Samsung Galaxy S24(+) Hands-On: A Small Upgrade with Lots of AI

Samsung Galaxy S24+: All deals

Brief summary and pre-order campaign

With the Galaxy S24 and S24+, Samsung is continuing its S-series in a sensible way in terms of hardware and is mainly working on details. The processors are faster, the displays and batteries a little bigger and the materials a little more stable.

However, the really big innovations are brought to the devices by Galaxy AI. Especially in the areas of camera and productivity, there are a number of spectacular features that offer real added value, at least at first glance.

The Galaxy S24 starts from $799, while the Galaxy S24+ costs at least $999. Pre-orders for the S24 models start immediately, and last-minute buyers get double the memory and an extra $150 trade-in bonus on their old devices as a bonus.

Design and display

The Galaxy S24 and S24+ have the same design language as their predecessors, but use improved materials. There is no titanium like in the
Galaxy S24 Ultra (test). However, Samsung promises that the new Armor aluminum is more resistant.

Pros:

• Stylish design and great workmanship.
• Larger displays with the same case size.

Cons:

• Phone tilts on the table without a case.

The Galaxy S24 and S24+ speak the same design language that Samsung introduced two years ago with the Galaxy S22 Ultra and extended to the entire S-Class with the S23. Apart from the three separate camera elements, the back is completely flat.

The frame around the housing is now made of Armor aluminum and is also completely flat. This makes the S24 and S24+ feel very similar in the hand to the current iPhones.

The display of the S24 and S24+ has grown by 0.1 inches to 6.2 and 6.7 inches respectively. While the S24 remains at FHD+ resolution, the S24+ is making the leap to QHD+ this year.

The sizes of the cases have not changed despite the larger displays—instead, the edges have shrunk. Incidentally, Samsung uses Gorilla Glass Victus+ for the glass on the front and back, which is slightly more reflective than the Gorilla Glass Armor on the S24 Ultra.

What is pleasing at this point is that the S24 and S24+ both now offer a maximum display brightness of 2,600 nits. In addition, both devices support a variable refresh rate between 1 and 120 Hz.

The S24 and S24+ are available online and in stores in four colors: Onyx Black, Marble Gray, Cobalt Violet and Amber Yellow. As always, there are also a few exclusive colors in Samsung’s online store—this year these are Jade Green, Sandstone Orange and Sapphire Blue.

Software

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 and S24+ run One UI 6.0 based on Android 14. In addition to countless AI features under the umbrella of “Galaxy AI”, Samsung has made an impressive update promise.

Pros:

• Seven years of Android updates and security patches.
• Many new AI features for more productivity.

Cons:

Let’s start with the updates: Samsung promises that you’ll get Android OS updates on the S24 and S24+ for seven years—and security updates for just as long. This means that you can still install Android 21 on your Galaxy S24 or S24+ in 2031. Or vice versa: If this promise had been made seven years ago, you would still be able to install Android 14 on your Galaxy S8 today.

The other and even bigger software topic on the Galaxy S24 is artificial intelligence. Samsung calls this “Galaxy AI” and uses the term to describe a colorful bouquet of AI features for productivity and the camera. For more detailed information about Samsung’s AI, it’s best to read our first test of the Galaxy AI—here we will only briefly list the most important features in the area of productivity.

• Circle to Search with Google: Activate a context search at any time by holding the Home button, which searches Google for content you have circled on the display.
• Transcription support and note assistant: Converts your meetings and conversations into text, summarizes them in various formats and sorts them into your notes.
• Samsung keyboard with typing assistant: Generates texts for you in different styles, from formal emails to text messages to friends & family to social posts including hashtags.
• Live translation on the phone: Both parties speak and hear their own language on the phone – the Samsung AI takes care of the live translation in between, including transcription.

