Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024: live blog, everything you need to know about the Galaxy S24 launch
HELLO!
In case you were wondering, Samsung’s first major event of 2024 has kicked off, and as has been the case for the past few years, you’ll be able to watch as the latest Galaxy devices are unveiled.
You’ll be able to watch from the comfort of your own home, but there are a few different options at your disposal, and you can learn about them all here.
Join Android Central as we live blog the whole event!
Live stream
By this time tomorrow, we’ll know everything there is to know about the Galaxy S24 lineup, and many of us will have our pre-orders in. While Samsung hasn’t shared all of the details just yet, you can lock-in your pre-order and save yourself up to more than $1,000 on the latest and greatest Galaxy device. This includes a $50 instant credit and up to $970 when trading in your current (or old) phone.
The rumor mill began churning in regards to the Galaxy S24 series before the Galaxy S23 was even announced, back in December, 2022. Some leaks suggested that while the Galaxy S24 Ultra would be getting an improved telephoto sensor, Samsung was planning to use the same 200MP primary camera that eventually debuted with the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Another rumor hit the Galaxy S24 lineup ahead of the S23 launch, suggesting that “Samsung could drop the Plus model from the S24 series in 2024 due to consumers’ lack of interest in the phone.” This came on the heels of a report that claimed of the 31.5 million Galaxy S22 units sold, only 5.5 million of those were of the Plus model. This was also shortly after Apple unveiled the iPhone 14 lineup, which dropped the iPhone 13 Mini in favor of the iPhone 14 Plus.
Things were mostly quiet for a few months, with only a few random rumors cropping up here and there. However, that all started to change in July, as a Geekbench entry appeared for what appeared to be the Galaxy S24 Plus. This was the first of the upcoming Samsung devices to be leaked, appearing to confirm that it would be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which had yet to be officially announced. That same day, another rumor claimed that Samsung would be implementing its Exynos 2400 chip into the Galaxy S24 series in certain regions.
One complaint that you could make about both the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus is that Samsung still opted for LTPS displays with these models, leaving the Galaxy S23 Ultra as the only option if you wanted an LTPO screen. However, another leak claimed that Samsung would be bringing its LTPO display to all three models for the Galaxy S24 series. Not is an LTPO display more power efficient, but it also allows for the 1-120Hz dynamic refresh range that we’ve become accustomed to with many of the best Android phones.
Exynos rumors were again swirling in late August, with seemingly further confirmation that the Exynos 2400 would be utilized in European markets. CPU clock speeds were also leaked, revealing that the SoC was still a bit behind when compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, suggesting that performance could fall a bit short of Galaxy S24 devices released in other regions.
Fast forward to the end of September, and we finally got an idea of when Samsung might take the wraps off of its upcoming flagship lineup. A leak on Weibo revealed the rumored announcement date of January 18, which came as a bit of a surprise as Samsung has been traditionally hosting its first Galaxy Unpacked event in February. The reason for the shift remains a bit unclear, however, it could be as simple as Samsung wanting to get the latest Galaxy devices into the hands of the masses, sooner.
Just a few days after the potential announcement date was leaked, we got our first look at alleged renders for the Galaxy S24. According to these renders, it’s apparent that “Samsung doesn't want to rock the boat too much with its smallest flagship.” The biggest changes came in the form of a flatter frame, “ a slight repositioning of the LED flash unit, and will have slightly different dimensions.” Because the phones weren’t slated to arrive for a few months, some were still hoping for more of a design overhaul, as opposed to just a few small tweaks.
In early October, Samsung finally took the wraps off of its latest flagship Exynos chip with the Exynos 2400. The company shared that the chip was almost twice as powerful in CPU performance compared to the Exynos 2200, and a staggering 14.7x jump in AI performance. However, the “problem” with these comparisons was that the Exynos 2200 was two years old, as Samsung notably opted to forgo the Exynos 2300 in favor of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with the Galaxy S23 series.
A couple of weeks later, another rumor gave us an idea of what colors Samsung had in mind for the Galaxy S24 lineup. While there weren’t any accompanying renders, display analyst Ross Young revealed that all three models would be available in Black, Gray, Violet and Yellow. This came a day after Young backed up previous rumors and leaks in regards to Samsung utilizing on LTPO displays for all three models, and goes on to say that this move “will put some pressure on the iPhone 16.”
