Galaxy S24 Ultra: A Pixel User's Perspective

the Galaxy s24 Ultra is one of the best phones you can get in today's market but as a dedicated pixel 8 Pro user I find myself torn on which device I'd like to keep as my all day everyday phone for the long term during my 3 week testing period I've gotten to know both devices pretty well from the hardware to the cameras to the software and in this video I want to cover what the experien is like from the eyes of a hardcore pixel user while also giving some insight as to which one is the better buy for your money as I mentioned earlier this is from the perspective of a pixel user first and foremost both the pixel8 pro and the s24 ultra are top tier devices especially in North America so this video will serve as a good reference point to talk about the biggest differences between the two and the easiest place to start is with the differences surrounding design and Hardware on a surface level you could say both devices are very similar with their matte glass back plates similar footprint prints and Metal Frames but in my day-to-day experience there is a lot more to it looking at Samsung's design they kept most of what made the s22 ultra so great while making minor but meaningful improvements of course we have the flat display which is simply more practical from a usability perspective with better viewing angles The increased durability compared to a curve display the increased compatibility with screen protectors and it's great to have that entire surface area for the S Pen to be used at its fullest potential titanium seems to be a huge talking point this year and that's another upgrade the s24 ultra now carries with the biggest benefits being improved scratch resistance but otherwise doesn't make the phone feel much lighter compared to stainless steel in the past by far the most noticeable Improvement has to do with the upgrade to gorilla glass armor for both the front and back glass panels as it's even more scratch resistant to last year's victus 2 while more importantly being significant L more visible in pretty much all viewing conditions in my experience it is an unexpected Delight to have this feature as it helps a ton with visual Clarity in any circumstance whether it's direct sunlight or indoors with overhead lights and these changes alone make it feel a few steps ahead from the pixel 8 Pro of course the pixel 8 Pro has its own highlights to point out as mentioned the rounded Corners do give it a more comfortable feel in the hand the upgrade to matte glass does help mitigate against fingerprints and does Elevate the look compared to the glossy glass we've seen in the past the extruded camera bar looks great and functionally serves as a stable way to use your phone on a table as opposed to the wobbly s24 Ultra we do have Gorilla Glass victus 2 for the front and back glass which should still be plenty strong but of course misses that anti-reflective quality that I enjoy so much the only aspect about the pixel8 pro I really don't like especially compared to the s24 ultra is that polished aluminum frame frame it's been an issue since the pixel 7 Pro where it can get scratched up pretty easily and this is probably the only benefit on paper where Google should consider changing materials otherwise I think both devices are respectable albeit much different takes on what a highend android phone should feel like but personally I've really come to like the quality of the s24 ultra Hardware during the past few weeks I been using both devices side by side and You' be hard pressed to find much difference when it comes to display technology and Samsung case we have a powerful 6.8 in 3120 x440 AMOLED display with 2600 nits Peak brightness while the pixel 8 Pro is using a 6.7 in 2992 X 1344 OLED display with 2400 nits Peak brightness if I had to nitpick I'd say the pixel 8 Pro can look a bit less contrasty at times but does better with Clarity at extreme viewing angles as for the s24 ultra I do notice it does have a lower minimum brightness a higher maximum brightness and of course that anti-reflective coating which does make a huge difference especially outdoors also The s24 Ultra does have a smaller selfie camera that simply takes up less room when watching content in full screen the way I see it both displays are plenty for almost any need out there and the deciding factor really comes down to how badly you want that anti-reflective coating otherwise you really cannot go wrong with either display one big reason I prefer pixel is for Google's philosophy regarding software I grew up during the early days of Samsung where almost everyone disliked TouchWiz as it was an over-bloated messy experience and today in 2024 it's time to swallow my stock Android Pride to admit one UI has changed a lot over the years for the better in every way even within the last 6 months you can see a huge difference with the big oneui 6.0 update released in October with some much needed changes like a new more modern f a redesigned Quick Settings panel shade for a cleaner Look Lock Screen customization options cleaner animations and so on that really bring one UI into the Modern Age with the release of the s24 series we also