Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely overview: Doing (and costing) essentially the most

Consider the most important, most complex Swiss Military Knife you’ve ever seen, one with extra instruments than you can ever use. Now, give it a USB-C port, a stylus, and 4 cameras on the again. Congratulations, you’ve acquired the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely. That is likely to be oversimplifying probably the most succesful Android telephones in the marketplace, however the analogy isn’t too far off. Let’s get into our Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely overview, and also you’ll see what I imply.

There’s just one place to start out with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely, and that’s with AI — Galaxy AI, particularly. It’s the principle occasion, the large thought, no matter else you wish to name it. Samsung talked about the phrase a whopping 50 instances throughout its first Unpacked occasion of 2024, promising a laundry record of options to make your smartphone smarter and much more useful. Now, take that with a grain of salt as a result of we’re nonetheless very a lot within the experimentation part of on-device AI, however I’ve discovered a couple of Galaxy AI options that ought to in all probability stick round.

We’ll come again to the images options like Photograph Help (basically Samsung’s model of Magic Editor) later, however there are many different methods to make texting, calling, and even note-taking simpler. One which I’ve been utilizing is Chat Help, which lives throughout the Samsung Keyboard. It reads by messages as you sort them, providing ideas for spelling and grammar, however it may possibly additionally provide you with various tones to strive. Chat Help has tones like Skilled and Informal to be used with bosses and coworkers and a #Social tone, which masses your message with emojis and hashtags, like a tweet from again when X was Twitter.

As a author, I can often do with out Chat Help, however the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s Word Help is a lifesaver. It covers a couple of completely different AI options, together with the flexibility to summarize a webpage right into a extra concise set of notes, one thing I’ve sorely wanted whereas researching how on-device AI works. Word Help additionally covers remodeling my horrendous S Pen handwriting into legible notes when I’ve to scribble out a fast reminder throughout a Zoom content material assembly.

A number of the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s extra refined AI options, nevertheless, are these co-developed with Google. Choices like Circle to Search and the flexibility to generate wallpapers primarily based on a couple of prompts are already out there on the Pixel 8 collection, and now they’re on Samsung’s newest flagships as nicely. Circle to Search works like Google Lens, although it’s a bit simpler to regulate now that you may pick particular components from a extra cluttered picture. Samsung’s generative wallpapers are the identical as these on the Pixel 8 Professional, proper all the way down to the record of prompts you possibly can decide from, however they’re enjoyable both means.

Our Galaxy S24 Extremely additionally got here with Android 14 and One UI 6.1 out of the field. Samsung’s Android 14 expertise doesn’t really feel a lot completely different from its earlier setup, although it has a couple of good tweaks. The short settings menu has been slimmed down, shifting to smaller buttons that appear to drift above your house display reasonably than block it out. Samsung’s color-coordinated theming is best, too, with extra app icons matching your background colour as a substitute of completely the first-party choices. The very best software program information is that the Galaxy S24 collection is in line for seven years of upgrades — a stable bump from its earlier 4 years of Android variations and 5 years of safety patches, and one which places it again in step with Google relating to replace insurance policies.

As soon as you progress previous the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s AI-fueled coronary heart, you’re left with the telephone itself. It looks like a Galaxy S23 Extremely with a bit extra polish throughout all facets. The two telephones look nearly equivalent, with boxy corners, digicam rings that dot the satin-textured rear glass, and an S Pen that hides away alongside the underside edge. So, when you like Samsung’s current flagship design, you’ll in all probability discover loads to love in regards to the up to date model. And but, these modifications supply simply sufficient quality-of-life enchancment to make them price mentioning.

For starters, Armor Aluminum is out, and titanium is in. Apple already switched from stainless-steel to titanium on its iPhone 15 Professional collection, and now it’s Samsung’s flip. Nevertheless, Samsung is upgrading its body for a really completely different motive. Whereas Apple made the change to save lots of a couple of grams from its hefty Professional fashions, the Galaxy S24 Extremely adopted titanium purely for its improved sturdiness. It solely shaved a few gram off the load of the earlier Galaxy S23 Extremely, however the titanium body has a slight texture, making it way more snug in hand than the earlier mannequin. Oh, and the textured end is pleasingly fingerprint-averse, too.

