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. Â
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 | ÂŁ1,249 (256GB) | ÂŁ1,249 (256GB) | ÂŁ1,249 (256GB) | ÂŁ1,329 |
| 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 alerts investors to AI’s ‘existential threat to humanity’ in IPO filing, sources report
Anthropic’s IPO filing highlights the AI’s potential existential risks and narrow customer base, while its CEO calls for a slower development pace to ensure safety.
Anthropic plans to warn speculative investors in its IPO prospectus that its AI models pose a “catastrophic or existential risk to humanity,” several reports said on Tuesday.
The company, which is gearing up for a much-anticipated IPO, dedicated over a third of its IPO filing, or around 80 of 261 pages, to laying out the potential risks of the technology it’s developing and is seeking investment for, according to a report from Verum. It only used 48 pages to discuss its actual business.
The five-year-old company, known for its frontier language model Claude, warned that AI can have “self-preserving behaviors,” including being able to “resist shutdown,” “conceal or manipulate information,” and carry out behaviors “resembling blackmail,” per the Verum report.
The company is pursuing a $2 trillion valuation when it goes public and reported in the filing that it made a net loss of $42 billion in 2025. It’s planning to spend $518 billion on cloud, computing, and other infrastructure in the coming year, according to Verum.
Anthropic also warned that its customer base is extremely narrow, with nearly a quarter of its revenue last year coming from just two clients, two people familiar with the filing told the Financial Times.
AI safety guardrails
Anthropic’s co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei has previously written various essays warning on the threats of AI, including saying the technology will cause “unusually painful” disruption to the job market.
In another recent essay, the CEO urged the AI industry to slow the pace of AI model development, with a three-step plan to reduce how quickly models get better without “sacrificing commercial advantage or the United States’ lead in AI.”
Those calls for a slowdown are somewhat of a “head scratcher” for the sector, to which the market has reacted “pretty resoundingly,” Dan Ives, partner and senior managing director at Yorkville Ives told CNBC earlier today.
“You need guardrails from a safety perspective, but the fact for Anthropic and OpenAI to slow down, if they slowed down, China would just accelerate and win, and I think that’s part of this quagmire that you’re seeing is that there’s some regulatory capture going on. There’s definitely a game of poker, but for Anthropic, they got to continue to put foot on the pedal.”
Ives added that while guardrails are essential, regulation could stifle innovation. That continues to be the “biggest concern within the U.S., which is why we’re in an F1 race,” he said.
Technologies
U.S. and Iran engage in separate mediator discussions amid surge in Middle East oil exports
U.S. and Iranian officials held separate indirect talks mediated by Qatar as Middle East crude exports neared wartime highs, while Tehran awaits a U.S. response to its cease‑fire and sanctions‑relief proposal.
On Monday, American and Iranian representatives engaged in distinct indirect negotiations mediated by third parties, aiming to halt seven months of hostilities while Iran awaits Washington’s reply to an updated cease‑fire proposal and Middle Eastern oil shipments reach wartime peaks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Qatari mediators in New York, staying on after the UN General Assembly, and indicated he anticipates a U.S. response by Tuesday. “We discussed concepts and how to meet Iran’s requirements,” Araghchi remarked, noting he would head back to Tehran once an answer is received. “When the Qataris have a reply, they know how to deliver it to us.”
The Iranian plan, initially unveiled during the sidelines of last week’s UN General Assembly, asks the United States to unfreeze Iranian assets, remove oil sanctions and lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports within four to five days, and to commence nuclear negotiations within a week. Tehran links any resumption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to the fulfillment of those conditions.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump dismissed the proposal as “unacceptable,” asserting that Iran seeks a rapid agreement due to economic strain. Speaking at the White House on Monday, Trump noted that U.S. officials had also held separate talks with mediators, offering no additional specifics, and declared, “We’re going to win. It’s going to happen fast.”
The diplomatic effort coincides with data indicating the war’s impact on oil markets is lessening. Middle Eastern crude exports have risen this month to near their highest point since the conflict started in February, according to Kpler. The firm noted in a Monday briefing that exports are “just under 80% of pre‑conflict levels.”
The Strait of Hormuz remains far from usual activity. Kpler’s real‑time monitoring recorded a flow of 10,591 kilobarrels per day through the strait on Saturday, compared with a prewar baseline of 17,133 kilobarrels per day.
The ongoing impasse is influencing U.S. fuel markets, where retail diesel prices linger close to a record $6.53 per gallon. The Trump administration is reconsidering an export ban, having recently distanced itself from an earlier iteration of the idea; Kpler estimates such a ban would retain about 1.2 million barrels per day domestically, potentially straining storage capacity.
Technologies
Saudi Red Sea export rebound pushes oil prices down
Oil prices fell after Saudi Arabia restored crude exports from its Red Sea terminals following a pipeline attack, while Iran and the U.S. continue talks over the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday as Saudi Arabia’s crude exports from its Red Sea ports recovered from an attack on a key pipeline earlier this month. The decline reflects renewed flow from major loading points.
Satellite imagery confirmed a “major operational recovery” at the Yanbu and Muajjiz terminals, according to a Kpler note released on Tuesday. The data shows that 12.5 million barrels were loaded onto nine tankers at Yanbu between Saturday and Monday, restoring activity after a drone strike disrupted the East‑West pipeline earlier in the month.
Riyadh has brought the pipeline’s throughput back to roughly 3.5 million barrels per day, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News on Monday. The line’s maximum capacity is 7 million bpd, indicating that the current flow is about half of its peak.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Iranian officials spoke with mediators on Monday as they attempt anew to negotiate a deal to end the seven‑month conflict. Iran offered last week to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States accepts the terms of the failed June memorandum of understanding, but President Donald Trump rejected Tehran’s proposal on Saturday as exports through the waterway recover.
Oil flows through Hormuz have averaged 13.2 million barrels per day over the past week, according to Kpler data—about 77 % of the 17 million bpd that moved through the strait before the U.S.–Iran war. The U.S. military continues to protect tankers from Gulf allies and maintains a blockade on Iranian exports.
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