Doing (and costing) essentially the most

Consider the largest, most complex Swiss Military Knife you’ve ever seen, one with extra instruments than you would 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 one of the vital succesful Android telephones in the marketplace, however the analogy isn’t too far off. Let’s get into our Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely assessment, 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 primary occasion, the large thought, no matter else you need to name it. Samsung talked about the phrase a whopping 50 occasions throughout its first Unpacked occasion of 2024, promising a laundry checklist 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 section of on-device AI, however I’ve discovered a number of Galaxy AI options that ought to most likely stick round.

We’ll come again to the pictures options like Picture 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 way of messages as you kind them, providing ideas for spelling and grammar, however it could possibly additionally provide you with various tones to attempt. Chat Help has tones like Skilled and Informal to be used with bosses and coworkers and a #Social tone, which hundreds your message with emojis and hashtags, like a tweet from again when X was Twitter.

As a author, I can normally do with out Chat Help, however the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s Word Help is a lifesaver. It covers a number of totally 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 few 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 based mostly on a number of prompts are already obtainable 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 manage now you can select particular parts 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 checklist of prompts you possibly can choose 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 totally different from its earlier setup, although it has a number of good tweaks. The short settings menu has been slimmed down, shifting to smaller buttons that appear to drift above your house display screen reasonably than block it out. Samsung’s color-coordinated theming is healthier, too, with extra app icons matching your background coloration 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 keeping 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 points. The two telephones look virtually an identical, 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 present flagship design, you’ll most likely discover loads to love in regards to the up to date model. And but, these adjustments supply simply sufficient quality-of-life enchancment to make them value 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. Nonetheless, Samsung is upgrading its body for a really totally different motive. Whereas Apple made the change to save lots of a number 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 burden of the earlier Galaxy S23 Extremely, however the titanium body has a slight texture, making it far more comfy 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 ordinary. 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 harm 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 reasonably priced siblings by dropping the curved edges, so that you now not have to fret about unintentional presses or squeezes. As somebody with smaller palms, I welcome the change, as I can hold the body in a tighter grip whereas utilizing this beast of a telephone with two palms. Granted, the swap ends in 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 popularity as an influence consumer’s greatest pal, there’s much more to cowl on the subject of efficiency. For starters, Samsung has lastly accomplished 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 provide Samsung essentially the most energy potential.

That additional energy interprets to a number of the greatest benchmarking scores in an Android telephone proper now. The Galaxy S24 Extremely topped every thing 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 robust numbers had been much less inspiring throughout our stress assessments, tailing off to extra modest outcomes after a number 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 making an attempt to burn a gap by way of our desks, which means that you would take pleasure in its efficiency, in contrast to 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 count on a consumer expertise matching its lofty lab numbers. I totally loved how the 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 number of of my busier durations of labor journey, which means that it acquired to be my journey companion reasonably than a enterprise accomplice, 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 way of loads of work as a go-to digicam for each stills and movies and in addition used it to stream the divisional spherical of the NFL playoffs utilizing T-Cellular’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 rapidly.

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, once 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 way of a battery stress check, which covers 4K video recording, 4K video playback, net searching, 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, net searching, and video recording. There’s a very good likelihood 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 it is best to simply be capable of push it previous a day of utilization, however you’ll need to be aware of how a lot time you spend on every activity.

If 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 quicker than the earlier technology. Our wired charging check 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 most likely 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 harder Corning Glass. Nonetheless, all that success comes at a price — each literal and figurative.

The literal half of that value 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 best way to $1,659 — only a hair beneath the folding Galaxy Z Fold 5. After all, worth will increase occur, nevertheless it’s harder to justify the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s bump while 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 should cross the $1,000 barrier to make use of Picture 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 international 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 greatest AI options. The corporate inadvertently let slip that Circle to Search, Dwell Translate, Word Help, and Picture Help could be coming to no less than 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 value of the Galaxy S24 Extremely to extend, too, with Galaxy AI options solely at the moment assured to remain free by way of the top of 2025. Which means, must you select to maintain your Galaxy S24 Extremely by way of the top of its life cycle in seven years, you’ll most likely spend 5 of these years paying for the AI-powered options that you just already paid additional 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 a number of 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 value, it’s a large telephone — there’s no means round it. Samsung’s 6.8-inch show may supply extra display screen actual property than anybody wants, nevertheless it comes at the price of being virtually unattainable to make use of one-handed. Granted, the presence of the S Pen suggests that you just’re not supposed to make use of one hand anyway, however most individuals received’t use a stylus always. Pair that with the large 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 house for it, even when I needed to hold a telephone this large.

Circling again to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely’s AI options, simply keep in mind that we’re nonetheless within the comparatively early days of on-device capabilities. As such, a number of the options are nonetheless hit and miss, together with the real-time translations and the Picture 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 might have utilized in center faculty. Asking the Galaxy S24 Extremely to translate, transcribe, and summarize an extended textual content can even push its gears to their restrict, generally bailing on the duty midway by way of.