Samsung additionally upgraded its top-tier flagship to the most recent and best glass that Corning has to supply — as regular. The sweeping 6.8-inch Dynamic 2x AMOLED is now product of a particular low-glare sheet of Gorilla Armor, whereas the remainder of the Galaxy S24 collection hangs onto Gorilla Glass Victus 2. We’ll have to attend and see if Gorilla Armor is the hardest glass that Corning has to supply, however the glare-resistant remedy is already a simple win for Samsung. It affords an evening and day distinction in the way it handles vivid daylight in comparison with the earlier show, making it a lot simpler to make use of in broad daylight. The Galaxy S24 Extremely additionally tops out at 2,600 nits of peak brightness, which doesn’t damage its efficiency on sunny days.

Samsung’s remaining show modification might be the one you’ll discover first — it’s flat. The Galaxy S24 Extremely now matches its extra inexpensive siblings by dropping the curved edges, so that you now not have to fret about unintended presses or squeezes. As somebody with smaller arms, I welcome the change, as I can hold the body in a tighter grip whereas utilizing this beast of a telephone with two arms. Granted, the swap leads to barely extra noticeable aspect bezels, however I’d name it a good commerce.

Though its Galaxy AI options briefly contact on the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s fame as an influence consumer’s finest pal, there’s much more to cowl in relation to efficiency. For starters, Samsung has lastly completed away with cut up ranges of RAM, placing all Galaxy S24 Extremely configurations on equal footing with 12GB as a substitute of limiting the bottom mannequin to simply 8GB. The elevated RAM pairs properly with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, an overclocked model of Qualcomm’s newest silicon to offer Samsung essentially the most energy attainable.

That further energy interprets to among the finest benchmarking scores in an Android telephone proper now. The Galaxy S24 Extremely topped the whole lot however the iPhone 15 Professional Max in our Geekbench 6 run, got here up only a hair in need of the ASUS ROG Cellphone 8 Professional (in its high-performance X-Mode) within the graphically intensive 3DMark assessments, and topped the charts in our PCMark race. Samsung’s sturdy numbers had been much less inspiring throughout our stress assessments, tailing off to extra modest outcomes after a couple of runs, however they had been nonetheless adequate to remain forward of most opponents. Though the Galaxy s24 Extremely was left behind by the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional, it achieved its outcomes with out attempting to burn a gap by our desks, that means that you can take pleasure in its efficiency, not like the ASUS mannequin. Take a look at our devoted Galaxy S24 benchmarks article for a deeper dive.

After all, none of this benchmarking efficiency means a factor if the day-to-day expertise suffers. Fortunately, we all know Samsung nicely sufficient to anticipate a consumer expertise matching its lofty lab numbers. I completely loved how your complete Galaxy S24 Extremely bundle got here collectively throughout my weeks with the telephone, providing greater than sufficient energy for gaming, social media, and its generative AI options with out ever actually coming near the thermal troubles of Google’s early technology Tensor choices.

The Galaxy S24 Extremely landed proper between a couple of of my busier intervals of labor journey, that means that it acquired to be my journey companion reasonably than a enterprise associate, powering my GPS and Spotify playlist for a drive from Baltimore to Philadelphia and again. Whereas in Philly for a pal’s birthday, I put the Galaxy S24 Extremely by loads of work as a go-to digicam for each stills and movies and likewise used it to stream the divisional spherical of the NFL playoffs utilizing T-Cell’s 5G community. Though the telephone warmed whereas streaming the sport, it by no means reached a degree the place it was uncomfortable to carry, nor did I really feel just like the battery drained too shortly.

Mentioning the battery, it hasn’t modified. I can nonetheless push the 5,000mAh cell past a day of combined utilization, averaging a day and 1 / 4 to a day and a half earlier than I’ve to succeed in for a charger. After all, after I’m leaning on Samsung’s generative AI capabilities, the outcomes are barely decrease, nearer to an excellent day. And sure, it’s simple to toss out anecdotal battery outcomes, however the Galaxy S24 Extremely backs it up within the lab, too.

