Galaxy S24 Plus Review: Skip the Ultra, buy the Plus – Ultra-Sim

While this hasn’t changed in 2024, the fresh new Galaxy S24 Plus is a phone that gains some serious ground on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and makes the list of advantages the latter has that much shorter. In fact, judging from the significant improvements that the Galaxy S24 Plus has scored in comparison with the Galaxy S23 Plus, it’s fair to say that Samsung wants to make the new phone a viable alternative to the S Pen-wielding super-phone. 

• Larger new 6.7-inch QHD+ display
• Superb 2,600-nit peak brightness and super-smooth 1-120Hz display
• Flat-side display with Armor Aluminum
• Same triple-camera setup with different camera processing
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the US with 12GB of RAM
• Seven years of major Android/One UI upgrades and security patches

The Galaxy S24 Plus full specs are already official, but a summary usually goes a greater distance, especially in a review. The table below would hopefully refresh your memory as to what makes the brunt of the Galaxy S24 Plus hardware specifications and pricing.

Galaxy S24 Plus Design & Colors

Flat design is in, but no titanium here

One aspect of the Galaxy S24 Plus that has surely changed is the side frame design. Samsung is going fully flat with the new Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24, with no convex side frame. Thus, the Galaxy S24 Plus is much more similar to an iPhone in terms of feel than it’s to most of its predecessors. In any way, you’d likely want to invest in a case. 

The phone feels good in the hand, maybe slightly less comfortable than the Galaxy S23 Plus which was a tad more ergonomic, as evident in our size comparison, but beauty surely lies in the eyes of the beholder in this case. The flatter side frame is noticeable the first time you use the phone, but should be no issue after a brief amount of time. 

And what about the available hues? Well, the Galaxy S24 Plus colors will be available in Amber Yellow, Marble Gray, Onyx Black, and Cobalt Violet, while Jade Green, Sapphire Blue, and Sandstone Orange will be exclusively available when you get the phone through Samsung’s own store. 

Galaxy S24 Plus Display

The display on the Galaxy S24 Plus has scored the most improvements. Let’s break them down one by one.

First up, the sheer size of the panel has increased by 0.1 inches. Sure, that doesn’t sound like much, but these days every little bit is important, so the Galaxy S24 Plus having a 6.7-inch screen in comparison with the Galaxy S23 Plus‘ 6.6-inch display is a big deal.

Next up, the resolution and therefore perceived sharpness have also improved. The Galaxy S24 Plus scores a QHD+ display, a solid return to form in comparison with the FHD+ panels on the most recent Galaxy S Plus predecessors.

Finally, and most importantly, we also get the ludicrous 2,600-nit display peak brightness on the Galaxy S24 Plus. Surely, this one is likely measured on a minimal portion of the display and the phone will certainly achieve lower maximum brightness in everyday life. Still, the Galaxy S24 Plus will be much brighter than its predecessor.

Aside from those, the rest of the display’s specs should sound familiar to you: a Dynamic AMOLED 2X with HDR support and Vision booster. When it comes to the displays on Samsung phones, we are rarely disappointed, and this surely is the case here: the Galaxy S24 Plus has one lovely display that’s a joy to use and ogle at. 

 

Galaxy S24 Plus Camera

Changes on the inside

Samsung has also thrown in a ton of AI-powered improvements on board. For example, we get Generative Edits, which allow you to fill in the blanks when you rotate an image or move a subject around, as well as Edit Suggestion which will give you tailored suggestions about the possible tweaks you can apply to your photos. 

Check out the video quality differences between the Galxy S24 and the Galaxy S23 in the comparison video above.

As you can see above, the Galaxy S24 Plus ranks among the best camera phones we have ever tested, with especially strong performance of the main camera, which at the moment of testing is tied with the top scorers.

Galaxy S24 Plus Performance & Benchmarks

Exynos makes a return

At least in the US, the Galaxy S24 Plus is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. It’s not the normal version, mind you, but a fine-tuned Made for Galaxy iteration of the chip. This 4nm affair manufactured by TSMC offers improved performance and power efficiency in comparison with last year’s Galaxy S23 Plus which was powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy.

However, outside the US, we get the Exynos 2400 flavor of the Galaxy S24 Plus in most markets. This one delivers decent performance, mostly on par with the Galaxy S24 Ultra‘s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Samsung’s own chipset slightly struggles in graphics processing, but nothing too severe or easily noticeable in real-life gaming scenarios. 

We have the Exynos version of the Galaxy S24 Plus on us, and here are the performance benchmarks.

Performance Benchmarks

Samsung has paid a lot of attention to gaming. Not only does the phone score quite highly in gaming-related benchmarks, but optimization has taken a front row as well. Samsung’s cooperation with some industry-leading gaming entities, some of the most popular games out there will be perfectly optimized for the new Galaxy S24 Plus. The phone gets a little warm during prolonged gaming sessions, which is totally normal, but we can’t say that it gets unbearably hot, which is a great thing to know. 

