With Samsung’s recent Unpacked event unveiling the S-series lineup for 2024, a few days ago we were given early-access to check-out the new lineup and features ahead of launch.
Read-on to discover our initial insights and first impressions with the base unit, Galaxy S24 and S24+ in this written Hands-On!
Table of Contents
Design
The Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus inherit the sleek and premium design language from their predecessors but with a refreshed touch.
The devices maintain the classic S23 look with a triple-camera setup at the rear, coupled with a refined and ergonomic form factor, with the dual LED flash slightly moved to offset between the two camera sensors, compared to lining up with the first one seen on their Galaxy S23 counterparts.
All the buttons, ports, and antenna bands are exactly where they were in the S23 and S23 Plus.
The main design difference here is that all the sides of these models are now flatter. So much so, you can stand both models by themselves without any support, just like their older brother the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Another difference is the new more-industrial downward-firing speaker grille design, which gave it a small more premium vibe.
The eco-friendly charm to these models’ builds are that they are designed with recycled steel and TPU.
Both devices also still feature an IP68 dust and water resistance rating, and the units come in some new kind of muted colorways, namely: Onyx Black, Marble Gray, Cobalt Violet, Amber Yellow.
Display
Just like last year, the displays on the S24 and S24 Plus are immersive 6.2 and 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays with a FHD+ resolution on the base S24 and a QHD+ one of the Plus model;
Both panels support HDR 10+ and a dynamic refresh rate of 1 up to 120Hz.
The result is absolute visual eye candy, perfect for all forms of multimedia consumption, including gaming!
It’s also worth mentioning that the bezels around the display are a bit thinner now across all Galaxy S24 models.
Performance
Under the panels of the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus are Samsung Exynos 2400 4nm chipsets, which may come as a shock for those who picked up last year’s models rocking Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s made for Galaxy.
This chipset manufactured by the makers of the phone’s themselves was announced earlier this month.
It features 10 cores with clock speeds up to 3.1 Ghz and a Samsung Xclipse 940 GPU.
Some early reports online do not show this chipset surpassing the Snapdragon Gen 3 found in the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but the numbers seem close all things considered, and in real-world use buyers hopefully won’t notice much of a difference especially if there aren’t alternatives in the first place.
We’ll find out more closer to the publishing of our Full Review.
For memory and storage configurations, the base S24 model caps at 8GB of RAM, and the S24 Plus gets 12GB across all S24 and S24+ configurations respectively.
Which leaves internal storage as the only real differentiator for configurations, both models each get 256GB and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage options.
Cameras
The triple camera systems on the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus receive what seems like incremental upgrades, building upon the already impressive foundation of the Galaxy S23 series.
Both models feature the same 50MP main (f/1.8), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2), and 10MP telephoto (f/2.4, 3x optical zoom) sensors at the rear, with a 12MP selfie (f/2.2) camera in front.
We most likely expect a difference in overall image video processing with the help of Ai, but again we’ll have to wait and see in our full review.
On the upside, here are some sample photos and videos we were able to snag from the units on the floor.
Battery
We get battery upgrades for these 2024 models;
The base Galaxy S23 now features a 4,000 mAh cell with support for 25W wired charging.
While the S23 Plus gets a 4,900 mAh battery with support for 45W fast charging.
Software
On the software side is where we see a bunch of new stuff with Galaxy Ai.
The whole Galaxy S24 lineup will ship with One UI 6.1 based off Android 14, and they promise seven years of OS and security upgrades, finally matching Apple’s software cycle support for competition.
We’ll be breaking down Galaxy Ai more extensively in a future video but for now, users can expect nifty assistive features like converting your voice transcriptions into more comprehensive notes, and even a visual voicemail feature similar to the one’s on the latest Google Pixel and Apple iPhone devices.
Closing thoughts
But for now that’s it for this quick Hands-On with the Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus.
For those of you wondering, at the moment it seems these cool Ai features are currently exclusive to this generation of Galaxy S devices, so if those features or the fact that these phones can stand by their own without a tripod are MUST HAVE features, alright maybe you should sign-up for that pre-order.
By the way, the base model S24 still doesn’t get UWB (Ultra Wide Band) support, so if that’s an essential feature for you, you only have the Plus and Ultra model to choose from.
Check-out our local pricing information below:
- PHP 61,990 (8GB + 512GB)
- PHP 53,990 (8GB + 256GB)
- PHP 68,990 (12GB + 256GB)
- PHP 76,990 (12GB + 256GB)
What’s Different from the Galaxy S23 Series?
- A sleek refined Design: From smaller bezels, to flatter sides, and a slightly different speaker grille, all more appealing design choices in our opinion.
- Chipset Advancements: The S24 series introduces the Samsung Exynos 2400, a substantial upgrade over the S23 series, providing users with enhanced performance and efficiency.
- Expanded Storage Options: Users now have the flexibility to choose from larger storage configurations, starting at 256GB and going up to 512GB, accommodating those with higher storage needs.
- Camera Improvements: The camera systems on the S24 series are refined, featuring improved sensors and enhanced low-light performance, delivering an even more impressive mobile photography experience.
- Updated Design and Colors: While maintaining the classic Samsung design, the S24 series introduces new color options, allowing users to personalize their devices further.
- Software: Ai features and tools built into the S24 series.
Samsung Galaxy S24 specs:
6.2-inch FHD+ AMOLED 2X Display
1 to 120Hz refresh rate, Vision Booster
Samsung Exynos 2400 for Galaxy
8GB LPDDR5x RAM
256GB, 512GB USF 4.0 internal storage
50MP f/1.8, OIS main camera
12MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera
10MP f/2.4 telephoto camera, 3x optical zoom
12MP f/2.2 front camera
5G, LTE
WiFi 6E
Bluetooth 5.3
NFC
GPS
IP68 Rating
One UI 6.1 based on Android 14
4,000mAh Li-Po battery 25W wired charging, wireless charging, Wireless PowerShare
167 grams (Sub6), 168 grams (mmWave)
70.6 x 147 x 7.6mm (dimensions)
Onyx Black, Marble Gray, Cobalt Violet, Amber Yellow
Samsung Galaxy S24+ specs:
6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED 2X Display
1 to 120Hz refresh rate, Vision Booster
Samsung Exynos 2400 for Galaxy
12GB LPDDR5x RAM
256GB, 512GB USF 4.0 internal storage
50MP f/1.8, OIS main camera
12MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera
10MP f/2.4 telephoto camera, 3x optical zoom
12MP f/2.2 front camera
5G, LTE
WiFi 6E
Bluetooth 5.3
NFC
GPS
IP68 Rating
One UI 6.1 based on Android 14
4,900mAh Li-Po battery 45W wired charging, wireless charging, Wireless PowerShare
196 grams (Sub6), 197grams (mmWave)
75.9 x 158.5 x 7.7mm (dimensions)
Onyx Black, Marble Gray, Cobalt Violet, Amber Yellow
