OPINION : Samsung has a piece of a reputation for being the ‘ Apple of the Android world ’ – and it ’s not hard to see why . The smartphone maker has consistently put out quality smartphones , not just flagships but mid - range and budget devices and , more recently , foldables .
These phone traditionally offer the very estimable smartphone tech , from sieve technical school to the tardy cameras , but that ’s certainly not the case with the latestSamsung Galaxy S24 , or its self-aggrandizing sibling , theGalaxy S24 Plus .
Why ? Simply put , they ’re just a bit tiresome .
That ’s not to say that the Galaxy S24 and its larger sibling are n’t wholly capable flagship smartphones – they certainly are , complete with a bully screen and flagship performance from theExynos 2400 chipsetwithin alongside elements likeGalaxy AIand an extended seven - year type O hope .
But in a market where much of the flagship competition has gone above and beyond to offer something fun and unique , Samsung ’s flagship struggle to brook out .
That starts with the figure , with the Galaxy S24 await a whole lot like last year’sGalaxy S23 , which is to say that it once again looksa lotlike an iPhone . Okay , I ca n’t wholly blame Samsung for this as there are only so many way you may tog up a slab of chalk and aluminium , but the same flat edge and rounded corner do give it a particularly Apple - esque vibration .
It also does n’t help that Samsung has leant into the minimalistic intent esthetic , with the phones lacking dim-witted elements like a camera living accommodations that helps give New phones some personality .
Samsung has also seemingly move over up on improve the point experience of the Galaxy S24 compass despite much of the flagship competition offering treble – and even faster – charge speeds .
The regular S24 is capped at 25W , while the S24 Plus matches the Ultra ’s 45W , with all three getting a full charge in around 70 - 80 minutes . That would ’ve been fine five year ago , but those numbers blanch in comparison to the 100W charging of the competingOnePlus 12which delivers a full mission in just 26 minutes .
Even the screenland section , an expanse where Samsung has truly excel in the past , is a small underwhelming on the Galaxy S24 . There are admittedly positives here , like the inclusion ofLTPO techfor the first time , but these have been staples of much of the flagship competition for a few years now , so it ’s more Samsung playing catch - up .
Besides , while feature article like 2600nits maximal brightness are an betterment , they still blench in equivalence to some of the truly awing screen tech used by 2024 flagship , be that the LTPO 4.0 support of the cheaperOnePlus 12Ror the exceptional 4600nit brightness of the flagship OnePlus 12 .
Samsung also has a recollective way to go in terms of HDR format support , only pop the question the nicheHDR10+in place of more readily used codecs by streaming Service likeDolby Vision HDR . Again , these are all feature of vie phones at very similar , if not flash , price points to the S24 and S24 Plus .
The S24 ’s disregard becomes most apparent in the photographic camera department , however .
That ’s because the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus skylark a 50MP primary tv camera alongside a 12MP ultrawide and a 20MP 2.5x telephotograph . That might sound a little familiar , and there ’s a good reason why ; it ’s the accurate same apparatus as not only last twelvemonth ’s Galaxy S23 but 2022’sGalaxy S22too . For three yr , Samsung has n’t even touch the photographic camera setup of two of its three flagship equipment .
That ’s not to say that they do n’t capture enough exposure – they do , albeit with slightly sallow plangency in some shots – but they simply just do n’t go far enough compared to the likewise price competition like theGoogle Pixel 8or OnePlus 12 .
It ’s even more frustrating when you consider that , in the same brace of time , the top - terminal Ultra model has seen immense change not only to its overall design but key constituent like its camera frame-up .
It has not only see a immense cost increase to main photographic camera performance with a 200MP crystalline lens that has yet to make its path to the regular modelling , but theGalaxy S24 Ultragoes even further with a young 50MP 5x periscope lens . All this while the ‘ flagship ’ Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus baby-sit on the same ageing ironware .
It ’s clear that Samsung is trying to upsell users the all - singing - and - all - dancing S24 Ultra , but at £ 1,249/$1,249 , it ’s not exactly affordable for most .
So with that all articulate , it ’s vindicated that Samsung has its work cut out for next year ’s Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus . If they do n’t , I think Samsung could be in serious trouble of lose the spotlight it has hold for so long . Who ’d have see that come a few years ago ? Certainly not me .
