Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: finally, the Plus has a reason to exist

Editor's Note

• Original review date: February 2024
• Launch price: $999.99 / £999 / AU$1,699
• Target price now: $849.99 / £999 / AU$1,699

Update: March 2024. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is still in the early days of its release cycle, but the new phone did enjoy a price cut as part of Amazon's inaugural Spring Sale in the US. During this March event, the Galaxy S24 Plus was reduced to $849.99, which represents a significant $150 saving. So, if you're in the US and thinking about buying the Galaxy S24 Plus, it's worth shopping around for similar deals (or waiting until Amazon re-drops the price). As for the phone's software, Samsung's big One UI 6.1 update is due to have rolled out by the end of March. The rest of this review remains as previously published.

Axel Metz

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus: Two-minute review

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus was rumored to be the last Plus-branded entry in Samsung’s long-running flagship Galaxy S series, and had a successor – the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus – not been unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked 2024, it would have been easy to forgive the company for calling time on its awkwardly-positioned middle-child devices.

Despite offering Galaxy Ultra sizing at a more accessible price, Samsung’s Galaxy Plus phones have seldom, if ever, proven better value for money than its all-singing, all-dancing Ultra devices. This year, though, the Galaxy S24 Plus is a much more enticing proposition: its display is objectively better than the one you'll find on the standard-sized Samsung Galaxy S24, and it doesn’t lose out when it comes to the myriad AI features that Samsung is touting as the key selling point of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Specifically, the Galaxy S24 Plus benefits from QHD+ display technology – a feature previously reserved for the Galaxy S23 Ultra – and a bespoke Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset (or Samsung’s own Exynos 2400, depending on your region) that places AI at the forefront of the mobile experience. The former upgrade is far from game-changing – it essentially means the Plus’s 6.7-inch screen is sharper and more detailed than the S24’s FHD+ equivalent – but it’s enough to better differentiate the Plus from its cheaper sibling. The AI features, by contrast, bring a parity to the Galaxy S24 range that we haven’t seen, well, ever; it's one of the best AI phones.

Galaxy AI is the umbrella term for Samsung’s suite of AI-powered features, which range from real-time text and call translation to generative photo editing. In truth, I suspect that only a handful of these tools will be genuinely useful long-term – namely Circle to Search and Live Translate – but I’m glad that Samsung opted to distribute its suite of Galaxy AI features across the Galaxy S24 line equally. If nothing else, it gives Galaxy S24 Ultra owners one less feature to boast about.

On the physical upgrade front, the Galaxy S24 Plus sports marginally narrower bezels and a slightly flatter design than its predecessor, though its stronger Armor Aluminum frame is the most noticeable change. The phone’s 4,900mAh battery is a touch larger, too; however this doesn’t equate to much real-world battery life improvement over the Galaxy S23 Plus (presumably due to the newer phone’s more demanding software). Still, the Galaxy S24 Plus is objectively the battery-life king of the Galaxy S24 line.

If you’re after the best camera phone around, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the way to go, but the new Plus model boasts some decent, if not groundbreaking, photography hardware nonetheless. The phone retains its predecessor’s 50MP wide lens (f/1.8), 12MP ultra-wide lens (f/2.2), 10MP telephoto lens (f/2.4, 3x optical zoom), and 12MP selfie camera (f/2.2), though the aforementioned addition of Galaxy AI has thrown some neat new AI-powered editing capabilities into the mix.

All told, then, Samsung’s latest second-tier flagship is an objectively better phone than last year’s S23 Plus, and it should make prospective Galaxy S24 Ultra buyers think twice about what they really value in a smartphone. 

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Price and availability

• Starts at $999.99 / £999 / AU$1,699
• Available worldwide

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus was announced at Samsung’s latest Galaxy Unpacked event on January 17, 2024. The phone is available to order now in a choice of seven Samsung Galaxy S24 colors (more on these later).