Also in October, Qualcomm hosted its yearly Snapdragon Summit where the company unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, amongst other products. It’s clear that this chip was designed with multi-modal AI models in mind, as the company’s latest AI Engine is capable of “generating images from text queries in just a second.” As for performance, Qualcomm claimed a “30% increase” over the Gen 2, while offering “20% better efficiency with the same workloads.”
Shortly after the sun set on the Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm announced its FY Q4 2023 earnings, confirming that the newly-announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 would “have a majority share with the upcoming Galaxy S24 launch.” This all-but-confirmed the rumors about Samsung’s plans to introduce the Exynos 2400 in certain regions with the Galaxy S24.
If you were wondering why we focused a bit on the gaming and performance aspect of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, it’s largely because of a report that surfaced in early November. A report claimed that Samsung “is working on creating its own ray tracing algorithm, which could rival prominent PC graphic card makers.” The report goes on to say that we might not see this until “after 2025,” however, it’s become fairly apparent that the Snadpragon 8 Gen 3 and Exynos 2400 are helping to lay the groundwork for this.
Rather unsurprisingly, December was when things really started to pick up, as we learned that despite rumors about Samsung releasing the Galaxy S24 Ultra with 16GB of RAM, the flagship would “only” max out with 12GB. This latest rumor seemingly confirmed that all three models would have an 8GB configuration with the Galaxy S24 Plus and Ultra also being available with 12GB options. The reason for this was said to be a “cost-cutting measure” in an attempt to “keep the prices of the Galaxy S24 and the Plus model more affordable.”
Later in that same day, some official-looking renders were leaked for the Galaxy S24 lineup, also revealing the four colors that we now expect to see with the Galaxy S24 Ultra — Titanium Black, Titanium Gray, Titanium Violet, and Titanium Yellow. Perhaps more importantly, it also seemed to confirm that Samsung would be ditching curved displays altogether, in favor of flat panels, for the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
The leak went on to give us a look at the supposed camera specs for all three models, with the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus being equipped with a 50MP main lens, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 10MP telephoto capable of 3x zoom. As for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it’s said to be using a 200MP primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide, a 10MP telephoto with 3x zoom, and a 50MP secondary telephoto lens capable of 5x zoom. Galaxy S23 Ultra owners looking to upgrade might want to think twice, as the S24 Ultra’s 5x optical zoom is a “downgrade” from the 10x available on the previous model.
As is usually the case with leaks and rumors for an upcoming device, it wasn’t until fairly recently that some of the software changes Samsung is planning was leaked. Up to this point (mid-December), all we knew was that the Galaxy S24 would be shipping with Android 14 in-tow. However, a post on X (formerly Twitter) leaked a variety of “features and improvements,” which include many features with a focus on AI. Some of the expected features include AI generated wallpapers, similar to the Pixel 8, weather and portrait affects for the lock screen, relocate objects in scenes and expand photos beyond their borders, better organizational tools for Samsung Notes, and much more.
With all of these expected changes, there was an obvious concern about whether we will be seeing a price hike for the Galaxy S24. A report in mid-December claimed that Samsung would be opting for a “price freeze,” meaning that prices in the U.S. would come in at “$799, $999, and $1,199 for the S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra, respectively.” Another report claimed that Samsung is expecting the Galaxy S24 to “account for 38% of its sales in 2024.” Meanwhile, the company is set to lean heavily into on-device AI with the likes of the Samsung Gauss AI model, along with ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
Just before the the 2023 holiday break, four massive leaks revealed practically everything we need to know about these devices. It started with just a post on X (formerly Twitter) revealing the RAM and storage configurations of all three models with the Galaxy S24 Ultra maxing out with 12GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. It also refutes previous leaks and claims suggesting Galaxy S24 Plus and Ultra models with 8GB of RAM, as both devices are now expected to feature 12GB, with just the standard Galaxy S24 being limited to 8GB.
The next leak was massive, as there more than 100 official renders were leaked, along with the colors for all three models, and we learned that Samsung was set to launch these devices on January 17 at 1PM ET. According to the renders and accompanying commentary, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus are said to be available in “Amber Yellow, Marble Gray, Cobalt Violet, and Onyx Black.”
Shortly after all of the renders were revealed, prominent tipster Evan Blass, posted a photo revealing the spec-sheet for all three Galaxy S24 models. This confirmed many of the leaks and rumors leading up to now, including the camera configurations, battery size, and that all three devices are capable of reaching up to 2600 nits of peak brightness. It also confirmed that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 would be at the helm, while also suggesting other features such as “Dynamic Lock Screen” and “Smart Keyboard.”
