Samsung Galaxy S24 review: Basically a Galaxy S23 repackaged with a software update

Summary

• The Samsung Galaxy S24 series focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) features, which are actually useful and enhance the user experience. However, these will also available on older phones.
• The Galaxy S24 offers a compact form factor and lightweight design, making it easy to handle and carry.
• While the Galaxy S24 is a good phone on its own, it falls short compared to other phones in terms of hardware and value, such as the OnePlus 12.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S24 series last month, and unsurprisingly, the upgrades are all about artificial intelligence. The technology boomed last year, and every company is trying to get in on the industry's latest fad. But make no mistake: Galaxy AI isn't a gimmick, it's actually useful. I enjoyed leaving my iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel Fold behind to use the Galaxy S24 as my only smartphone for more than a week. That's mostly due to the Galaxy AI features, but I also appreciated the compact form factor and the lightweight design. One UI has come a long way, too.

It sounds like the Samsung Galaxy S24 is a great phone in 2024, and it is if you're coming from a device three or four generations old. The main upgrade this year is Galaxy AI, and those features aren't exclusive. The artificial intelligence tricks that made my time with the Galaxy S24 great will come to the Galaxy S23 series sometime soon. If you're not interested in AI, the hardware is essentially unchanged outside of a chip upgrade. For the same price, the OnePlus 12 is a far better value in terms of hardware.

Put simply, the Galaxy S24 is great in isolation, until you remember all the other phones out there. Besides the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Samsung is stagnating. The Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy S24+, and now the Galaxy S24 are all incremental updates at best. If you want Galaxy AI, get a Galaxy S23 used or at a discount and wait for the software update. If you want the best hardware, get the OnePlus 12 for the same price or splurge on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. But there aren't many reasons why the Galaxy S24 makes sense at $800 in 2024.

About this review: AT&T loaned us a Samsung Galaxy S24 for this review. Neither Samsung nor AT&T had any input in this review, or saw its contents before publishing.

Pricing and availability

Samsung officially launched the Galaxy S24 on Jan. 31, 2024, and it's now available at all major carriers and retailers. That includes stores like Amazon and Best Buy, or carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. The base model Galaxy S24 comes with 128GB of storage for $800, but can be upgraded to 256GB for only $60 more. You can get it in Onyx Black, Marble Gray, Cobalt Violet, or Amber Yellow anywhere it is sold. However, the Jade Green, Sapphire Blue, and Sandstone Orange colors are exclusive to the Samsung online store.

Specs

Hardware and design

The in-hand feel is great, but virtually unchanged from years past

Compared to some of the bigger and bulkier phones you'll find on the market today, the Galaxy S24 is a breath of fresh air. Both the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy S24 Ultra are massive phones, and both switched to using titanium this year for the sake of shaving weight. The regular Galaxy S24 doesn't have titanium — it's the same aluminum as previous phones — but it doesn't need it. The smartphone has a 6.2-inch display that makes it feel downright tiny in 2024.

It was thinner, lighter, and easier to handle than many of the other phones I've tested lately. Samsung uses a flat screen on the front of the Galaxy S24, but there are still strong curves on the corners of the device. Plus, the Galaxy S24 features chamfered edges where the side rails meet the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 back glass. It feels great to hold, but I have noticed it can get a bit slippery without a case.

Compared to some of the bigger and bulkier phones you'll find on the market today, the Galaxy S24 is a breath of fresh air.

While I do appreciate the design of the Galaxy S24, it isn't exactly new. The dimensions of the Galaxy S24 (5.79 x 2.78 x 0.30 inches) are only slightly changed from that of the Galaxy S23 (5.76 x 2.79 x 0.30 inches). Speaking of, the Galaxy S23 was nearly identical to the preceding Galaxy S22 that came before it. This is a theme that you'll notice throughout my review: in plenty of ways that matter, the brand-new Galaxy S24 is going on three years old.

There's a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset

In fact, there are only two main hardware differences for the Galaxy S24 series. First, and most importantly, the Galaxy S24 features Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset. We reviewed the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 platform on the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro, and found that it had some pretty significant CPU gains. Since this is the "for Galaxy" version, Samsung has worked with Qualcomm to optimize some things, especially when it comes to on-device AI processing.

There was never a time when I felt like the Galaxy S24 was slowing down during typical use. I didn't even notice the phone overheating, something that I've experienced thoroughly on the Pixel Fold and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Running a Geekbench 6 benchmark reaffirms my belief that the Galaxy S24 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chip can hang with just about any phone on the market.

Compared to similarly-priced phones like the iPhone 15, Google Pixel 8, and OnePlus 12, the Galaxy S24 is the winner in single-core performance among the Android phones. It crushes multi-core performance too, and loses out only to the iPhone 15 Pro Max's A17 Pro chip, which isn't included in the above chart due to its $300 higher price. Although the Galaxy S24 loses to the iPhone 15 in single-core scores, it edges the iPhone 15 out in multi-core performance.

Battery capacity is the only major change left to talk about

The only other change to speak of is the Galaxy S24's battery capacity, which is 4,000 mAh this year. It's a 100 mAh increase over the Galaxy S23, so the differences will be marginal. However, I got great battery life on the Galaxy S24, usually making it through the day with some battery left. I'm someone with an absurdly high screen-on time, and do a lot of battery-draining tasks like long phone calls. I only had one instance of needing to recharge a bit in the evening, and you'll likely get better battery life on the Galaxy S24 than I did.

Display

The quality is solid, but not the best in this price range

I know bezel talk can be tiring, but the first thing I noticed upon picking up the Galaxy S24 was the ultra-thin bezels. They feel thinner than my iPhone 15 Pro Max, although I'm not sure if they actually are. The thickness of the bezel on the Galaxy S24 seems evenly split between the aluminum frame and the glass border. On my light-colored Galaxy S24, the contrast makes the bezels feel a lot slimmer than they are in reality. In total, the Galaxy S24 has a screen-to-body ratio of over 90%.

