Samsung Galaxy S24 series launched in January earlier this year and after using the Galaxy S24 for about 2 weeks, we have compiled our thoughts in this detailed review of the compact flagship from the brand. Is it worth spending Rs 79,999 on it or not? Read further and decide for yourself.
Build & Design
Samsung usually opts for a minimal design approach that appeals to the masses and it did so with the Galaxy S23, now followed by the Galaxy S24. The rear design of the S24 is identical to the S23 and the overall compact form factor as well. In fact, you cannot distinguish between the two when looking from a distance.
However, it’s the in-hand feel that has been refined further. The completely flat edges give off a more premium feel and definitely an iPhone vibe. But that doesn’t mean the design is a copy. The flatter sides also offer better grip, making the design more functional. Moreover, the Armour Aluminium frame now has a matte finish, which I like better compared to the glossy finish on the predecessors.
Due to its compactness, you can reach all the corners of the screen with one hand. Compactness combined with the refreshed flat frame accounts for a spectacular in-hand experience. The buttons are now also slightly bigger in size while being tactile. The design is also IP68 rated so using it in rain shouldn’t be an issue.
As for the haptics, they are identical to last year’s S23. While they feel premium, they still do not beat the Haptics of the OnePlus 12 in terms of how strong the vibration is. The stereo speaker setup sounds excellent with a balanced sound signature and adequately loud.
Display
The 6.1-inch full-HD+ Dynamic AMOLED Display is protected with Gorilla Glass Victus 2, the same as the rear panel. While it doesn’t sport the Gorilla Armour with the anti-reflective properties as in the S24 Ultra, this display is still quite capable.
It is sharp and produces natural colours. Samsung will be pushing out an update to add vividness to the colours,, which I felt was considerably less compared to the Galaxy S23 as the colours looked washed out.
Aside from that, the viewing angles are impressive, and so is the brightness, which has pumped up from a peak of 1750 nits (on S23) to 2600 nits. In Netflix, the display supports HDR 10 as well as Widevine L1 so there are no issues in those areas as well. Watching movies and videos on this display was a visual treat, also thanks to the slim and uniform bezels around which add to the aesthetic appeal and aren’t much of a distraction.
There’s an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor at the bottom for security, which works faster than optical Sensors like the one seen on the OnePlus 12. However, the OnePlus 12 has a better overall panel if we compare the specs of the two.
Performance & Software
The Galaxy S24 packs the Exynos 2400 Chipset in India, paired with 8GB RAM and 256GB in the base model and 512GB storage in the top-end one. I had my doubts about the Exynos 2400 chipset as Samsung is using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the device in the US and Canada.
Whenever Samsung has deployed such a strategy, its Exynos Processor has come out to be the poorer one. However, I was surprised that Samsung finally did justice with the chip and made it nearly as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, if not identical, while being efficient.
It won’t be wrong to say that Samsung has finally cracked the Exynos game. The Exynos 2400 has a deca-core setup, and this chip has been nothing short of impressive in daily use, which was also an issue in the past with these processors. The Galaxy S24 flies with most tasks and handles everything without breaking a sweat.
The RAM management is more than decent while there have been no stutters across the user interface. The device does get warm during tasks such as downloading, but it’s well under control and nothing to worry about. This means thermals are also well put together, combined with the larger vapour chamber over the S23.
I had no issues while gaming as well. It could handle heavy graphics in titles but with some amount of heat.
As for software, this is where Samsung has put in most efforts. It comes preloaded with One UI 6.1 based on Android 14, and Samsung claims the device will get seven years of OS updates. With how well Exynos 2400 has been tuned, we think that might just be possible but isn’t necessary as 4 to 5 years is the sweet spot.
As for the UI, it’s typical One UI with tweaked animations over One UI 6.0. These look and feel much smoother and more refined, upping the experience in daily use.
Samsung is also banking on AI features such as the new Photo editor. The new editor can move or remove objects and can also resize the photo generating more content around the edges to fill in any missing pieces. So far, with the majority of the images, the results have been excellent. Yes, the editing can be spotted if you go looking for it, but if you don’t, the edited photos are pretty promising.