In terms of storage and RAM, we get 12GB of fast RAM on the phone, along with two storage tiers, 256GB and 512GB. As is tradition, don’t expect expandable storage on deck. If you want to have more storage at your fingertips than the maximum 512GB, then the way pricier Galaxy S24 Ultra 1TB version should be in your sights.

Galaxy S24 Plus OS / Android version

The big deal about the Galaxy S24 Plus is the super-long software support of seven years (!). This is a major move that mirrors Google’s latest pledge to such a long support period for the Pixel 8 series. This means that Galaxy S24 Plus adopters will be able to enjoy software updates until the end of the decade and will receive all future One UI versions up to Android 21. A major development that surely works in the Galaxy S24 series‘ favor! 

That means that the phone will get security support as well as the following Android versions:

• Android 15 in 2024
• Android 16 in 2025
• Android 17 in 2026
• Android 18 in 2027
• Android 19 in 2028
• Android 20 in 2029
• Android 21 in 2030

Probably the most intriguing new feature is the AI-powered website summarizer, which does a superb job at squeezing out the essence of any webpage and presenting it in a clear and concise manner. It works very well, but only with the Samsung Internet browser, which by the way is not half-bad!Another intriguing new feature is Chat Assist, which in a ChatGPT-like fashion will intelligently suggest rewriting your text and suggest a different tone depending on who you’re communicating with, providing you with options. This feature is built right into the Samsung keyboard, so it will be compatible with any messaging app you might have on your Galaxy S24 Plus.

Speaking of translation, a Live Translate feature built-into the Phone app allows for two-way, real-time voice and text translations of phone calls in real-time thanks to on-board AI. Another similar new Galaxy feature is Interpreter, allowing you to make a conversation with another person in split-screen mode and have your conversations instantaneously translated from one language to the other.

Circle to Search is also another new AI-powered feature that allows you to simply press your home button (or the general area where it should be if you have gestures enabled) and then circle anything on your screen to invoke a relevant Google search. 

You can also remove reflections from photos with the power of on-device AI. There’s nothing worse than seeing your reflection in glass when you take a picture through a window, but that would no longer be an issue thanks to Galaxy AI. Remastering pictures is also part of the same package, and so is a seemingly vastly improved Object Eraser, which does a much better job at removing unwanted objects from your photography masterpieces.

Galaxy S24 Plus Battery

A larger battery does the trick

Yes, that’s right, in the custom PhoneArena battery web browsing test which aims to recreate a regular browsing experience with the display set at 200 nits, the Galaxy S24 Plus lasts for 20 hours and 41 minutes, roughly half an hour longer than the more expensive and more exciting Ultra. 

Moreover, in both the PhoneArena video playback and 3D gaming test, the Galaxy S24 Plus outlasts the Galaxy S24 Ultra by two and 12 minutes, respectively, but outlasts it nonetheless, which is a testament to the great battery endurance. Finally, an important redeeming feature of the Galaxy S24 Plus, which comes forward as a surprising battery champ. 

Galaxy S24 Plus Charging Speeds

Charging-wise, the Galaxy S24 Plus supports 45W wired and 15W fast wireless charging, which is similar to both the Galaxy S24 Ultra and last year’s Galaxy S23 Plus. There’s reverse wireless charging as well, but don’t expect to see a charger in the box. You will have to use a third-party one, and Samsung’s chargers are usually a safe bet when it comes to topping up your Galaxy. 

How fast does the Galaxy S24 Plus charge up with Samsung’s stock 45W charger? Quite predictably – it takes an hour and some change to fully juice up the device to 100%. A half-hour charge would net you 61%, which is mostly average. 

Such a charging speed actually is a slight downgrade in comparison with last year’s Galaxy S23+ despite the mutual support of 45W charging. Last year’s flagship charged much faster: 1 hour to 100% and a whopping 74% after a 30-minute charge. 

Galaxy S24 Plus Audio Quality and Haptics

With dual speakers, the Galaxy S24 Plus will likely deliver more than decent sound, with solid base but clear mids and crisp highs, making for a very enjoyable audio experience. Although subjective, we’d say the Galaxy S24 Plus sounds better than its immediate predecessor, which is a small but important win. 

In terms of haptics, Samsung has traditionally delivered excellent results, and we’re pleased to report the Galaxy S24 Plus doesn’t deviate in any way. You get strong and precise hapitcs with perceived multiple levels of intensity and depth, which surely adds up to the overall satisfactory usage experience.  

Starting at $999, the Galaxy S24 Plus resides in a rather congested bracket, with numerous exciting rivals, with the most exciting and notable ones being Samsung’s own Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Google Pixel 8 Pro, and last, but surely not least, the fresh OnePlus 12. 

Galaxy S24 Plus Summary and Final Verdict

With a starting price tag of $999, the Galaxy S24 Plus surely is a premium phone, but it seemingly offers more than enough to justify its price tag. Considering the Galaxy S24 Ultra price hike, the Galaxy S24 Plus shapes up to be a modern 2024 flagship offering excellent value.