get the new oneui 6.1 update that ships by default and includes even more features like lock screen widgets a more refined always on display a ton of AI features that we will get into and so much more all of that plus these Samsung Staples we've already had for quite some time now like Dex color palette which is Samsung's personal take on material U color theming and of course the legendary goodlock that adds a deeper level of customization the end result is the most mature version of one UI that I've seen in a long time and as a pixel user I can see the gap between pixel and Samsung software getting closer now than ever before not to mention there is now a huge Suite of AI features mentioned earlier that add even more utility Sam Samsung has implemented a new live translate feature to help translate phone calls in real time for both users summary and transcription services for Samsung stock apps generative editing features that can now add backgrounds to objects as you're moving them and instant slowmotion video all of which I feel are a few steps behind Google's implementation in terms of accuracy but otherwise are there if you need it and work pretty solid keep in mind not everyone is going to find these features useful and the apparent free Intel 2025 tagline does not sit well with me at all but it is worth pointing out we also get the return of some very typical Samsung one UI tropes like duplicate applications for notes health and messages that effectively do the same thing there are some pre-installed Microsoft apps that I personally will never use overly complex UI elements in some areas and this one's personal but Samsung's keyboard and voice dictation is absolutely terrible especially compared to Google's I find myself having to fix spelling errors constantly and autocorrect has this very annoying habit of being too aggressive when trying to make adjustments which usually results in me having to fix the same spelling mistake over and over again I find myself replacing words that aren't even close to the intended words that I was trying to use and voice to text almost never gets it right which has forced me to have to replace it with gboard so I can finally have some real sanity again maybe I'm in the minority here but I simply cannot stand the Samsung keyboard now comparing all of that to the modern pixel experience it is clear Google has different priorities when it comes to software which is what brought me and probably many other pixel fans to the platform in the first place pixel UI tends to be cleaner and closer to the idea of what stock Android is it's more minimalist virtually zero bloatware and is more cohesive if you will it's known for excellent performance optimization tight integration to Google services and it's is typically able to get the latest Android features first all of which I value greatly in my smartphone Google also has the added benefit of consistent feature drops and still has a handful of exclusive features like direct my call hold for me call screening with Google assistant and I'm sure Gemini in the future now playing an arguably more capable magic editor and video Boost Plus many more that I'm sure may have slipped my mind to sum it up briefly I find the pixel UI to be a more curated experience than Samsung's carefully crafted to make sure we're getting the most of those Google services Google photo processing and Google assistant/ Now Gemini capabilities in the most natural way possible which is why I love it but also hate it at times compared to one UI or hell even modern oxygen OS you have so much more of an ability to customize and truly make the device your own other uis have way more power user features more options for gestures and simply many more opportunities to tailor your experience how you see fit to be fair they have gotten better over the years with some small wins with improved privacy and accessibility features pre-made lock screen clocks updates to material you theming and themed icons but it's an ongoing process that I wish Google would kind of hurry up on moving on let's touch on performance real quick as there are some notable aspects we should talk about Samsung is using the brand new Snapdragon 8 gen 3 for Galaxy while the pixel 8 Pro is using the tensor G3 chip now built on a more modern 4 nanometer process both have gotten noticeable Improvement gains and are more energy efficient and are supposed to have support for the latest AI features compared to their last gen counterparts in reality both devices will give excellent performance in day-to-day average consumer tasks with buttery smooth animations no lag or choppiness inside of regular applications and at least on Wi-Fi can run relatively cool truly the biggest places that you can see a difference is with heavy tasks like gaming or long-term data usage with the pixel 8 Pro I notice anytime I find myself doing heavy gaming for at least 30 minutes the phone does run warm and I do start to see some performance inconsistencies same if I'm using a hot spot at a coffee shop for example that prolonged heavy usage is kind of the Achilles heel of the tensor G3 to be fair Google does say the focus of tensor G3 isn't performance-based