If Samsung Goes Flat on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, I’m Weirdly Torn on the Change

My dislike of curved displays goes back more than 4 years. It was at the beginning of 2019 that I finally wrote a lengthy piece about how it was time for Samsung to ditch the gimmick and go flat, because outside of being pretty to look at and as an item for Samsung to talk-up in a press briefing, a curved display is mostly a nightmare to use, at least it was back then.

That opinion piece drew quite the reaction. In fact, most people were borderline mad about it, suggesting they were moving on to other news publications because of my supposed anti-Samsung bias, admitting that they truly liked the curved displays, and that I was flat out wrong. It was fun to read all of that (that’s sarcasm), but still to this day, I think curved displays were a bad idea. I was…ahead of the…I won’t.

I feel like in recent years, many others have come around to the idea that curved displays suck or least need to go away after being a thing. When rumors of a flat-screened Pixel 8 Pro popped up a few months back, most tech press couldn’t help but shout things like, “Finally!” People are ready for flatter screens, at least our comments suggest so.

So the latest rumor surrounding the Galaxy S24 Ultra brings to life the idea that Samsung may go with a flat screen on its top tier S phone model. That’s a big change since the non-Ultra Galaxy S phones have been flat for a couple of years now, but the Ultra line has maintained a level of roundness to help it standout from the others.

Leaker Ice Universe shared the news, even providing a mock-up of what the Galaxy S24 Ultra could look like next to an iPhone 15 Pro (Ultra?). You can see that image below to get a feel for what Samsung may be cooking up. The device is rumored to have a 6.8″ display with 3120×1440 resolution, 19.5:5 ratio, and peak brightness of 2500nit.

Here’s the thing – I’m not sure I love this. The Galaxy S23 Ultra (and all Ultra models) are massive phones. The curves from their sides and into the display actually make them easier and more comfortable to hold, and likely less wide than if they were flat. Switching to a flat design could make them wider, sharper (look at that bottom corner!) in the palm, and overall just might make a massive phone feel even bigger. That’s not a good thing in my book. Samsung certainly knows how to make a premium phone design and this is only a creation from a leaker, but this brings my hand some anxiety.

While I’m not here advocating for keeping curved screens around, Samsung may need to at least consider the idea of a rounded corner design too. iPhones have had rounded corners for some time and Google is doing the same with the Pixel 8 line. Those phones also feature flat displays, but the bottom corners at least help in making a phone more comfortable to hold.

I guess what I’m getting at is that I’m happily concerned.