Technologies
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S23 Ultra, S22 Ultra, S21 Ultra: A Specs Showdown
Here’s a comparison of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with most of its Ultra predecessors based on specs sheets.

Samsung took the wraps off its latest premium phone, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, at its Unpacked event on Wednesday. The $1,300 handset represents the pinnacle of what the South Korean company has to offer in a smartphone in 2024 from its top-of-the-line processor, ultra-bright display, and sharp cameras.
While new AI features understandably generated a lot of buzz, the new software upgrade policy is probably one of the most compelling changes. Samsung promises seven years of Android updates and security patches across the Galaxy S24 lineup. This enables Galaxy S24 phone owners to hang on to their devices going into 2032 and is a significant step up from the four years of software updates pledged for the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S22 Ultra, and Galaxy S21 Ultra. However, Samsung has bumped up the price of the Galaxy S24 Ultra by $100 after the last few years of steady pricing.

Read More: Galaxy S24 Ultra Hands On: AI Takes Center Stage
Another notable improvement to the S24 Ultra is (you guessed it) AI, or Galaxy AI — as Samsung likes to call it. The Galaxy S24 Ultra will ship with helpful, AI-based features (a lot of which are being powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 8 chip). Those include a real-time live translate feature in 13 languages; Search to Circle, which lets you literally circle any image to launch a Google search for that item; and generative AI features that let you make reality-bending edits to your photos akin to Google Pixel 8’s Magic Editor.
These AI tools are slated to make their way to last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra via an software update, but don’t expect it to arrive to Ultra models released before then.
Read More: Google’s Pixel 8 Blurs The Line Between Reality and Fantasy
The camera system is another major selling point of the Galaxy Ultra lineup. The S24 boasts four rear cameras, taking the form of a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom lens, and a 50-megapixel camera with a 5x optical zoom lens. On paper at least, it appears that there has been a downgrade to a 5x telephoto lens from a 10x telephoto camera on its predecessors. But the newer sensor and its higher resolution might have some nifty zoom tricks up its sleeve that don’t reveal themselves in specs. We’ll update this article once we have conducted a camera comparison between the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
For the rest of the differences between Samsung’s Galaxy Ultra lineup over the years, take a look at our specs chart for a side-by-side comparison. If you want more insights into what it’s like to use the Galaxy S24 Ultra, read our hand-on coverage of the fanciest phone in Samsung’s new lineup.
Galaxy S24 vs. S23 Ultra vs. S22 Ultra vs. S21 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra | Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra | Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate, brightness | 6.8-inch AMOLED; QHD+ resolution; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate | 6.8-inch AMOLED; 3,088×1,440 pixels; 120Hz adaptive refresh rate | 6.8″ AMOLED (1440×3088 pixels) | 6.8-inch Edge WQHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3,200×1,440 pixels |
Pixel density | TBC | 500 ppi | 501 ppi | 515 ppi |
Dimensions (inches) | 6.40 x 3.11 x 0.34 in | 6.43 x 3.07 x 0.35 in | 3.07 x 6.42 x 0.35 in | 2.97×6.5×0.35 in |
Dimensions (millimeters) | 163 x 79 x 8.6 mm | 163.3 x 78 x 8.9 mm | 77.9 x 163.3 x 8.9 mm | 75.6 x 165.1 x 8.9 mm |
Weight (grams, ounces) | 233 g (8.22 oz) | 234 g (8.25 oz) | 229 g (8.07 oz) | 229g (8.07 oz) |
Mobile software | Android 14 | Android 13 | Android 12 | Android 11 |
Camera | 200-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide) 10-megapixel (3x telephoto) 50-megapixel (5x telephoto) | 200-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide) 10-megapixel (3x telephoto) 10-megapixel (10x telephoto) | 108-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide) 10-megapixel (telephoto) 10-megapixel (telephoto) | 108-megapixel (wide),12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto), 10-megapixel (10x telephoto) |
Front-facing camera | 12-megapixel | 12-megapixel | 40-megapixel | 10-megapixel |
Video capture | TBD | 8K | 4K | 8K |
Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 |
RAM/storage | 12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 8GB RAM + 256GB; 12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 8GB + 128GB ; 12GB + 256GB; 12GB+512GB; 12GB+ 1TB | 12GB & 16GB, 128GB/256GB, 512GB |
