Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Review: Samsung’s Big Win in Battery Life Optimization

Samsung Galaxy 24 Ultra

Impact-Site-Verification: 893690c8-ce3a-4be6-93f6-4393ff8b1e9e What stands out to me most about Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Review: Samsung’s Big Win in Battery Life Optimization the Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus isn’t the new Galaxy AI features, the brighter screens, or even the solid camera

it’s the battery life. After years of reviewing phones, one thing is clear: if a company wants to excite people about buying a new phone, there are two key ways to do it—either make the battery last longer or lower the price.

After a week of testing, I can confidently say that the larger batteries in the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus easily power through a full day on a single charge. The S24 Plus, in particular, impressed by lasting up to two days.

Samsung chose not to lower the prices of the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus but instead raised the starting price of the Galaxy S24 Ultra to $1,300. This shift highlights the $1,000 Galaxy S24 Plus as a more compelling option, offering nearly all the features of the Ultra at a more accessible price. While the S24 Plus isn’t a direct replacement for the Ultra

During my time with the S24 and S24 Plus, I juggled a group chat in three languages (English, French, and Spanish), took hilariously over-the-top photos with new editing tools, played video games, and even joined a Zoom call for work. (Reviewing phones isn’t all glamorous, after all

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The S24 and S24 Plus are impressive, well-crafted phones that deliver excellence straight out of the box, much like the nearly identical S22 and S23 models before them.

This resemblance can be seen as a strength, showcasing three years of design refinement, or as a drawback, given that features like the camera hardware remain largely unchanged since 2022. However, what truly sets these phones apart is their outstanding battery life—a feature no one will ever complain about having too much of.

If you’re looking to pick up either phone, Samsung offers trade-in deals for the Galaxy S24 series that can lower the starting price to just $250 for the S24 and $450 for the S24 Plus.

Design where it matters

Samsung Galaxy S24 Cell Phone

Both the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus retain the squared-off aluminum design with rounded corners from last year’s S23 and S23 Plus. While the S24 and S24 Plus are slightly taller, the difference is so minor you’d need to be Ant-Man or Rick Moranis to notice. The slight height increase accommodates their slightly larger displays—6.2 inches on the S24 and 6.7 inches on the S24 Plus, compared to the 6.8-inch screen on the S24 Ultra.

Like the S24 Ultra, both screens boast a peak brightness of 2,600 nits, making them easy to view in almost any lighting condition. Whether snapping photos under direct sunlight or checking the Warriors/Lakers score in a dimly lit bar (with growing disappointment), the displays performed brilliantly. While I haven’t tried the OnePlus 12 with its eye-popping 4,500-nit screen, the S24 series screens are more than bright enough for any situation.

The S24 Plus features a higher resolution and can reach QuadHD, the same resolution as the Ultra. In fact, because the S24 Plus has a smaller display than the Ultra, it actually boasts a higher pixel density. While the difference isn’t noticeable, it’s still an advantage for the Plus.

A Galaxy AI future

I can’t think of two letters that have received more hype lately than AI. While artificial intelligence isn’t new, it’s a broad term, much like asking someone what they’re wearing and getting the response, ‘clothes.’ AI encompasses a wide range of applications, from basic algorithms and machine learning to generative AI technologies like ChatGPT and DALL-E.

AI appears in various forms on the S24 and S24 Plus, with some features developed by Samsung and others by Google. Some AI functions require an internet connection, while others operate entirely on-device.

If you’ve been using smartphones for a while, you might recall a time before pull-to-refresh became a standard feature. Then, one day, it was everywhere. I think the same will happen with Circle to Search. It works seamlessly and isn’t exclusive to the S24 series—it’s also available on the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, and will be coming to the S23 line as well.

Much like pull-to-refresh, I wouldn’t be surprised if Circle to Search eventually makes its way to every phone, including the iPhone.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

SAMSUNG Galaxy S24+ Plus Cell Phone

The translation tools were impressive, even though language translation itself isn’t new to smartphones. What stands out here is the on-device implementation. I had a real-time phone conversation translated between myself, an English speaker, and a friend who spoke Spanish. While getting used to the brief pause for AI-generated translations was a bit odd, it felt almost like something out of the UN. The translation worked well overall, though there were occasional signs it was AI-driven, such as some words being flipped in a Yoda-like manner.