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

We solely should spend a second or two on the {hardware} adjustments, as there’s just one value 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 pictures 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 every thing 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 gentle to succeed in the sensor in addition to a shallower depth of discipline.

Outdoors the telephoto swap, the Galaxy S24 Extremely has the identical 200MP major 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. Nonetheless, the little Galaxy AI emblem of stars pops up while 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 reveals 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 would crop it out of your shot — although which may additionally minimize out the edits you so rigorously generated. I’ll add some edited samples beneath, however first, a number of unedited photographs.

Samsung’s 200MP major sensor delivers glorious photographs in nearly any sort of vivid lighting situation. Whether or not it’s the brilliant, 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 ordinary love of reds and greens. The close-up picture of the balloons additionally reveals good textures on every, with some showing shinier, like the grey one to the proper, whereas others are extra matte. My portrait mode picture of a duck additionally reveals a satisfying depth of discipline, maintaining the duck in focus however not instantly eliminating every thing round it with synthetic bokeh.

One facet of Samsung’s cameras that’s typically critiqued is its points with transferring targets, and sadly, that is still a problem right here. I received’t go into an excessive amount of element right here as my colleague Rita El Khoury has already accomplished that — try her deep dive into how the Galaxy S24 Extremely handles individuals 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 a substantial amount of post-processing for the 5x shot of the Domino Sugar manufacturing facility, the brand new digicam captures it at full decision earlier than binning all the way down to a 12.5MP remaining end result. It picks up respectable particulars for being on the far aspect of a large harbor, with solely a slight shift within the coloration 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 pictures. The manufacturing facility’s 30x and 100x zoom photos are noticeably softer, with many of the brick constructing being lowered to purple and white rectangles — appropriate for social media to point out off you can zoom to date, however that’s about it.

Testing the Galaxy S24 Extremely at evening delivered maybe essentially the most shocking 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 due to the upper decision telephoto sensor, however Samsung’s Galaxy AI picture processing shines throughout the complete slate of outcomes.

Now, the modifying check 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 deal with producing a part of my laptop computer, and it did simply fantastic. 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 traces. One of many extra spectacular particulars is that Samsung minimize 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 the same 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 most likely 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 12 months. It’s nonetheless a 12MP punch gap, which stays a extra dependable wager than the earlier 40MP monster from a number of years again. Selfie cameras shouldn’t have to bin by default, particularly while you’re most likely not going to make use of the completed product for far 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 thus far. Its flat show does away with unintentional 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 exceptional 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 count on greatness from Samsung’s Extremely 12 months in and 12 months out, and it continues to ship. The Galaxy S24 Extremely packs 4 extremely versatile rear cameras, providing a number of the greatest zoom functionality you’ll discover on a flagship and a coloration 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 no less than ties with Google), and it’s simple to see the Galaxy S24 Extremely incomes a spot in your pocket for a very long time.

Nonetheless, 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 a lot 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 most likely overlook it’s any totally different from Armor Aluminum as quickly as you place your telephone in a case.

Should you determine the Galaxy S24 Utlra isn’t for you, its greatest 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 an identical charging specs to Samsung’s costliest flagship. As talked about, the Galaxy S24 Plus additionally will get the identical slate of Galaxy AI options, which means you can circle to go looking, faucet into name or chat help, and edit your pictures with out the uncomfortable corners of the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s boxy body digging into your hand. You’ll should stay with out the second telephoto sensor and the S Pen, however the financial savings are greater than worthwhile.

You may additionally determine to skip Samsung’s Galaxy ecosystem altogether, by which case it’s time to take a look at a number of the greatest Galaxy S24 Extremely options.

The primary possibility that springs to thoughts is Google’s Pixel 8 Professional ($999 at Amazon). Though priced in keeping with the extra reasonably priced Galaxy S24 Plus, the Pixel 8 Professional is a real Galaxy S24 Extremely rival. It beat Samsung to the punch with Magic Editor for pictures, 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 rapidly because the Galaxy S24 Extremely. Finally, although, selecting between these two could come all the way down to which taste of Android you like — Google’s gentle, stock-like expertise or Samsung’s heavier, feature-rich One UI.

One other wildcard value is the OnePlus 12 (on the product’s web site). It’s as soon as once more extra reasonably priced 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 beneath 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 coloration profile that’s come a great distance. That stated, 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 value 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 glorious 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 helps you to customise the interior 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 development.

Must you select to enterprise exterior of Android altogether, Apple’s iPhone 15 Professional Max ($1199 at Amazon) is the one iPhone value 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 on the subject of capturing smartphone video. It grabbed a titanium body earlier than Samsung did, and Apple has lastly softened its sharp iPhone edges, no less than 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 should get used to iOS and its quirks, however you’ll lastly present up as a blue bubble to your entire iMessage-toting buddies.

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 combination whereas sustaining the already glorious digicam setup. It’s Samsung’s most full expertise thus far, providing energy that may fulfill essentially the most demanding of customers at a worth that’s excessive sufficient to doubtlessly flip away virtually all others.