One of the last leaks that we’ve seen leading up to Galaxy Unpacked came in the form of the Exynos 2400-powered Galaxy S24 Plus appearing on Geekbench. This time, it seems that Samsung was able to improve performance as the Geekbench results revealed a 2193 single-core score and 6895 multi-core score. For comparison, leaks of the Galaxy S24 Ultra with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 showed scores of 2297 and 7104, respectively. Because Samsung is in control of the “tech stack,” it was seemingly able to optimize the Exynos 2400 for better performance. However, we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that this remains true once you are able to actually purchase one.
The clocks ticking as we’re now just minutes away from seeing the Galaxy S24 lineup officially announced. Needless to say, we’re pretty darn excited about seeing what one of the potential best phones of the year has to offer. The event itself is being live streamed from Samsung.com and the company’s YouTube channel, so you can follow along and learn more about the Galaxy S24 series.
Unpacked has started y'all!
Samsung now offering seven years of OS updates....that's cool.
Here it is! The S24 series has been launched: Here's our hands on written by Nick Sutrich!
Samsung Galaxy S24: free storage upgrade, $50 Best Buy gift card, up to $600 off with trade-in
Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus: free storage upgrade, $100 Best Buy gift card, up to $750 off with trade-in
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: free storage upgrade, $200 gift card, and up to $750 off with trade-in
The S24 series is here and the preorder deals are already pouring in! One of our favorite offers comes from Best Buy, who is offering customers some enhanced trade-in credit, free storage upgrades, and free gift cards through January 30th. Dig out those old devices and see how much you can save!
Well, it looks like most of the rumors and leaks were true, as there are a surprising number of similarities between all three Galaxy S24 models. It starts with the display, as Samsung is using LTPO across the board, bringing variable refresh rates between 1-120Hz to the S24 and S24 Plus, an improvement over the previous generation. Plus, Samsung is cranking up the brightness with these new panels, as the Galaxy S24 lineup is capable of reaching up to 2600 nits of peak brightness.
Powering all three models is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, following the same nomenclature introduced with last year’s Galaxy S23 lineup. This new chip is paired with 8GB of RAM on the Galaxy S24, while the S24 Plus and S24 Ultra both include 12GB of RAM. As for storage, you might be disappointed with the 128GB starting option for the Galaxy S24, but there’s also a 256GB variant. The Galaxy S24 Plus shares the 256GB level, but is also available with 512GB, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra is comprised of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage options.
As for the cameras, both the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus are sharing the same 50MP wide-angle primary camera, equipped with OIS and an f/1.8 aperture. A 12MP lens is available for ultrawide shots, offering an f/2.2 aperture and a 120-degree field of view, with a 10MP 3x telephoto camera rounding out the pack.
With the Galaxy S24 Ultra, there are a total of four rear cameras, headlined by the 200MP main sensor, featuring OIS and an f/1.7 aperture. Samsung is also bringing back the 12MP ultrawide lens from the S23 Ultra, providing an f/2.2 aperture and the same 120-degree field of view as its smaller siblings. The first of the two telephoto lenses is the 10MP telephoto camera, which provides a 3x optical zoom and OIS. The biggest change comes in the form of the 50MP periscope telephoto camera, sporting an f/3.4 aperture, and OIS, but “only” a 5x optical zoom.
Pricing for Samsung’s latest flagship devices starts at $799 for the 128GB Galaxy S24 and goes up to $999 for the 256GB Galaxy S24 Plus. These are the same prices as last year’s models, so there shouldn’t be too much of a shock on that front. However, Samsung has increased the pricing for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, as the 256GB model will set you back $1,299, representing a $100 increase over last year’s model. You can pre-order these devices now, and they will ship on January 31.
WOW WOW, Samsung just announced a ring
It's not often that Samsung has its own version of "One More Thing," but just as Galaxy Unpacked was winding down, the company gave us a glimpse at the future. No, we're not talking about AI, but instead, the Galaxy Ring was finally shown off.
And that's about it. Other than a rather brief teaser video playing on the big screen, the only other thing that Samsung had to say was that it would be coming "later this year." After seeing a variety of fitness rings announced at CES '24, and now the Galaxy Ring, it's obvious that this is the next frontier for fitness wearables.
If you can't get enough of AI, then the Galaxy S24 is going to be the phone for you. There are a total of 11 new AI-focused features available across all three Galaxy S24 models. Of that, three of those work their magic completely on-device, without needing a network connection. The rest of them either require an internet connection or you'll at least sign into your Google account.
