Samsung has just unveiled its all new S24 flagship series here at the SAP Centre in San Jose, California.
As expected, the design of all three new devices looks nearly identical to that of its predecessor. While this isn’t unexpected thanks to the plethora of leaks, it’s set to disappoint many who were hoping for a revolutionary new design from the world’s biggest Android handset manufacturer.
Having spent some hands on time with the trio of new devices, for the most part, I don’t mind that the designs haven’t really changed. Samsung has opted for titanium rails, frosted glass backs and a flatter design overall, but these handsets remain immediately identifiable as Samsung phones. While the S24 Ultra is the undeniable star of the show and looks like a luxe piece of tech in a way very few handset manufacturers can ever achieve, the S24 and S24 Plus both have a slight design misstep in the form of sharp edges. While all three handsets feel lighter than their predecessors, the S24 and S24 Plus should retained the after edges of the S23 and S23 Plus which would’ve made them more comfortable to hold and use without a case. It’s not a dealbreaker but is a slightly puzzling decision from a company that is usually more thoughtful and intentional about design.
The big question is whether the changes made to the handsets are enough to persuade people to upgrade to the new series. The expectation of innovation versus the reality of meaningful innovation is usually very different and with the S24 series, Samsung has decided to bet big on AI, chipset and software. These under the hood changes have the potential to become far more meaningful and impactful over the long term but may not have the immediate wow factor that many people are hoping for.
One of the marquee new AI features is live translate which live translates your audio into a different language while you’re on a call with someone who does not speak the same language as you. While this is indeed impressive, it’s currently limited to very few, select languages, most of which are not spoken by a vast number of people in South Africa.
There’s also a live translate transcript option which offers the same functionality on transcription form but has the same language limitation.
My personal favourite feature is circle to search which allows you to search for any item, product or landmark in an image – it doesn’t have to be an image that you’ve taken – by long pressing the home button and drawing a circle around the item you want to know more about. Not only can you get more information and links to buy the item online, you can also get mapping information about locations and venues.
It may not sound like a big deal but it’s already changed how I search for items and I wish it were available on more devices from all smartphone manufacturers.
Samsung has also improved to brightness of the S24 Ultra making the display easier to view in bright sunlight and, when compared to the S23 Ultra, it’s almost a night and day improvement.
Overall, when looking at the camera, display, chipset and build quality improvements, the S24 series is shaping up to be the Android flagship series to beat, but, whether betting so much on AI was the right move for Samsung, remains to be seen. Right now, the brand is asking customers to purchase a handset with minimal hardware changes and the promise of a device that gets better and more useful over time and I’m not sure whether that’s the way people shop for new tech.
The S24 series proves yet again that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Samsung’s flagships are industry leading for a reason and in my opinion are peak Samsung devices in the best possible ways.
