Samsung S24 Ultra Review - Goodbye iPhone?
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
😀 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.
😄 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.
📸 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.
✏️ 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.
💰 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
💡Software experience
💡Cameras
💡Battery life
💡Performance
💡Galaxy AI
💡Pricing
💡Durability
💡Display
💡Audio
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
the Galaxy s24 Ultra has had a
controversial launch oh my God AI That's
amazing wait did they just make the
cameras worse 7 years of software
support are you kidding this chipset is
a thermal nightmare I've been seeing it
I've been reading it while I have also
been testing it this is my definitive
review of Samsung's flagship phone of
the year the s24 ultra and also whether
or not I'm going to be permanently
replacing my iPhone for it so let's
start with the outside even though
Samsung swapped out their phone's frame
from aluminium to Titanium and even
though they've now got this brand new
four times stronger than the competition
glass this phone is still not difficult
to damage I've got a whole load of small
scuffs over the sides and they expose
the fact that this matte texture you see
here is only a very thin layer wherever
it's scratched it becomes glossy making
it immediately obvious and the screen is
still wearing and tearing just like
every other phone now maybe this glass
is stronger and maybe if the exact same
things that had happened to this had
also happened to other phones they might
be worse off but the point is I have
been very careful with this phone I've
not dropped it I have not tried to
damage it so basically it's not some
sort of Miracle glass that's going to
solve your durability problems like
Samsung might want you to believe I tell
you I would though if the company still
pre-installed your screen protector like
they used to now that said this design
overall I actually like it even more as
time's gone on every time I picked the
thing up I do think wo this is such a
pretty phone the texture feels great
those even screen borders very
aesthetically pleasing and I'm even
coming around to the flat screen since
the way that Samsung's curved the body
of the phone it doesn't have the
problems that normally come with flat
screens but actually lowkey the biggest
upgrade to the screen which Samsung has
done an awesome job of implementing but
an awful job at communicating is this
reduction to screen glare the s24 ultra
almost completely kills incoming
Reflections which is something we've
seen some phone screens do a little
better than others over the years but
this is the biggest standout that I can
remember and as soon as you experience
it once it becomes instantly clear that
this is the obvious next logical step up
for all screens cuz I mean companies
have spent so many years trying to make
their screens more color accurate trying
to make them brighter trying to make
them more contrasty and now you canot
just get that experience but you can
actually retain that experience
irrespective of whether you're sitting
next to a window or whether there's
bright sunlight casting over you it
makes this my favorite screen on a phone
full stop so the outside of the phone is
A+ but it's living with the software
that I assumed would be the difficult
part for me you know when I permanently
made the jump from Samsung 2 iPhone 3
and a half years ago the reason I did it
was all these little things little
things that build up into what felt like
a bigger thing that it didn't seem like
would ever be fixed because they're
little things like voice notes they used
to sound so muffled that it was like I
was trying to have a conversation with
someone while wearing three face masks
on top of each other animations which
sounds like a really silly thing but I
was getting tired of phones that kept
bragging about how bleeding edge their
processors were but that still didn't
feel fluid and Instagram stories I kept
thinking to myself what is the point
having the best set of cameras if the
moment I try to share the content from
them it just gets compressed beyond
belief it's this kind of stuff and I
honestly came into the s24 ultra
expecting none of it to have changed I
was wrong for one voice notes they sound
crystal clear now drisha has
begrudgingly confirmed to me that even
though she likes the idea of me using an
iPhone that this does sadly sound just
as good as the 15 Pro Max the fluidity
of the phone has gone at multiple levels
in a lot of ways this actually feels
smoother to use than my iPhone 15 Pro
Max like you can really really tell with
this new one UI software that Samsung
has gone all in on the little things
like the scrolling acceleration to make
things feel truly like they are gliding
underneath your fingertips and the way
the apps open and close now it is
consistent continuously smooth
animations and it's not just that it
feels quick it looks nice too I was
never a massive fan of Samsung's theming
but in just a couple of generations
they've gone a long way to completely
flipping that narrative this is the
first Samsung phone that I would say is
right out of the box gorgeous you know
the quick panel the way it's organized
the rounded Corners the precise even
spacing between every section like yes
finally the lock screen and the fact
that you can now add widgets you can
change up the style you can scale your
clock to the exact size you want and not
have to conform to some arbitrary
predefined options the fact that it
gives you enough flexibility that you
can very much make it yours while also
building in enough structure that it's
easy it's not overwhelming and whatever
you do it's going to look good and also
the new dark mode running through the
phone it's not actually black anymore
