Samsung began rolling out stable One UI 9 to older Samsung Galaxy phones in October 2026, and I installed it on an S24 Ultra to see if it lives up to what the S26 offers.
I expected a version upgrade and not much else, since older Galaxy phones don’t usually get the newest features. Surprisingly, most of the Galaxy AI tools Samsung built for the Galaxy S26 now run on the phone.
It doesn’t turn my S24 Ultra into an S26 Ultra. The newer phone still has a privacy display, 60W charging, and a faster Snapdragon chip, and an update can’t change hardware.
On the software side, the gap is far smaller. The S24 series joined the One UI 9 rollout for Galaxy phones after the S26, the S25, and the 2025 foldables, and it got most of what those phones got.
Now Nudge, Call Brief, and My FanCam made the jump
I didn’t expect Samsung to add Now Nudge to the S24. Before One UI 9, it ran only on the Galaxy S26 series, and it works much like Magic Cue on the Google Pixel.
It reads what is on the screen and offers a next step. For example, if a message mentions a date and time, it suggests adding the event to my calendar. You can find the toggle in Settings > Galaxy AI > Now nudge, below Now Brief.
Call Brief puts context on the call screen while I talk. It can show a calendar event I share with the caller or the local time when I dial an international number.
It doesn’t do anything until Personal Data Intelligence is on, so that is the first switch I would turn on after updating.
My FanCam is an interesting one I didn’t even know about until I started exploring the Galaxy AI tools.
It lets me pick a person in a video, and Galaxy AI creates a new clip that follows them in any aspect ratio I choose. It even works for clips taken before the update.
Now Brief is like a personal update tool made up of custom cards that combine health, weather, and YouTube information on a schedule.
One UI 9 changes the parts of the phone I touch most
Quick Panel, location indicator, and Samsung Notes improved
The Quick Panel was the first change I noticed. I can resize and rearrange the brightness, volume, and media controls independently. This gives me more room for the controls I use most.
Android 17 adds a blue indicator at the top of the screen when an app accesses my location. Tapping it in the Quick Panel shows which app is responsible, like the green dot works for the camera and microphone.
As an Ultra owner, I mostly use my S Pen time in Samsung Notes, which now gets a Tape tool and new pen styles.
I’m not sure whether I’ll use the Tape tool, but it covers part of a note until I tap it. I think it’s most useful for hiding answers in study notes.
Samsung DeX also makes it easier to move an app window between desktops from the menu at the top of the window.
The Settings app wasn’t forgotten either, with a new Warranty and care page for checking coverage.
The S24 Ultra is still missing some S26 features
Notification highlights and Horizontal Lock skipped my phone
Much as I like the One UI 9 update when it comes to AI features, it still doesn’t match the S26. Otherwise, Samsung wouldn’t have bothered making a new phone this year.
One feature I’m missing is Notification highlights. It summarizes and prioritizes notifications, and is especially useful for busy group chats, but One UI 9 did not bring it to the S24.
Priority notifications in Now Brief are not on the S24’s feature list either. These two tools would have been exceptionally useful in sorting my busy notifications panel.
What annoys me more is Horizontal Lock, because Samsung showed it can bring the feature to older phones. The Super Steady option keeps the horizon level even if the phone rotates while recording.
The S25 series gets this feature in the One UI 9 update, but the S24 series doesn’t, which tells me it’s not a hardware issue.
The S26 also has a 24MP option in the standard Camera app and extra Pro video frame rates, including 25, 48, 50, and 100 fps. But Samsung has not explained why any of these features skipped the S24.
The remaining gaps come down to hardware, which I can accept. Privacy Display is exclusive to the S26 Ultra, and its 60W wired charging beats the 45W limit on my S24 Ultra.
What Samsung should do to keep the S24 current
The S25 shows Samsung already has a path
I want Samsung to use the S25 as a template. It missed Horizontal Lock with One UI 8.5, then got it in One UI 9, several months after the S26 launched with it.
I want the same treatment for the S24 in One UI 9.5. Notification highlights and Horizontal Lock are the obvious first two, since both run on phones only one generation newer than mine.
Samsung should also publish which missing features depend on hardware. S24 owners in Samsung’s community forums are questioning those labels, and a clear list would settle the argument.
There’s still plenty of time to do it. The S24 series was the first lineup to get the seven-year update guarantee, which means my S24 Ultra has four more OS upgrades after One UI 9.
My S24 Ultra keeps pace with a phone two generations newer
Android 17 had a rough launch on Pixel phones, and the Liquid Glass-style redesign in leaked One UI 9.5 builds has not reached my phone yet.
Without those, the major reason One UI 9 exists is to bring newer Galaxy AI features onto older phones. If Samsung keeps doing that with each update, then most users have no reason to trade up from the S24 Ultra for the next four years.
