(Credit: Eric Zeman)
After months of speculation, Samsung unveiled its latest trio of flagship smartphones at its Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose on Wednesday. The Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra may not look all that different from the Galaxy S23 lineup on the outside, but they're packing an entirely new set of components and features to usher in fresh experiences. The primary sales pitch this year? You guessed it: AI. Samsung is highly touting the Galaxy S24's new AI smarts thanks to Qualcomm's latest processor, Google's algorithms, and the company's own Galaxy AI software.
We got to spend some time with all three handsets ahead of their announcement. Read on for our initial thoughts as we put the phones through their paces for full reviews.
Subtle—But Substantive—Upgrades
Despite making tweaks across the board, the S24 series is quite similar to the Galaxy S23 family. The phones have a lot in common, including metal frames, strengthened glass, and large footprints. The premium S24 Ultra's frame is made from titanium, a strong material that matches the framing of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The S24 and S24+ are framed by the same Samsung Armor Aluminum as older Galaxy S designs. Samsung says much of the aluminum is recycled. The S24 Ultra gets Corning Gorilla Armor on the front. The rest of the glass panels across the line are made from Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and have satin finishes. The S24 devices have an IP68 rating to ensure they are protected from dust and water, like most of today's top phones.
Samsung Galaxy S24
$859.00 Save $610.00
Samsung has refreshed the color selection this year. It's offering the S24 and S24+ in Amber Yellow, Cobalt Violet, Marble Gray, or Onyx Black. The S24 Ultra, meanwhile, comes in Titanium Black, Titanium Gray, Titanium Violet, or Titanium Yellow. Samsung plans to make several exclusive colors available to those who buy directly from its website, including Jade Green, Sandstone Orange, and Sapphire Blue.
All three phones see modest improvements to their displays. The S24 Ultra carries over the 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display of last year with the same QHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. There is one big change: The glass is flat instead of curved along the side edges. Samsung says it made this change to reflect feedback from owners of older Ultra models and that it should be easier to use the S Pen stylus with the flat glass. The S24 and S24+ also gain new glass.
The smaller S24 jumps from 6.1 inches to 6.2 inches though it retains the FHD+ resolution of the S23. The S24+, meanwhile, increases the size from 6.6 to 6.7 inches and the resolution from FHD+ to QHD+. Both carry over the 120Hz refresh rate of the previous year.
In addition, Samsung has dramatically improved brightness across the series from 1,700 nits on the S23 line to 2,600 nits on the S24 line, which is among the highest you'll find on a modern smartphone display. In person, the screens are shockingly bright and clear. A fingerprint reader is under the display.
The overall feel of the phones is quite good. They are clearly made with top-notch materials. I particularly like the flat screen of the S24 Ultra. While it gives the phone a slightly blockier shape, the experience of using the S Pen on the screen is indeed improved. The frames of the S24 and S24+ feel a little flatter along the side edges than in previous years, but the phones are no less comfortable to hold and use. And the matte finishes are really pleasant compared with the slippery feel of older Galaxy S phones.
As for sizing, well, they're all pretty big though there's enough of a difference so everyone can choose the best size for them. The S24 measures 5.79 by 2.78 by 0.30 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.93 ounces, or basically the same as the outgoing model. The S24+ measures 6.24 by 3.0 by 0.30 inches and weighs 6.95 ounces, which is just a bit bigger and heavier than its predecessor. And the S24 Ultra measures 6.40 by 3.11 by 0.34 inches and 8.22 ounces, just fractionally less than the S23 Ultra. The Ultra is still bigger and more square-shaped than the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Pixel 8 Pro.
Samsung hasn't made any significant changes to the controls, buttons, or ports. It puts the large volume toggle near the top of the right edge with the power button located below it. Both buttons work well. Everything else, including the USB-C port, SIM card tray, and speaker slit, is tucked into the bottom edge. The S24 Ultra also includes the S Pen packed into the bottom corner.
The camera modules look nearly identical to those of last year. The S24 and S24+ sport the same trio of lenses stacked vertically while the S24 Ultra adds two more smaller modules for a total of five. The lenses are quite large, but still look classy thanks to the metallic ring encircling each.
The Galaxy S24 hardware is as good as you're going to find from any phone maker on earth. The phones may be familiar to anyone who's seen the S22 or S23, but the small upgrades Samsung made along the way add up to a better trio of phones.
Specced to Impress
Samsung builds all three phones around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy processor. The "for Galaxy" means it has a boosted CPU, GPU, and NPU compared with the off-the-shelf 8 Gen 3. Qualcomm says the improvements deliver a 20% improvement across the CPU, a 30% improvement in the GPU, and a 41% improvement in the NPU compared to the 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. It's this last bit that impacts AI the most.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will appear in US and Canadian S24 and S24+ models, while the rest of the world will get Samsung's latest Exynos processor. Samsung claims there is no performance or feature differences between them, but that has yet to be proven in real-world testing. All global models of the S24 Ultra get the 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy.
All the phones support LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.0 storage, which are both speedy. The S24 comes in two variants: 8GB of RAM with either 128GB or 256GB of storage. That's the same as the S23. The S24+ gets more RAM than last year and is available in two models also: 12GB of RAM with either 256GB or 512GB of storage. Surprisingly, the S24 Ultra tops out at 12GB of RAM, too. Competing phones like the OnesPlus 12 and the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition ship with 16GB and 24GB of RAM, respectively. The S24 Ultra is available with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage. As has been the case for the last few generations, the S24 series does not support microSD memory cards for expandable storage.