it's a sort of dark gray which is one of
those things that for me instantly made
the whole phone look a lot better but I
couldn't immediately place my finger on
y I'm sure there will be people who
don't like it but to me there's
something really Pleasant about not
feeling like you're in ultra high
contrast mode all the time it feels less
straining now there are problems with
this software I'm getting to them but my
prevailing feeling is that there's a lot
to like for example when you're on a
video call you just swipe down here and
you've got video effects and microphone
effects it actually works in a very
similar way to the iPhone but it has a
lot of options like you just tap here it
instantly blows the background very
cinematic you can have a colored
background you can pick an image for
your background and you can also even
adjust the smoothness of your face and
because it works on a core software
level it can persist across whatever app
that you're calling on the haptics are
awesome like typing has never felt
better on any phone and while some past
Samsungs used to have this tiny bit of
lag every now and again while typing it
seems have been ironed out you've got
the whole goodlock Suite of
customization tools which is kind of the
opposite of what I was saying for the
lock screen this is where you go deep
like since this is Samsung's first
titanium phone I decided to use good
luck to Kit mine with a titanium style
animated volume rocker it's just fun oh
and then the icing on the cake is 7
years of OS updates considering that
just a few years ago the industry
standard was 2 to three that is an
absolutely insane promise and even if
you're not going to use your phone for 7
years you still benefit because when you
come around to selling it if your phone
is still being supported it's likely
going to retain more of its value but
you saw this coming it's not all
sunshine and rainbows as well as all the
upgrades there are quite a few things
that have felt like a downgrade coming
from the 15 Pro Max like Instagram and
Snapchat stories they looked subpar
before they still look pretty subpar
it's not really photos that are the
issue it's just the videos it's like 50%
of the processing and the stabilization
that makes the cameras good disappears
you can kind of get around it by
recording in your native Cera app and
switching to 1080p instead of 4K to
avoid being hit with Instagram
compression but that definitely feels
clunky Samsung's face scanner I mean
they've tried like they give you an
option to add an alternate appearance if
say sometimes you wear glasses sometimes
you don't or you can set your screen too
brighten when scanning at night so that
this front camera can actually see you
but night is like the one time that you
don't want to be blasted by light and in
most middle lighting conditions it's
fine but it's just slow it's actually
quite surprising to me that such a big
company with such successful products
still has such a gaping hole cuz there's
no doubt that face scanning is
definitely the more automatic
alternative to fingerprint scanning it's
the future but until Samsung adds in
some sort of infrared 3D scanning Tech
like the iPhone you're not really going
to want to use this for much and there's
a few more things the audio quality is
not quite as good as the iPhone it's a
tiny bit less loud and a tiny bit less
full not having mag safe is actually a
massive downgrade since being able to
charge wirelessly while still being able
to have your phone propped up so that
you can see the
screen is very useful to me Samsung
software while very pretty is definitely
a little more aggressive than it used to
be in an annoying way now more than ever
it really pushes you towards Samsung
services like Samsung pass to store your
passwords So eventually you just get fed
up of it so you click okay but then it's
like oh you need to download the latest
version of pass so you download it and
then it's like oh you need to set up
pass and I'm like go away I'm just
trying to play a game of Bloons the
company knows that the best way to lock
users in is long-term Samsung is to get
them using as many Samsung services as
possible and you definitely feel it
getting shoved down your throat a bit
and then the last gripe which is a
little alarming signal I seem to spend
all my time with this phone on either
two to three bars while I'm outside and
then literally 0 to one when I'm
inserted and we did actually have a
storm last week and my wi I went so I
was hotspotting from this I was barely
getting anything speed wise now that is
serious if there's actually a persistent
issue but signal is one of those very
subjective things everyone has a
slightly different signal experience
mine's been bad but it's totally worth
checking out some other reviews too to
see if it is a trend or if I just got
particularly unlucky the high level
takeaway for software should still be
the fact that Samsung has improved a lot
to the point where this might just be
now my favorite Android skin we'll get
to the Galaxy AI stuff in a minute cuz I
have thoughts but I want to touch on
cameras because it's been a bit of a
hotly debated topic as you might have
seen in my camera comparison the s24
Ultras cameras are a pretty big
Improvement to the s23 Ultras but just
not in the way that we've come to expect
we're pretty used to each year phones
getting a bit more detailed getting a
bit better in low light zooming a bit
further Samsung's not really done much
of that at all and that's a little sad I
feel like the purpose of an Ultra phone
should be to break new ground to be a
spectacle and to showcase the most
Cutting Edge Tech that the company has
to offer whereas this time around I'm
not pulling it out excitedly on the
street to just see what it can do and I
don't get that brand new toy to play
with feeling because its output is quite
similar to last time but two things one
