Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra could get a brighter display, but ditch the curves

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has one of the best displays on a flagship smartphone right now, rivaled only by the likes of the OPPO Find X6 Pro in brightness and the Sony Xperia 1 V in resolution. With the Galaxy S24 series, we expect Samsung to raise the bar with meaningful upgrades. It seems Samsung wants to go brighter and flatter with the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s display if new leaks are to be believed.

According to leaker Ice Universe, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will come with a 6.78-inch display with a 3,120 x 1,440 resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and a peak brightness of 2,500 nits. The aspect ratio is erroneously mentioned at 19.5:5 but has been clarified in a subsequent tweet.

Ice Universe does not have a flawless record for leaks, so we advise taking these speculative claims with a pinch of salt. If indeed these are correct, the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s display would be 750 nits brighter (in peak brightness) than the Galaxy S23 Ultra (1,750 nits) and match the Find X6 Pro’s peak brightness.

The leak does not mention this, but we’ve heard claims that Samsung could use the M13 panel, which refers to the 13th-generation high-performance OLED panel. These panels are claimed to be thinner and power efficient.

The tweet also included a mockup render of what the Galaxy S24 Ultra could look like.

The biggest and most noticeable change that we can see from the mockup is that the Galaxy S24 Ultra could be ditching the curved displays. Instead, we could get a phone that has a flat front, much like what we see on the current Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus. But Samsung could retain the Ultra’s sharp corners on the S24 Ultra, giving it a unique look.

We’re hearing similar claims from leaker Digital Chat Station as well, who suggests that all the phones in the Galaxy S24 series could come with flat displays.

If true, this would be the first time in many years that Samsung’s absolute top flagship will be ditching the curved display. In fact, 2024 could be the year when Samsung’s flagship lineup (or even its entire smartphone lineup, for that matter) won’t have any curved display phones at all!

Samsung had wholeheartedly embraced curved displays on the Galaxy S-series for about a decade (starting with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, released in 2015), and even the erstwhile Note series had gone over the edge (with the Galaxy Note Edge, released in 2014) and embraced curved displays.

Curved displays have since become an indicator of “premium” and “luxury” design in smartphones, with the only notable holdout being Apple’s iPhone, which is expected to continue with flat displays even with the iPhone 15 series. Flat displays are arguably easier to hold and use and play really well with screen protectors and cases.

The rest of the smartphone industry has followed in Samsung’s footsteps, with most Pro and Ultra smartphones coming with a curved display. It would be interesting to see how the industry and the consumers react to Samsung possibly switching back to flat displays.