One of the dozens of rumors swirling around the iPhone 15 Pro this year is a move from stainless steel to titanium for its chassis and a new leak suggests Samsung may do the same with the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
The new rumor comes courtesy of one of the most accurate Samsung leakers, @UniverseIce on Twitter, who posted the periodic table of elements with just "22" in the body of the tweet, indicating Titanium. A reply asked if this was regarding the S24 Ultra frame and all they got in response was a smiling and blushing emoji, which we're going to take as a yes (via Phone Arena).
How much is this invisible upgrade going to cost?
Apple's move to titanium from stainless steel makes a lot of sense, it's roughly 40% lighter while delivering the same strength as stainless steel. Particularly for the Pro Max that is a welcome move as the 8.5-ounce iPhone 14 Pro Max is one of the heaviest phones on the market. The one downside is that it is more expensive, so this is perhaps one of the motivating factors for the rumored iPhone 15 Pro price increase of $100 to $200.
While I think we could all do without the price increase, from a design and usability standpoint it's an undeniable upgrade. So why isn't that also true for the Galaxy S24 Ultra?
Unlike Apple's stainless steel, Samsung uses aluminum for the chassis of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is about about a third lighter than titanium. Moving to a heavier metal isn't great news as the Galaxy S23 Ultra was already 8.25 ounces. It's possible Samsung will manage to keep the weight roughly the same, titanium is heavier than aluminum, but it is also quite a bit stronger, so it should require less material.
The greater concern to me is that Samsung is going to follow part two of Apple's titanium upgrade plan and increase the price of the S24 Ultra from the already eye-watering $1,200 of its predecessor. Samsung didn't manage to bring the price of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 or Galaxy Z Fold 5 down this year, but it did at least keep pricing the same and we hoped to see the same for the S24 lineup.
If the rumored iPhone 15 Pro updates do happen this year and we see the predicted price increase, that will put Samsung in an interesting position come January or February when it launches the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Will it be cheaper than the iPhone 15 Pro Max for the first time or will it follow suit and make $1,300 the new top-tier flagship starting price?
