This year, the latest Samsung flagship S-series phone saw the S24 models embracing the AI trend by integrating what Samsung calls “Galaxy AI” into its latest lineup. What’s most impressive is the fact that these latest built-in functions enabled by AI aren’t just for show. There are actual benefits and quality improvements that come with it.

After spending 6 days with the phone, using it every day for work and fun, here’s what I think about it.

In the box

The S24+ package contains the essentials. Included in the box are the smartphone itself, a SIM-eject tool, and a Type-C charger. Samsung consistently embraces a minimalist approach in packaging, even for their flagship models, focusing on letting the product speak for itself.

Price Tag
256GB | 12 GB – RM 4,899
512GB | 12 GB – RM 5,399

But I’d prefer it if a phone of this price tag comes with at least a basic phone case/cover, preferably a translucent one so that owners can still show off the phone’s beautiful colour, but still protected against any accidental hits and falls.

Design and Build

The Galaxy S24+ has dimensions of 158.5mm x 75.9mm x 7.7mm, equivalent to 6.24 x 2.99 x 0.30 inches. In terms of size, the S24+ is nearly the same as last year’s S23+ model, and both phones weigh 196g, which is considered standard for modern smartphones. In contrast, the larger S24 Ultra weighs 232g and measures 162.3mm x 79mm x 8.6mm.

The phone features a front display panel and a backplate, both safeguarded by Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Additionally, its body is encased in an Armor Aluminium 2.0 frame, offering enhanced resistance to drops and scratches.

We got the ‘Amber Yellow’ model from Samsung is stunning in its aesthetic appeal. This phone is also available in a variety of other shades including Onyx Black, Marble Grey, Cobalt Violet, Jade Green, Sandstone Orange, and Sapphire Blue.

It is important to mention that the Jade Green, Sandstone Orange, and Sapphire Blue versions are exclusive to Samsung.com. These colours are available solely to customers who purchase the phone directly from Samsung’s website.

The phone boasts an IP68 rating, ensuring protection against dust and water, with water resistance of up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. There is no slot for external memory card.

Full Spec Sheet

Specs and performance

The device is equipped with the latest Android 14 and One UI 6.1, featuring the latest Exynos 2400 (4nm) chipset in Malaysia and most parts of the world. Whereas in the USA, Canada, and China, the same model is shipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

The phone is offered in two storage options – 256GB and 512GB, and both variants come with 12GB of RAM (vs 8GB of S23+) which is nice considering Samsung’s plan to make flagship phones viable with continuous updates and support for the next 5 years at least. The 12GB RAM on the S24+ will go a long way for users hoping for a longer reliability period from their phone.

The display on the S24+ features a 6.7” Dynamic LPTO AMOLED 2X screen, providing a QHD+ resolution (1,440 x 3,120 pixels) that is both vivid and detailed, a quality mirroring that of the Galaxy S24 Ultra for less money. It boasts an adaptive refresh rate ranging from 1-120Hz and reaches a peak brightness level of 2600 nits, making it the brightest adaptive display in a Galaxy device to date. The bezel is also slimmer compared to the past model but the difference to me is honestly negligible.

Performance-wise, the phone performed admirably (as expected) on all fronts but it does warm up every now and then when challenged with more tasks. It gets more obvious when the camera app is running – which isn’t surprising. But even so, the phone did not lag or freeze in the process, which is good.

Most of the games run comfortably on the S24+ from my tests. Some games would suggest medium to low graphic settings or 30 FPS by default but I ignored them and went for the max settings available. The phone still ran them with no complications other than the usual warming up when certain titles are played on 60 FPS max settings.

Diablo Immortal was an exception. The game didn’t allow for the Ultra settings to be selected at all, prompting an error that says the device does not support the feature (it did run fine on the next highest settings). But with time and future updates, the Ultra option should be available. On Monster Hunter Now, the game ran on Very High 60 FPS with no problem. The phone warmed up noticeably when I played Tower of Fantasy on Extreme settings, UHD, and 90 FPS. On 60 FPS, the phone’s temperature was fine.

It is worth noting that I didn’t use a phone cover for the S24+ when I was testing the device for games and performance. But if you plan on using one, I don’t expect that you’ll feel much of the phone’s warmth when you game.

Based on the specifications and my personal experience with daily usage, this year’s S-Plus model closely matches the specifications of an S-Ultra, more than any previous iteration.

Enter the Galaxy AI

The highlight of this year’s Galaxy S24 series is undoubtedly the arrival of the Galaxy AI feature that’s actually practical and convenient to use. The best thing about the Galaxy AI is that it operates natively without the need to go online, allowing you a worry-free usage in the event your data is unavailable.

But is the Galaxy AI so good that the S24 is a must-have? Here’s what it can actually do and how it works

• Real-time call translation
  

  This is a useful feature where the phone translates your calls in real time. The other person would talk in their language and you’d hear from your end, the phone’s translated speech whereas the other person would hear what your phone has translated from your voice into their language for them. It is worth noting that sometimes the translations can be amusing, so be sure to tell the other person that you are speaking using a translator software so some things might not be captured and conveyed properly.

  The phone can do up to 14 different languages including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Thai, German, and French. Bahasa Malaysia is not one of them but Samsung could add more languages in the future. To prepare the phone for translating any of the available languages, the user would first need to download the respective language pack which is thankfully not large. The German pack, for example, only takes up 400 MB of space. The Chinese one needs 505 MB.

• Real-time speech interpreter
  

  Using the same technology as above, the S24 models can also be used as an interpretation device. Perfect for tourists or when you’re practicing a new language.
  

• Samsung Keyboard – Translate anytime, anywhere.
  

