The Galaxy S24 Ultra is Samsung's first smartphone to use titanium in its build. More specifically, the phone has a titanium frame stuck to an aluminum chassis. The exotic metal is superior to others Samsung has used in the past, including steel and aluminum. However, in my eyes, the titanium frame is probably the least exciting thing about the new Galaxy S24 Ultra, and that's because of Unpacked 2024.
I've been watching the mobile industry for years, and the idea of a titanium phone isn't new. Rumors of such a device have traveled far and wide in the mobile sphere a few times before, and there used to be some hype around this development. But now that titanium is finally here, Samsung barely wants to say anything about it.
Here's titanium, now let's focus on other things
We all expected titanium to be a big step in mobile durability once it becomes a part of commercial devices. And if it really is that, I have to wonder why Samsung isn't leaning more on it as a selling point.
On the one hand, I must admit it feels refreshing to see a company like Samsung not trying to make a huge deal out of using a more exotic material for one of its phone's frames. I mean, it's just that: A different material.
On the other hand, a few more factual details about the benefits of titanium would've been appreciated by someone like myself – a fan of high durability and phones that are strong enough to be used without a case. I mean, I went on a journey to use my Galaxy S22+ without a case for a year to see what happens, and I'm still using the same caseless phone two years later — until my S24+ arrives later this month and I repeat the process.
For someone who advocates high durability for phones, titanium's debut may have felt underwhelming. At Unpacked 2024, Samsung barely touched on the titanium frame. The company didn't offer any durability test results or anything concrete about the benefits of using this material. The only thing we got were vague claims we already knew, i.e., that titanium has higher corrosion resistance, it's light, strong, and harder to dent.
But those are facts about the material itself rather than the Galaxy S24 Ultra's frame, which is now flatter and thinner than before. And there are no figures to go by comparing the resilience of the titanium frame and the Armor Aluminum one.
I'm not mad that Samsung uses titanium. And unless using this material somehow proves to be a terrible mistake, I'm very excited about the Galaxy S24 Ultra and everything else it brings.
But at the end of the day, I can't be excited about the titanium frame because I don't know much about its benefits. I'm confused as to why Samsung hasn't expanded on the topic or provided concrete durability facts about the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
I guess I'll have to wait for independent tests to come out and help me figure out whether a titanium frame was a good choice or a waste of time and resources.