I found the text message translation feature more useful. The interface is clean and seamlessly integrated into the keyboard. As I mentioned earlier, it handled multiple languages within a single conversation without issue. The accuracy was better, according to my friends (one who speaks Spanish and the other French), likely because it’s limited to text rather than real-time speech.

Overall, none of these new AI-powered tools are the main reason to buy this phone (or any phone, really). We’re still in the early stages of generative AI for smartphones, and these features will naturally improve as more people use them. However, some of these tools are useful enough right now to appeal to everyday users, not just tech enthusiasts.

Recently, Samsung raised questions about the future of Galaxy AI. The fine print on the manufacturer’s website suggests that after two years, Samsung may begin charging for these features. What feels shady isn’t that AI-powered tools could become the next source of subscription revenue, but that Samsung left it up to journalists to uncover this possibility hidden in the fine print. What’s going on, Samsung? An ad for an ’80s used car dealership?

Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Review: Samsung’s Big Win in Battery Life Optimization Battery life and performance

All three new Galaxy phones are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, delivering impressive performance when paired with 8GB of RAM on the S24 and 12GB on the S24 Plus. The under-display fingerprint sensor unlocks the device with remarkable speed, and the camera app launches instantly, offering a snappy and responsive user experience.

Gaming performance is outstanding on both phones, effortlessly handling titles like Mario Kart, Diablo Immortal, and Genshin Impact. While the S24 warmed up a bit quicker than the Plus, neither device became uncomfortably hot. In benchmark tests, both models performed on par with heavyweights like the Ultra, Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, even surpassing some of them. Notably, the base S24 delivered surprisingly high scores, exceeding expectations.

The S24 series comes with Android 14 out of the box, but the standout feature is Samsung’s promise of seven years of major OS updates and software support. This means you could keep the Galaxy S24 updated through 2031 with the latest version of Android. Of course, a battery replacement might be necessary to keep it running smoothly for that long.

The S24 and S24 Plus deliver stable software right out of the box, a refreshing change compared to many phones I’ve reviewed over the past year. For example, the iPhone 15 series initially struggled with overheating issues caused by iOS 17, though those have since been resolved.

The batteries in the S24 series have grown alongside their screens. The S24 now features a 4,000-mAh battery, a modest 100-mAh upgrade over the S23, while the S24 Plus boasts a 4,900-mAh battery, 200 mAh larger than its predecessor. Interestingly, the Plus model’s battery is just 100 mAh short of the S24 Ultra’s 5,000-mAh capacity, further highlighting the narrowing gap between the two devices.

The larger batteries deliver a modest yet noticeable boost in endurance, thanks in part to the efficiency of the new Snapdragon chip. In real-world use, the S24 easily lasts from 6 a.m. with a full charge to 11 p.m. with about 25% remaining. This was achieved during a day of medium-to-heavy usage on T-Mobile’s 5G network, with the screen frequently set to maximum brightness for photo and video shoots during the review.

Both phones support fast charging, but you’ll need to purchase a compatible power brick separately. The S24 supports up to 25 watts and charged from 0% to 51% in 30 minutes. Similarly, the S24 Plus, using its maximum 45-watt charging capability, went from 0% to 50% in the same time frame.

I still need to conduct additional battery and charging tests, including evaluating the 15-watt wireless charging both phones support. However, my experience so far has been thoroughly impressive.

Cameras: Identical.

Both phones feature the same rear camera setup as the S23 and S23 Plus, with a trio of wide, ultrawide, and 3x telephoto lenses. The main camera boasts a 50-megapixel sensor, capable of capturing both 50-megapixel and 12-megapixel photos. The ultrawide and telephoto cameras have 12-megapixel and 10-megapixel sensors, respectively, each capturing 12-megapixel shots. This raises the question of where the telephoto lens is getting its extra 2 megapixels.

In good lighting, photos have excellent dynamic range (the contrast between the brightest and darkest areas) and strong image quality. However, in mixed or low-light conditions, when night mode isn’t activated, details appear soft and overly processed. Take a look below.

In terms of camera quality, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus can hold their own against the Pixel 8 and iPhone 15, but just barely. Below, you can see photos I took of an espresso bar at Four Barrel Coffee in San Francisco using the Pixel 8, iPhone 15, and S24 Plus. The lighting was dim enough to challenge all three cameras, yet not dark enough to trigger night mode.

