If you happen to’re a fan of smartphones and cellular tech on the whole, 2024 is off to a quick begin. Simply days after CES 2024 got here to an in depth, Samsung has now taken the wraps off of its newest Galaxy S24 collection.
I just lately had an opportunity to spend a few hours with the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus to see what all of the fuss is about. From the brand new processor and refined designs to Samsung’s massive wager on AI, right here’s what I discovered concerning the Galaxy S24 throughout my preliminary hands-on time.
The brand new designs really feel nice
In contrast with the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus, the S24 and S24 Plus are very related. The general form and dimension are largely the identical, so at first look, it’s onerous to inform that something has modified. Nonetheless, there are a few issues that caught out to me.
For starters, the screens are a bit larger this 12 months. The Galaxy S24 now has a 6.2-inch display (up from 6.1 inches), whereas the S24 Plus goes as much as 6.7 inches (beforehand 6.6 inches final 12 months). Meaning the our bodies are ever-so-slightly taller than their S23 counterparts, however due to a discount in bezels, the telephones don’t really feel a lot larger within the hand. Followers of small telephones nonetheless in all probability gained’t love this variation, however I didn’t discover it to be an issue in any respect.
What actually caught my consideration, although, is the brand new body. Final 12 months, the S23 and S23 Plus had a rounded aluminum body with a shiny end. It wasn’t a foul design alternative by any means, however it additionally wasn’t notably memorable.
This 12 months, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus ditch the rounded body for a very flat one — similar to the iPhone 15. And as a substitute of a shiny end, it’s now utterly matte. Name Samsung a copycat if you need, however I actually love this variation. I believe it makes the telephones look extra polished, and so they really feel a bit higher to carry. We’ll have to attend for the complete evaluate to see if I nonetheless suppose that after extended use, however so far as first impressions are involved, Samsung’s received me on board.
One UI 6 appears promising
It’s not simply {hardware} the place Samsung’s making visible enhancements — you’ll additionally discover a couple of adjustments with the software program. All three Galaxy S24 fashions ship with One UI 6.1, which is predicated on Android 14.
The largest visible overhaul is current within the Fast Settings panel. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth now have larger and extra outstanding toggles on the high of the panel, and the brightness slider now seems by default once you swipe down as soon as. Samsung has additionally hidden related show controls beneath the slider, together with eye consolation defend and darkish mode toggles. Mixed with a recent coat of paint for the entire thing, I believe the brand new format appears actually good.
There are another adjustments in One UI 6.1, too. Now you can transfer the lock display clock anyplace you need, Samsung has cleaned up the names for a lot of of its first-party apps (e.g., Samsung Notes is now simply Notes), and the digital camera app now has a a lot easier format. And — most vital of all — Samsung’s emojis now not appear to be the factor of nightmares.
There’s nonetheless a lot occurring in One UI 6.1, however it does really feel tighter and extra polished than earlier variations — and that’s one thing I’m actually completely happy to see.
However that’s not even the very best half. Identical to the Google Pixel 8 collection, all three Galaxy S24 handsets are promised seven years of OS upgrades and safety patches. It’s a robust promise from Samsung and one thing I hope that OnePlus, Motorola, and different firms shortly implement, too.
Galaxy AI is off to a very good begin
New designs and refined software program upgrades are one factor, however Samsung’s massive push for the Galaxy S24 collection is synthetic intelligence. “Galaxy AI” is formally part of each S24 cellphone, with a smattering of AI-powered options discovered throughout varied apps. I’m unsure I’ll use all of them on daily basis, however from what I noticed and used, there are some fairly cool instruments right here.
One of many larger focuses is on picture enhancing. After you’re taking a photograph and examine it within the Gallery app, the Galaxy S24 will present Edit Solutions for that image. These might be issues like including background blur, eradicating shadows, erasing reflections, and so on. These edits occur totally on-device, and in my testing, they appeared to work very well. Samsung additionally says the recommendations will get higher the extra you employ them, so it’ll be attention-grabbing to see how that pans out.
Additionally current is Generative Edit — which is principally Samsung’s tackle the Magic Editor on the Pixel 8 collection. When viewing a photograph, you faucet the blue Generative Edit icon to enter the editor. Right here, you possibly can transfer topics in your photographs, erase objects you don’t need, and extra. Generative Edit requires an information connection to work, and the edits can take a couple of seconds to course of, however the finish outcomes seemed promising.
