Samsung has finally unveiled the Galaxy S24 series. During a hands-on session, WANT editor Jeroen Kraak was already allowed to get acquainted with the device, and he tells what all stands out to him.
During Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung presented the S24, S24+ and the S24 Ultra. They are the company’s new flagships. What immediately stood out during the presentation was of course the AI part, which looks very promising.
But what can you do with it and is it really nice to use? We were already allowed to play a little bit with the phone and share the first impression with you.
Appearance of the Samsung Galaxy S24 models
The appearance of the Samsung Galaxy S24 is incredibly similar to that of the S23. However, some subtle changes have been made that you won’t immediately notice.
In the “regular” Samsung Galaxy S24, the sides are a bit flatter and it is a bit more glossy, instead of the satin of the S23. The matte color should give it even more of a premium look. The corners are a bit rounder for better grip. Secretly, it is quite similar to the iPhone 15, only there is no Dynamic Island and the camera looks a bit different.
The three models (Image: Samsung)
With the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, the differences are a bit more obvious. Measuring 6.8-inches, it is still a huge phone. As with the iPhone Pro, Samsung has also switched to titanium with its premium model, making the smartphone actually lighter. Goodbye to one of the biggest annoyances: the rounded corners. The screen is now just flat so you can write on it properly with the S-pen. During the hands-on, therefore, all the models lie fine in the hand.
In terms of colors, Samsung did take a little more risk. Besides black and gray, it also comes with violet and soft yellow. Both colors are very subtle and as far as I am concerned, the violet version looks very nice.
Under the hood
With the Samsung S24 and S24+, Samsung is once again switching from Snapdragon to Exynos. Whether this is advantageous or disadvantageous, the hands-on is a bit too short for that.
With Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, it did just stick with Qualcomm. The Ultra runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. In addition, the regular S24 gets 8 GB of RAM, and the S24+ and Ultra each have 12 GB of RAM.
(Image: Samsung)
In terms of battery, the S24+ and Ultra are also close to each other. Those have a 4,900 mAh and 5,000 mAh capacity, respectively. The regular Samsung Galaxy S24 has to make do with 4,000 mAh.
The only screen difference between the S24+ and S24 Ultra is the size: 6.7-inches vs. 6.8-inches. Both have AMOLED QHD+ with an adaptive refresh rate of 120 Hz. The regular S24 has to make do with FHD+ AMOLED. The size of that model is 6.2-inches. All three, by the way, have a peak brightness of 2,600 nits.
Camera
Then again, in terms of camera, the S24 and S24 Ultra have the same specs. This is a 12 MP front camera, 50 MP wide-angle camera, 10 MP telephoto camera and 12 MP ultra-wide-angle camera. There is also 3x optical zoom and up to 30x digital zoom.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra pops out in terms of camera. Therein lies the big difference in the wide-angle camera and the telephoto camera. In fact, the ultra-wide-angle lens has 200 megapixels. In turn, the quad-telephoto lens has 50/10 MP. In addition, the model has up to 5x optical zoom.
Circle to search Samsung S24. (Image: Samsung)
Samsung Galaxy AI
During the hands-on, I mostly got a chance to play with various AI features. However, you do depend mostly on a good internet connection for this. In the room I mainly used the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra was a bit disappointing, but was still able to see the potential of Galaxy AI.
Several AI features are already somewhat familiar and you see them on the Google Pixel 8 Pro, for example. For example, editing photos is very simple. Still, there are small differences. For example, it is possible to move certain objects in a photo.
The nice thing about the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is that it immediately suggests what can be improved. If the AI sees a reflection, for example, if you take a picture through a window, you can remove this reflection with the push of a button.
The nicest thing in terms of photography is that when zoomed in, the AI can give the quality a big boost. Especially photos in the dark are considerably better for this. With the Samsung Galaxy S24, you take photos that are almost impossible to fail and you wonder if you still really have to think when taking a photo about exposure and composition, for example. Even this the AI on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra can just adjust.
AI helps you take notes. (Image: Samsung)
More than photography
But the AI goes far beyond photography. It also streamlines your tasks in everyday use. When you take notes, it puts those scribbles into an organized whole at the touch of a button.
A really funny one is that you can also have AI write emails and messages for you. For example, you draft a reply and then you can instruct the AI to turn it into a formal, informal or social message. During the hands-on, it was quite fun to see and it also works very well.
One of the finest features, as far as I’m concerned, is the real-time translations you can perform. Even during a phone conversation with someone from another country, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra can simply translate. The same principle also applies when you turn on your phone and are talking to a cab driver. It’s pretty impressive that soon you won’t need a Spanish course to have conversations.
Still, there is a drawback, as this latest feature does not support Dutch. Although Samsung does not know exactly when our language will be added, it does think it will be sometime this year.
Google Lens 2.0
Perhaps the most fun feature for me during the hands-on was the circle feature. This allows you, by pressing a button, to freeze the image and then circle something you want to know more about. For example, if you see certain shoes in a Netflix series that you want, this function simply puts a circle around it.
Then, just like Google Lens, it searches for the object and shows you good results. For example, I myself could very easily find the Nikes I was wearing.
That leaves lastly the price and there is quite a striking thing in that. The S24 and S24+ are both 50 euros cheaper. The entry-level Ultra, on the other hand, is 50 euros more expensive. Below is an overview of the entry-level prices:
Galaxy S24: from 899 euros
Galaxy S24+: from 1,149 euros
Galaxy S24 Ultra: from 1,449 euros
