Trying to improve to Samsung’s latest Android smartphone? You possibly can select from the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, or Galaxy S24 Ultra. These handsets share most of the identical specs but additionally have a number of particular options that make every one stand out. So which Galaxy S24 mannequin must you purchase? We break all of it down that will help you select.
Up to date January 2024: We have eliminated preorder language and added our ideas on the {hardware} that we have now examined.
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What’s New in All 3 Telephones
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
The Galaxy S24 lineup would not add dramatically new hardware features over final 12 months’s Galaxy S23 range. Let’s begin with the specs all three telephones share. They’re all powered by the identical Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. The AMOLED show on ’em helps a 120-Hz screen refresh rate, every with the aptitude to decrease that right down to 1 Hz to save lots of battery life if not a lot is going on on the display screen. These screens can all additionally hit as much as 2,600 nits in peak brightness, making them among the brightest smartphone shows round.
These smartphones have the standard slate of options like an IP68 water resistance ranking, 5G connectivity, and wi-fi charging. (The rising Qi2 wireless charging tech isn’t supported on the brand new Galaxies, however the present Qi customary is.) Samsung is promising seven years of working system upgrades and safety updates, matching Google’s Pixel 8 series. There are additionally a handful of latest good software program AI options obtainable throughout all three handsets, dubbed “Galaxy AI.” I talk about them in greater detail here. OK, now let’s go over how they’re completely different.
Greatest for Most
The Galaxy S24 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is finest fitted to lovers of smaller telephones as is straightforward to make use of one-handed. Technically, it is a tad larger than final 12 months’s S23 with its 6.2-inch display screen, however the cellphone’s dimensions aren’t all that completely different. Samsung shaved down the bezels on the display screen to make this doable. The S24 is the one mannequin that begins with 8 GB of RAM—the remaining have extra—which is a lot sufficient for many smartphone duties. It nonetheless solely comes with 128 GB of inner storage, however you possibly can improve that to 256 GB. Since it is the smallest, it has the bottom battery capability at 4,000 mAh, however I routinely managed to get by a full day of use with round 15 % left every evening, even with six hours of screen-on time. In the event you’re a heavy consumer, you will most likely wish to carry a power bank. It is protected by extra-tough Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back and front and has an aluminum body which makes it sturdy.
Greatest for Huge-Display screen Lovers
All the things above rings true for the Galaxy S24+ (8/10, WIRED Recommends), besides it has a bigger 6.7-inch show. Get this when you do not take care of the Extremely however nonetheless need the bigger display screen. A much bigger measurement additionally means a much bigger battery—the 4,900-mAh cell hit seven hours of screen-on time with 24 % left in my testing. You will seemingly have sufficient juice to final a day after which the next morning. This one begins with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of inner storage, which is upgradeable to 512 GB. The cameras are the identical as the usual S24: a 50-megapixel principal digital camera is joined by a 12-megapixel ultrawide, and a 10-megapixel telephoto providing 3X optical zoom. There is a 12-megapixel selfie digital camera on the entrance.
Greatest for Digicam and Stylus Fiends
The 6.8-inch Galaxy S24 Extremely (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the most important of the lot, and it ditches aluminum for titanium, which is a extra sturdy materials. The titanium skeleton is meant to make it extra light-weight too, however you will not discover a lot weight financial savings right here over final 12 months’s S23 Extremely. Additionally distinctive is the duvet glass, which is constructed from Corning’s new Gorilla Armor, which the corporate says is its most scratch-resistant materials to this point. Time will inform. There is a 5,000-mAh battery cell to match its measurement, and I used to be in a position to hit six hours of display screen time with 32 % left, so you possibly can simply take it to day two on a single cost.
It is nonetheless the one mannequin within the lineup with a built-in S Pen stylus, which is accessible from the underside fringe of the cellphone. In the event you wish to doodle or are inclined to signal quite a lot of paperwork in your cellphone, then it is perhaps value it. Just like the S24+, it has 12 GB of RAM and begins with 256 GB of storage, however you possibly can improve the storage to 1 TB when you want that a lot house. As for the cameras, it shares an identical 12-megapixel ultrawide and 3X optical zoom digital camera, however the major sensor is a 200-megapixel digital camera, and there is an extra 50-megapixel 5X optical zoom digital camera. This was once a 10X zoom digital camera on its predecessor, so that you’re shedding out on the S23’s superior zoom functionality right here, however 5X zoom is probably going extra helpful than 10X zoom in most conditions.
