Galaxy S24 Ultra has a revolutionary reflection-free screen: we test it against iPhone and Pixel

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Galaxy S24 Ultra has a revolutionary reflection-free screen: we test it against iPhone and Pixel
When Samsung introduced the new Galaxy S24 Ultra, all the talk was about the new Galaxy AI features. And understandably so: AI is the new hype train and Samsung is the first one to adopt it at such depth.

However, there is one seemingly small hardware change Samsung made that has surprised and amazed us. And this is a change so impressive that we think it will become no less than a requirement for future flagships. Curious what it is? Well, the S24 Ultra comes with a revolutionary new screen.

And yes, "revolutionary" here is not just a metaphor, it is well justified.

The S24 Ultra is the first phone to use the new Gorilla Glass Armor toughened glass. Typically, Gorilla Glass products are responsible for improved drop and scratch resistance of your smartphone screen, but this latest generation is all about reducing screen reflections. The result is astounding: a phone with so few reflections that, upon first sight, it looked almost like a matte screen.

While companies have all been racing to make the brightest screen, truth is that screen brightness alone cannot solve all the issues with outdoor usability. Screen brightness and nearly zero reflectivity? That combination can.

Galaxy S24 Ultra with 512GB is now $250 off on Amazon

The S24 Ultra is at discounted prices on Amazon. You can now save $250 on the model with 512GB of storage. Not all colors arrive at the same discount.
This offer is not available in your area.

Galaxy S24 Ultra: up to $750 off with a trade-in

You can purchase a fully unlocked Galaxy S24 Ultra via the official Samsung store. The almighty AI genius arrives for up to $750 off with an eligible phone trade-in. Alternatively, you can get the phone for $200 off with no trade-in required.
$549 99
$1299 99
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Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S23 Ultra



It's hard to capture the full dynamic range of a fully blasting smartphone screen on a sunny day on camera, but hopefully these pictures can at least give you a rough idea of how big of a difference this new technology makes.

Compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which uses Gorilla Glass Victus 2 technology, the S24 Ultra feels like a massive step up in reducing reflections. In real life, it looks almost reflection free.

Galaxy S24 Ultra vs iPhone 15 Pro Max outdoor screen comparison



Using the Galaxy S24 Ultra outdoors on a sunny day is easy. No need to squint your eyes to read text and... practically no reflections at all!

Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro outdoor screen comparison



The Pixel 8 Pro gets very bright, but it catches more reflections and is nowhere nearly as easy to use outdoors on a sunny day.

Galaxy S24 Ultra vs OnePlus 12 outdoor screen comparison



Finally, the OnePlus 12 was supposed to be the biggest challenge for the S24 Ultra. OnePlus claims it reaches 4,500 nits of peak brightness, making it the brightest in the world.

We haven't seen this number verified by independent sources yet, but below, you can find our own screen testing. Keep in mind that we use a different measurement using an all-white screen, which is why the results are considerably lower than the quoted official peak numbers.

Galaxy S24 Ultra Display Measurements:



 
In our testing, we found that the Galaxy S24 Ultra delivers a nice upgrade over the previous generation.

The S24 Ultra hits 1,280 nits, up from the 1,086 nits the Galaxy S23 Ultra can muster. It also beats the iPhone 15 Pro Max by a good margin. Interestingly, the OnePlus 12 which can allegedly hit 4,500 nits under very specific conditions (1% white, 99% black picture), seems to also lose out to the S24 Ultra under our test conditions (100% white picture).

In real-world testing though, the reflection-free screen of the new Galaxy S24 Ultra is so much easier to use outdoors!

Are you as impressed as we are by all this?

Samsung might not have advertized this new feature as much as all the Galaxy AI innovations, but we think it should have, it really made that big of an impression on us.

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