We put it by a battery stress take a look at, which covers 4K video recording, 4K video playback, internet shopping, and a simulated Zoom name, amongst different widespread duties, with the Galaxy S24 Extremely popping out forward of its predecessor almost throughout the board. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 powered Samsung’s newest flagship to a forty five% enchancment in 4K video playback, in addition to smaller 16% bumps to gaming, internet shopping, and video recording. There’s a superb probability that Qualcomm’s extra environment friendly chipset is to thank for lots of the outcomes, although its superior picture processing comes with a tradeoff of 33% decrease digicam efficiency. All of because of this sure, the Galaxy S24 Extremely affords higher battery life than its predecessor, and you need to simply have the ability to push it previous a day of utilization, however you’ll wish to be conscious of how a lot time you spend on every job.

While you inevitably want a charger, the Galaxy S24 Extremely nonetheless helps 45W wired — with a USB PD PPS charger — and 15W wi-fi speeds. It takes a hair over an hour to cruise from an empty battery to a full one with a appropriate charger (no, there nonetheless isn’t one within the field), which is barely sooner than the earlier technology. Our wired charging take a look at confirmed a remaining time of about 62 minutes for the Galaxy S24 Extremely in comparison with round 64 minutes for the Galaxy S23 Extremely — an enchancment, however a minor one.

By now, you’ve in all probability picked up on the truth that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely will get numerous issues proper. It’s as highly effective as you possibly can ask for, delivers stable battery life and charging, and sports activities an upgraded body with more durable Corning Glass. Nevertheless, all that success comes at a price — each literal and figurative.

The literal half of that price comes within the type of a $100 worth bump unique to the Galaxy S24 Extremely. It calls for an eye-watering $1,299 on the base configuration, whereas the top-tier model with 1TB of storage reaches all the way in which to $1,659 — only a hair beneath the folding Galaxy Z Fold 5. After all, worth will increase occur, nevertheless it’s more durable to justify the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s bump once you break down what you’re getting — or reasonably, what others aren’t.

For starters, the Galaxy S24 and the Galaxy S24 Plus get entry to the identical Galaxy AI options because the Extremely. Which means you don’t must cross the $1,000 barrier to make use of Photograph Help, Chat Help, or translate your telephone calls from one language to a different in actual time. These two telephones additionally get the identical Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset within the US (or the Exynos 2400 in lots of world markets) and the identical seven years of software program updates. Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Extremely is the one one to get a titanium body, however even that doesn’t matter a lot when you add a protecting case.

Even the earlier generations of Galaxy gadgets will get entry to a few of Samsung’s finest AI options. The corporate inadvertently let slip that Circle to Search, Stay Translate, Word Help, and Photograph Help could be coming to a minimum of the Galaxy S23 collection, and also you received’t have to fret a few $100 worth bump on any of them.

There’s room for the literal price of the Galaxy S24 Extremely to extend, too, with Galaxy AI options solely at the moment assured to remain free by the top of 2025. Which means, must you select to maintain your Galaxy S24 Extremely by the top of its life cycle in seven years, you’ll in all probability spend 5 of these years paying for the AI-powered options that you simply already paid further for. After all, Samsung has but to element its plans for Galaxy AI previous the top of 2025, nevertheless it has instructed it’d offset among the anticipated subscription charges by introducing extra new options — we’ll simply have to attend and see.

As for the figurative half of the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s price, it’s a large telephone — there’s no means round it. Samsung’s 6.8-inch show would possibly supply extra display actual property than anybody wants, nevertheless it comes at the price of being nearly unattainable to make use of one-handed. Granted, the presence of the S Pen suggests that you simply’re not supposed to make use of one hand anyway, however most individuals received’t use a stylus always. Pair that with the huge rectangular body with its perpetually uncomfortable corners, and the Galaxy S24 Extremely turns into a tricky system to pocket for the smaller amongst us. Actually, I don’t at all times really feel like I’ve the pocket area for it, even when I wished to hold a telephone this large.