The Galaxy S24 Plus costs $999.99 / £999 / AU$1,699 for the base configuration (12GB RAM / 256GB storage), and rises to $1,119.99 / £1,099 / AU$1,899 for the model with 12GB RAM / 512GB storage. 

For comparison, the Galaxy S23 Plus started at $999.99 / £1,049 / $1,649 for the model with 8GB RAM / 256GB storage, so you’re getting more RAM for your money this time around (£999 also marks a welcome £50 decrease in the UK). As for the phone’s price versus the rest of the Galaxy S24 line, the standard Galaxy S24 starts at $799.99 / £799 / AU$1,399, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra starts at $1,299.99 / £1,249 / AU$2,199.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Specs

Here's a look at the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus' key specs, and how they compare to its stablemates:

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Design

• Slightly flatter edges and narrower bezels
• New Armor Aluminum frame

For the second year running, Samsung’s newest Galaxy Plus model places an emphasis on meaningful internal upgrades over a dramatic aesthetic redesign; but that’s not to say the Galaxy S24 Plus looks identical to its predecessor.

Measuring 158.5 x 75.9 x 7.7mm and weighing 196g, this year’s Plus phone has slightly narrower bezels, slightly flatter edges (think the iPhone 15 Pro and Galaxy Z Fold 5) and a more durable Armor Aluminum frame than the Galaxy S23 Plus. Personally, I’m all for the changes – the S23 Plus’s mirrored frame was a garish fingerprint magnet – although you’d be hard pressed to distinguish the Galaxy S24 Plus from its predecessor when viewing the two phones at a glance. 

The Galaxy S24 Plus is still stuck with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front, which wouldn’t be a problem if the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Gorilla Armor wasn’t so much more effective at reducing scratches. Annoyingly, my Galaxy S24 Plus review unit has picked up a fair few screen blemishes while bouncing around in my pocket and work bag, so I’d suggest picking up a compatible screen protector (if not a full-blown protective case) if you do purchase this phone.

As for the Samsung Galaxy S24 colors, the Galaxy S24 Plus ships in Onyx Black, Marble Gray, Cobalt Violet, Amber Yellow, Sandstone Orange, Sapphire Blue and Jade Green, with the latter three colors exclusive to the Samsung store. I was handed the Cobalt Violet color for this review, which shows off the phone’s matte finish and rear glass texture pretty nicely, though it’s no secret that the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s titanium color options are much more premium-looking. 

• Design score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Display

• QHD+ display for the first time in a Plus model
• Enhanced outdoor visibility
• New 2,600-nit peak brightness

For the first time, the display on Samsung’s latest Galaxy Plus model is objectively superior to the display used by its standard sibling. Specifically, the Galaxy S24 Plus uses a 6.65-inch dynamic AMOLED 2X display, with QHD+ technology that delivers improved sharpness and detail compared to the screen on the smaller Galaxy S24. Previously, QHD+ displays have been reserved for Samsung’s Ultra phones, and although the differences here aren’t all that noticeable, it’s good to see Samsung giving the Galaxy S24 Plus the best screen possible.

The other display upgrades are shared between the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus. Both phones get a new peak brightness of 2,600 nits, as well as improved outdoor visibility thanks to Samsung’s Vision Booster feature. Their refresh rates have also been improved – you’ll now get 1-120Hz instead of 48-120Hz.

The latter feature makes gaming on the Galaxy S24 Plus a joy (more on this later), while Vision Booster ensures that the visibility of content streamed via platforms like YouTube and Netflix isn’t affected by direct sunlight; I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to watch a recent episode of Masters of the Air from the (dis)comfort of my local park.

The usual color, anti-distortion and wide-angle viewing benefits of AMOLED display technology are present and correct on the Galaxy S24 Plus, too, and all of the above features combine to deliver the biggest, boldest and brightest Galaxy S Plus display yet.