  With the language pack downloaded, users can directly translate their text into a foreign language before sending it to their pals. This can be done by simply selecting the translation icon and then the languages you want the phone to translate to. Trying this on Telegram, I realised that the AI works wonders when I want to send out a translated message, but not so when I receive one in return. To translate the message back into English, I’d have to copy and paste it into the translation box which can be tiring but this is only on Telegram.

  On the more popular WhatsApp, the translation is seamless. Messages can be translated by tapping on the prompt that automatically appears when it detects a foreign language.

• Transcribing Audio – Voice Recorder App
  

  This is useful if you use the Voice Recorder App. The AI would listen, transcribe voice into texts, and summarise the key points of the whole exchange. So gone are the days when you need to move the slider back and forth trying to catch a part and write down the points. The AI is even able to distinguish between different voices and note down as such, making life even easier for those recording an interview or a meeting.

  The transcribing part, while amazing, isn’t flawless as you’ve probably guessed. There are errors here and there and the AI tends to fill in the blanks on its own when it fails to process or listen to the conversation properly. The overall result is still good and the summary that it provides is game-changing for any reporters.

   

While the Galaxy AI is impressive and offers real practical advantages to those who use it, I won’t go so far as to claim the phone is a must-have because of the AI. Most of the additional stuff the phone is capable of can be available on other phones via the help of third-party apps. But on the S24, there’s the convenience of these features built-in and they come with a certain level of quality assurance associated with the Samsung brand.

The Galaxy AI is more than just translating stuff or writing things down for you. The system also works with your camera and images so read on.

Camera and the AI

If you are an existing S23+ user considering an upgrade to the S24+, the camera department here may not help to convince you because it didn’t get much love this year. The S24+ is armed with the same hardware as the S23+ from last year but the good news is, that the cameras on the S23+ were pretty decent to begin with and the arrival of the new Galaxy AI with the S24+ means there’s more you can get out of your phone compared to the same hardware on the slightly older S23+

The phone’s camera AI is useful for more than just processing images to give them more vibrant colours or make images sharper. Users can now have fun removing objects altogether or relocating certain objects in their images with varying degrees of success with the AI. The photo below shows two of my figurines side by side before I decided to move the right one further to the right.

The result was not perfect as we could still see leftover traces of the figurine in its original position but the quality was acceptable nonetheless. I tried removing the said figurine altogether to see how well it works and the result was hilarious. For some reason, the AI decided to replace the figurine with something I couldn’t comprehend. But it did get it right the second time.

Say you’re visiting a new place and are in need of more information from images you either took from your phone or downloaded from the net, the Galaxy AI can play a role in researching those images for you. The process is fairly easy too – simply hold down the home button and then draw a circle on your screen over any object you want to know more about and the AI will do the Google search for it.

Like the example above, I did a quick search on the Tanjiro figurine and was immediately shown the appropriate results, including links to where I could buy it. I can see this being a good tool look for stuff I can possibly get cheaper online whenever I see something I want to buy in a retail shop.

Nightography on the S24+ is as reliable as ever. With the mode on, photographs shot in low light conditions present more detail and information as a result. It’s easy to use – just tap the icon to enable/disable it, and there are plenty of reasons to turn it on especially when you need more detail in your photographs at night.

But from my experience, not using the Nightmode sometimes give better results but this depends on what you want to achieve in your photos. For example, in this shot of my corridor curtain where I want more attention on the curtain itself and the effect of the lights coming from behind it, turning off Nightmode gave me the effect I imagined.

The camera is powerful and smart enough to make sure there’s no noise in the photo, keeping the edges sharp and crisp around the curtain. With Nightmode turned on, light began to seep through the edges, touching on and revealing objects that weren’t seen before. The tool is amazing, whether you end up needing it or not.

Battery

In terms of battery capacity, the S24+ is equipped with a 4,900mAh battery, slightly larger than the 4,700mAh battery in the S23+. This is just 100mAh less than the 5,000mAh battery found in this year’s S24 Ultra. The base model of the S24, however, has a smaller 4,000mAh battery.

The S24+ supports 45W wired charging, reportedly reaching 65% battery capacity in just 30 minutes, according to the company’s marketing materials. But from my testing, there’s a slight discrepancy – the phone went from 6% to 65% in 32 minutes (59% charged). The phone took another 20 minutes or so to fully hit the 100% mark.

But despite the minor disagreement between my experiment vs the marketing material, I’m not concerned. The Exynos 2400 chip is doing well in battery management. For several days straight, I’ve come home with the tank carrying more juice than I expected. Even as I write this at 9.40 PM, my S24+ still has 38% of battery life left – not bad.

As for wireless charging, the phone is capable of 15W charging through Qi/PMA technology and offers reverse wireless charging at 4.5W.

All in all

Here’s to conclude things.

What I Really Liked About The Galaxy S24+

• LPTO Display for a non-Ultra model!
• Exynos 2400 performance was admirable
• 12GB RAM on both models 256GB and 512GB
• Bigger and better battery life
• Galaxy AI is both helpful and useful
• Quality Nightmode photography
• Good looking phone overall

What I Wished Was Better

• The camera department could be better than the vanilla model
• Tends to warm up now and then
• Should come with a phone cover
• Galaxy AI messes up sometimes but no biggie.

Verdict

The latest S24 series offers numerous appealing features, particularly noteworthy this year. This series stands out, not merely as an updated device with the latest tech, but as a groundbreaking model introducing a variety of innovative and practical enhancements, largely attributed to the incorporation of Galaxy AI.

The S24+ itself presents a significant departure from its predecessors in terms of design and functionality. It boasts an LPTO display panel and a respectable 4,900mAh battery that is efficiently managed by the potent Exynos 2400 chip. Offering 12GB RAM in both its variants, the S24+ is almost a revolutionary leap, except in the camera department, which requires distinct improvements to differentiate it from the standard model.