The Samsung Galaxy S23 series was a winner when it launched this February, picking up rave reviews and excellent sales so far for Samsung.
Now, rumours are beginning to appear suggesting what its successor could have in store for us when it arrives next year. Here’s all we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy S24.
When will the Samsung Galaxy S24 be released?
Samsung hasn’t officially confirmed a date for the unveiling of the Galaxy S24, but the company has a pretty steady release schedule for its devices, so it seems likely that we’ll see the new model in February 2024.
To see why, here’s when the previous S-series flagships made their debuts:
- Samsung Galaxy S23 – February 2023
- Samsung Galaxy S22 – February 2022
- Samsung Galaxy S21 – January 2021
The S21 actually came out at the end of January, so it’s not much of a blip when it comes to the schedule. We don’t see any reason Samsung would need to delay or establish a new release window in 2024, so expect the Galaxy S24 to appear when February next rolls around.
How much will the Samsung Galaxy S24 cost?
We’re not sure of the exact price yet, but we can make good guesses based on the prices of previous models:
Regular model
- Galaxy S23: $799/£849/€959
- Galaxy S22: $799/£769/€879
- Galaxy S21: $799/£769/€849
Plus model
- Galaxy S23+: $999/£1,049/€1,219
- Galaxy S22+: $999/£949/€1,079
- Galaxy S21+: $999/£949/€1,049
Ultra model
- Galaxy S23 Ultra: $1,199/£1,249/€1,419
- Galaxy S22 Ultra: $1,199/£1,149/€1,279
- Galaxy S21 Ultra: $1,299/£1,149/€1,249
As you can see, Samsung seems to have settled around remarkably consistent pricing in the US, with only slightly more variation elsewhere – mostly price hikes in the UK and Europe this year, driven by inflation. Let’s hope the company can avoid raising rates for two years in a row.
What about the Samsung Galaxy S24 specs and features?
As Samsung hasn’t released any details about the S24 line yet, we don’t have any confirmed upgrades at the time of writing. Of course, that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from doing its thing, and several leaks have already appeared which suggest Samsung fans could have something to look forward to, especially in the Ultra.
Design
We’re not expecting to see significant design changes this year.
Leaker Tech_Reve has already tweeted that the S24 and S24+ will “keep the same design as their predecessors,” and we’ve heard nothing else to the contrary.
The S24 Ultra, meanwhile, is expected to similarly stay the same, but with one major change to the back: a drop from four camera lenses to three. We’ll explain that further down.
Chipsets
As you’d expect from a flagship phone, the processor inside will be from the very top drawer. It seems most likely that the S24 will come with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, which should have launched by then. SamMobile reports that the new processor could have a GPU that’s 50% faster than the one in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that powers the S23 series.
Then again, that isn’t guaranteed, as our own Henry Burrell discovered when he interviewed Won-Joon Choi, Samsung’s Executive Vice President, Mobile R&D at Mobile World Congress this year. During the discussion it was revealed that Samsung wouldn’t rule out a return to the Exynos processors that the company has deployed in its non-US models for a number of years. It’s not set in stone, so only time will tell.
144Hz display
Samsung currently uses 120Hz panels in its Galaxy S range, but according to a leak by SamLover, this could be upgraded to 144Hz with the S24 Ultra. This should make the device silky smooth when scrolling, plus open up all that power and make it a dream for mobile gamers.
Cameras
The cameras on the Galaxy S23 Ultra are already very impressive, but it seems Samsung still has some changes in mind.
As mentioned above, persistent rumours have pointed to Samsung dropping from four lenses to three on the S24 Ultra, scrapping one of the two telephotos.
That sounds odd at first, but leaker RGcloudS suggests that the remaining telephoto camera could get a boost from max 100x zoom to 150x, with the optical element being variable rather than fixed, meaning it could actually hit different zoom levels optically and remove the need for two separate telephoto lenses.
Upgraded battery
With all the power that the Samsung S24 is bound to have on tap, it will need an efficient and capacious battery inside to keep the show on the road. This shouldn’t be a problem if a report from GSMArena turns out to be true. This states that Samsung is working on a new stacked battery design that is inspired by electric vehicles.
This would allow a higher density cell to be squeezed into the same space as the older ones, giving an instant boost that would mean longer times between recharging. If Samsung can pull it off, then expect to see this becoming the norm in the industry over the coming years.
Software
The S24 series will no doubt ship running Android 14 along with the latest version of Samsung’s One UI software, and a generous software support guarantee.
One extra thing it will get is Google. By which we mean, Samsung has reportedly decided to stick with Google as the phones’ default search partner, after making headlines by mooting a switch to Bing.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Samsung held an internal review which decided in favour of Google, on the basis that a switch might confuse users and sour the relationship with the Big G.
That’s all we’ve found so far but be sure to check back regularly as we’ll be updating this article as more information comes to light. Until then, take a look at our currently picks of the best Android phones, plus the best phones coming in 2023 and beyond.