Circling again to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely’s AI options, simply do not forget that we’re nonetheless within the comparatively early days of on-device capabilities. As such, among the options are nonetheless hit and miss, together with the real-time translations and the Photograph Help edits. Whereas efficient for brief, casual chats, Samsung’s translations get tough across the edges with extra sophisticated sentences and topics. Not the entire Chat Help suggestions are significantly useful, both. The #Social tone, particularly, looks like an out-of-date throwback with an overabundance of hashtags and emojis that I’d have utilized in center faculty. Asking the Galaxy S24 Extremely to translate, transcribe, and summarize an extended textual content may also push its gears to their restrict, typically bailing on the duty midway by.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely’s digicam doesn’t look completely different from its predecessor’s, which is an effective factor. The Galaxy S23 Extremely earned its place as one of many finest digicam telephones we utilized in 2023 with a powerful mixture of long-range zoom and in-depth professional options, so it’s honest to anticipate the Galaxy S24 Extremely to fit proper within the earlier telephone’s place. It largely does — don’t fear — however there are extra modifications to speak about than people who meet the attention, together with many who happen after you press the shutter button.

We solely must spend a second or two on the {hardware} modifications, as there’s just one price mentioning. Samsung ditched its longstanding 10MP 10x optical telephoto sensor in favor of a shorter however greater decision 50MP 5x optical telephoto sensor. Which means the Galaxy S24 Extremely affords full-resolution photographs at 5x zoom and applies a sensor crop for optical high quality photos as much as 10x zoom, whereas the earlier Galaxy S23 Extremely used a mixture of digital zoom and post-processing for the whole lot between 3x and 10x zoom. The brand new sensor additionally packs a wider most aperture of f/3.4 as a substitute of f/4.9, which permits extra mild to succeed in the sensor in addition to a shallower depth of area.

Exterior the telephoto swap, the Galaxy S24 Extremely has the identical 200MP main sensor as its predecessor, full with a large f/1.7 aperture. It’s backed by 10MP 3x optical telephoto and 12MP ultrawide sensors, which stay unchanged from the earlier technology. The 12MP punch gap selfie digicam is unchanged, too.

Samsung’s default digicam app hasn’t modified, both — it’s nonetheless loaded with customizable capturing modes and a mountain of professional options. Nevertheless, the little Galaxy AI brand of stars pops up once you open your digicam roll or the Samsung Gallery app. It’s each the button you faucet on to start making AI-powered edits and the tiny watermark that exhibits up as a reminder that Samsung’s algorithms performed a task in your edited shot. Oh, and no, you possibly can’t eliminate the watermark utilizing AI, however you can crop it out of your shot — although which may additionally reduce out the edits you so rigorously generated. I’ll add some edited samples beneath, however first, a couple of unedited photographs.

Samsung’s 200MP main sensor delivers wonderful photographs in nearly any type of vivid lighting situation. Whether or not it’s the intense, sunny pagoda or the pair of flags within the shade, the Galaxy S24 Extremely captured loads of element and recreated correct colours — a welcome change from Samsung’s regular love of reds and greens. The close-up picture of the balloons additionally exhibits good textures on every, with some showing shinier, like the grey one to the appropriate, whereas others are extra matte. My portrait mode picture of a duck additionally exhibits a lovely depth of area, preserving the duck in focus however not instantly eliminating the whole lot round it with synthetic bokeh.

One facet of Samsung’s cameras that’s usually critiqued is its points with transferring targets, and sadly, that continues to be a problem right here. I received’t go into an excessive amount of element right here as my colleague Rita El Khoury has already completed that — take a look at her deep dive into how the Galaxy S24 Extremely handles folks and pets for samples.