• Display score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Cameras

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• Same triple-lens setup as the Galaxy S23 Plus
• Up to 8K video at 30fps
• AI features are impressive but potentially problematic

If there’s one big disappointment with the Galaxy S24 Plus, it’s the lack of changes in the camera hardware department. The phone retains its predecessor’s 50MP wide lens (f/1.8), 12MP ultra-wide lens (f/2.2), 10MP telephoto lens (f/2.4, 3x optical zoom), and 12MP selfie camera (f/2.2). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – the all-round photography capabilities of the Galaxy S24 Plus are objectively impressive if you’re not expecting the very best camera phone – but an S23 Ultra-style 200MP main sensor wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Still, shots taken with the Galaxy S24 Plus’s 50MP wide lens are consistently bright, detailed and natural-looking. The phone’s new and improved image processing does away with its predecessor’s tendency to over-sharpen images, and although the Galaxy S24 Plus can sometimes go the other way, with images occasionally appearing too soft, the results are much more consistent this time around.

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The Galaxy S24 Plus supports the new Ultra HDR image format, too, which ensures that accurate colors are maintained in even the most high-contrast scenes. Photos shared to Instagram retain this HDR information, so the Galaxy S24 Plus is a great option for snap-happy social media fans.

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The phone’s ability to manage contrast is less impressive in Night mode, where I found that certain colors were artificially brightened a little too much (blue is the biggest culprit). That said, Night mode itself is (as always) a welcome option, as is Portrait mode, which has been upgraded to include foreground blur, as well as the ubiquitous background blur or ‘bokeh’ effects, on the Galaxy S24 Plus. 

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New photography modes include Food mode and Dual Record. The latter is particularly neat; it lets you record videos using any combination of the Galaxy S24 Plus’s four lenses, which is another boon for content-creating social media users.

Samsung has turned to AI for the bulk of this year's camera-related Galaxy upgrades, with a suite of new editing tools on hand to help you recompose and remaster photos. Edit Suggestion, for instance, uses Galaxy AI to suggest suitable photo tweaks, while Generative Edit can fill in parts of an image background with appropriate content. Instant Slow-mo can generate additional frames to add more detail (or the illusion of more detail) to videos, while Super HDR reveals lifelike previews before the shutter is ever pressed.

Generative Edit is particularly mind-blowing, although it does raise some awkward questions about authenticity, beauty standards, and the value of photography in 2024. Still, if and when you find yourself wanting to erase some passers-by from a cute photo of your beloved dog, you’ll no doubt be grateful for its inclusion on the Galaxy S24 Plus.

• Cameras score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Performance

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset in the US, Exynos 2400 elsewhere
• Larger vapor chamber and ray tracing support
• Phenomenal speakers

Much to the chagrin of Samsung fans the world over, Samsung has again split the chipset offering for its latest Galaxy phones – though the situation isn’t as bad as it was for the Galaxy S22 line, where the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 outperformed the Exynos 2200 by some margin.

Specifically, the chipset powering your Galaxy S24 Plus depends on the region in which you buy the phone. Those in the US get a bespoke version of Qualcomm’s newly released Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, while those in Europe and other regions get Samsung’s new Exynos 2400. As I’m based in London I reviewed the Exynos-equipped version of the Galaxy S24 Plus, and I can safely say that I never once felt that my phone was equipped with a second-rate chipset.

If you’re interested in benchmarks, my Exynos-equipped Galaxy S24 Plus achieved a single-core Geekbench 6 score of 2002, a multi-core score of 6732, and a machine-learning Geekbench ML score of 423. For comparison, our Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-equipped version of the S24 Plus – which we tested in the US using the same Geekbench programs – achieved a single-core score of 2272, a multi-core score of 7083, and a machine-learning score of 694 (using Geekbench ML). All tests were conducted with the phones in Standard mode rather than Light mode, which prioritizes battery life and cooling efficiency over processing speed.

