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Meet the new Galaxy S24 phones: the difference is in the software, not the design

Samsung continues its annual tradition of launching new flagship phones, and this year is no exception. The latest addition to the lineup is the Samsung Galaxy S24, which, in terms of hardware, doesn’t present any particularly significant upgrades when compared to its predecessor.

However, Samsung compensates for the lack of major hardware changes by introducing new AI features to enhance the user experience. The new lineup includes three models: the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra, which we will be taking a further look at in this article.

Design changes (or lack thereof)

For the most part, the Samsung Galaxy S24 lineup doesn’t feature any major design changes. The phones still largely look the same as the Galaxy S23 series. There are some changes, namely to the display where Samsung has opted for a more traditional flat display over the slightly curved ones they used in the past.

Samsung will also be using a titanium frame in the Ultra model which will offer more durability. As for the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+, Samsung says that they have applied the One-mass design language to the phones that creates a more “seamless connection” between the phone’s rear cover and side frame.

Hardware features

There will be some differences across the Samsung Galaxy S24 lineup. One thing that they do share in common is the use of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. This is Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset so it’s not surprising that it is Samsung’s chipset of choice.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 also makes the Galaxy S24 lineup a great phone for gaming. Samsung says that they have increased the size of the vapor chamber that allows for better cooling. There is also ray-tracing support so gamers can expect much better visuals in their games.

The base Samsung Galaxy S24 will feature a 6.2-inch FHD+ display while the Galaxy S24+ will sport a larger 6.7-inch display. The Galaxy S24 Ultra will be the largest model of the three with a 6.8-inch display. All three models will use the same Dynamic AMOLED 2x Display with Vision Booster and a refresh rate of 1-120Hz.

In terms of memory, the Galaxy S24 will come with 8GB of RAM and go up to 256GB of storage. The Galaxy S24+ and Ultra models will come with 12GB of RAM and will come with up to 512GB and 1TB of storage respectively.

The battery sizes will also differ across the models. The base model will pack a 4,000mAh battery, while the Galaxy S24+ will come with a larger 4,900mAh battery, and the Ultra will offer the most battery at 5,000mAh. Save for the Ultra, the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ will actually see an upgrade in battery capacity over the previous models.

It also appears that speculation of Qi2 support was wrong as Samsung does not mention support for the new standard. The Galaxy S24 lineup will support wireless charging but it will not be Qi2.

Cameras

It looks like the rumors were right about Samsung ditching the 10x telephoto lens on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will feature a quad camera setup. This consists of a 200MP main wide camera with OIS and an aperture of f/1.7. The camera is accompanied by a 12MP ultrawide and two telephoto cameras – a 50MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom and a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, both with OIS.

For the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+, both models will share a similar camera setup. This includes a 50MP main camera with OIS and an aperture of f/1.8. It will also sport a 12MP ultrawide and a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom.

The Galaxy S24’s cameras are powered by Samsung’s ProVisual Engine. There is also an upgraded Nightography mode that offers up clearer and brighter images even under dim conditions.

Samsung will also be introducing new AI editing tools. This includes Edit Suggestion that can offer suggestions on how to best edit an image.There is also Generative Edit that fills in parts of an image background. It can also fix crooked images. These AI features can also work to help reposition a subject in a frame to make the photo look better.

New AI software experience

Like we said, the Samsung Galaxy S24 series doesn’t represent a major hardware shakeup over the previous models. Instead, it looks like Samsung has decided to go the software route with the introduction of Galaxy AI.

Galaxy AI represents a bunch of new AI features for the Galaxy S24 series that will enhance the overall user experience. This includes Live Translate, a feature that can translate two-way conversations in real-time. The use of on-device AI means that all conversations are stored on the phone itself.

Transcript Assist is a new tool for voice recordings. Using AI, the tool can transcribe, summarize, and even translate recordings, perfect for use at seminars or lectures.

Samsung is also introducing Chat Assist which can change the tone of your message. This will be useful if you need to come up with a professional-sounding message for work, or something casual and catchy for social media. If you’re someone who relies a lot on Samsung Notes, Samsung is also introducing a Note Assist AI tool. This can create AI-generated summaries, templates to help streamline notes, and cover creations.

Samsung and Google are also working together for new AI experiences. This takes the form of “Circle to Search”. This allows users to search for anything they want on their Galaxy S24’s screen by circling, highlighting, or tapping on objects on their display. So, if you need more context about an item you saw in a video, Circle to Search will make it easier for you to identify and learn more about it.

Pricing & availability

The good news is that Samsung has not increased the prices for the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+. The bad news is that the Ultra model has jumped in price by $100./

If you’re hoping to save some money, then you might want to consider placing a pre-order. Samsung has announced an offer where customers who pre-order and purchase the phone from Samsung.com can receive $100 in Samsung Credit which can then be used to offset the price of the phones.

Pre-orders will go live today and the Samsung Galaxy S24 series will be available on the 31st of January.

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