The change from a 10x optical zoom to 5x additionally works nicely for Samsung in vivid daylight. Whereas the earlier Galaxy S23 Extremely would have required an excessive amount of post-processing for the 5x shot of the Domino Sugar manufacturing unit, the brand new digicam captures it at full decision earlier than binning all the way down to a 12.5MP remaining outcome. It picks up first rate particulars for being on the far aspect of a large harbor, with solely a slight shift within the colour profile the place the constructing displays on the water. Samsung’s 10x zoom shot makes use of a crop from the middle of the schedule, which isn’t fairly the identical as true optical high quality, nevertheless it’s a good commerce to get higher mid-range photographs. The manufacturing unit’s 30x and 100x zoom photos are noticeably softer, with a lot of the brick constructing being lowered to purple and white rectangles — appropriate for social media to point out off that you may zoom up to now, however that’s about it.

Testing the Galaxy S24 Extremely at night time delivered maybe essentially the most stunning outcomes throughout my time with the telephone. I’m used to calling Google’s newest flagship the nighttime king, however the Galaxy S24 Extremely turned in higher coloration in my selfie, extra particulars above the water line within the ultrawide pattern, and far, a lot better particulars within the 5x zoom picture of Mr. Trash Wheel. The final of these three outcomes might be because of the upper decision telephoto sensor, however Samsung’s Galaxy AI picture processing shines throughout your complete slate of outcomes.

Now, the modifying take a look at you’ve all been ready for… it’s good, however not nice. I expanded the picture of my espresso cup and shifted the angle to see how Samsung would sort out producing a part of my laptop computer, and it did simply wonderful. It recreated Apple’s Starlight end accurately however added a little bit of texture to the in any other case easy laptop computer and recreated the wooden grain of the desk as a collection of strains. One of many extra spectacular particulars is that Samsung reduce off the pot within the right spot and accurately guessed the lighting by a window that wasn’t throughout the body.

The pattern photograph of my cat tells an analogous story — shut however imperfect. It principally erased my hand and my blue shirt, however reasonably than extending the blue of my pants off the aspect of the picture, the Galaxy S24 Extremely halted it early, making my leg look extra like a pillow than a human leg. Samsung didn’t hassle to generate the remainder of my cat’s paw, although the bokeh does a fairly good job of hiding what would in all probability be a stunted paw in a clearer image.

I don’t have a lot to say in regards to the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s selfie digicam, primarily as a result of it hasn’t modified since final yr. It’s nonetheless a 12MP punch gap, which stays a extra dependable wager than the earlier 40MP monster from a couple of years again. Selfie cameras shouldn’t must bin by default, particularly once you’re in all probability not going to make use of the completed product for way more than social media. Samsung hasn’t modified its video capabilities an excessive amount of, both, providing as much as 8K high quality at as much as 30fps when utilizing Professional Video mode or 4K decision at as much as 120fps.

The Galaxy S24 Extremely is Samsung’s most refined extremely flagship to this point. Its flat show does away with unintended presses, whereas the titanium body is delightfully fingerprint-free, and it’s nonetheless robust to match the brilliance of Samsung’s high-end shows. The beast of a smartphone stays a dream for energy customers, too, with outstanding efficiency from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and several other Galaxy AI options stepping in to make calling, texting, and even note-taking simpler in your each day life.

We’ve come to anticipate greatness from Samsung’s Extremely yr in and yr out, and it continues to ship. The Galaxy S24 Extremely packs 4 extremely versatile rear cameras, providing among the finest zoom functionality you’ll discover on a flagship and a colour profile that’s slowly however absolutely inching towards pure. Galaxy AI has a task right here, too, particularly when eliminating undesirable objects out of your photographs. Combine in an replace promise that after once more leads the Android class (or a minimum of ties with Google), and it’s simple to see the Galaxy S24 Extremely incomes a spot in your pocket for a very long time.

Nevertheless, it’s simply as simple to cross over the Galaxy S24 Extremely as an improve you don’t want. Its $100 worth enhance is hard to justify when the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus didn’t get the identical remedy, and the Galaxy S24 Extremely appears to be lacking a killer motive to improve now that lots of its cloud-based Galaxy AI options have already been confirmed as coming to the older Galaxy S23 collection. Samsung’s titanium body isn’t vital, both, because it barely saves any weight, and also you’ll in all probability overlook it’s any completely different from Armor Aluminum as quickly as you set your telephone in a case.