So, we’re talking about minor differences here. In our opinion, the slightly superior CPU testing scores of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset have little to no impact on real-world Galaxy S24 Plus performance, and while the Snapdragon’s machine learning score is significantly higher than that of the Exynos, Galaxy AI’s reliance on cloud-based processing – rather than on-device processing – renders that numerical superiority similarly negligible.

In the future, machine-learning performance will undoubtedly become more significant, but for now, anyone picking up an Exynos version of the Galaxy S24 Plus needn’t worry about the slightly superior benchmark scores of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. In my time spent with the Exynos 2400-equipped Galaxy S24 Plus, the phone was able to juggle gaming, heavy-duty video recording, and multiple apps flawlessly. 

Speaking of gaming, the Galaxy S24 Plus benefits from a vapor chamber that’s 1.9x larger than the Galaxy S23 Plus’, which improves heat dissipation by a tangible margin. All three Galaxy S24 phones offer ray tracing support, too, and in truth, the Galaxy S24 Plus wouldn’t look out of place on our list of the best gaming phones.

I spent a couple of hours with the mobile version of EA Sports FC 24 on the Galaxy S24 Plus, and not only was the experience as smooth as can be hoped for on a smartphone, but I also didn’t notice the growing warmth of the phone until an hour or so into my playtime. By contrast, when performing a similar test with the mobile version of FIFA 23 on last year’s Galaxy S23 Plus, that phone felt noticeably hotter in the hand after around 30 mins of gameplay. Rest assured, then, that these new gaming-specific features are not just gimmicks.

Oh, and the Galaxy S24 Plus’ dual stereo speakers are pretty darn phenomenal, too.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Software

• Galaxy AI enables several experience-enhancing features
• Seven years of OS updates and seven years of security updates
• One UI still feels overcomplicated 

You’ll no doubt have noticed that the big marketing push for the Galaxy S24 Plus – and indeed the standard Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra – are the phone’s new AI capabilities, which Samsung says are “aimed at enhancing every part of life.” In truth, Galaxy AI augments the smartphone experience, rather than revolutionizing it, but it still makes the S24 Plus a more versatile phone than most.

The features on offer here range from Live Translate (i.e. real-time two-way call translation) to Note Assist, which uses AI to summarize and streamline text in Samsung Notes. Transcript Assist does a similar thing for voice recordings, while Google’s Circle to Search feature lets you search the web for content using nothing but a scribble.

The latter works particularly well – I’ve been able to identify several plants, watches, sweaters and obscure soccer kits I’ve stumbled across on the internet – though it’s really just a more user-friendly version of Google Lens. Live Translate is impressive, too, and worked flawlessly in our in-house testing, though it remains to be seen how effective this new feature is when it comes to interpreting colloquialisms and muffled phrases.

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Chat Assist aims to help “perfect conversational tones to ensure communication sounds as it was intended,” and while the Professional and Casual options did indeed dress up (or dress down) my text in a way that felt natural and appropriate, the Polite and Social options were consistently cringey (the former makes you sound like a well-spoken RAF pilot from the 1940s, while the latter just throws a load of hashtags into the mix).

So, yes, Galaxy AI is certainly hit-and-miss in its current form, but there’s no doubt that the Galaxy S24 Plus and its siblings are leading the way in this brave new world of AI. 

As for the verdict on the Galaxy S24 Plus’ software more generally, the story is the same as it has been for the last few years: One UI is feature-packed and offers near-unrivaled levels of customization, but it’s also bafflingly complex. There are so many menus on Samsung’s latest Galaxy phones that it’s easy to get lost; however you are rewarded for your efforts with granular control over almost everything.

There are also some nice new features in One UI 6.1, specifically a new-and-improved version of Samsung DeX, which lets you plug the Galaxy S24 Plus into a monitor or TV and use it like a desktop PC. iPhone-style wallpaper dimming for the phone’s always-on display is another welcome addition.

