I tested all the new Samsung Galaxy S24 phones and these are the coolest new features you should know about

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Samsung begins the year 2024 with great enthusiasm. At the Consumer Electronics Show, the technology giant presented a home robot with artificial intelligence and new televisions. Now, at its own Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose, Samsung lifted the curtain on its latest generation of smartphones.

No, not the successors to the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flips that were introduced in July 2023, but to the Galaxy S line of standard smartphones that typically launch at the beginning of the year. For 2024, the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra maintain an existing design language, but speed things up, add some ai features, and improve optics.

The S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra are now available for pre-order, and Samsung is offering compelling reasons to make the jump. Below we share how you can pre-order and the most exciting new features.

How to reserve the Galaxy S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra

Samsung is offering some impressive trade-in deals that make the $800 S24, $1,000 S24+, and $1,300 S24 Ultra significantly more affordable. By ordering the $1,300 S24 Ultra, eligible device trade-ins can drop the price up to $970, and you can see the value through Samsung's trade-in tool before locking it in.

Plus, they'll instantly double your storage from 128GB to 256GB on the S24, or from 256GB to 512GB and 512GB to 1TB on the S24+ or S24 Ultra. You'll even get a $100 Samsung credit that you can use on accessories or another device.

Samsung's Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra will officially launch on January 31, and that's the soonest you can expect the phones to ship. However, pre-ordering as soon as possible will ensure faster delivery.

• Galaxy S24, from $800 at Samsung
• Galaxy S24+, from $1,000 at Samsung
• Galaxy S24 Ultra, from $1,300 at Samsung

Galaxy S24 Ultra: what you need to know

The S24 Ultra is the most premium non-foldable smartphone in Samsung's lineup. It starts with a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display that's a pleasure to take photos, watch a movie, scroll through TikTok, or even browse the web. Samsung finally decided to make it completely flat this year, which means it's more comfortable to write notes on the smartphone with the S-Pen.

While you'll still see some reflections on the screen, it's better equipped thanks to Corning Gorilla Armor, which reduces reflections, and Samsung has increased the maximum brightness to 2,600 nits here (it's a big jump from the 1,750 on the S23 Ultra). This way, you will be able to see details on the screen even on a very sunny day or under bright fluorescent lights.

In terms of design, the S24 Ultra looks a lot like the S23 Ultra with one key material change. Just as the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max were Apple's first titanium smartphones, the S24 Ultra is Samsung's first titanium-built smartphone. After some time of practice, I can say that it definitely felt a little heavier and more durable. Samsung is also launching four different shades of Ultra (gray, black, purple and yellow) along with additional colors that will be exclusive to the brand's online site.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip designed for Galaxy powers the S24 Ultra, as well as the S24 and S24+. It's paired with 12GB of RAM, which should provide enough power to allow you to perform any imaginable task you want to perform. You should also get enough daily use time, if not more, with the 5000 mAh battery.

These phones will look quite familiar to anyone who's used a Galaxy smartphone in the past (they run Android 14 with Samsung's OneUI 6.1), but they have a number of new features under the Galaxy ai umbrella. Yes, ai and generative ai are coming to Samsung smartphones and luckily for us, they are all quite useful.

A feature called Circle to Find will let you hold down the home button and use your finger (or the S-Pen on the Ultra) to circle something on the screen and get more information about it. It could be a stylish shoe in an Instagram post, a plant in the background of a video, or even a word in text.

In partnership with Google, you'll be able to view search results without opening another app. Built into Samsung's own keyboard will be some generative ai tools that can help you adjust the tone of a message or even help you type. Within the Samsung Notes app, you can have it summarize handwritten or processed text, plus you can correct spelling errors in handwritten notes.

The other feature I'll highlight is Live Translate, which can effectively translate your voice into any language the other person speaking detects. It happens at near real-time speed. So, let's say you're in a new country where you don't speak the language and you need to call a taxi. This could allow you to do just that.

In terms of photography and videography, Samsung promises significant improvements in images taken in low lighting conditions and extreme zooms. The S24 Ultra still features a 200-megapixel wide-angle main camera, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera, a 10-megapixel telephoto camera, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera. That allows you to shoot from 0.5x up to 100x. There are even new ai editing features that allow you to completely edit the background.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra costs $100 more than the rest of the new lineup, but if you rent it or trade in a current device, you'll still get plenty of value and one of the most premium smartphones. It's available for pre-order starting at $1,300 now and will begin shipping on January 31.

Galaxy S24 and S24+: what you need to know

Like the S24 Ultra, the S24 and S24+ come with the same list of Galaxy ai features out of the box, and that's good news. “Live Translate stands out, but I can't wait to get Chat Assist and the translator on. application at your own pace also in the real world.

The improved photo editing suite, which includes the ability to remove a reflection, will make the triple camera setup even more useful on the S24 and S24+. Both devices still feature a 50-megapixel main wide-angle sensor, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera for up to 3x optical zoom and 10x space zoom.

Samsung is sticking with an aluminum and stainless steel build for the more affordable S24 ($800 and $1,000, respectively), but there are four new colors to choose from: Onyx Black, Marble Grey, Cobalt Violet, and Amber Yellow. The Galaxy S24 lands with a 6.2-inch FHD+ display, which should be ideal for everyday use and is slightly larger than the S23's display. While the S24+ is also slightly larger at 6.7 inches, the most interesting upgrade is the QHD+ display, which brings it in line with the S24 Ultra.

You can expect all-day battery life from the S24 (4000 mAh) and S24+ (4900 mAh), and when it's time to recharge them, you can place them on a Qi-enabled wireless charger or plug them in via USB-C . port.

Like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the S24 and S24+ are powered by Qualcomm's latest Galaxy processor. The only difference is that the base Galaxy S24 pairs it with 8GB of RAM, while the S24+ goes up to 12GB of RAM. Still, there should be enough power for the new ai features and any apps you want to use on either phone.

While the Galaxy S24 or S24+ phones aren't a complete redesign, they feature Samsung's flagship smartphones and offer some interesting new features.

Considering Samsung's rise in trade-in offers, trading in an S23 or S23+ for these phones could make sense. Still, you'd probably be more inclined to do so if you have an S21, S20, or S10 to see the most significant jump in terms of screen and camera quality, as well as overall performance.

Galaxy S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra specifications