A few months before the official presentation of the Samsung Galaxy S24, S24 Plus and S24 Ultra, rumors around the brand’s high-end smartphones are becoming more and more precise. Release date, price, technical sheet, we take stock.
Barring any huge surprises, the future high-end smartphones that Samsung should present in early 2024 will be the Galaxy S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra. They will logically improve the formula of the Galaxy S23 and S23+, but also the Galaxy S23 Ultra which is one of the best smartphones of 2023. Here you will find all the information at our disposal about the future high-end smartphones from the Korean giant.
Galaxy S24 Ultra release date and price
We get to the heart of the matter with the presentation date of the Galaxy S24. If the latter has obviously not yet been made official by Samsung, close sources suggest a launch window “around January 18, 2024”, according to leaker Ice Universe. It would therefore be earlier than what Samsung has accustomed us to. Indeed, the company presented its S23 on February 1, 2023, a few weeks before the Mobile World Show (MWC).
Samsung has already significantly increased the prices of its Galaxy S23s compared to the Galaxy S22s, by around 10%. This does not mean that the Korean company will do the same for its Galaxy S24s, but it is unlikely that it will go back. Thus, we can hope to have a Galaxy S24 just below the psychological bar of 1000 euros, an S24 Plus between 1200 and 1400 euros and a Galaxy S24 Ultra from 1400 euros.
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A familiar design
The first information about the design concerns the base model of the Galaxy S24. The leaker OnLeaks, who often hits the mark, shared the first images of the smartphone which come from computer-aided design files.
The camera modules on the back do not change their positioning, but the new features are to be found on the side of the frame which would have much more angular edges, while keeping rounded corners.
A design reminiscent of the iPhone. We also notice an elliptical area on the right edge which would be an “Ultra Wide Band” (ULB) antenna to offer better speeds to the telephone. As with the S23, the “Ultra” model of the S24 could be differentiated by its size, but also by its more angular shapes.
A muscular technical sheet
As for the technical characteristics, it is the “leaker” Yogesh Brar who tries his hand at the risky game of predictions by sharing a first technical sheet of the Galaxy S24 Ultra on his X account (ex Twitter):
If the latter was correct, the S24 Ultra would share many characteristics with its predecessor. From the 6.8-inch 120 Hz AMOLED screen to the 5000 mAh battery, the 200 Mpx main camera module and the 12 Mpx selfie sensor, we are on familiar ground.
We note the mention of a “titanium frame” which could be reserved for the brand’s most high-end model. A material with which the iPhone 15 Pro is equipped and which has caused a lot of ink to flow since. Titanium has the advantage of being light and strong, but also more expensive to produce than the aluminum used on the Galaxy S23. What justifies a price increase?
The other question mark concerns the chip that will power the Galaxy S24. If we do not doubt for a second that the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip will equip phones, one question remains unanswered: in which markets?
Indeed, after putting aside the Exynos chips for its S23s, Samsung could decide to put them back in the spotlight, at least in certain countries. The last time this happened, the European market was treated to an Exynos 2200 chip on the Galaxy S22. The result was more than questionable, both in terms of performance and autonomy.
For our part, we’re crossing our fingers for a version equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip which promises to be around 15% more efficient on the CPU part and 39% on the GPU part.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the path Samsung is taking. Indeed, the CEO of Qualcomm suggested in an interview that his company expected to have a majority market share as part of its partnership with the Korean giant, but not all of it. A remark which revives rumors around an Exynos 2400 chip which would only equip certain products in certain markets.
On the software side, the S24s would obviously be equipped with Android 14 with the One UI 6 overlay. Samsung could also decide to improve its software monitoring by offering five years of Android updates on its high-end models, thus getting closer to seven years promised by Google on its Pixel 8.
A confusing photo block
Like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the Galaxy S24 Ultra will be the best-equipped smartphone, including in terms of photography. Today, the Ultra model stands out from its competitors by being equipped, in addition to the wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle modules, with two 10 Mpx telephoto lenses offering respectively a x3 optical zoom and a x10 optical zoom.
We could therefore expect Samsung to renew this proven formula, but a recent leak casts doubt on the power of the optical zoom which could go from x10 to x5. This strange choice to “go back” could be justified by Samsung’s desire to favor image stabilization over focal length, as Apple did with the x5 optical zoom of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Good news
Despite having 5x optical
Galaxy S24U still support 100x zoom200 • 12 • 10 • 48
Main 200mp
HP2SX 1/1.3″ 0.6μmUW 12mp
IMX564 1/2.55″ 1.4μm3x Telephoto 10mp
IMX754+ 1/3.52″ 1.12μm5x Telephoto 48mp
GMU 1/2.25″ 0.8μmFinal 5x aperture “might” be F/3.2 pic.twitter.com/yCfBywHTrj
— RGcloudS (@RGcloudS) October 14, 2023
Samsung would not abandon the x3 optical zoom, however, keeping a photo unit with a four-module configuration, an LED flash and laser autofocus. For their part, the S24 and S24 Plus should make do with the x3 telephoto lens, as well as a wide-angle and an ultra-wide-angle that are less muscular than on the Ultra version.
Galaxy S24 sizes and screens
If the size of the screens will obviously be an important point of differentiation between the three Galaxy S24 models, Samsung would not play too much with the range effect on this point. Still according to sources close to Samsung Display, but which are not official, the S24s would all benefit from the same screen technology, as well as the same level of brightness.
This information is obtained from Samsung Display.
The base model of the S24 shares the same display features as the Plus/Ultra, except for the resolution. All models feature LTPO, M13, and a brightness of 2500 nits. pic.twitter.com/Zl6pjAN00p
— Revegnus (@Tech_Reve) October 17, 2023
If we are to believe the leaker Revegnus, the size and definition of the screens will be the only distinctive points. For the rest, the S24, S24 Plus and S24 Ultra would have a 120 Hz LTPO screen and a peak brightness of 2500 cd/m2 to ensure perfect readability, whatever the light conditions.
Questions and conclusion
A few months before their presentation, there remain (fortunately) some gray areas to be clarified around the characteristics of the Galaxy S24. If battery sizes are unlikely to change drastically, it is on the side of hardware and software optimization that the endurance of the phones will come into play.
The increase in charging speed is also a question mark. We will see if Samsung finally decides to go beyond 45W to get a little closer to what certain Chinese competitors can offer.
We will obviously update this article as new information is revealed around the Galaxy S24. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to share with us in the comments what you expect from Samsung’s future high-end smartphones.
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A very flat screen for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
As we get closer to the Unpacked event at the beginning of next year, the leaks will multiply, allowing those of us who are curious to know everything about the future Galaxy S24 before their official presentation! This is the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is revealed in a series of photos giving a small idea of the design changes of the smartphone.
The big news is abandoning curved edges around the screen, which are nevertheless a design signature at Samsung. The panel is therefore uniformly flat, which is reminiscent of recent iPhones. However, it is difficult to say if the smartphone is thicker; the curved edges gave, among other advantages, the impression of refining the silhouette.
