Samsung Galaxy S24 vs. the competition: Familiar hardware, new AI chops
Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event today barely let us catch our breath after last week's CES. As we expected, the company revealed its latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra, which rely more than a little on new AI features. There's Circle to Search, Live Translate and Chat Assist to help you find the right words (and the right tone) of your messages - all of which you can read about in our hands-on report on the new handhelds.
As for the design and hardware, not much has changed since last year's S23. The rear triple camera array remains the same with a 50MP main, a 12MP wide, and a 10MP telephoto lens. The 6.2-inch Full HD+ screen is 1/10th of an inch bigger and the battery adds 100 mAh to the size of the previous generation. The new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor has been optimized for the new Galaxies - which should help them handle all of those nifty AI-powered tricks. Here's how the Samsung Galaxy S24 stacks up against its two closest rivals, the Apple iPhone 15 and the Google Pixel 8.
Samsung Galaxy S24 | Google Pixel 8 | Apple iPhone 15 | |
Pricing (MSRP) | From $800 | From $699 | From $799 |
Dimensions | 5.79 x 2.78 x 0.3 inches | 5.9 x 2.8 x 0.4 inches | 5.81 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches |
Weight | 5.93 ounces | 6.6 ounces | 6.02 ounces |
Screen size | 6.2 inches | 6.2 inches | 6.1 inches |
Screen resolution | 1,080 x 2,340 Full HD+ | 1,080 x 2,400 428 ppi | 1,179 x 2,556 460 ppi |
Screen type | AMOLED 2x Up to 120Hz (1-120Hz) Up to 2,600 nits brightness Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | OLED Up to 120Hz (60-120Hz) Up to 2,000 nits brightness Gorilla Glass Victus | OLED 60Hz Up to 2,000 nits brightness Ceramic Shield |
SoC | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Google Tensor G3 | Apple A16 Bionic Hexa-core CPU (up to 3.46GHz) 5-core Apple GPU |
RAM | 8GB | 8GB | 6GB |
Battery | 4,000mAh | 4,485mAh "Beyond 24 hours" | "Up to 20 hours video playback" |
Charging | USB Type-C "Up to 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes" Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare | USB Type-C 3.2 Up to 27W wired Up to 18W wireless with Google Pixel Stand (2nd gen) Qi wireless charging up to 12W Reverse wireless charging | USB Type-C (USB 2.0) "Up to 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes" MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W Reverse wired charging |
Storage | 128GB / 256GB | 128GB / 256GB | 128GB / 256GB / 512GB |
Rear camera(s) | Main: 50 MP, f/1.8 Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2 Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4 3x optical zoom | Main: 50 MP, f/1.68 Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2, 125.8 degree FOV | Main: 48 MP, f/1.6 Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.4, 120 degree FOV |
Front camera(s) | 12 MP, f/2.2 | 10.5 MP, f/2.2 | 12 MP, f/1.9 |
Video capture | Rear: 8K at 24/30 fps, 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60/240/960 fps Front: 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30 fps | Rear: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 24/30/60/120/240 fps Front: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60 fps | Rear: 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p at 25/30/60/120/240 fps Front: 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p at 25/30/60/120 fps |
Water and dust resistance | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 |
Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 7 | Wi-Fi 6 |
Bluetooth | v5.3 | v5.3 | v5.3 |
NFC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
OS | Android 14 | Android 14 | iOS 17 |
Finishes | Sapphire Blue, Sandstone Orange, Jade Green, Cobalt Violet, Marble Gray, Onyx Black, Amber Yellow Armor Aluminum frame | Obsidian, Hazel, Rose Matte aluminum frame | Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink Aluminum frame |