Two weeks ago, I purchased the new Samsung Galaxy S24 smartphone. As a long-time Samsung phone user, I was excited to get my hands on their latest flagship device. Now that I’ve had a chance to really put the S24 through its paces, I’m ready to give my in-depth review.
Spoiler alert: the Galaxy S24 offers tremendous value and is arguably the best Android phone you can buy today in terms of price versus performance. Keep reading to find out why!
Pros:
- Premium design and build quality
- Blazing fast performance
- Excellent AMOLED display
- Great camera capabilities
- Good battery life
Cons:
- Orange color not vibrant
- Mediocre microphone quality
- More display glare than S24 Ultra
- No microSD card slot
Overview and Specs
Before diving into the details, let’s do a quick rundown of the Galaxy S24’s key specs and pricing:
- Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 128GB
- Display: 6.8-inches, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz refresh rate
- Camera: 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP telephoto
- Battery: 4,000mAh
- Charging: 45W wired, 15W wireless
- IP Rating: IP68 water/dust resistance
- Starting Price: $799
I opted for the standard Orange color option. While I don’t love the orange/bronze combo as much as the S24 Ultra’s orange and silver look, it’s still a sharp-looking device.
Now, onto the in-depth review of Samsung Galaxy S24:
What I Like About the Galaxy S24
There’s a lot to love about the Galaxy S24, especially considering its price point. Here are some of my favorite things so far.
Premium Design and Build Quality
The S24 features a beautiful polished metal frame with Corning’s latest Victus 2 glass on front and back. The frosted glass on the rear not only looks fantastic, but it resists fingerprints extraordinarily well.
Despite having a fairly large screen, the phone feels compact and comfortable to hold thanks to the smoothly curved sides. The buttons offer satisfying clicks as well.
Overall, it looks and feels remarkably similar to an iPhone in terms of fit, finish, and attention to detail and I mean that in the best way possible.
Blazing Fast Performance
With Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and 8GB RAM under the hood, the Galaxy S24 absolutely flies through apps, multitasking, and demanding games. The UI animations are liquid smooth thanks to the high 120Hz screen refresh rate too.
So far I haven’t noticed even the slightest hint of lag or sluggishness, even when really pushing the phone. The ample horsepower combined with Samsung’s promise of 4 years of Android OS upgrades and 7 years of security patches also provides fantastic long-term value.
Excellent Display
While not quite as advanced as the S24 Ultra’s panel, the S24’s 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen looks positively stunning. Colors pop thanks to Samsung’s trademark vibrancy, while retaining strong accuracy.
The screen gets shockingly bright as well, making outdoor visibility a non-issue. My light meter recorded a peak manual brightness of 650 nits, which is among the highest I’ve personally measured.
I do wish Samsung would properly separate the Vivid and Natural color profiles like they do on the S23 series, but apparently a fix is coming in an update.
Great Camera Performance
On paper the S24 doesn’t seem like much of an upgrade over last year’s S23 series. The 50MP main camera has the same resolution sensor, for example.
However, Samsung has clearly refined their image processing because photos from the S24 consistently look more pleasing to my eye. There’s better detail, more realistic colors, and just an overall cleaner look.
Low light photos are greatly improved as well, with less noise compared to an S23 phone at the same ISO level. Night mode helps squeeze out every last bit of light for surprisingly usable images even in very dim scenarios.
But what has really wowed me is how awesome the S24 is for shooting video indoors under artificial lighting. Colors look natural, faces are accurately exposed, noise is kept to a minimum, and auto white balance does an excellent job adapting different color temperatures.
Most phones and even dedicated cameras with 1-inch sensors or smaller struggle under artificial light. The S24 shows none of the usual downsides like highlight blowouts or yellow color casts. Whatever computational magic Samsung has cooked up, it works extraordinarily well.
For a smartphone released in early 2024, these are genuinely some of the best mobile camera and video capabilities I’ve tested.
What Could Be Better
No phone is perfect though, and there are a few nitpicks I have with the Galaxy S24:
Orange Color Isn’t My Favorite
As mentioned earlier, I’m not as keen on the Orange color variant as I hoped to be. It looks too coppery rather than a bold orange. I’ll probably end up putting a case on it to hide the color anyway. Not a huge concern, but I figured it was at least worth mentioning.
Mediocre Microphone Quality
Call quality through the earpiece is just OK, and microphone audio capture is merely average as well based on test recordings I’ve taken. Nothing unusable by any means, but Apple still has an edge here in terms of clarity.
Display Has More Glare
When viewed side-by-side with the S24 Ultra, it’s quite apparent the standard S24’s screen doesn’t resist reflections nearly as effectively. It’s only something you’d realistically notice indoors with bright overhead lighting though. And even then, you can simply crank up the manual brightness to overpower the glare.
Extras: Modularity, Dex Mode, and Battery Protection
Before getting to my final verdict, I want to touch on a few special aspects of the Galaxy S24 that I haven’t covered yet.
Modularity
One benefit to going with the S24 over the Ultra model is that you still retain full access to Samsung’s expanding ecosystem of smartphone add-on accessories. I’ll include a video link in the description showcasing some possibilities.
But in short, you can augment the S24 with additional displays, camera grips, mics, laptop docks, gaming controllers, and more. For travel and field work, this modularity is a potential game changer versus other brands.
Dex Mode with Trackpad Capability
I briefly referenced Samsung DeX earlier, which is their desktop-style software interface when connecting the phone to an external monitor. This allows you to multitask with windowed apps just like on a PC.
However, I only recently discovered that when in Dex mode, you can swipe on the S24’s screen to activate an onboard touchpad! This nifty feature eliminates the need to connect a wireless mouse if you just want basic cursor navigation and clicking. It works shockingly well and has quickly become one of my favorite software tricks.
Battery Protection Mode
Rounding things out, I want to highlight the S24’s Adaptive Battery feature that can limit charging to 85%. Doing this reduces long-term battery wear by keeping the charge state away from the extremes of 0% or 100%.
When traveling or otherwise needing max battery life, you can always disable the protection and charge to 100%. But for daily home use, it’s smart to keep it on in my opinion. This one small tweak should help extend the usable lifespan of your phone by many months down the road.
Verdict: The S24 is THE Best Value Android Smartphone
Over the past two weeks, Samsung’s Galaxy S24 has exceeded my expectations in almost every regard. It delivers a nearly uncompromised flagship experience for several hundreds less than an S24 Ultra—making it a tremendous value.
You still get that incredible Dynamic AMOLED display, an extremely fast processor with enough RAM and storage for practically everyone, an excellent camera system, surprisingly great battery life, and all the extras like an IP68 rating plus wireless charging.
Factor in Samsung’s class-leading smartphone ecosystem and their 4/7 years of ongoing support, and you have what is undoubtedly one of the best Android deals out there.
I wholeheartedly recommend the Galaxy S24 to anyone looking for a more budget-friendly flagship phone without too many compromises. It’s easy to award this one my highest rating given the balance of features, polish, and value delivered in such an attractive package.
So there you have it, my full review of the Samsung Galaxy S24 after two weeks of heavy real-world testing. Have any questions? Be sure to leave a comment and I’ll try my best to respond!
FAQs:
How good is the battery life?
With typical use, expect all-day battery life. Enabling Battery Protection mode also helps optimize longevity.
Does it have a headphone jack?
Unfortunately no, you’ll need to use the USB-C port or wireless Bluetooth headphones.
How is the fingerprint sensor?
The in-display ultrasonic fingerprint reader is very fast and accurate for unlocking the phone.
What colors does the S24 come in?
Color options include: Orange, Cream, Green, Lavender, and Phantom Black.