that doesn't mean it's a bad camera it's
building on what was already a very
strong foundation and two what they have
done this time as part of this massive
software overhaul is made the camera
nicer to use it looks better it's
organized better the animations are
smoother and it captures faster oh and
the screen is so bright that you will
never ever have a problem seeing what
you're shooting again do I wish they'd
also improve the output with a brand new
400 megapix main sensor yeah of course
but was this a much needed Improvement
nonetheless and has the company made
enough improvements in other parts of
the phone for me to forgive them also
yes and the editing the editor on this
phone is one of the things that
constantly reminds me that we're working
with powerful technology you can do
something as obtuse as taking a photo of
another photo yes this is me the phone
will understand that photo and still be
able to instantly apply the portrait
mode effect to make it feel like it is
popping out of your screen and these
instant effects have actually ended up
being a much bigger deal to me than what
Samsung is tting as the key new thing
the generative image editor well that
one obviously is the cooler feature the
better party trick it's actually very
rarely after I've taken a shot do I
think to myself yeah it would actually
be great if this person was here instead
of here I'm glad it exists and I'm
curious to see how it evolves but there
is something that does feel a little
inauthentic about it like it's different
to normal photo editing where you feel
like you can still be proud of a photo
that you took here it's it's almost
bordering on digital art which is cool
but it's not as rewarding in a way plus
the feature is still a bit of effort to
use if it was as simple as you're just
browsing in your gallery you see a
person you pick them up and you move
them and then that's it I'd probably use
it quite a lot to make subtle
adjustments to things that aren't quite
right but as it is where it's like you
hit the editor then you hit the
generative editor you do your tweaks you
confirm your tweaks you wait for about
10 seconds and then you hit done it's
still a bit long considering that in a
big day out you might take 30 photos
you're not going to do that 30 times and
that is actually a pretty good segue
into Galaxy AI in general what I've been
really trying to work out over the last
few weeks is are these AI features
actually groundbreaking or are they just
gimmicks I'll start with the good news
all of this instant translation stuff
that actually has me buzzing I've never
mentioned this before but part of my
extended family is Italian and I mean
like proper Italian so it's often not
the easiest to communicate but check
this out this is what I do now when I
enter the chat it already knows that I'm
wanting to to talk in Italian so it's
got the Italian translator pre-loaded I
type my message into that translator
wait a couple of seconds and then the
translated text appears in my WhatsApp
chat window ready to hit send and the
fact that it is just set it and forget
it the fact that it knows in which chats
you want the translation and in which
chats you don't the fact that it works
across all your different messaging apps
like SMS WhatsApp Instagram is
absolutely amazing it means you're going
to talk more with people you otherwise
might not it means you're going to be
able to express yourselves better and
also people like being talked to in
their own language it's funny actually
my sister-in-law was so taken aback by
my sudden Italian fluency she genuinely
thought someone had hacked my phone and
called my mom to check now it isn't
perfect the translation isn't instant
and Samsung's quality of translation is
definitely not as good as Google's like
if I type in is this Italian working BTW
Samsung gets very confused whereas
Google understands that BTW means by the
way and then makes the translation
accordingly and can also better
understand if something is a question
even if you've not EXP explicitly added
a question mark and you are still going
to run into dialect problems current
translation tools are good for simple
requests but actually trying to have a
conversational tone is still not quite
possible because a lot of things don't
translate literally but as a first stab
this is pretty awesome because Samsung
has now set the precedent for what one
day absolutely will be a game changer
the other thing that's been surprisingly
useful is the AI summarization features
like while I'm on Android I've always
been a Google Chrome user I'm now
actively choosing to use the Samsung
browser because of the summaries I don't
use it all the time but let's say you
hop onto a forum discussion post this AI
can actually read everything that every
single person has written and then give
you a 30-second summary of all the key
opinions and that same AI technology
also helps you out with your notes I've
mentioned this before but my notes used
to be a big old mess because of the
chaotic nature of thoughts and my notes
being the way that I keep track of those
thoughts they're the one part of my
digital life that's had no trace of
organization
but this phone changes that for starters
while every note would normally be
whatever grammar my keyboard spits out
in the moment the AI grammar checker
here actually makes those notes feel
like way more composed deliberate
thoughts which then in turn makes you
want to look after them and organize
them the way it formats your notes too
like if I'm writing a list of holiday
destinations the thing will actually
categorize them based on continent which
is exactly how I would have done it but
it just would have taken me like 10
times as long and then to finish the
whole thing off the phone even generates
AI powered covers for your notes which
kind of packages each one into what
feels like its own distinct novel almost