Expandable storage | None | None | None | None |
Battery/charging speeds | 5,000 mAh | 5,000 mAh | 5,000 mAh | 5,000 mAh |
Fingerprint sensor | Under display | Under display | Under display | Under display |
Connector | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C |
Headphone jack | None | None | None | None |
Special features | Titanium frame, 2,600-nit screen; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; integrated S Pen; UWB for finding other devices; 45W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7, 5x optical zoom | 4 years of OS updates, 5G (Sub6, mmWave); IP68 water resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; integrated S Pen; 100x Space Zoom; 10x optical zoom; UWB for finding other devices; 45W wired charging | 4 years of OS updates, 5G (mmw/Sub6), bundled S Pen, 100x Space Zoom (digital), 10x optical zoom, 47 W charging support | 4 years of OS updates, IP68 rating, 5G-enabled,100x Space Zoom, 10W wireless charging, 10x optical zoom |
US starting price off-contract | $1,300 (256GB) | $1,200 (256GB) | $1,200 (256GB) | $1,200 (128GB), |
UK price | £1,249 (256GB) | £1,249 (256GB) | £1,249 (256GB) | £1,329 |
Australia price | AU$2,199 (256GB) | AU$1,949 (256GB) | AU $1,849 (256GB) | AU$1,849 |
Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post.
Technologies
Anthropic Launched New Claude 4 Gen AI Models. Here’s What They Do
The models can now use tools like web searches during extended reasoning tasks.

The latest versions of Anthropic’s Claude generative AI models made their debut Thursday, including a heavier-duty model built specifically for coding and complex tasks.
Anthropic launched the new Claude 4 Opus and Claude 4 Sonnet models during its Code with Claude developer conference, and executives said the new tools mark a significant step forward in terms of reasoning and deep thinking skills.
The company launched the prior model, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, in February. Since then, competing AI developers have also upped their game. OpenAI released GPT-4.1 in April, with an emphasis on an expanded context window, along with the new o3 reasoning model family. Google followed in early May with an updated version of Gemini 2.5 Pro that it said is better at coding.
Claude 4 Opus is a larger, more resource-intensive model built to handle particularly difficult challenges. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said test users have seen it quickly handle tasks that might have taken a person several hours to complete.
«In many ways, as we’re often finding with large models, the benchmarks don’t fully do justice to it,» he said during the keynote event.
Claude 4 Sonnet is a leaner model, with improvements built on Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet model. The 3.7 model often had problems with overeagerness and sometimes did more than the person asked it to do, Amodei said. While it’s a less resource-intensive model, it still performs well, he said.
«It actually does just as well as Opus on some of the coding benchmarks, but I think it’s leaner and more narrowly focused,» Amodei said.
Anthropic said the models have a new capability, still being beta tested, in which they can use tools like web searches while engaged in extended reasoning. The models can alternate between reasoning and using tools to get better responses to complex queries.
The models both offer near-instant response modes and extended thinking modes.
All of the paid plans offer both Opus and Sonnet models, while the free plan just has the Sonnet model.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for May 23, #446
Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 446 for May 23.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today’s NYT Strands puzzle has a humorous title, and if you understand the reference, you’ll know what words to look for. If you need hints and answers, read on.
I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s Strands theme is: The musical fruit
If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: There are magical ones in fairy tales.
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:
- REEK, GADS, PLAY, PLAYS, PITA, DIAL, FALL, PALL, PALLS, FALLS, GENIE, BEEN, LACK, DENY, NILL.
Answers for today’s Strands puzzle
These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:
- FAVA, NAVY, BLACK, GREEN, PINTO, KIDNEY, CANNELLINI
Today’s Strands spangram
Today’s Strands spangram is BEANSALAD. To find it, start with the B that’s three letters to the right on the top row, and wind down.
Technologies
The Marvel Rivals Auto Battler Is a Natural Evolution of Hero Shooters
Move over Teamfight Tactics. Marvel Rivals’ new limited-time mode is the perfect addition to the auto battler genre.

