Samsung Galaxy S24: Everything You Should Know Before You Buy

Can’t get enough of the Samsung Galaxy S24? The company’s latest phone release may be its most diverse offering yet, with major differences between the regular S24, S24+, and Ultra variants thanks to the most expensive version’s titanium frame. There’s a lot of information to parse, so we’re here to help make your buying decision a little easier.

How to Order the Samsung Galaxy S24

The Galaxy S24 series should be on stores starting Wednesday. You can nab it from Samsung’s website, Best Buy, or anywhere else where phones are sold.

Pretty much all U.S.-based carriers are offering S24 deals, though, as usual, it’s best to read the fine print before jumping onto a new plan for the sake of a phone. Xfinity and Comcast are telling their customers they can get up to $800 off on any of the S24 variations with trade-in, though that will depend on the age and state of their current device.

T-Mobile is advertising you can get some money off your bill with trade-in for a Galaxy S24+ or Ultra, though only if they’re on the Go5G Plus or Next plans. These are applied as bill credits going on the next two years. They can also get up to $800 off a S24 through their bills when adding a line on those plans. Remember, studying any of these plans’ cost benefits is best before jumping in.

Verizon offers 0% APR monthly payments on all the new Galaxy variants. In addition, those on Verizon Unlimited plans are being offered a trade-in on any Samsung phone model in any condition for a new Galaxy S24 or S24+. You could get some money off your monthly payments over time.

Meanwhile, AT&T is advertising credits on your bill when you trade-in for the S24+ and Ultra variants, or up to $800 off the regular S24 so long as you have the telecom company’s unlimited plan.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Specs and Price

Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Now for the important part, AKA what you should actually know about the latest Galaxy before slamming the buy button. The regular Galaxy S24 costs $800 for the 128 GB version and storage caps out at 256 GB. The S24+ is $1,000 with 256 GB and more storage up to 512 GB.

The regular S24 remains at the comfortable 6.2-inch screen size with its FHD+, 120 Hz display. The S24+ bumps up to 6.5 inches with a Quad HD+ display. It comes stocked with 8 GB of integrated memory and the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, Qualcomm’s latest flagship chip. You can expect the usual camera array from the Samsung lineup, including a 50-MP main sensor, a 10-MP telephoto, and a 12-MP ultrawide. Don’t forget the 12-MP selfie camera up front. Otherwise, its looks, size, and weight are very reminiscent of last year’s Galaxy.

As for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, things are switched up a fair bit. This is the most expensive version of the company’s mainline phone, starting at $1,300 for 256 GB of internal memory. There are also options for 512 GB and 1 TB of storage.

The Ultra variant now costs $100 more than the S23 Ultra did last year, and that’s mostly due to the new titanium frame that’s supposed to be more durable than the previous aluminum. The Ultra’s 6.8-inch, 120 Hz flat display also sports Corning Gorilla Armor for screen protection and glare reduction. As far as the camera goes, its zoom function has been boosted with a 5x optical zoom lens on the 50 MP telephoto lens. That’s in addition to the 12-MP ultra-wide, 200-MP wide, and 10-MP telephoto with 3x zoom.

The titanium build hasn’t added much heft compared to the S23, but the S24 isn’t lighter either. It weighs just a little over .5 pounds and is still only .3 inches thick. The Ultra variant packs 12 GB of RAM and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

What Colors are Available for the S24?

Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Samsung really went back to matte for its color selection on the regular S24. The cheaper variations of Samsung’s latest smartphone, including the S24 and S24+, come in a deep purple Cobalt Violet and a muted Amber Yellow, alongside a dark and light gray in the form of Onyx Black and Marble Gray.

On the other hand, the S24 Ultra’s new titanium frame has made the colors of the cheaper phones a bit shinier, even with the same hues. The Ultra comes in Titanium Gray, Titanium Black (a variation of light and dark gray), Titanium Violet, and Titanium Yellow.

What Do We Think About the Galaxy S24 So Far?

Gizmodo’s own Florence Ion has been using the S24 Ultra extensively over the past few weeks, and she already has thoughts you can find here. Suffice it to say, the new $1,300 phone is a step up from last year’s model thanks to its titanium frame, better and brighter screen, and all the new generative AI software packed floor to ceiling inside Samsung’s latest phone. Its new zoom capabilities are also nothing to scoff at, thanks to the 5x zoom on the telephoto lens.

You can be sure we’re working on the full rundown of Samsung’s latest S24 slate, so stay tuned.

How Capable is the Galaxy S24’s AI?

Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Like the Google Pixel 8 before, Samsung wanted to mark its latest phone release as a true “AI phone.” Whatever that truly means, Samsung spent most of its time at its Galaxy Unpacked event talking up the new phone’s generative AI features.

Many of these new features are things we’ve seen before, but the Seoul-based tech giant is promoting them all in one place. As noted in our ongoing review, the Instant Slow-mo feature works quite well, which adds AI-generated frames in videos to add the slow-motion effect artificially. The Generative Edit, akin to Google’s Magic Eraser, also works well enough to remove objects from images and fill in the leftover space.

There’s also the much-advertised Circle to Search feature that’s also coming to Pixel 8 phones. When you hold down on the navigation bar, you can then use a swipe or circle gesture to highlight an image or text on the screen. The feature will then search for that image or text akin to how Google Lens works.

The AI images also come with a watermark and metadata tag made to identify an image of AI. Of course, you can modify an image’s metadata and crop out the watermark, so it’s not like Samsung is promising it will save the world from deepfakes. Hell, you can use Samsung’s own AI to remove the watermark added to modified images.

Plus, Samsung has effectively confirmed its AI might not stay free forever. Samsung’s head of mobile T.M. Roh said that the company is looking into paid premium AI features after the end of 2025. We still don’t know what that will look like, and apparently, neither does Samsung. It’s just something to note considering how AI seems to be the next big push for the mobile market.

How Durable is the Galaxy S24 Ultra?

Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

It’s still early, and folks will need to put all the new phones through their paces. Still, we have a fair idea about how strong titanium can be in phones thanks to the iPhone 15 Pro. Whereas Apple’s premium device was lighter than its past Pro devices, the S24 Ultra variant and its new titanium shell are essentially the same as last year’s, likely due to some swapped internals. The Corning Gorilla Armor on the Ultra should also be stronger and more scratch-resistant than the Victus 2 shield on the regular S24.

Just because it’s now cloaked in a stronger material doesn’t mean you should eschew a case or screen protector. That said, the device may be a fair bit easy to repair should things go horribly wrong, at least based on the most recent S24 teardowns. Videos also show the new phone has expanded its cooling capacity with a larger vapor chamber, which will likely deal with greater heat from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.