Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus Review: Awkward middle child or THE sweet spot in the lineup?

Name: Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus
Item: Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus
Author: Shaurya Tomer

What makes the Galaxy S24 Plus special? Is it just an awkward middle child or the most value-for-money smartphone and the sweet spot in Samsung’s latest flagship lineup? Find out in our Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review.

By: SHAURYA TOMER
| Updated on: Mar 15 2024, 11:47 IST

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus Review: The Samsung Galaxy S24 series was unveiled to the world in January and since then, it has gone on to earn rave reviews from tech experts and enthusiasts alike, albeit with some flak too. Continuing the trend, this year's flagship lineup consists of 3 smartphones - Samsung Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 Ultra. While it is easy to shift focus on the top-end Galaxy S24 Ultra courtesy of the new and shiny titanium build and other major upgrades, Samsung has added subtle touches to the vanilla Galaxy S24 variants as well.

We've already talked about the new features of the Samsung Galaxy S24 series in depth in our Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra reviews, so I won't delve into much detail about them. This year's major inclusion is Galaxy AI, Samsung's suite of in-house AI features that bring new image editing, live transcription and other capabilities. Although all 3 devices get these features, there are distinct differences that aim to justify their varied price points.

So, what makes the Galaxy S24 Plus special? Is it just an awkward middle child or the most value-for-money smartphone in Samsung's latest flagship lineup? After spending a few weeks with it, I think it is a balance of both. Here's why.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus: What's new and for the better

image caption — The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus now gets a slightly bigger 6.7-inch Quad HD+ display. (Shaurya Tomer/HT Tech)

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus has an all-new display! The South Korean tech giant has bumped up the resolution of its ‘Plus' smartphone from FHD+ to Quad HD+. This was a much-needed upgrade and now the slightly larger 6.7-inch display is much nicer to look at. The pixel count has been bumped up from a mealy 319ppi to a flagship-level 512ppi, making visuals crisp. The brightness levels also get a boost and now it goes up to a staggering 2600 nits. That means you'll have no problem viewing content on your Galaxy S24 Plus even in direct sunlight. Oh, and the refresh rate can now drop to 1Hz when it is not put to work, affecting the battery life positively.

Another big change is the design philosophy. It might sound cliche but the Galaxy S24 Plus now has a more iPhone-esque look while still maintaining Samsung's design language that has now become synonymous. It has flat edges and a rounded design without any noticeable curves. While it feels premium to hold, it is more prone to slipping.

It carries over the same build from its predecessor, including the Armor Aluminium frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The camera system is the same as well so there's not much to talk about it here. That said, you can now take advantage of features Galaxy AI-powered image editing features including generative AI fill which can remove objects in your photos and fill in the space.

Coming to the performance, the Galaxy S24 Plus performs as well as a flagship should. Flagship smartphones these days come with powerful chips that can last for years. Thus, even last year's Galaxy S23 Plus can still hold a candle to today's flagships. Even during heavy usage, including Adobe Lightroom and using the Live Transcribe feature for over an hour, the Galaxy S24 Plus barely broke a sweat. The same applies to gaming as it breezed through games such as Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt 9 without any noticeable frame drops.

Over the last few weeks, the Galaxy S24 Plus has lasted a day on most occasions with moderate usage. I binged a couple of YouTube videos, listened to podcasts on my way to the office, checked a few emails and made a few calls - all these tasks were achieved with still enough battery left.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus: What could've been improved

Sadly, the Galaxy S24 Plus misses out on the stellar new Gorilla Glass Armor anti-reflective coating which was one of the standout features in this year's S24 Ultra. The inclusion of it would've been a home run for the company but it has decided to limit it to its flagship smartphone…at least for this year.

While the design language is nice, I'm starting to see a problem with Samsung's flagships. Nowadays, you cannot differentiate between Samsung phones based on just looks. At first glance, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus looks identical to the newly launched Galaxy A55, and although it may be good news for potential buyers of the latter, it might be disappointing to those who own the S24 Plus. Perhaps the addition of a differentiator in the design of the flagship smartphone might be useful here.

One of the most disappointing things about the Galaxy S24 Plus is Samsung's policy when it comes to using different chipsets. The company has decided to sell Galaxy S24 Plus with its in-house Exynos 2400 in every market except the US and Canada. While the new Exynos chip is not inferior by any means, it would've been nice to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip which other top smartphone manufacturers are adopting. While I did not experience any lag in performance on the Exnyos-powered Galaxy S24 Plus, it did heat up considerably more than my Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is quite a concern, especially during Indian summers when temperatures soar to a scorching 45 degrees.

The camera performance on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus was also inconsistent, at least for the first few weeks until the recent update. Even continuously captured snapshots do not look the same. The low-light performance is also average at best, considering that it is a smartphone that costs almost Rs. 1 lakh. I hope these inconsistencies in the camera performance are solved with future updates.

Another area where Samsung could've improved is the charging speed. While it does offer 45W fast charging which is considerably more than the lowly 25W offered on the vanilla S24, it still isn't nearly enough when compared to other flagship, or even mid-range smartphones. Do better Samsung!

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus: Should you upgrade?

That's the million-dollar question. My take is if you're planning to upgrade from the Galaxy S23 series or even the S22 series, just don't. Playing a waiting game might be a sensible option as the upgrades are only incremental, if you're not an AI buff that is. However, if you're not coming from one of the flagship smartphones of recent years, then this a sensible option if you want a Samsung phone with a big screen but don't want to shell out the premium commanded by the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Rating

3.5 out of 5

Price

INR 99,999/-

Product Name

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus

Brand Name

Samsung

Pros