Samsung Galaxy S24 review: Unsurprisingly great

Samsung has long led the charge when it comes to flagship phones, and many consider Android to be synonymous with Samsung. That largely comes down to the success of the Galaxy S series, which has always boasted flagship specifications and modern features. The latest in the series is the Galaxy S24 series, the base model of which is simply the Galaxy S24.

The Galaxy S24 obviously isn't as high-tech as the much more expensive Galaxy S24 Ultra, but it still has a lot going for it. At $800, does the Galaxy S24 live up to the Galaxy name?

Samsung Galaxy S24 specs

Samsung Galaxy S24 design

Samsung isn't giving the S series a full redesign for 2024 -- if you've seen the Galaxy S23, you'll recognize that the Galaxy S24 is related. It has a flat display, a vertically aligned triple camera array, and so on.

That's not to say that they're exactly the same though. The biggest difference between the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S23 comes in the form of the flat edges, like many other current-generation phones. I like the change -- sure, Samsung is copying Apple a little here, but flat edges are in right now, and it's easy to see why Samsung made the switch.

Everything else is more or less where you would expect it to be. The device has a USB-C port on the bottom, with a power button and volume rocker on the right edge.

The Galaxy S24 comes in a range of colors, including the Amber Yellow that our review model is in. It looks great -- and I love that the device is available in so many colors.

The Galaxy S24 doesn't just look good -- it feels great too. The phone is clearly made from premium materials, and I love the metal frame and matte glass back. It's one of the most premium-feeling phones out there right now.

Samsung Galaxy S24 display

On the front of the Galaxy S24 can be found a 6.2-inch LTPO AMOLED display, with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2600 nits. Like in previous years, the base Galaxy sacrifices display resolution a little to achieve a lower price point -- and unlike the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the base Galaxy S24 has a 1080p resolution.

That's not a huge deal -- the display is crisp and detailed -- but we are starting to see more phones in this price range with a higher resolution display, while keeping the high refresh rate and high brightness. For example, the OnePlus 12 is the same price as the Galaxy S24, but also has a 1440p display.

But you really won't notice that the device has a "lower resolution." Again, text is crisp and detailed, plus the device feels smooth.

Samsung Galaxy S24 performance

The latest Galaxy S always has the latest Qualcomm chip, at least in North America (some regions have a Samsung-designed Exynos chip instead). As such, our review model has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which ensures that the phone is one of the more powerful Android devices out there.

Really, I found that the Galaxy S24 could handle everything I could throw at it, including heavy multitasking, mobile gaming, and so on. This is to be expected -- but it's still always nice to see.

Here are the benchmark results we achieved with the Galaxy S24:

• GeekBench 6: 2275 single-core, 7033 multi-core
• 3DMark Wild Life Extreme: 5111

These are excellent results, and while benchmarks don't always precisely indicate real-world performance, these results prove that the phone should be up to the task, whatever the task may be.

Samsung Galaxy S24 battery and charging

Powering the Galaxy S24 is a 5,400mAh battery, and I found it to perform excellently. I regularly ended a full day of use with half of the battery left, and was even able to stretch it through a second day, with light use. In a video playback test, the phone handily outperformed against the likes of the iPhone 15 and Pixel 8, by a wide margin.

The charging experience isn't as great as the battery life though. Unfortunately, the phone only supports 25W charging, which is quite slow compared to much of the Android competition. The aforementioned OnePlus 12, for example, can charge at a hefty 100W. The result of the slow charging speed is that it will take well over an hour for the Galaxy S24 to fully charge. I hope Samsung improves on charging speed next year.

Thankfully the phone does support relatively fast wireless charging at 15W, however, not through the new Qi2 standard. Instead, you'll need to buy a Samsung charging pad to achieve 15W. Again, hopefully next year, Samsung will improve on things a little, and add support for Qi2. The device also supports 4.5W reverse, wireless charging, which can be handy for keeping your wearable devices and earbuds charged up.

Samsung Galaxy S24 camera

On the back of the Galaxy S24 can be found a triple camera array, and I found the camera to be quite versatile. The device offers a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. Unfortunately, the device doesn't come with the new 5x telephoto camera on offer by the Galaxy S24 Ultra -- so if you try and zoom further than 3x, you'll be entering digital zoom territory.

Despite not being as versatile as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, I found the camera on the base Galaxy S24 to be excellent. In well-lit environments, images were vibrant and detailed, and even in low lighting, the device was able to capture very detailed photos. Samsung has backed off a little from the saturation in its images, which makes for a slightly more natural look. I didn't mind the saturation before, but it is nice that images look a little more realistic now.

The zoom quality on the phone is pretty good too. Up to around 5x, you won't really notice the introduction of digital zoom, and while adding a second telephoto camera, like on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, would make for a more versatile photography experience, most won't miss the lack of one here.

The camera benefits from some new AI-based tricks too -- though they're features that we have seen on other devices, like Google's Pixel devices, before. For example, you can delete or move objects around in a photo, however your results will vary. My favorite feature, however, is the new Slow-Mo feature, which uses AI to add frames to pre-recorded video. It's very convincing, and you wouldn't know that half of the frames were artificial just by looking at a video.

Samsung Galaxy S24 software

The Galaxy S24 comes with Samsung's One UI 6, which, for the most part, looks and feels like previous iterations of One UI. If you're used to using Android on Samsung phones, you'll know how to use the Galaxy S24.

But there are some new features here, and the most exciting ones boil down to new AI-based features. We've already covered the AI camera features, but there are some interesting other AI features on offer here too. For example, the new Circle To Search feature allows you to search for objects simply by circling them with your finger. It's a neat feature, however you'll have to get into the habit of using it for it to be truly helpful.

Conclusions

The Samsung Galaxy S24 pushes the Galaxy S series further in some meaningful ways, and while it doesn't radically change the experience of using a Galaxy device, it still remains one of the best Android phones you can get. Some phones are better at some things, but few devices are as well-rounded as the Galaxy S24, and the device isn't really bad at...anything.

The competition

In the $800 price range, the biggest competition right now comes from the OnePlus 12 -- which is a technically more advanced phone. The OnePlus 12 has a higher-tech display and a camera that can achieve lossless zoom at 6x. Most users should consider buying the OnePlus 12 over the Galaxy S24, or upgrade to the Galaxy S24 Ultra if they're on the hunt for the best Android experience that's available at the moment.

Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy S24?

Yes, but consider the OnePlus 12 first.

The post Samsung Galaxy S24 review: Unsurprisingly great appeared first on BGR.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 review: Unsurprisingly great originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 22 Feb 2024 at 14:49:19 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.