Samsung can also be touting new translation options. There’s a brand new Interpreter app that offers you two-way translations for in-person conversations, and it really works on-device with out an web connection. It labored nicely, however it’s additionally not a lot totally different from the Google Translate app.
What’s extra spectacular is Dwell Translate. If you happen to’re on a cellphone name with somebody utilizing a special language, you possibly can faucet the Dwell Translate button to have the dialog transcribed and translated in actual time. You’ll be able to’t converse as quick as you’ll on a standard cellphone name because the translation does take a couple of beats to course of, however within the couple of demo calls I attempted, I used to be fairly impressed with the outcomes.
A combined bag of different specs
What concerning the different specs for the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus? There’s a mixture of good and complicated right here. We’ll begin with the great.
Along with the bigger shows, Samsung’s additionally made some technical upgrades. The S24 and S24 Plus now characteristic 2,600 nits of peak brightness (up from 1,750 nits) and variable 120Hz refresh charges that may scale all the best way right down to 1Hz as a substitute of 48Hz like final 12 months. The Galaxy S24 nonetheless has a Full HD+ decision, however the Galaxy S24 Plus now has a Quad HD+ panel.
There are additionally some welcome battery enhancements. The Galaxy S24 will get a 4,000mAh battery, whereas the S24 Plus touts a 4,900mAh battery. That’s a rise of 100mAh and 200mAh, respectively, and mixed with the decrease variable refresh charges — and the higher effectivity of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 — you need to anticipate fairly good battery positive aspects.
Sadly, these larger batteries aren’t going to cost any quicker. The Galaxy S24 nonetheless caps out at 25-watt wired charging, and the S24 Plus has a most cost pace of 45W. Wi-fi charging and reverse wi-fi charging aren’t quicker both, capping out at 15W and 4.5W, respectively.
What’s particularly disappointing is that not one of the Galaxy S24 fashions assist the brand new Qi2 customary that was launched ultimately 12 months’s CES. Samsung claims that not sufficient persons are occupied with Qi2 to make it value including this 12 months, however I discover that to be a very skinny argument.
The digital camera setup is equivalent to final 12 months’s telephones. You’ve gotten a 50MP foremost digital camera, a 10MP telephoto digital camera with 3x zoom, a 12MP ultrawide digital camera, and a 12MP selfie digital camera. Samsung is utilizing a brand new “devoted colour tuning answer” this 12 months that ought to present “extra correct and pure colour tones” in your photos, and I’m desirous to see how a lot impression that actually has on photographs.
Rounding out the specs, each the S24 and S24 Plus have 5G assist, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and an IP68 ranking for mud/water resistance.
Samsung Galaxy S24 worth and availability
The Samsung Galaxy S24 begins at $800 for the bottom mannequin with 128GB of storage. Optionally, you possibly can pay extra and improve to the 256GB variant. The Galaxy S24 Plus comes with 256GB of storage and prices $1,000. It additionally has an out there improve to 512GB of storage. These are precisely the identical costs and storage configurations we noticed for the S23 collection, so there aren’t any surprises right here.
The Galaxy S24 Extremely, alternatively, will get a $100 worth enhance over the S23 Extremely and now begins at $1,300. You’ll be able to learn Digital Tendencies author Andy Boxall’s hands-on with the S24 Extremely to be taught extra about that cellphone.
All three fashions can be found for preorder at present, with common gross sales set to start on January 13.
My first ideas on the Galaxy S24
I got here away from my time with the Galaxy S24 feeling good about lots of the issues I noticed. The design is a giant improve, the bigger batteries are nice, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 ought to be a efficiency beast, and the AI options I attempted labored higher than anticipated. That’s rather a lot to sit up for!
However there are additionally some issues that give me pause. There have been zero enhancements to the digital camera {hardware} or charging speeds, and the general appear and feel are very protected in comparison with earlier generations. The S24 and S24 Plus appear to be strong telephones on their very own, and I’m certain they’ll carry out and evaluate very nicely.
But when you have already got a Galaxy S23 or S23 Plus, I’m struggling to see what’s right here that will tempt you to improve. That’s very true when you think about that Samsung is bringing its Galaxy AI options to the Galaxy S23 collection down the highway — together with the Galaxy S23 FE. There’s no confirmed date for when that’ll occur, however it’s going to. Additional, with OnePlus gearing as much as launch the OnePlus 12 quickly, there’s extra to maintain your eye on within the Android panorama.
We’ll be getting our palms on your complete Galaxy S24 collection very quickly, so keep tuned for a lot extra protection heading your method.
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