All three photos look good. The Pixel 8 and S24 Plus exposed their shots similarly, capturing the scene closest to real life. The iPhone 15, on the other hand, brightened everything, resulting in a visually appealing photo but skewing the color temperature. In terms of detail (check out the coffee beans in the hopper), the S24 Plus’s image appeared slightly soft, while the Pixel 8’s was a bit over-sharpened. The iPhone 15’s photo falls somewhere in between.

These results are particularly promising for the regular S24. However, with a $1,000 price tag and competition from the likes of the Pixel 8 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro, it’s hard to get excited about the S24 Plus’s photography. While it’s certainly capable, it doesn’t stand out as the best nor come close to the top-tier smartphone cameras available today. This may explain the existence of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, with its new, higher-resolution 200-megapixel main camera.

Cameras: refreshed.

But that’s not all. The Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus feature a combination of on-board and cloud-based editing tools for photos and videos. These AI-powered tools enhance image quality and help correct aspects of the photos I take. They also offer a preview of how AI could continue to improve photo quality over time as the phone ages.

In the Gallery app, I can simply tap and hold any video while it’s playing to instantly convert it into slow motion (with AI generating and adding frames). It’s a fun feature, and as the saying goes, everything looks better in slow motion.

Next, there’s the extravagant Generative Edit (similar to the Pixel 8’s Magic Editor and built on the same Google technology) that allows you to remove objects or people from a photo and fill in the gaps. While it’s impressive, I haven’t seen a perfect result yet—there’s always some visible trace or halo hinting that something’s been altered. The tool also lets me move objects and people around, even resizing them, which is both fun and a bit absurd.

I find that the most useful fixes are the simple ones. Using the same Generative Edit tool, I can straighten photos, which is a feature I appreciate—I’m not a fan of Dutch angles except in Hitchcock films, Terry Gilliam movies, and, of course, Power Rangers. Normally, straightening a photo on most phones means cropping to get the right angle, but on the S24 and S24 Plus, Generative Edit can fill in the areas beyond the frame that weren’t even there, eliminating the need to crop. The results are impressive—see below.

The Gallery app has another neat feature. By swiping up, I can view a photo’s metadata, and little buttons or tags appear with suggestions for improvements. Almost every photo gets a “remaster” tag, which, in my experience, brightens certain parts of the image.

The “erase reflections” tool works fairly well. Take a look at the two photos below—the reduction in light glare is noticeable, but the results can be hit-or-miss. It would be more accurate to call the tool “reduce reflections” instead.

Overall, the AI photo and video features feel more experimental than reliable.

Final Thoughts on the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus

After several days of testing the S24 and S24 Plus—playing games, texting and calling in multiple languages, taking photos, recording videos, and exploring all the Galaxy AI features—I’m pleased to say both phones are exceptional. Samsung didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it took two already great phones and made them even better.

The challenge for the S24 Plus is that the Google Pixel 8 Pro is priced similarly but offers slightly better cameras. However, I believe the S24 Plus is the overall superior phone in almost every other aspect, including software, which has been flawless in my testing.

The challenge for the S24 is that you can get a OnePlus 12 for the same price or save $100 and opt for a Pixel 8. After using both the Pixel 8 and S24, it’s tough to say one is clearly better than the other. The S24 boasts a more refined design, superior build quality, and more stable software as of now. On the other hand, the Pixel 8 excels in photography and offers unique features like call screening.

If you’re using a Galaxy S21 or S21 Plus and considering an upgrade, now is the time. The Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus offer great battery life, impressive performance, seven years of software support, and some promising Galaxy AI features. However, given its $1,000 price, I expect more from the S24 Plus’s camera.

Our Phone Testing Process

Every phone reviewed by RIqasa’s team is tested in real-world conditions. We evaluate the phone’s features, play games, and take photos. We assess the display for brightness, sharpness, and vibrancy. The design and build are analyzed to determine how comfortable it is to hold and whether it has an IP rating for water resistance. We push the processor to its limits, using standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, alongside our own observations as we navigate the interface, record high-resolution videos, and play graphically demanding games at high refresh rates.

All cameras are tested in various conditions, ranging from bright sunlight to low-light indoor settings. We evaluate special features like night mode and portrait mode, comparing the results with similarly priced competitors. Additionally, we assess battery life by using the phone throughout the day and conducting a series of battery drain tests.