I bought my Galaxy S24 Ultra roughly six months after it launched, back in June 2024 as a birthday gift to myself. Since then, I’ve watched Samsung roll out the S25 Ultra, then the S26 Ultra, complete with its new privacy display and a slightly sleeker design. Friends keep asking when I’m finally upgrading. Honestly? I’m in no rush. Here’s why this phone still feels like a genuine heavyweight two years on.
The S Pen Still Has One Trick Nobody Else Has
This is the one that surprises people most. My S24 Ultra is actually the last Ultra model with a Bluetooth-enabled S Pen. Samsung quietly dropped that feature on the S25 Ultra and S26 Ultra. I use it constantly — as a remote shutter when I’m setting up a group photo, to skip tracks while I’m cooking, or to jump between apps without touching the screen. It’s a small thing, but it’s a small thing my “newer” friends don’t get to have anymore.
That Boxy Design Still Turns Heads
The S24 Ultra was the last Samsung flagship with those sharp, squared-off corners before the company moved everyone to fully flat displays with softer edges. I still get comments on how the phone looks and feels in hand — it has a presence that the newer, more rounded Ultras don’t quite match. It doesn’t look like a two-year-old phone. It looks like my phone.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Just Won’t Quit
People assume a two-year-old chip should be struggling by now. Mine isn’t. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was widely regarded as one of the best Android processors of its generation, and it shows no signs of slowing down for anything I actually do day to day — social media, banking apps, editing photos, bouncing between a dozen split-screen windows, even casual gaming. Where I do notice the age is in the most demanding 3D titles, but that’s a niche I rarely touch anyway.
Samsung’s Support Window Is Longer Than People Realize
This is the part that genuinely changes the math. Samsung committed to roughly seven years of software and security updates for this generation, which means my phone is realistically supported into the early 2030s. I’m not carrying around a device that’s quietly aging out of relevance — I’m still getting the same security patches and OS updates as phones released this year.
The Camera System Hasn’t Aged a Day
The quad-camera setup with the serious zoom range is still, in my experience, one of the best mobile camera systems I’ve used. Low-light shots, long-range zoom for concerts and travel, video stabilization — none of it feels like a step down from what’s current. Photography was the reason I bought this phone in the first place, and it’s still the reason I haven’t felt any urgency to replace it.
Everyday Specs That Still Hold Up
A few things that don’t get talked about enough:
- RAM and storage on my configuration are still comfortable for real multitasking, even if base models now start a little higher.
- Wi-Fi 7 and UWB support mean I’m not missing out on the newer connectivity standards.
- Build quality — titanium frame, Gorilla Glass Armor — still feels every bit as premium as the day I bought it.
So, Do I Need to Upgrade?
Not really. If you’re chasing the absolute newest Galaxy AI features, the lightest possible build, or the fastest chip money can buy, the newer Ultras will obviously get you there first. But if you want a phone that still handles everything you throw at it, still gets meaningful software support for years to come, and still has a couple of features — that Bluetooth S Pen, that squared-off design — that Samsung itself has since retired, the S24 Ultra isn’t a phone you settle for. It’s one you hang onto.
Two years in, mine still feels less like an aging flagship and more like unfinished business for whoever eventually pries it out of my hands.
