Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Should you upgrade?

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Price and availability

The S21 Ultra has been discontinued for some time, as you’d imagine. Used units are floating around here and there. The more important thing to note is that the S24 Ultra is launching for $100 more than its predecessor did, and that’s before accounting for higher storage tiers. Samsung blames the price increase on “various reasons,” likely meaning inflation, supply chain issues, and/or increasingly advanced tech. Consumers were bound to feel the bite eventually.

Speaking of storage, let’s get this out there: you probably don’t need the 1TB version of the S24 Ultra. That’s more than some laptops have, and most of us now rely on streaming for music, movies, and TV. You might consider 1TB if you shoot a lot of 4K video, regularly cache a lot of media for trips, and/or plan to install multiple games with a lot of 3D art assets. Clearly, “a lot” is the operative term here.

The S24 Ultra is shipping worldwide on January 31, 2024.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Should you upgrade?

Possibly, but it’s not an urgent upgrade by any means. The S24 Ultra is faster, being equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, yet the S21 Ultra should still keep up with most apps. You’re mostly going to notice the difference in high-end 3D games, assuming you play any on your phone. The S24 Ultra does have some unique AI functions — but some of those may eventually migrate to older devices. We’ll have to wait and see.

The S24 Ultra also incorporates newer camera tech, including a bump from 108 to 200 megapixels on its primary wide sensor, which is paired with an f/1.7 lens aperture allowing for better low-light shooting. Surprisingly, Samsung has radically altered its telephoto system, dropping max optical zoom from 10x to 5x while boosting megapixel count on one of the tele sensors from 10 to 50. Samsung argues it’s more important to improve zoom in the ranges customers normally use, but this will no doubt annoy people who used that 10x optical for scenery or concerts.

One unambiguous upgrade is 45W wired charging. The S21 Ultra is capped at 25W, which is lackluster for any flagship phone. When the device was new, there were already rivals charging at 60 or even 120W. We wish the S24 Ultra was in that league too, of course, but you’ll certainly appreciate faster charging coming from other Samsung hardware. Just make sure you have a USB charger rated for 45W or higher.

Other changes are comparatively minor. Resolution on the S24 Ultra is decreased to 3,120 x 1,440, but you’re unlikely to notice given other display tweaks such as improved brightness. The same goes for its selfie camera, down from 40 megapixels to 12, but with what should be improved performance.

Let’s boil it down this way — you’ll enjoy the S24 Ultra if you can get good trade-in or resale value for your S21. It’s just not a fundamental leap. You’ll get seven years of Android updates, all the way through Android 21, but that shouldn’t matter unless you’re planning to hold on for a phone that long.

If, after reading this article, you decide that the Ultra models are far too large for you, why not consider Samsung’s base models? The Galaxy S21 vs Galaxy S24 is another worthwhile conversation worth having.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: FAQ