it'll even go through and read through
the handwritten writing on those notes
for info about what to title the note
now I do think the phone should just do
this automatically as opposed to you
having to click generate but still
compare this to my iPhone Notes Library
there is a world of difference and on
that note yes there is still an S Pen
inside of this phone and for me it's one
of those things that I completely forget
it exists 99% of the time and some part
of me wishes Samsung had just swapped it
out for an even bigger battery until the
1% of times where I really need it and I
count my lucky stars that it's right
there in front of me there's something
that feels very free form about writing
as opposed to typing which is why
whenever I'm ideating I'll always use my
remarkable tablet but do you know what
this has kind of absorbed the
functionality of that too being able to
just whip this SP pen out and write even
when my phone's locked so I'm not
getting distracted it pretty much takes
the same box my only complaint is that I
really feel like it should be on this
side given that I imagine most people
are going to be writing with their right
hands and so would want to take it out
from here I imagine the reason they've
done this is the cameras now take up a
little bit too much space to put it on
that side but Samsung didn't want to
move the cameras because that's become
their branding all right so then we've
got Circle to search which is basically
hold the bottom part of your screen and
you enter this new mode this mode where
you can take whatever is on your screen
zoom in zoom out move around and when
you're ready Circle something and Google
will tell you what it is and for the
first 5 days of using this phone I
actually completely forgot this feature
existed cuz you know your default is to
use your phone the way you already know
how to use your phone Circle to search
requires a very conscious shift in how
you think about searching but when it
clicked for me it clicked hard this
feature is absolutely incredible you see
a photo of a cool product and you want
to know what it is circle you see a
photo of a phone you don't recognize
Circle you want to Reby whatever flowers
are in the house Circle to find out
exactly what they are you see a photo of
the most beautiful hotel View Circle it
to find out exactly which hotel it is
and I am continuously surprised at how
accurate it is it's very easy for a
feature like this to just be a gimmick
this is actually based on something
Google made years ago called now on tap
where you hold down your home button and
your phone tells you exactly what's on
your screen it was a gimmick then but
the seamlessness how it doesn't exit the
app you're currently in meaning you can
find out what you want to find out and
with one swipe be back where you were
the fluidity how you can Circle you can
scribble you can just tap and the phone
always seems to get what you're trying
to highlight and then the intelligence
of the results makes this I'm going to
say GameChanger category like just
yesterday this is going to sound like
one of the most first world situations
ever we got this snack in my kitchen on
the opposite side to where I was sitting
I just remembered we were running out of
that snack and I wanted to top up but I
couldn't remember what they were called
so pulled out my Samsung zoomed all the
way into that snack entered Circle to
search and within about 5 seconds that
exact product was in my Amazon basket
now obviously that's a dumb example but
I think it kind of illustrates how
Circle to search almost opens the
floodgates to what becomes searchable it
makes your phone genuinely feel like
your own personal interactive interface
with the world and now picking up my
iPhone which doesn't have it it feels
old school and then the final AI feature
that I like is the instant slow-mo it's
a top tier idea with good execution it
just needs a bit of Polish sometimes
when you use use it the video will
either lag at the start till the phone
catches up or create weird artifacts as
it's not quite able to insert the
perfect in between frames when slowing
videos down okay all that said there is
some stuff that I don't like like the
live call translation which is
significantly worse than the text
message translation basically because
it's the same thing but all of a sudden
has to happen in real time to be clear
I'm really glad Samsung's made this it
just needs to get better let me give you
an example I'm trying to decide between
pineapple and pizza and pineapple and
pasta what do you think I should go
for I think you should go to
[Applause]
jail oh yeah and uh if you're enjoying
this video then a sub to the channel
would be jeans Waits a moment oh yes
jeans you could just use my mom maybe
what no that's not what you were trying
to say right so do you have a sub to the
channel word fantastic wonderful the
best YouTube channel yes we got there
however there's also some more General
caveats Worth bearing in mind for all of
this AI stuff one that a lot of
Samsung's AI is actually based on Google
tech and so even some of the things that
Samsung made seem like an exclusive
almost definitely will not stay that way
for very long two that a lot of these AI
features aren't actually going to
require you to buy the S
24sp not being made clear so you feel
like you need to buy the new thing and
then three is is the fine print the
little disclaimer that we all knew would
pop up as soon as we found out that a
lot of these AI features are relying on
Samsung's online servers that the online
AI features are only going to be free
until the end of 2025 I don't like it
cuz you know the company comes on stage
and they say our new phone does this
amazing thing and like these s24 phones
they're expensive so naturally most
people are going to assume that price is
your price of Entry to use those
features that's how it's worked with