On the longevity front, the news is good. Samsung is committing to seven years of OS updates and seven years of security updates for the Galaxy S24 Plus and its siblings, which is a welcome improvement on the five years we’ve come to expect from the company in recent times (this also brings the S24 range in line with the Google Pixel 8 and Apple’s latest iPhones). In other words, you’ll be able to use the Galaxy S24 Plus without fear of being left behind until at least 2031.

• Software score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Battery

• 4,900mAh battery is a slight upgrade
• 45W wired charging, 15W wireless charging 

The Galaxy S24 Plus has a 4,900mAh battery, which is a 200mAh increase over the S23 Plus’s 4,700mAh power pack. Unfortunately, that size increase doesn’t result in much (if any) tangible battery life improvement, but the Galaxy S24 Plus is still a phenomenally long-lasting phone, and one that trumps the standard Galaxy S24 by some margin in this respect.

During testing, my Exynos-equipped Galaxy S24 Plus lasted well over a day and a half with moderate use, even with the always-on display enabled. In the US, our Snapdragon-equipped Galaxy S24 Plus registered 16 hours of battery life in two separate rundown tests (one with Adaptive mode enabled, the other with Standard mode enabled). So, regardless of which Galaxy S24 Plus model you choose, you won’t be left wanting for battery life.

The Galaxy S24 has capacity for 45W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, though you won’t get a charging brick in the box. In our US testing of the Snapdragon-equipped version of the Galaxy S24 Plus we were able to reach 40% and 72% charge in 15 minutes and 30 minutes, respectively (from a completely dead state and using a Samsung 45W charger). 

My Exynos-equipped review unit took a little longer to reach those same battery percentages, but the phone did reach full charge in just over an hour, which is some 20 minutes quicker than the time it took our Exynos-equipped Galaxy S24 to reach 100% charge (80 minutes). So, again, Galaxy S24 Plus charging speeds are impressive, irrespective of which chipset your model is running.

I did notice this weird thing where, when the phone shut down due to a lack of power, I had to leave the charging cable plugged in for a couple of minutes before I was able to unlock it again. It’s only a minor inconvenience, but I thought it was worth noting here in case you, too, encounter this charging hiccup with your Galaxy S24 Plus.

• Battery score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Also consider

As you'll have read by now, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is a powerful, versatile, long-lasting phone. But there are still alternatives to consider... 

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
The Galaxy S24 Ultra does everything that the Galaxy S24 Plus can do, while throwing better cameras and a more premium design into the mix. It's mightily expensive, though.

Apple iPhone 15 Plus
If you're not fussed about AI features and prefer Apple's more accessible iOS software, the iPhone 15 Plus is a near-equivalent phone to the Galaxy S24 Plus.

Google Pixel 8 Pro
Google's Pixel 8 Pro is the same size and price as the Galaxy S24 Plus, but its Google-based software and AI features are much more streamlined.

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus

• Review test period: two weeks
• Testing included: everyday use including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
• Tools used: Geekbench 6, Geekbench ML, GFXBench, native Android stats, Samsung 45W charger

Having initially handled the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus at Galaxy Unpacked in January 2023,  I received – and subsequently lived for two weeks with – a review-ready version of the device in February 2024, using it for productivity purposes during my working day and for social media browsing and gaming in the evenings.

I compared the experience of playing power-hungry games like EA Sports FC 24 on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus to other flagship phones, which helped me to quantify just how well the device’s Exynos 2400 processor stacks up against Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. I also used the phone to stream color-rich documentaries via YouTube, and also logged into Twitter and Instagram to assess the social media browsing experience.

I used Geekbench 6 for CPU testing and Geekbench ML for machine learning and AI benchmarking, while battery life was assessed based on real-world usage. I measured charge time in 15-minute intervals, and compared the figures obtained from my Exynos 2400-equipped Galaxy S24 Plus to those obtained by my US colleagues from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 version of the device.

Read more about how we test

First tested January 2024