Samsung held its highly anticipated Unpacked 2024 event on February 1st, where it unveiled the next generation Galaxy S24 lineup of premium flagship smartphones. The new Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra models introduce groundbreaking improvements in AI, camera technology, performance, and software support.
Revolutionary Camera System Powered by AI Shows Massive Upgrades
The star of the show was the Galaxy S24 Ultra and its astonishing new camera system that leverages Samsung’s latest advancements in artificial intelligence and computational photography.
Key camera specs and features of the S24 Ultra include:
- 200MP primary wide camera
- 50MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom
- 12MP ultra-wide camera
- New ‘AI Vision Booster’ technology that enhances images through on-device AI
- ‘Astro Hyperlapse’ feature for astrophotography timelapses
According to hands-on testing and analysis from experts, the S24 Ultra delivers substantially better image quality compared to even the impressive S23 Ultra. The flagship produces richer colors, retains more fine details, and excels in challenging lighting scenarios like low light, backlighting, and high contrast scenes.
Samsung also touted cutting-edge video improvements like 8K video recording with reduced noise and higher dynamic range. The phones can shift focus automatically between subjects when recording video as well.
Dramatic Leap in AI Capabilities Across Galaxy Experience
But it’s not just the camera hardware and image processing getting an AI boost. Samsung focused heavily on expanding AI functionalities deeper into the software experience.
The Galaxy S24 lineup ships with a new version of OneUI (5.1) that introduces helpful AI-powered productivity features:
- AI Meeting Assistant that can join meetings automatically, take notes with timestamps, and share recaps afterwards
- AI Vocabulary Assistant that defines unfamiliar words
- Text and chat summarization
- Real-time subtitles for videos
- Enhanced Bixby voice assistant with natural language understanding
Bixby in particular sees improvements like easier voice activation without saying “Hi Bixby”, and support for Multi-Command mode to chain together requests in one sentence.
Samsung’s stock apps also gain AI powers. The Samsung Keyboard learns your writing style over time to suggest personalized autocorrections. Samsung Notes can recognize and convert handwritten notes into typed text. The Gallery app automatically tags people, objects, locations in photos using AI scene recognition.
Up to 7 Years of Software Updates Across All S24 Models
In a game-changing move for Android phones, Samsung announced that every phone in the S24 lineup will receive up to 7 years of Android OS updates, matching Apple’s industry-leading software update support.
This shatters the typical 3 years of updates provided for Android flagships. By keeping devices updated longer, Samsung aims to reduce e-waste and deliver continually improving AI features over time without customers needing to upgrade hardware frequently.
Premium Powerhouse Performance
Under the hood, the Galaxy S24 series sports cutting-edge next-gen mobile chipsets:
- Exynos 2400 (global models)
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (North America models)
These 4nm processors enable dramatic leaps in AI, graphics, photography, gaming performance compared to last year’s models, while improving battery efficiency.
The phones also introduce substantially faster UFS 4.0 storage and LPDDR5X RAM for lightning quick app launching and multitasking.
Vapor chamber cooling systems allow the phones to sustain peak performance for longer without thermal throttling. This benefits gaming and the energy-intensive new AI capabilities.
Stunning High Refresh Rate Displays with Higher Touch Sensitivity
The smartphones feature gorgeous curved displays with sharp Quad HD+ resolution and support for refresh rates up to 120Hz for super fluid scrolling and animations.
In a unique move, Samsung developed new touchscreen digitizers that offer 10% higher touch sensitivity compared to the S23 series. This should lead to better precision and response when using pens for drawing or writing.
Premium Design and Colors
The Galaxy S24 series sports a refined, elegant premium design language with curved front and back glass panels sandwiching an armor aluminum frame. The rear glass backs add a luxurious soft-touch, anti-fingerprint matte finish this year.
Samsung is releasing the phones in a vibrant range of nature-inspired color options:
- Phantom Black
- Cotton Flower (Cream)
- Botanic Green
- Misty Lilac
A lighter Botanic Green will be exclusive to the highest-end 1TB S24 Ultra model.
Enhanced Durability with IP68 Water Resistance
While featuring slimmer bezels, Samsung retained the sturdy Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front and back on the devices. Combined with aluminum frames, the phones achieve IP68 certification for water and dust resistance.
This allows the S24 models to withstand submersion in 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes. durability against accidental drops is also better compared to past generations.
Summary of Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra Differences
The S24 series provides tiers of choices catering to varying customer needs and budgets. Here is a comparison of how the models differ:
| Feature | S24 | S24 Plus | S24 Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen size | 6.3″ | 6.6″ | 6.8″ |
| Screen resolution | FHD+ | FHD+ | Quad HD+ |
| Refresh rate | 48-120Hz | 48-120Hz | 1-120Hz |
| Rear cameras | 50MP Triple | 50MP Triple | 200MP + 50MP + 12MP Quad |
| Telephoto reach | 3x Optical | 3x Optical | 5x Optical |
| Internal storage | 128/256GB | 256/512GB | 256GB/512GB/1TB |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB | 12GB |
| Battery capacity | 4700 mAh | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Charging speed | 45W | 45W | 65W |
| S Pen support | No | No | Yes |
| Weight | 168g | 195g | 234g |
While the S24 and S24 Plus still offer compelling upgrades over last year’s models, the S24 Ultra stands out as Samsung’s no-compromise photography and productivity flagship powerhouse.
Release Date and Pricing
The Samsung Galaxy S24 series is launching on February 17th, 2023 globally.
Pricing starts at:
- Galaxy S24: $799
- Galaxy S24 Plus: $999
- Galaxy S24 Ultra: $1,199
Samsung is offering several preorder perk options including up to $100 Samsung Credit, discounted bundle deals with the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Buds, and generous trade-in discounts of up to $1,000 for recent phones like S22 or S23 models.
What This Means for the Smartphone Market
Samsung is raising the bar tremendously for premium Android flagships and forcing the smartphone industry at large to step up their game in areas like computational photography, on-device AI acceleration, software longevity, and high refresh rate displays.
The company is also distancing itself from rivals by heavily investing in ecosystem integration combining phones with wearables, tablets, Windows PCs, appliances, and more. Seamless connectivity and synergies between Samsung products will be a growing focus.
For the Android market, many manufacturers may struggle to keep up with the blistering pace of innovation set by the leading Galaxy S24 series. The pressure will also mount on Apple to match or exceed some of Samsung’s advancements with the eventual iPhone 15, particularly in AI and camera capabilities.
One thing is for certain – the future of smartphones looks brighter than ever in 2023 and beyond thanks to vigorous competition driving rapid innovation from giants like Samsung and Apple. Consumers worldwide can look forward to phones that work even harder for them as AI assistants enhance productivity in transformative new ways.
To err is human, but AI does it too. Whilst factual data is used in the production of these articles, the content is written entirely by AI. Double check any facts you intend to rely on with another source.