In case you determine the Galaxy S24 Utlra isn’t for you, its finest various is only one step down the Samsung totem pole. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus ($1119.99 at Samsung) is the simplest member of the trio to suggest, providing the overwhelming majority of the Extremely expertise with out the complete brunt of the excessive price ticket. It’s only a tenth of an inch smaller at 6.7 inches however packs a 4,900mAh battery and equivalent charging specs to Samsung’s costliest flagship. As talked about, the Galaxy S24 Plus additionally will get the identical slate of Galaxy AI options, that means that you may circle to look, faucet into name or chat help, and edit your photographs with out the uncomfortable corners of the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s boxy body digging into your hand. You’ll must dwell with out the second telephoto sensor and the S Pen, however the financial savings are greater than worthwhile.

You may also determine to skip Samsung’s Galaxy ecosystem altogether, through which case it’s time to take a look at among the finest Galaxy S24 Extremely options.

The primary choice that springs to thoughts is Google’s Pixel 8 Professional ($999 at Amazon). Though priced in step with the extra inexpensive Galaxy S24 Plus, the Pixel 8 Professional is a real Galaxy S24 Extremely rival. It beat Samsung to the punch with Magic Editor for photographs, its long-term replace dedication, and even the swap from a curved show to a flat one. After all, the in-house Tensor G3 chip nonetheless doesn’t maintain a efficiency candle to Qualcomm’s highly effective Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, nor does the Pixel 8 Professional cost almost as shortly because the Galaxy S24 Extremely. Finally, although, selecting between these two might come all the way down to which taste of Android you favor — Google’s mild, stock-like expertise or Samsung’s heavier, feature-rich One UI.

One other wildcard price is the OnePlus 12 (on the product’s web site). It’s as soon as once more extra inexpensive than the Galaxy S24 Extremely (most telephones are), nevertheless it packs a spec sheet that punches nicely above its price ticket. The OnePlus 12 stuffs a large 5,400mAh battery into its slim body, then backs it with 80W wired charging and eventually brings again 50W wi-fi charging after a number of years on hiatus. It matches the Galaxy S24 Extremely with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset below the hood and both 12 or 16GB of RAM. The partnership with Hasselblad continues to repay for OnePlus, too, with a trio of highly effective, high-resolution sensors and a colour profile that’s come a great distance. That mentioned, the OnePlus 12 places the least emphasis on new AI-powered options, so it is likely to be one to keep away from when you’re trying to get generative.

Oh, and given the sky-high worth of the Galaxy S24 Extremely with 1TB of storage, it is likely to be price a foldable Android telephone as a greater use of your cash. Each the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 ($1799.99 at Samsung) and OnePlus Open ($1499.99 at OnePlus) are wonderful choices, with the previous providing lots of the similar software program options because the Galaxy S24 Extremely. It received’t obtain as many updates, nor does it have the identical slate of AI options, nevertheless it permits you to customise the inner and exterior shows independently — one thing most foldable telephones ignore. The OnePlus Open is a type of foldables, nevertheless it makes up for the limitation with a way more usable cowl show and lighter general building.

Must you select to enterprise outdoors of Android altogether, Apple’s iPhone 15 Professional Max ($1199 at Amazon) is the one iPhone price contemplating. It’s the one system to outpace the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in our Geekbench 6 scores, and Apple’s top-tier flagship stays the digicam to beat in relation to capturing smartphone video. It grabbed a titanium body earlier than Samsung did, and Apple has lastly softened its sharp iPhone edges, a minimum of just a little bit. The iPhone 15 Professional Max set the unique customary for software program replace commitments, and it continues to match Google and Samsung every time they enhance their promise. After all, you’ll must get used to iOS and its quirks, however you’ll lastly present up as a blue bubble to all your iMessage-toting mates.

All instructed, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely is a wonderful smartphone. It takes up the mantel of its predecessor and carries it additional, including a titanium body and several other Galaxy AI options to the combo whereas sustaining the already wonderful digicam setup. It’s Samsung’s most full expertise to this point, providing energy that may fulfill essentially the most demanding of customers at a worth that’s excessive sufficient to probably flip away nearly all others.