TechPhonesAndroid PhonesSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: battle of the best Android phonesWhich of these Android flagships ends up in front in 2024: Samsung or Google?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechPhonesAndroid PhonesSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: battle of the best Android phonesWhich of these Android flagships ends up in front in 2024: Samsung or Google?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Which of these Android flagships ends up in front in 2024: Samsung or Google?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro(Image credit: Samsung / Google)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro
(Image credit: Samsung / Google)
We were rather impressed with what theGoogle Pixel 8 Prohad to offer when it launched back in October 2023, but now theSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultrahas arrived to try and steal the title ofbest Android phoneaway from Google – so how do these handsets really compare?
There’s a lot that’s similar between these two smartphones, from the mobile operating system running on them and the AI features offered throughout, to the high quality of the photos and videos that you’re going to be able to take with either of these two devices.
To help you pick apart the differences and similarities between the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Google Pixel 8 Pro – whether or not you’re thinking of buying either of them – here we’re going to carefully pick through the key specs and features of each smartphone.
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: price
Today’s best Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro dealsSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all pricesGoogle Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro dealsSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all pricesGoogle Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro dealsSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all pricesGoogle Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro deals
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all pricesGoogle Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all prices
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all prices
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
$1,299.99$949.99View
$1,299.99$949.99
$949.99
See all prices
Google Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Google Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all prices
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Google Pixel 8 Pro
$999$599View
$999$599
$599
See all prices
Deal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Deal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Deal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
These phones certainly don’t come all that cheap, though the Galaxy S24 Ultra is around the same price as theSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultrawas at launch: it costs £1,249 / $1,299.99 / AU$2,199 with 256GB of storage; £1,349 / $1,419.99 / AU$2,399 with 512GB of storage; and £1,549 / £1,659.99 / AU$2,799 for the maximum 1TB of internal storage.
As for the Google Pixel 8 Pro, it’ll set you back £999 / $999 / AU$1,699 with 128GB of internal storage on board; £1,059 / $1,059 / AU$1,799 with 256GB; and £1,179 / $1,179 / AU$1,999 with 512GB. In the US, you can also get a 1TB model for $1,399. Overall, it’s more affordable than Samsung’s latest flagship.
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: design & display
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra looks the part(Image credit: Future / Mike Lowe)
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra looks the part
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra looks the part
(Image credit: Future / Mike Lowe)
The Pixel 8 Pro doesn’t stray too far from the design of theGoogle Pixel 7 Pro– that distinctive rear camera bump is still there, for example. It has a 6.7-inch OLED screen with a 1344 x 2992 pixel resolution, which offers 2400 nits of peak brightness and a refresh rate up to 120Hz. Your colour options in this case are Obsidian (dark grey), Porcelain (a white cream colour), and Bay (a pale blue). While the screen is flat as with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, overall this is a more rounded device.
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Judging design and aesthetics is of course a personal and subjective exercise, and we can see both of these phones appealing to plenty of people based on their appearance. In general, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra looks the more professional and business-like of the two, as well as being bigger, while the Google Pixel 8 Pro comes across as a bit more fun and friendly in both its design and its colours.
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: Cameras
The Pixel 8 Pro has a familiar rear camera bump(Image credit: Future)
The Pixel 8 Pro has a familiar rear camera bump
The Pixel 8 Pro has a familiar rear camera bump
(Image credit: Future)
Both Samsung and Google are pushing camera quality as major selling points for these devices. On the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, you’ve got a quad-lens 200MP main, 50MP 5x zoom telephoto, 10MP 3x zoom telephoto, and 12MP ultrawide camera on the back, with a 12MP selfie camera on the front. As you would expect, Samsung says it’s the best camera setup on a Galaxy phone yet, with less image noise and better colour representation, plus a ton of Galaxy AI editing effects and processing.
Switching over to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, and its rear camera setup comprises a triple-lens rear camera: 50MP main, 48MP 5x zoom telephoto, 48MP ultrawide, and a 10.5MP selfie camera on the front. Samsung certainly wins in terms of megapixel count on that main camera, but Google has some very good image processing algorithms in its Pixel phones, and in ourGoogle Pixel 8 Pro reviewwe said that photo taking was one of the “most exciting” aspects of the phone, in terms of how easy it was to point, shoot and capture – with premium results at the end.
So far, we haven’t been able to test out the camera quality of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra for ourselves, but you’ll see that ourSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultra reviewnotes how easy it is to take great snaps with the phone, and you can expect the new model to improve on that. Taking photos and videos is another area where the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Google Pixel 8 Pro are very evenly matched.
S24 Ultra vs Pixel 8 Pro: performance & battery
The Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with its own stylus(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)
The Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with its own stylus
The Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with its own stylus
(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)
Whether you’re talking about the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or the Google Pixel 8 Pro, both handsets offer more processing power than you’re likely to need. The Samsung handset comes with the very latestQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processortogether with 12GB of RAM, while the Pixel phone opts for Google’s own Tensor G3 and 12GB of RAM as well. You’re not going to see any slowdown or any lag while using either of these handsets, with those components under the hood.
As far as battery capacity is concerned, there’s a 5,000mAh battery fitted inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and a 5,050mAh battery fitted inside the Pixel 8 Pro. Now, Samsung says that its phone can last for 30 hours of video streaming between charges, while Google says the Pixel 8 Pro averages out at 24 hours of battery life between charges with general use – which is quite ambitious,based on our experience. We haven’t tested the Galaxy S24 Ultra yet, but it might win out in terms of battery life.
These phones match up with each other in offeringIP68-rated protectionagainst dust and water (so short-ish immersion in shallow water should be okay). One area where the Galaxy S24 Ultra does have the edge is with its integrated S Pen stylus support, which is something you don’t get with the Pixel 8 Pro – if you go for the Pixel option out of these two, you’ll have to settle for using your finger to prod at the screen.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: verdict
The Pixel 8 Pro in hand(Image credit: Future)
The Pixel 8 Pro in hand
The Pixel 8 Pro in hand
(Image credit: Future)
There’s no doubt that these handsets are two of thebest phonesaround in 2024, with prices to match: they’re packed with power, they take great photos and videos, and they come with software that’s crammed with AI-enhanced features. Both phones run Google’s Android operating system, though you might personally prefer Samsung’s particular take on Android over Google’s, or vice versa.
There’s lots and lots of AI here: you can do some dramatic photo editing tricks and some clever live translation on both handsets. It’s not the same as choosing between Android and one of thebest iPhones, because the software offerings are more or less on identical (although the Samsung’s S Pen features open up a whole host of extras, whileSamsung is even first to get Google’s Circle to Search feature). If you’ve got other Samsung-made or Google-made devices around at home, then that might influence your choice somewhat.
It might seem superficial, but picking between these phones could come down to what you think of their looks. In the other areas that we’ve looked at here, there’s not much to choose between them – although more might be revealed once we’ve had a chance to publish a full review of theSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Today’s best Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro dealsSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all pricesGoogle Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro dealsSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all pricesGoogle Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro dealsSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all pricesGoogle Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro deals
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all pricesGoogle Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all prices
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra$1,299.99$949.99ViewSee all prices
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
$1,299.99$949.99View
$1,299.99$949.99
$949.99
See all prices
Google Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Google Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all prices
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Google Pixel 8 Pro
$999$599View
$999$599
$599
See all prices
Deal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Deal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Deal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
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