Marvel Rivals has been a breath of fresh air for the hero shooter genre, combining popular comic book characters and chaotic third-person shooter action to create epic team fights that keep me coming back for more.
Fast-paced combat is the name of the game in Marvel Rivals, which is why it could come across as a confusing development that the next limited-time mode launching in Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 is a form of auto battler (also frequently referred to as auto chess).
Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol is an experimental mode launching on June 6, where six players will draft teams of heroes to go head to head with their opponents’ drafts. You’ll be able to support your AI teams while the new hero Ultron (also debuting in season 2.5) is chipping in extra healing and damage to the fight.
Aside from the fact that it’ll be cool to stage your own version of Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars, is the decision to add an auto battler to Marvel Rivals (which has previously released limited-time modes that mostly tracked with the shooter’s core gameplay loop) really all that far out of left field? I don’t think so.
Why is Marvel Rivals getting an auto battler mode?
The new mode is similar to multiplayer online battle arena spinoffs such as Dota Auto Chess and League of Legends’ Teamfight Tactics. I think drawing the line from a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) to auto battler is easy for most people.
MOBAs are strategy games first and foremost, where players pick and choose items to craft builds that will help them win their lane, while also contributing to big team fights. Players need to work together to overwhelm the other team and push them back to their spawn.
MOBAs and auto battlers are both about team synergy, positioning and picking the right upgrades, so it’s not surprising to people when characters from a game in one of these genres appear in another.
There are many people that wouldn’t associate hero shooters with MOBAs in the slightest. Games like Marvel Rivals have a high ceiling for very different mechanical skills — especially aiming. But hero shooters are also complex strategy games that share many of the same fundamentals as a MOBA.
Putting together a viable team composition with strong character is the most important part of a hero shooter — and Marvel Rivals takes this to another level with the strongest team-up abilities that require multiple heroes to activate.
An auto battler will allow people to experiment team compositions that don’t often get played in real Marvel Rivals’ matches, and could even help the community find new experimental hero combinations that have the potential to shake up common ways people play the game.
In Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol, as the auto battler mode is called, players will be able to put together balanced teams, lock in the risky GATOR strategy (which is nightmarishly similar to Overwatch’s GOATS meta) or fall back on triple support with brand new upgrades that change how the game works.
Absurd power scaling might look like Overwatch 2’s Stadium mode
There’s a clear rivalry between Overwatch 2 and Marvel Rivals, since they’re the two biggest hero shooters on the market right now. Blizzard’s hero shooter is entering its ninth year of life with flagging interest, but its solid fundamentals have been a high bar for Marvel Rivals to hurdle.
Both games have been trying out bold new things — Overwatch 2 recently shipped the MOBA-like Stadium mode that lets players augment popular abilities and take powerful passives as they fight in a flurry of different objectives in a best of seven gauntlet.
Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol in some ways feels like NetEase’s response to Blizzard’s big success with Stadium mode. You might not have quite as much influence on the outcome of each battle, but this serves as a proof of concept for Marvel Rivals’ hero power scaling.
This new mode also lets players pick passive abilities that buff certain roles as well as more powerful hero-specific upgrades that drastically alter the course of a fight, so the snowballing power of a Stadium match is very much emulated here.
In the Season 2.5 developer vision video, we got a look at what some of the upgrades will look like.
Venom can grow into a hulking monster after devouring enemies with his ultimate ability, Hela cuts a swath through the playing field with a field of flying daggers, Psylocke zips around her ultimate ability’s area of effect at twice her normal speed and Namor summons many more squid turrets to attack his enemies.
It’s safe to assume that every character in the game will have some kind of special power unlocked in the later rounds of an Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol match. This definitely isn’t NetEase reheating Blizzard’s nachos, but I do think it’s indicative of a broader shift toward making hero shooters feel a little bit more chaotic and unrestrained.
Game balance is important, but one of the biggest draws of this genre is that each character is a unique power fantasy you can’t find elsewhere. I can’t imagine such in-depth upgrades were designed for a one-and-done mode, so it’ll be interesting to see where they might show up next.
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