Samsung finally announced itsGalaxy S24 phone series, and many of the rumors leading up to the event were accurate. While there wasn’t much in the way of surprises when it came to the phones, Samsung did tease the Galaxy Ring, its latest health and fitness product. The latest devices from Samsung look promising, and we can’t wait to get our hands on them.
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The South Korean behemoth in consumer electronics held its Unpacked on Wednesday, Jan. 17. Here’s everything you need to know about what the company announced at the event and how to rewatch it in case you missed the live show.
When was the Samsung Unpacked event?
Samsung typically plans two Unpacked product showcases every year, and the first one for 2024 happened at the SAP Center in San Jose at 10am PST or 1pm EST on Jan. 17. We’re not sure when the second event will be, but stay tuned to Pocket-lint as the timing of that event draws closer.
How to watch a rebroadcast of Samsung Unpacked
Samsung always streams itsUnpacked events on YouTube, leaving them up for people to watch at their convenience. We’ve embedded the video above for easy viewing at any time. Of course, if you don’t want to watch the whole event in video form, we have a breakdown of everything announced at the big event below.
What did Samsung announce at Unpacked in January?
Whenever Samsung has one of these Unpacked events, everyone in the tech world notices. As is always the case,leakswere all over the place regarding what Samsung would announce, so there wasn’t much in the way of surprises. Still, it’s exciting to officially see the latest tech presented, even if we mostly received confirmation of the rumors.
The main event from Samsung Unpacked was the phones, as is usually the case when the company announces a new round of flagships. Samsung revealed three models, following the pattern it usually uses for its main phone line. AI was also a huge focus, and the company actually led off the event with AI features such as live translation.
Samsung Galaxy S24
Serving as the baseline for the phone line-up is the Samsung Galaxy S24. While it’s the most affordable model, it’s still a flagship phone with the specs and power you’d expect from a high-end Samsung device. Samsung included a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage, a 6.2-inch FHD+ display, anIP68 water and dust resistance rating, Android 14, a 120Hz refresh rate, and much more.
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Cameras are fully loaded, too. There’s a 50PM primary shooter, a 12MP Ultra-Wide camera, a 10MP Telephoto camera, and a 12MP selfie camera. For an $800 phone, it brings a lot of good stuff to the table and is definitely worth a look.
Samsung Galaxy S24+
The Galaxy S24+ jumps up in screen size from the base model. Some specs are the same, but there’s a larger screen and some notable improvements in specs. Instead of a 6.2-inch FHD+ display, you get a 6.7-inch FHD+ screen. It also jumps the RAM to 12GB instead of 8GB and boosts charging speeds from 25W to 45W.
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As far as what’s the same, you get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, the same camera system including the 50MP main lens, and a 120Hz refresh rate on the screen. It’s $200 more, but it does offer more than just the larger screen, making it a worthwhile upgrade.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
The Galaxy S24 Ultra rounds out the phones. As is always the case, the Ultra offers the most power and performance while packing better cameras and the largest screen. In this case, Samsung included a 6.8-inch QHD+ display. It features a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth motion, just like the S24 and S24+.
While the Ultra features the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, like its more affordable siblings, it also gets 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. It comes with a large 5,000mAh battery that should be enough to give the phone all the juice it needs to make it through the day. It supports 45W wired charging and Fast Wireless Charging 2.0.
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The cameras definitely stand out from the other models. The S24 Ultra features a 200MP main shooter and a 50MP Telephoto camera with 5X optical zoom. It has a 12MP Ultra-Wide camera and a 10MP Telephoto lens, which are the same as those found on the more budget-friendly models.
Samsung and Google joining up with AI
Samsung also announced itsGalaxy AI, which is a whole can of worms in and of itself. It’s partnering with Google to add all kinds of advanced AI features to the Galaxy smartphones, and it’s the first to test Gemini Ultra, Google’s most capable and largest model for highly complex tasks. Samsung will also be the first Google Cloud partner to deploy Imagen 2 on Vertex AI via the cloud to their smartphone devices.
Longer support for phones
The company revealed that it would keep its phones updated for seven years, starting with the Galaxy S24 series of phones. That’s seven years of software and security updates, putting Samsung ahead of competitors for keeping its phones up-to-date. If you have owned the same phone for seven years, more power to you, but I can’t say I’ve ever had a phone that long.
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Galaxy Ring
Samsung ended its event with a heavy focus on all things health, including the use of AI to track sleep and health. It rounded things out with a Galaxy Ring, though it didn’t reveal much information about the device. Still, it’s nice to know it’s officially coming and that we can expect to get our hands (or fingers, as it were) on it soon.
How to buy a Galaxy S24
If you want a Galaxy S24, S24+, or S24 Ultra, you can preorder the phone model of your choice by heading toSamsung.comor theShop Samsungapp. Alternatively, carriers and retailers are running trade-in deals and promotions, all of which you can check out in our post rounding up the best deals for Samsung’s latest phones below.
Samsung launched the Galaxy S24 series at similar prices to the previous generation, with the base model starting at $800 and the top-of-the-line S24 Ultra starting at $1300, with the S24+ models falling in between.
Best Samsung Galaxy S24 deals, with the Ultra starting at just $300
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What’s the competition for Galaxy S24?
It’s shaping up to be a busy Q1 in the mobile world, with OnePlus due to debut the flagshipOnePlus 12on Jan. 23. Speaking of OnePlus, the Carl Pei-led Nothing is also set to make a splash at Mobile World Congress in late February with what’s expected to be a mid-ranger in theNothing Phone (2a).
All told, there’s plenty of fresh competition to inspect if you’re looking to purchase a phone come the spring, but we fully expect Samsung to remain near the top of the smartphone heap with the release of the Galaxy S24 series. Add in the other devices announced, and Samsung has set itself up for a strong 2024.