Performance & battery

With the Galaxy S24, Samsung is breaking with a long-standing tradition: the basic and Plus models have a different SoC to the Ultra model globally, except for the US, where all three devices come with the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy. In other regions, the Galaxy S24 and S24+ are equipped with the Exynos 2400.

Pros:

• Larger batteries than the predecessor.
• Good performance.

Cons:

• No faster charging via cable or wirelessly.
• Both models without Wi-Fi 7.
• No UWB on the Galaxy S23.

If you live outside of the US, the good news first: Samsung promises that users should not notice any noticeable differences in performance between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and the Exynos 2400. Both SoCs are designed using the 4nm process—with Samsung manufacturing in its own foundries and Qualcomm at TSMC.

Recently leaked benchmarks of the S24+ with Exynos and S24 Ultra with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 support Samsung’s statement—the SoCs were around 5 to 10 percent apart in the Geekbench benchmark. And in an initial 3DMark benchmark that we ran on the devices, the Exynos 2400 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 were also relatively close.

Another note at this point: The devices were not yet running the final firmware, so things may still change before the launch. However, we do not expect any huge leaps.

However, the different wireless standards cause somewhat mixed feelings. Unlike the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the S24 and S24+ do not support Wi-Fi 7, but it is a real shame that the Galaxy S24 is the only model in the trio that does not support UWB.

Since nextpit is based in Germany, we had the opportunity to get hands-on experience with the Exynos variants. This made it impossible to conduct benchmarks on both the standard models equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy.

Battery and fast charging

In terms of battery capacity, there is good news for all Samsung fans. The Galaxy S24 and S24+ have both made some gains and now offer 4,000 and 4,900 mAh—100 and 200 mAh more than their predecessors. How this affects the battery life with the slightly larger displays and the new SoC is of course still an open question for the detailed test report, which you will find here in the coming days.

Unfortunately, there is no good news when it comes to charging, especially for fans of the Galaxy S24. The basic model still only manages 25 W via cable, and wireless charging stops at 15 W. The S24+ still manages 45 W via the USB-C port, but is no faster with wireless charging.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ fall short in terms of camera hardware. This is a shame, because we would expect more from smartphones around the $1,000 mark. Will the AI features for the photo and video function make up for this?

Pros:

• Exciting new AI features for the camera.
• Proven main and ultra-wide-angle camera.

Cons:

• Mini sensor for telephoto lens.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24+ have the same camera line-up as their two predecessors. The main camera uses the 1/1.56-inch 50-megapixel Isocell GN3 sensor, which generally offers good performance.

Unfortunately, the 3x telephoto camera still relies on the 1/3.94 inch small 10 megapixel sensor from the S23 series. With the ultra-wide angle, you get 12 megapixels on a 1/2.55 inch sensor surface.

Of course, Samsung will have tweaked the algorithms here and there, and together with the Exynos 2400 there is also new image processing. But the bottom line is that we don’t expect much new in terms of image quality compared to the S23 series—and that’s a shame. Both models could have used an upgrade, especially in the telephoto range.

In contrast, there is movement in the AI features that the Galaxy AI brings to the S24 and S24+. Again, please note: We have already published a more detailed test of the Galaxy AI for you. We will therefore only briefly discuss the new camera features here.

• Image enhancement: The Galaxy S24(+) comes with a few new features for tuning your images. For example, the AI improves portrait photos or removes reflections from images if you have taken a photo through a window pane.
• Generative AI: Do you want to move a person in a photo? Or enlarge an image section? The Galaxy S24 and S24+ can do both with the help of generative artificial intelligence
• Instant Slow-Mo: This feature calculates intermediate images for your videos and turns normal recordings into slow-motion videos. Incidentally, this also works with older videos and is quite impressive.

Unfortunately, we were unable to get a real picture of the photo and video quality of the Galaxy S24 and S24+ during our brief hands-on. However, we will make up for this as soon as we receive our test devices in the coming days. So be sure to check back for our detailed test.

Early Verdict