In February 2023, I owned the Galaxy S22 Ultra for such short time that upgrading to the S23 Ultra sure seemed stupid. But, for preorders, Samsung offered appealing trade-in value ($500) and other incentives that reduced price so much that the new flagship cost less than what I paid for my wife’s humbler S22 a few months earlier.
The S23 Ultra turned out to be quite a bit better than its predecessor by way of many refinements, particularly performance of the 10x optical zoom camera—the differentiating feature that appealed most to me.
But the S24 Ultra takes away the 10x, opting instead for a 5x that shoots 50-megapixels. The new model provides similar zoom capability by digitally cropping in, with Samsung promising that the output will be photographically as good as the 230mm (film equivalent) zoom lens. Call me massively skeptical.
That said, the company upped this year’s trade-in value to $750—plus additional discounts, which includes double the storage; in my case 1TB for the price of 512GB. My out-of-pocket cost is less than for the S23 Ultra. Ha! Samsung is giving $450 for my wife’s S22, so she scores a S24. Belated Merry Christmas!
I am monumentally satisfied with the S23 Ultra, particularly the 10x optical zoom. Will digital-optical hybrid 10x zoom be good enough? I will know in a few days. Our phones shipped yesterday. The AI features aren’t wooing me, but other features/benefits do: better battery life; camera improvements (overall); flat, highly non-reflective screen; speedier cellular; and zippier performance, among others.
At last we come to the Featured Image and companion, captured today using the S23 Ultra’s 10x optical zoom camera. Vitals for both: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/250 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 12:53 p.m. Composed as shot; unedited.