate a completely different set of

play21:12

Hardware that the game was originally

play21:13

designed to run on but this thing can do

play21:15

it this phone is powerful enough that I

play21:18

was plain sailing through my entire

play21:20

childhood library of PS2 games including

play21:22

upscaling them to run in HD and that is

play21:26

about as demanding a thing as you can

play21:27

ask phone to do now that in itself is

play21:30

kind of a sore spot too cuz I do really

play21:32

want to start seeing phone companies not

play21:34

just dropping a load of big numbers in

play21:36

our lap and saying here you go have fun

play21:38

but actually helping to create reasons

play21:40

for that power to exist like I don't

play21:42

know work with Rockstar to bring GTA 5

play21:44

to the phone and show how your phone can

play21:46

run it that would be exciting but as for

play21:49

where this sits on the smartphone

play21:50

performance ladder I would say top three

play21:53

phones in the market right now if you

play21:55

pull up a synthetic stress test you can

play21:56

see how the performance does not

play21:58

maintain its peak level it does get hot

play22:00

and the performance does dip after

play22:02

prolonged stress and this isn't

play22:03

negligible I wouldn't write it off to

play22:05

the people who are looking at getting

play22:06

the extra four or five frames per second

play22:08

when gaming for over an hour at a time

play22:10

you will be able to tell the difference

play22:12

between this and a dedicated gaming

play22:14

phone but me personally I've only

play22:17

actually been able to see those thermal

play22:18

issues when using benchmarks none of my

play22:20

normal use my gaming use or my emulator

play22:22

use has caused any noticeable dip at all

play22:24

and the phone does that while lasting

play22:27

for ages this is the best battery life

play22:29

ever in a Samsung Flagship the battery

play22:31

isn't bigger they've just found ways to

play22:33

get more out of it I want to slightly

play22:35

caveat that by saying I definitely with

play22:37

this phone notice a higher difference

play22:38

than normal between its high drain

play22:40

States and its low drain States like

play22:42

when I'm playing a big game even for 30

play22:44

minutes and I come out I will have

play22:46

dropped 5 to 8% I would guess because

play22:49

this chip has such a high performance

play22:51

ceiling that it can go to but then

play22:52

equally when I'm browsing on YouTube and

play22:54

Instagram the phone feels like it's

play22:56

going to last forever and so what that

play22:57

means means is the average for me is 8

play23:00

to 9 hours of screen on time per charge

play23:02

I'm reaching evenings with at least 25%

play23:04

left in the tank but sometimes even 50

play23:07

which is quite a lot more than I can say

play23:09

for my iPhone so with all of this in

play23:12

mind at least until something big

play23:14

happens on the Apple end the iPhone is

play23:16

now being relegated to a secondary phone

play23:18

and this is the one that I'm going to be

play23:20

keeping my Sim in mostly because I think

play23:22

Samsung's fixed a lot of their longer

play23:24

running issues this time around the

play23:25

software looks great it feels great the

play23:27

camera feels smooth and in fixing the

play23:29

fundamentals it also gives you the space

play23:31

to appreciate the extras the gorgeous

play23:34

anti-reflective screen the updated

play23:36

materials and the inhand feel and the AI

play23:38

features a lot of which actually do make

play23:40

it feel like I am holding something next

play23:42

Generation although what isn't clear at

play23:44

this point is how much of the stuff that

play23:45

I've Loved about using this phone will

play23:47

also apply to last generation Samsungs

play23:49

when they too also inevitably get the

play23:51

latest software update like if they get

play23:53

a lot of the same AI features and the

play23:55

same level of Polish and efficiency then

play23:57

the need need to spring for the absolute

play23:59

latest is drastically diminished so I

play24:01

would say if you're on an s23 right now

play24:03

hang on to find out now you might have

play24:05

also noticed right there on my phone's

play24:07

home screen the surf shark VPN icon

play24:09

there's a reason that with surf shark

play24:11

it's not just about having a VPN this is

play24:13

your entire internet toolkit in one like

play24:16

for example it can create you an

play24:18

alternative ID an entire name address

play24:20

postal code email address and you can

play24:22

permanently have access to those details

play24:24

and copy them with a single click it can

play24:26

change your GPS location as as well as

play24:28

your internet location which means let's

play24:30

say you're playing Pokémon go and you

play24:31

want to catch a Pokémon that's on the

play24:33

other side of the planet you can do that

play24:34

from your bedroom and save yourself

play24:36

$1,000 in flights it has a kill switch

play24:39

which means if you want to make sure

play24:40

that you're secure at all times you can

play24:42

set surf shark up to automatically cut

play24:44

the internet connection if the VPN

play24:46

connection ever drops not to mention

play24:48

servers that are specifically designed

play24:50

to wipe themselves every single time

play24:51

they're turned off so none of your data

play24:54

is kept so when you combine that with

play24:56

the fact that when you use the code boss

play24:57

it's less than $3 a month for an

play24:59

unlimited number of accounts with an

play25:01

extra 6 months for free and a 30-day

play25:03

money back guarantee it's a bit of a

play25:05

no-brainer