Much of this is made possible thanks to Google's Gemini Nano model which was unveiled at the end of last year. Until now, the only phone with any of these capabilities was the Pixel 8 Pro. One feature, Circle to Search, was announced alongside the Galaxy S24, but will also be made available on both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro on January 31.
To some, it might be surprising to see that Samsung didn't do much in the way of any hardware camera upgrades. Instead, it's going to lean on software and AI in order to try to hold the crown of the best camera phone. With the Galaxy S24 Ultra, there's still a quad camera array, headlined by a 200MP wide-angle lens. The only major difference is that the periscope telephoto lens now maxes out with a 5x optical zoom, as opposed to the 10x optical zoom offered by the S23 Ultra.
Samsung spent much of the Galaxy Unpacked event talking about all of the different AI features. What it didn't share was that there's a chance that it will start charging for some of those features in a couple of years. As it turns out, there's a disclaimer on the Galaxy S24 product page stating "Galaxy AI features will be provided for free until the end of 2025 on supported Samsung Galaxy devices."
Part of the problem with this is that the potential of charging for features was publicized during the event, but instead, was tossed in the "fine print" for the device. Another issue is that considering that there are a bunch of AI-powered features, we don't know what Samsung plans on charging users for, let alone how much more we'll have to pay.
Samsung Galaxy S24: free storage upgrade, $50 Best Buy gift card, up to $600 off with trade-in
Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus: free storage upgrade, $100 Best Buy gift card, up to $750 off with trade-in
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: free storage upgrade, $200 gift card, and up to $750 off with trade-in
Did you miss the initial rush to pre-order after Galaxy Unpacked concluded? Don't worry, you haven't missed out on any major deals, just yet. All three models are available for pre-order from pretty much anywhere you can think of, and we've rounded up all of the best Galaxy S24 preorder deals that we've been able to find
This graph might not mean much to most people but, for PWM-sensitive folks, this represents a huge step forward for Samsung's modern Android phones. As of launch, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra uses 480Hz PWM to dim the display. This is double the rate of all other Samsung phones that use AMOLED displays and now matches the rate of iPhones that use OLED displays.
It still pales in comparison to some other new phones like the OnePlus 12, which use up to a 2,160Hz rate, but it's an incredibly important change for overall user eye health. PWM dimming is physically painful for people who are sensitive to flickering lights and it's great to see Samsung starting to take this more seriously.
Based on other measurements so far, it looks like only the Ultra has received the PWM frequency improvement. That's yet another reason to go Ultra this year, even with the price increase.
Did you know that Samsung's new Instant Slow-Mo feature works in any video? All you have to do is long-press on any video you're watching in the Samsung Gallery app and it'll automatically slow down to 1/4 speed. The best part is that it doesn't matter how the video was recorded, what quality it was recorded at, or what you used to record the video.
It just works.
Instant Slow-Mo uses Galaxy AI to interpolate frames, working some serious AI magic on all of your new and old videos, alike. If you like what you see, you can tap the edit button and choose either 1/2 or 1/4 speed. The UI works identically to videos captured in slow-motion, so you can choose a specific part of the video to slow down for dramatic effect.
Man, AI really is the future.
If you're a fan of MagSafe and are disappointed that Samsung decided to leave it out of the Galaxy S24, we were hoping that we would still be able to rely on MagSafe adapters. However, it seems that this might not be the case, at least for those who pre-order the Galaxy S24 Ultra. There are already reports that "cases with MagSafe or Qi2 magnets may "break" functionality for the Galaxy S24 Ultra's S Pen."
While the phone is currently only in the hands of the media, it's uncertain whether this is a widespread problem or not. Our own Nick Sutrich didn't run into any problems when using a MagSafe case with a Spigen ring, but it could also be related to the actual case and implementation of MagSafe. Nevertheless, it's just something to keep an eye on as there are still two weeks before these phones make their way to the masses.
One of the more surprising announcements that came during Galaxy Unpacked was Samsung's confirmation that some of the new Galaxy AI features will be made available for older phones. This will be made possible with the release of One UI 6.1, which is expected to arrive sometime in the first half of the year.
Some of the devices that will receive this update include the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Galaxy Z Flip 5, and will extend into the tablet space with the Galaxy Tab S9 lineup. Unfortunately, we aren't yet exactly sure as to what features will make their way to older devices, and which ones will remain exclusive to the Galaxy S24 lineup.
