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I traded in my Galaxy Fold 3 for the S24 Ultra five months ago. I did it for the cameras and I’m still happy with my decision. They’re fantastic. The whole phone is.

None of the pictures in this article are using filters or editing. The camera was in my hand and on full auto mode.

The cameras take stunning photos. There’s nothing to nitpick. If you become adept at using Samsung’s camera applications and understand some photography basics about framing and lighting, the results are masterful.

Notice how clear the reflection in the side mirror is.

Photogs love to dig into the metrics and compare numbers. I’m more into the astatic value of the pictures than I am the camera’s technical performance. To my eye, Samsung is the best for this generation of mobiles. The images are crisp, focus is fast, and auto mode is ready for those fleeting moments no matter the situation. Samsung has been perfecting mobile photography for decades and their experience shows in the results.

Like a lot of people, I’ve completely transitioned to taking all pictures on my phone. One trick I’ve learned is to set up the voice trigger. No matter how careful you are, moving your hand to tap the screen can mess up your shots. Even the most careful tap can cause the lenses to jitter.

Use the gear icon in the camera app to access settings. Show palm is an interesting option but it doesn’t work as well as Voice commands.

There’s a lot to like besides the camera system. The battery and power management algorithms are equally impressive. I’ve been able to limit charging to eighty percent of the battery’s available capacity and still make it through an average office worker’s day. Limiting lithium batteries from reaching their full charge capacity increases their useful lifespan.

Try adaptive if you can’t live on eighty percent.

Samsung’s stylus is still great. I’ve written, sketched, and scribbled pages and pages with mine already. Including this entire article. Coming from the Fold 3, I had forgotten how convenient pop out pens and the ability to write on the powered off screen truly are.

One review that I had read before purchasing the S24U said the speakers were of poor quality and down firing only. I’m not sure that person actually had access to the phone when they reviewed it. It gets ridiculously loud and sounds great in my opinion. It has both top and bottom speakers.

Dolby Atmos, a custom EQ, and adaptive sound let you tune your audio experience to fit your ears.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor is blazing! In fact, the phone can get physically hot if you push it hard. Mine hasn’t overheated, but it would be uncomfortable to hold sometimes if not for my case. The performance is worth a few scorched fingertips if you ask me.

Speaking of performance, this thing is a gaming phenomenon. AAA titles like Call of Duty Mobile and Grid feel like the full console versions. Some mobile games support ray tracing and super smooth 120 FPS, and the S24U is all about it. Game Pass Ultimate streaming works well.

Don’t forget to use the built-in gaming options to tune your experience.

Business apps like OneNote, Outlook, and Excel are quicker to get into than they are on my high-performance laptop. There’s plenty of RAM for browser tabs and multiple background apps. I find that I rarely need to take my laptop to meetings with me. I’m just as productive from the Ultra at notes, plans, sketches, and even light presentations.

I ended up with a case that I found on Amazon. It has a built-in camera cover that slides open and shut. It also features a wallet that easily holds my ID, bank card, and some cash. The back of the wallet makes a perfect stand for watching streams and playing games with a controller.

The side-effect of this style of case (wallet on back) is that it doesn’t work with wireless charging. It does however work fine with Tap to Pay, and it fits in my car’s phone holder.

The TONGATE case is available in multiple colors and costs $25.99 on Amazon.

Many motherboard manufacturers are including RGB controllers on their wares now. MSI’s version is called Mystic Light, the control software runs as an add-on to the Motherboard’s MSI Center console. There are numerous PC hardware manufacturers. Custom PC builders frequently use components from each. For example, my motherboard is from MSI, but my power supply is made by Corsair.

The market situation and custom build scenes have led to a series of API’s being included in the various manufacturer’s software so that control bridges could be established. On my system, this allows MSI Center and it’s Mystic Light add-on to control the lighting connected directly to the motherboard along with my Lian-Li Galahad 360, and SL fans which are connected to a Lian-Li control box.

In my setup, I use Mystic Light to control all the RGB, but control the fans via L-Connect. The Lian Li software’s cooling options and programable curves are much more precise than those offered by MSI Center.

In a recent Windows update, Microsoft has also added its own take on a universal light controller protocol and software package they’re calling Dynamic Lighting. The option can be found under Settings and then under Personalization. Microsoft’s entry into the space seems to have spurred manufactures to update their software and firmware to either gain or block compatibility depending on their particular market strategy.

These are the default Microsoft Dynamic Lighting settings on my systems. In this configuration, MSI Center and L-Connect remain in control.

I use Logitech accessories. Their controller software, G-Hub, updated and added Dynamic Lighting compatibility. MSI Center’s Mystic Light add-on updated but does not seem to have gained any options in the Dynamic Lighting control screen. One of the three updates broke the Lian Li L-Connect software on my system. I am unable to tell which one for sure because they all applied around the same time. Read on to see how I found and fixed the issue.