and is more geared towards running AI models and on that front they are accomplishing their goals but I feel like the average user needs support in sustained long-term heavy tasks as well also I can't stress enough this is based on my personal experience I have encountered some issues with the modem performance on my pixel 8 Pro I find the speeds are consistently slower at least in my area and while the s24 ultra stays at a stable five bar connection the pixel 8 Pro often dips between three and and five bars this might not be the case with your carrier in the area you live in but it's just something to keep in mind basically the s24 ultra is the most powerful so it will do everything without hiccup or stutter whether you're doing sustained heavyduty tasks on cellular data or basic day-to-day tasks while the pixel 8 Pro on the other hand doesn't have that same under thee Hood power so obviously it will be a few steps behind but it should be more than enough to cover most of the average consumer's day needs of video watching social media simple gaming and those constantly evolving AI based tasks both devices have big batteries at 50/50 milliamp hours for the pixel8 pro and 5,000 even for the s24 ultra both devices support fast charging with the pixel 8 Pro now able to charge to 50% in 30 minutes whereas the s24 ultra can charge up to 65% in 30 minutes and both support wireless charging at 23 watts and 15 watts respectively I will say compared to other devices in the market like OnePlus for example that can get to 100% in 30 minutes I wish Google and Samsung would adopt the same technology but otherwise they can both get the job done as mentioned in my performance section the real impactful differences come to data performance and if you're someone that's a heavy traveler always away from Wi-Fi and is always on their phone I think the s24 ultra is going to last much longer on any typical day on days when I'm 100% on data only I can always expect a solid8 hours of on screen time which usually consists of an hour or so of camera testing 45ish minutes of sustained Google Maps usage and about an hour or so of hotspot connectivity plus the typical responding to slack messages social media browsing and more at around 70% brightness compared to the pixel 8 Pro with that same usage I can expect around 5 hours of on screen time maybe a bit more or less depending on the day to keep things going I have found myself using power save modes to get me through the day only on data of course or carrying around a charging Bank as a backup on Wi-Fi both devices will easily last much longer so if you're an office hermit like I am that spends a lot of time on the internet watching videos browsing Reddit and the sorts the pixel8 pro is almost on par to what you can find on the s24 ultra but when out and about Samsung's devices should be far more reliable can cameras are another interesting aspect between the two where you will find some more unexpected differences the s24 ultra ships with a quad camera setup so we have a 200 megapixel f1.8 main lens a 50 megapix F 3.4 telephoto Periscope lens another 10 megapixel telephoto at f2.4 and a 12 megapix Ultra wide at f2.2 compared to the pixel 8 proos Triple camera setup with a 50 megap main lens at f1.6 a 48 megap telephoto at f F 2.8 and a 48 megap ultrawide sensor at f1.9 on a surface level the hardware is pretty great between both of them and it really does come down to the software processing plus a handful of strengths and weaknesses on Samsung's end its strong suits are certainly more vibrant Punchy maybe fun to look at photos in either day or nighttime environments in typical Samsung fashion every color drastically pops and has a lot of artificial sharpening which I actually do like more than the pixel at times maybe it has something to do with that 200 megapixel sensor but I also find photos tend to be generally brighter especially in those darker shadowy areas the s24 ultra also has sharper more usable zoom capabilities even at 30X it seems to be a no contest decision we also have more camera modes like expert raw Pro controls for video a dual recording mode that can shoot both from the selfie Cam and the primary lens at the same time alongside 8K record recording Samsung has also went to town on AI features with this release so exclusives like instant slow motion video are fun to play around with they also have their own versions of magic editor with object manipulation which work fine as a first implementation Google on the other hand seems to be focused much more on software tuning and the photography side of things a lot of people like to point out the pixel8 pros photos are more natural which I can agree with although sometimes compared to the s24 ultra I feel Google could benefit from that extra saturation boost at times I am also of the opinion that the pixel 8 Pro takes way better nighttime photos not in terms of color but in terms of sharpness and lack of motion blur I find this especially noticeable in low light indoor photos where the pixel takes a pin sharp image almost every time where the s24 ultra's shutter lag is much more apparent in terms of features Google also has a PR mode only