The S24 and 24+ get bigger batteries but the Ultra does not. The S24's lithium-ion cell increases from 3,900mAh to 4,000mAh and the S24+ shifts from 4,700mAh to 4,900mAh. The Ultra's battery remains the same at 5,000mAh. Samsung claims that efficiency gains in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 combined with its software should lead to longer battery life for all three phones regardless of the massive increase in screen brightness.
There's no change to the charging story, but that's not really an issue. The S24+ and S24 Ultra support 45W wired charging, while the S24 supports 25W. All three can handle wireless charging at 15W, with 7.5W reverse power share. These numbers are in line with, if not better than, the charging rates of iPhones and Pixels. Phones from OnePlus charge much faster, though with proprietary tech.
The Galaxy S24s support all the right radios, particularly the Snapdragon X75 modem and FastConnect 7800. That includes the latest in mid-band and C-band 5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, GPS, and more.
AI Comes for Samsung's Cameras
As always, the Ultra model gets the best cameras. There are four on the back and one on the front. The Ultra has a 200MP main camera with an aperture of f/1.7, a field of view (FoV) of 85 degrees, and optical image stabilization (OIS). The ultra-wide camera has a 12MP sensor and an aperture of f/2.2 with a 120-degree FoV. The 5x telephoto camera has a 50MP sensor, aperture of f/3.4, 22-degree FoV, and OIS. There's also a secondary 3x telephoto camera at f/2.4 with a 36-degree FoV and OIS. Last, the selfie camera has a 12MP sensor, an f/2.2 lens, and an 80-degree FoV. Samsung says the new 5x optical telephoto is capable of sharper shots than the 10x optical camera from the S23 Ultra it replaces. It is still capable of 100x Super Zoom by combining optical zoom with digital cropping.
The S24 and 24+ share their camera components. Each has a 50MP main camera at f/1.8, an 85-degree FoV, and OIS that can snag 30x Super Zoom shots. Otherwise, they have the same 12MP ultra-wide, 10MP 3x telephoto, and 12MP selfie cameras as the Ultra model. The S24 and S24+ drop the additional 5x telephoto of the Ultra.
Video capabilities are mostly carried over from the S23 line. That means the phones can record video up to 8K30, but are best used for 4K60 capture and support hyperlapse and slow-motion capture at various resolutions and frame rates, including 4x slow motion in 1080p at 120fps and 32x super slow motion in 720p at 960fps.
In terms of AI, Samsung says it's using a new ProVisual Engine, which combines the power of the hardware with AI optimizations. This allows it to improve individual camera features like Nightography, which should be sharper and brighter than before with less noise. The AI engine also improves object recognition, which in turn helps with contextual awareness and better focus on your subjects. The cameras include an Adaptive Pixel Sensor, which is binning tech to better combine pixels for advanced resolution.
AI doesn't stop with the cameras, it also runs in the Samsung Gallery App, where you'll find the ability to remove shadows or reflections from glass. Let's not forget generative editing capabilities, which allow the Magic Eraser to move and resize objects, fill in the frame, and even add slow motion after shooting video. The Gallery App will create its own new frames to fill in gaps needed to generate smooth slow-mo video. Many of these features will also be available when using the cameras of third-party apps, such as Instagram.
Long-Term Support and Even More AI
The Galaxy S24 phones will ship with Samsung One UI 6.1, which is based on Android 14. Critically, Samsung has decided to match Google's long-term, seven-year commitment to its phones. That means the S24 series will see seven years of system and security updates, into 2031. The company also plans to provide parts for the devices for the same length of time so they can be repaired. Samsung and Google now offer the longest support of any Android phone makers in the market, period.
One UI 6.1 is a rather heavy software skin. The biggest changes you see are regarding AI. For example, there's now Circle to Search. Thanks to a partnership with Google, you can search for anything on your phone's screen with a gesture. Long-press the Home Screen button and then circle or tap an item on the screen. Google will search for the item and return the associated results. In practice, it worked rather well. The tool was easily able to bring up information about landmarks, buildings, places, and objects without requiring any text or voice input.
AI will power a new Live Translate feature that's built into the native phone app across the S24 phones. The tool works with up to 13 languages and 17 dialects. It can translate what you say from one of the supported languages to another as well as what the person on the other side of the call says in real time. You'll even have an option to read a translation on screen. The transcription tool also benefits your text messages, as it is built into the Samsung keyboard. The Voice Recorder app, too, gains live translation functionality.
A feature called self expression can help you strike the right mood. With Chat Assist, the S24 can sort out your tone in a text message. You type what you basically mean to say and Chat Assist will analyze it and make sure you're using the right word combination to get the point across in the way you intend. This is built into the Samsung keyboard and can be used across apps.
Productivity tools include a Note Assist feature to help summarize, translate, auto-format, and otherwise organize your notes with titles, headers, and paragraphs. The S24 Ultra can even straighten out your crummy handwriting.
Shockingly, Samsung says there are no new features for the S Pen stylus this year. This marks the second year in a row with no new S Pen features and has us scratching our heads a bit.
When and Where to Buy the Galaxy S24
Samsung has yet to provide a full breakdown of pricing across all the models, but we know the starting prices. The Galaxy S24 with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage costs $799.99, the Galaxy S24+ with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage retails for $999.99, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage comes in at $1,299.99.
While the S24 and S24+ keep the same starting prices as their S23 predecessors, the S24 Ultra is $100 more. Apple and Google both raised the price of their flagship phones last fall by $100, so this isn't a major surprise. You should expect to pay more for the devices with greater amounts of storage.
As for where to get them, Samsung's carrier and retail partners will all have the phones on hand—that means AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and some smaller carriers, as well as Amazon and Best Buy. The phones are available for preorder now and will be available at retail beginning January 31.
We'll be putting each of the new Galaxy S24 phones to the test, so make sure to check back soon for our full reviews.
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