every single phone up until this point
so having this hidden charge to use the
headline feature you're launching your
phone with doesn't sit well with me and
yes Samsung is taking on extra cost from
the servers they're going to have to use
to host these AI requests I get that but
then either don't release the feature
till it can run without that or don't
sell it as a feature of the phone
because it's not then it's a feature of
your servers and yes they're saying the
AI will be free till the end of 2025 but
if anyone buys this phone now then even
if you're just on a short 24mon plan you
will still just enter the period where
you will have to hand over your credit
card details for what could well be yet
another monthly subscription on top of
the monthly fees you're already paying
for your data on top of the price of the
phone okay I've had my moan so final
couple of things before we bring this
all together in case I didn't already
make this clear this is also the fastest
Samsung I've ever used but what happens
when you push it well I have recently
come to the realization that the
PlayStation 2 can finally be properly
emulated on Android phones and bear in
mind emulation is a very resource
intensive task cuz it's not just that
your phone has to run a game it's
actually that it has to use its power to
simulate a completely different set of
Hardware that the game was originally
designed to run on but this thing can do
it this phone is powerful enough that I
was plain sailing through my entire
childhood library of PS2 games including
upscaling them to run in HD and that is
about as demanding a thing as you can
ask phone to do now that in itself is
kind of a sore spot too cuz I do really
want to start seeing phone companies not
just dropping a load of big numbers in
our lap and saying here you go have fun
but actually helping to create reasons
for that power to exist like I don't
know work with Rockstar to bring GTA 5
to the phone and show how your phone can
run it that would be exciting but as for
where this sits on the smartphone
performance ladder I would say top three
phones in the market right now if you
pull up a synthetic stress test you can
see how the performance does not
maintain its peak level it does get hot
and the performance does dip after
prolonged stress and this isn't
negligible I wouldn't write it off to
the people who are looking at getting
the extra four or five frames per second
when gaming for over an hour at a time
you will be able to tell the difference
between this and a dedicated gaming
phone but me personally I've only
actually been able to see those thermal
issues when using benchmarks none of my
normal use my gaming use or my emulator
use has caused any noticeable dip at all
and the phone does that while lasting
for ages this is the best battery life
ever in a Samsung Flagship the battery
isn't bigger they've just found ways to
get more out of it I want to slightly
caveat that by saying I definitely with
this phone notice a higher difference
than normal between its high drain
States and its low drain States like
when I'm playing a big game even for 30
minutes and I come out I will have
dropped 5 to 8% I would guess because
this chip has such a high performance
ceiling that it can go to but then
equally when I'm browsing on YouTube and
Instagram the phone feels like it's
going to last forever and so what that
means means is the average for me is 8
to 9 hours of screen on time per charge
I'm reaching evenings with at least 25%
left in the tank but sometimes even 50
which is quite a lot more than I can say
for my iPhone so with all of this in
mind at least until something big
happens on the Apple end the iPhone is
now being relegated to a secondary phone
and this is the one that I'm going to be
keeping my Sim in mostly because I think
Samsung's fixed a lot of their longer
running issues this time around the
software looks great it feels great the
camera feels smooth and in fixing the
fundamentals it also gives you the space
to appreciate the extras the gorgeous
anti-reflective screen the updated
materials and the inhand feel and the AI
features a lot of which actually do make
it feel like I am holding something next
Generation although what isn't clear at
this point is how much of the stuff that
I've Loved about using this phone will
also apply to last generation Samsungs
when they too also inevitably get the
latest software update like if they get
a lot of the same AI features and the
same level of Polish and efficiency then
the need need to spring for the absolute
latest is drastically diminished so I
would say if you're on an s23 right now
hang on to find out now you might have
also noticed right there on my phone's
home screen the surf shark VPN icon
there's a reason that with surf shark
it's not just about having a VPN this is
your entire internet toolkit in one like
for example it can create you an
alternative ID an entire name address
postal code email address and you can
permanently have access to those details
and copy them with a single click it can
change your GPS location as as well as
your internet location which means let's
say you're playing Pokémon go and you
want to catch a Pokémon that's on the
other side of the planet you can do that
from your bedroom and save yourself
$1,000 in flights it has a kill switch
which means if you want to make sure
that you're secure at all times you can
set surf shark up to automatically cut
the internet connection if the VPN
connection ever drops not to mention
servers that are specifically designed
to wipe themselves every single time
they're turned off so none of your data
is kept so when you combine that with
the fact that when you use the code boss
it's less than $3 a month for an
unlimited number of accounts with an
extra 6 months for free and a 30-day
money back guarantee it's a bit of a
no-brainer
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