I know bezel talk can be tiring, but the first thing I noticed upon picking up the Galaxy S24 was the ultra-thin bezels.

The Galaxy S24 sports a 6.2-inch, AMOLED display panel supporting up to a 120Hz refresh rate. It's slightly bigger than last year, in part thanks to the thinner bezels. The screen has a resolution of 1080x2340, and supports a peak brightness rating of 2,600 nits. The display on the Galaxy S24 looks good, but it isn't the best you can buy today. For reference, the OnePlus 12 has an OLED panel with a 3168x1440 resolution.

Software

Galaxy AI is the game-changer this year — but it's not exclusive

In the past, I've been a strong dissenter of Samsung's One UI operating system. I thought it was one of the worst Android skins out there, far behind the Pixel Launcher, Motorola My UX, and Nothing OS. This time, I didn't notice I was using One UI when reviewing the Galaxy S24 — and that's a good thing. One UI 6.1 is aesthetically-pleasing, functional, and snappy to use. I'm still not a fan of Samsung's bloatware and pre-installed apps or games, but One UI has come a long way.

The new features available for Galaxy S24 phones in One UI 6.1 were what made my experience using this smartphone great. My favorite is Circle to Search, and by a longshot. It was made by Samsung and Google, and allows you to circle a portion of your screen and search for objects or people inside it. Not only is it accurate, it's useful. I can't possibly put a number to how many cool things I see each day on social media that are posted without a link or a name attached. Now, I can find out what something is in a few seconds with Circle to Search.

Here's where the problems start. Circle to Search isn't exclusive to the Galaxy S24 series, as Google just added it to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro via a software update. If I'm buying a phone for Circle to Search, I would choose a new Pixel over a new Galaxy S24.

If I'm buying a phone for Circle to Search, I would choose a new Pixel over a new Galaxy S24.

It's a similar story for Galaxy AI, which includes things like two-way translation in real time. There are also photo editing features, like one that can use generative AI to move something around in a photo and fill in the gaps. In a really cool move, Galaxy AI can also turn any video into a slow-motion video by adding frames with AI. Though it isn't as new, the Bixby Text Call feature is a life-changer when trying to figure out whether a phone call is worth answering.

In this example, I tried to move a person paddleboarding using Generative Edit. I selected the person, dragged him to a different part of the image, and let Generative Edit fill in the gaps. Though I was definitely surprised to see Galaxy AI put in a wooden dock post where the paddleboarder once was, it looks realistic and was a clever way to plug the hole.

Galaxy AI is great, but it's important to remember that the features are coming to the Galaxy S23 series in the first half of this year. In other words, fairly soon. Since the biggest part of the Galaxy S24 is Galaxy AI, I don't see what's stopping someone from picking up a used or discounted Galaxy S23 and waiting for the update.

Cameras

They're just fine, and they're now three generations old

I'm a massive fan of how tiny the Galaxy S24's camera bumps are on the back of the phone. I'm not so big of a fan of why they're so small. Samsung hasn't updated the Galaxy S24's rear camera system in three generations, and the sensors are the same as the Galaxy S22. They're outdated, and you can tell. On paper, the specs might read fine, but shots from the Galaxy S24's rear cameras seem to lack detail and appear hazy compared to more modern sensors. While shooting macro or portrait mode shots, you'll commonly see the S24 fail to accurately focus on the subject.

Shots from the Galaxy S24's rear cameras seem to lack detail and appear hazy compared to more modern sensors.

I took a wide variety of shots with the Galaxy S24, and you'll see varying levels of quality here. In great conditions, the Galaxy S24 performs fine. When faced with a challenge, the camera tech is just too old to adapt and adjust like I'd expect a flagship phone to in 2024.

The main camera is a 50 MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, and it's a wide angle camera. There's also a 12MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide lens, and a 10MP, f/2.4 telephoto lens that offers 3x optical zoom. The numbers aren't bad, but the sensors are old, and it limits how well the Galaxy S24 can perform in poor lighting conditions. The Galaxy S24 is somewhat inconsistent as well, so taking multiple shots in succession could result in one being significantly brighter than the other.

On the front, there's a 12 MP, f/2.2 camera lens that I think is more than good enough. However, I can't say I value the quality of a selfie camera that much, so here are a few samples to judge:

You can get a superior camera system with a current-gen Pixel or OnePlus phone for around the same price as a Galaxy S24. Sure, the Galaxy S24's camera system is passable, but why should you settle when there are better options available?

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S24?

You should buy the Samsung Galaxy S24 if:

• You're upgrading from a Galaxy S21 or older and want a new Galaxy phone
• You're on a tight budget and can't upgrade to the Galaxy S24 Ultra
• You don't want to try a Pixel, OnePlus, or Apple phone

You should NOT buy the Samsung Galaxy S24 if:

• You would try a Pixel or OnePlus phone
• You can pay more for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
• You'd rather wait and see if there are bigger hardware upgrades next year

Smartphones are on a yearly release schedule, even if they don't need annual upgrades. That's why we get launches like the Galaxy S24, which for the most part could've been a software update. The best parts about the Galaxy S24 are the Galaxy AI features, and you can get those on the Galaxy S23 series. Circle to Search is also available on Pixel, and there are plenty of AI features from Google on the Pixel 8 series as well. Plus, the Galaxy S24 probably needed hardware upgrades in a few areas — like design, display, and camera — but didn't get them.

Unless you're a tried-and-true Galaxy user coming from a three-year-old device or earlier, there is a long list of phones I'd recommend before the Galaxy S24 for $800.