for photography plus a ton of AI Focus Features like best take audio Magic Eraser to ice background noise video boost that should create more stabilized videos and night sight video which can produce some amazing results after dark plus as I said earlier Google's Magic editor tool for removing SL repositioning objects is much more accurate than Samsung so it's easier to get the results that you're looking for not to mention I find the camera interfaces less busy and more streamlined on the pixel compared to the s24 ultas overall both cameras are going to give you excellent performance and the differences I point out are really just nitpicks at the end of the day to myself and the average consumer Samsung's photos will come out much more vibrant and it's nice to have more access to a greater variety of camera modes as the pixel leans more into AI features and will typically perform on par with the s24 ultra in most situations probably the biggest difference is really the price as the pixel 8 Pro is $300 cheaper and can do about 80 to 90% of what the s24 Ultra can do and honestly that's a really good selling point for the pixel last but not least there are a handful of insights I wanted to give about some areas of both devices that I just didn't get a chance to cover yet the s24 ultra does have the signature S Pen of course and I can't stress it enough it will only be worth it if you're actually going to use it as a creative I like having it as an option to sketch a thumbnail idea or simply write down ideas since my brain does register writing differently than it does just typing things down in a document Samsung's note app has a ton of little features to improve the writing experience like the ability to clean up your handwriting or convert written words to text I also use it to notate screenshots or just general navigation of the OS since Samsung's implementation is excellent whereas you don't even get USI 2.0 support on the pixel so you couldn't even use a stylus if you wanted to unless you're okay with those old school capacitive ones but again if you're not going to actually use the Spen it only takes up space haptics feel good on both devices although the pixel 8 Pro feels more Punchy and has more of those subtle interactions with the OS that make it feel like more of an experience when it comes to Biometrics both are fine in terms of the fingerprint scanners Samsung's using an ultrasonic sensor that is more forgiving with wet hands and should overall be more accurate while the pixel8 pro was using an optical sensor like we saw with previous models Face Unlock is a similar story with the s24 ultra being way more forgiving in complete darkness where the pixel 8 Pro will often tell you there is not enough light a big benefit the pixel does have though is the ability to use Face Unlock for sign-ins and payments something that we have yet to see with Samsung devices and finally the pixel 8 Pro does Sport a temperature sensor late last year it did get the ability to give reading on humans which is pretty cool alongside General objects in the home but as expected I'm not getting much use out of it so this is more of a niche feature to say the least in closing I know it sounded like I preferred the s24 ultra in many aspects of this video and honestly I kind of do if I could take Samsung's Hardware battery life modem quality and some of their customization features and mix it with pixel UI feature drops camera Tech and update schedule I could see myself making the stretch to $1,300 or maybe Trad in a device that I already love to make the price more palatable but looking at it from a pure value persp perspective I strongly believe the pixel 8 Pro is the better value for most people since it covers most of the average consumer needs has 80% as good of a display and camera system better more accurate AI features plus a cleaner more straightforward software experience not to mention the pixel 8 Pro frequently goes on sale which I know might be a bit unfair but there is no reason you can't pick one of these up brand new for around 800 or less even as I was writing this review the pixel8 Pro was on sale for $800 and multiple times in the past it's been on sale at that $800 price point so if you don't see it on sale by the time you're actually ready to pick one up just hold off as they do promotions quite often overall I had a fun time comparing two of the best most competitive Android devices on the market but I've done more than enough talking at this point you guys let me know what you think of the s24 ultra versus the pixel 8 Pro does Samsung's offerings look good enough to entice you as a pixel owner or potential pixel owner if not what compromises are there that are keeping you from trying it out leave a comment and let me know but in the meantime guys I'm getting out of here this has been Jordan Floyd with 905 Google thank you so much for watching and I'll see you in the next one

Channel: 9to5Google

Views: 46,931

Keywords: 9to5Google, Jordan Floyd, Pixel 8 pro vs S24 ultra, Pixel 8 pro review, S24 ultra review, Android 14, Android 15

Id: NIhSS301UnI

Length: 21min 7sec (1267 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 23 2024