Samsung keyboard also has AI features that can change the writing style and tone of your text and can also check for grammatical mistakes. Features like the interpreter mode, real-time translation in calls, and summarised web pages in Samsung Internet work well, too.
More than these, I used the generative AI wallpaper feature that can create various types of walls based on the prompts. Once again, the wallpapers that were being shown were beautiful and detailed. However, the Resolution of these wallpapers could have been higher.
For added security and privacy, Samsung gives you the option to enable the processing of data for AI features locally on the device instead of online processing, which is appreciated. The circle-to-search feature, where you can tap and hold on to the gesture bar and circle anything on the screen to search for it, is a feature that I feel will be useful for many.
There are also new AOD options, including the one where the device can show the wallpaper on the always-on display. If it’s a live wallpaper, the animation seamlessly blends with the lock screen when you wake up the phone. It’s an excellent customisation feature that has been implemented nicely. Do note that it would drain more battery than usual, though.
There’s also a new “When to show” setting for the AOD, which says “Auto”. When this is enabled, the AOD will automatically switch off when it detects that your phone is in a dark place such as your pocket and will turn it off to save battery.
Battery Backup
The Galaxy S24 packs a 4000mAh battery with 25W fast wired charging and 15W wireless charging. While the battery size may seem small, as I mentioned before, Samsung has tuned the software and processor well with each other, which helped the battery last me a day easily.
Even with some gaming, browsing, watching videos and scrolling social media, I ended 23 hours of use with around 11% remaining with a five-hour 10m screen-on time, which is exceptionally good. Also, this included the wallpaper always-on display turned on all the time except for at night, which further enhanced its excellence.
With the regular AOD without wallpaper or with it completely turned off, I could easily touch the 6-hour mark in terms of screen-on time. However, these stats were primarily recorded when we were on Wi-Fi. Turning on 5G does take a hit on the backup, where the Screen-on time and usage time will drop.
Charging time is something that needs to be improved now. Samsung has been opting for 25W Fast charging for a while now, which takes around 1 hour and 10 minutes to charge from 0 to 100.
The competition, including the OnePlus 12 or even the iQOO 12, not only have a bigger battery but much faster up to 120W charging and 50W wireless charging (on the OnePlus 12).
Cameras
The Galaxy S24 gets a triple rear camera setup, including a 50MP primary wide camera with f/1.8 aperture, multi-directional PDAF and OIS. Then there’s a 10MP telephoto sensor with 3x Optical Zoom support, an f/2.4 aperture, OIS, PDAF and a 12MP ultra-wide sensor with an f/2.2 Aperture and 120-degree FoV. Next, it has a 12MP f/2.2 front-facing camera.
The cameras on the Galaxy S24 are the same as the Galaxy S23 and while that may not be the bad thing, we think Samsung can now do better in this area. The new Super HDR feature works well and shows a wider spectrum of colours, even on the S24’s screen itself. As usual, the photos are sharp and vivid, with colours with exposure levels under control. The overall output from this sensor is quite decent, but again, it could have been better considering other flagships such as iQOO 12, Vivo X100, and more are catching up.
The shots from the ultra-wide angle sensor are, again, decent. There’s no colour shift of sorts over the primary sensor, and the shades remain contrasting. On the other hand, distortion at the edges could have been better. Moreover, we feel the detailing and sharpness of the photos could have also been improved as we noticed slight noise in the images from such shots.
The telephoto sensor has been well tuned, though, as shots zoomed in by up to 2x and 3x have more than enough details. Moreover, the HDR handles the colours very well, and such photos are a treat to look at. Even the portrait shots have a good amount of natural-looking bokeh with accurate EDGE detection.
Selfie shots from the 12MP sensor have decent skin tones and impressive sharpness. The bokeh effect can be inconsistent at times, but the overall selfie looks excellent in most lighting conditions.
The sensor with a high level of detailing and excellent colour reproduction well handles shots under low-light conditions. There’s no noise in the photo, and the results seem promising. Similar is the situation with shots clicked under artificial lighting. As you can notice in the shot above, the scratches on the case are clearly visible, even to the naked eye.
With night shots as well, the camera doesn’t disappoint. It doesn’t seem to struggle in such conditions, and turning on Night mode does bring a noticeable difference to the photo with exposure levels going up. Detailing also increases to some extent.