There are different nice Android telephones. Telephones are unnecessarily costly as of late, and Samsung is pushing costs towards the excessive finish. You need not spend wherever close to $800 to get an ideal smartphone. Take a look at our Best Android Phones and Best Cheap Phones guides for added suggestions at costs which might be a lot simpler to abdomen.
Must you improve? If in case you have the Galaxy S23 or Galaxy S22, there is no motive to improve. You of us with a Galaxy S21 are most certainly nice too, until you are having points along with your battery or your display screen and might’t get it mounted. In case your S21 remains to be making you largely glad, save your money and wait one other 12 months (or two). Anybody with an older Samsung cellphone ought to really feel welcome to improve; simply know that these will not be your solely choices. Samsung telephones additionally routinely go on sale, so when you’re not in a rush, it is value ready for the subsequent massive vacation sale occasion to see how low costs drop for the S24 vary.
The place to Purchase the Galaxy S24 Collection Unlocked
We right here at WIRED at all times suggest you purchase your smartphone unlocked. It makes it simpler to modify between carriers, in contrast to telephones which might be offered locked to a specific provider’s community. Taking a locked cellphone to a brand new provider requires contacting your provider (or visiting their retail retailer) and leaping by a number of hoops to make the machine usable elsewhere. Going unlocked additionally makes it simpler to make use of data-only SIM playing cards when touring. There’s typically quite a bit much less bloatware put in on the telephones once you purchase one unlocked, and unlocked telephones usually obtain software program updates extra shortly than locked ones.
You possibly can rise up to $750 in on the spot credit score when you commerce in an eligible machine in good situation (the quantity varies on the machine you are shopping for). Samsung can also be providing 20 % off Samsung Care+ With Theft and Loss, which is its unintentional safety subscription service that gives limitless repairs, theft and loss protection, and same-day substitute and setup of a brand new machine. It prices $12 monthly proper now (it is often $15).
In the event you purchase from Amazon, you may get a free $50 Amazon.com present card (see the code under the value) for the S24, $150 for the S24+, and $200 for the S24 Extremely. There’s an choice to bundle Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro earbuds, which can allow you to save around $20 since they’re usually obtainable on Amazon for $170.
It can save you as much as $600 on the S24, or as much as $750 for the S24+ and S24 Ultra when you commerce in an eligible machine. Greatest Purchase is providing a $50 present card and an Xbox Recreation Move Final 1-month membership with each buy of the S24. That goes as much as a $100 present card with the S24+ and a $150 for the Extremely.
Wi-fi Provider Offers for the Galaxy S24 Collection
In the event you want to only get your smartphone by your provider, here is what the large three are providing.
- Verizon is providing as much as $800 off the Galaxy S24, or as much as $1,000 off the Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra when you add a brand new line with a choose limitless plan and commerce in an eligible mannequin. The financial savings come within the type of invoice credit over 30 months. You too can rise up to $350 in promotional credit score over 36 months when you add a Galaxy Watch to your order.
- AT&T is matching Verizon with practically the identical trade-in promotion for the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra, utilized over 36 months in invoice credit. Nevertheless, you may as well get a Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 5G if you buy the cellphone on an installment plan and commerce in a tool, select or improve to a limiteless plan, after which add the Tab A9+ to your cart. You will have to ship your previous machine to AT&T first. You will be seeing the financial savings as $270 in invoice credit. In the event you add an adjunct to your cart as you purchase a cellphone, you may as well save as much as 50 % off.
- T-Cellular is providing as much as $1,000 off all three Galaxy S24 devices offered you are on a particular limitless plan and are buying and selling in an eligible machine. You too can simply add one other cellphone line to your plan with out buying and selling in a tool to participate in the identical promotion.
