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🦉 WE READ 124 OWNER COMMENTS
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: what owners actually say
Owners respect the long-term support and DeX, but feel the S24 Ultra is an incremental refresh that doesn't justify upgrading from recent Samsung phones.
What owners complain about
- S Pen downgraded COMMON
S Pen no longer has Bluetooth, meaning air gestures and using the stylus as a camera shutter remote are gone — features that existed as far back as the Note 9.
- No Qi2 support SOME
Owners frustrated that Samsung shipped a flagship without Qi2 wireless charging support, falling behind competitors.
- Exynos in Europe COMMON
European buyers feel like second-class customers, receiving the Exynos variant while the US and South Korea get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Multiple commenters call Exynos inferior in performance and efficiency.
- AI features time-limited SOME
Samsung's AI features are only guaranteed free through end of 2025; owners are concerned about what gets paywalled after that date.
- Bootloader locked down SOME
Enthusiast users frustrated that Samsung does not allow bootloader unlocking, with some saying this alone rules out the device.
What owners love
- 7 years of OS and security updates
Owners genuinely value the 7-year commitment to both OS upgrades and security patches, calling it great value for money. One S20 owner notes still receiving monthly security updates after 4 years.
- Samsung DeX
DeX is repeatedly cited as a killer feature that keeps users in the Samsung ecosystem, with some wishing Google would adopt something similar.
- Refined hardware quality
Reviewers and owners describe the phone as a genuinely satisfying refinement cycle, with one calling a reviewer's reaction 'giddy' about the improvements.
- Good value at street price
One owner reports buying in January 2026 for $950 in Thailand and being very happy, suggesting the phone ages well in price.
- Huge leap from older Samsungs
An owner who upgraded from an S8+ to an S23 Ultra describes the difference as 'huge,' implying the S24 Ultra is excellent for people on very old devices.
Surprising patterns
- The most upvoted sentiment across platforms isn't a complaint about the phone itself — it's apathy. Users on perfectly good S21 or even S9 devices see no reason to upgrade, suggesting the S24 Ultra is really only compelling if your current phone is 4+ years old or broken.
- Shutter lag is a specific concern that multiple prospective buyers ask about before purchasing, suggesting Samsung's camera performance in this area has a reputation that precedes it.
- Tech-savvy users on Hacker News are more upset about Samsung's data mining, bloatware reinstallation on updates, and locked-down ecosystem than about any hardware shortcoming — framing it as a platform that doesn't respect user autonomy.
WHO SHOULD SKIP IT
Anyone with an S21 or newer who expects a meaningful day-to-day upgrade — multiple owners report the improvements are too incremental to justify the cost unless your current phone breaks.
Synthesised from 124 real owner comments across 6 platforms. Every point is grounded in the comments — no marketing, no AI guessing. How we do it →