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If you’re looking for last minute leaks ahead of Galaxy Unpacked later today, you’re in luck. It seems that Samsung’s Caribbean online store accidentally revealed the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra a little early. It seems like this happens every year, and the Caribbean is the unlucky region that jumped the gun this time.
The listings have been removed, though cached versions of the images do still exist. That gives us a good look at the phones, while seemingly revealing some key details like the price. Unfortunately it looks like the prices have risen by an average of $150 East Caribbean Dollars — or roughly $55 in the U.S.
It’s not a guarantee that a price hike is guaranteed in other regions, but the odds of keeping the price static for another year are not looking good.
We should be getting some major upgrades to the displays on all three Galaxy S24 models this year too. Rumor is that those screens will be ever-so-slightly larger, on account of Samsung slimming down the bezel. That leaves space for more screen without having to increase the size of the phones.
Leaked specs claim this means we’ll see a 6.2-inch display on the Galaxy S24, 6.7-inch on the S24 Plus and 6.8-inch on the S24 Ultra.
We also see those screens get even brighter this year. The Galaxy S23 phones all offered a peak brightness of 1,750 nits, the Galaxy S24 is rumored to be upgrading that to 2,600 nits. That would certainly put Google’s 2,400 nit Pixel 8 Pro down a peg or two.
If you’re the sort of person who hates surprises, there’s no shortage of leaks to take all the mystery out of today’s phone launch. The most recent info dump features hands-on videos with various Galaxy S24 Ultra models. Assuming the clips are still online, you can see three of the four colors Samsung has reportedly chosen for the new phone — Titanium Gray, Titanium Yellow and Titanium Violet. Also, that “titanium” name would seem to suggest that rumors about Samsung using that material in the Ultra are in fact true.
There’s one design element we’re intrigued to see Samsung talk about today on the S24 Ultra — the possible introduction of titanium sides. You can hardly have missed the fact Apple kitted the iPhone 15 Pro out in the fall with a titanium build. That resulted in a lighter, stronger and more durable handset.
If Samsung did indeed decide to follow tack and switch to titanium, the change in weight (from the current aluminum) may not be as profound as Apple has been able to achieve but it would certainly improve the durability. Despite some early rumors claiming the standard S24 and S24 Plus could also benefit from a titanium design upgrade, I think that’s highly unlikely.
We suspect that the Galaxy S24 will come powered by the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which offers a major boost in both performance and AI processing. But it may not be quite so clear cut depending on where you buy the phone.
Rumor is that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will have Qualcomm’s chip no matter what, but the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus may not be so lucky. In fact buying either phone outside of North America may mean you wind up with an Exynos 2400 chipset — straight from Samsung’s own chip-building department.
It’s not clear how the Exynos 2400 will compare to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, especially in the AI department. Samsung’s chips do have a history of under-performing in comparison, which doesn’t bode well, but there’s no way of knowing for sure until we get to test the phones for ourselves.
If you’re a big fan of the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 10x optical zoom, you may end up disappointed this year. Rumors suggest that Samsung will be downgrading the magnification on the Galaxy S24 Ultra to a 5x optical zoom — the same as the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Google Pixel 8 Pro.
In what seems to be a kind of trade off, the lens is expected to get a resolution boost — rising from 10MP to 50MP. Which is a pretty hefty upgrade, and we may see Samsung emphasize the resolution boost to justify the downgrade.
It’s also been speculated that we may see some kind of digital zoom trickery that exploits the higher resolution that can shoot pictures at 10x magnification at lower resolutions. Much like the iPhone 15’s 2x “optical-quality” zoom. But we’ll just have to wait and see how this pans out.
The Plus model of the Galaxy S series often gets overlooked — it’s more expensive than the standard flagship, but doesn’t have the premium features as the Ultra model. So let’s give the Galaxy S24 Plus some love before its likely debut today, based on the rumors that we’ve heard.
Like the other phones in the S24 series, the Plus could benefit from smaller bezels that mean a larger screen than what the Galaxy S23 Plus offered. It’s supposed to feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, at least in the U.S., but in other parts of the world, the Galaxy S24 Plus could run on the Exynos 2400 chip. We’re expecting the same camera setup as the Galaxy S24 (a 50MP main camera with a 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto lens capable of a 3x zoom) but the same charging speed as the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Here’s a look at potential Galaxy S24 Plus vs. Galaxy S23 Plus differences.
We’re not expecting any other products to join the Galaxy S24 at Unpacked today. But if one does, it could be the Galaxy Ring.
Samsung’s answer to the Oura Ring, the Galaxy Ring is a rumored wearable that will offer a built-in heart rate monitor as well as other sensors for tracking blood pressure and detecting atrial fibrillation. As you might imagine, those kind of health tracking features require some regulatory review, which may explain why the Galaxy Ring is absent from today’s proceedings. We’re hearing now that Samsung may introduce the device in the third quarter, but we wouldn’t rule out a cameo at Unpacked.
Samsung hasn’t been shy about talking about its plans for AI ahead of Galaxy Unpacked. As far back as November, Samsung has promised AI features for its next phones. In fact, that Samsung press release even details a feature we expect will show up in the Galaxy S24 series — AI Live Translate Call.
As revealed by Samsung, AI Live Translate Call is going to live in the phone app. When you call someone who speaks another language, both audio and text translations will appear in real time. All of this take place on the device, which should make for faster translations while keeping your calls private. “Calling someone who speaks another language [will be] about as simple as turning on closed captions when you stream a show,” Samsung says of AI Live Translate Call.
We’ve also got an analysis of what Samsung’s AI features could mean for the way we use our phones.
The first question anyone asks any time a new phone comes out is usually “How much is this going to cost me?” And for the Galaxy S24, the answer at the moment is “we don’t really know.” And if you’re frustrated by that answer, you’re going to like ti better than what rumors are saying about the cost of Samsung’s new phones.
Specifically, a pair of pricing rumors — one out of the Netherlands, the other from France — point to a €50 price hike for the Galaxy S24 Ultra over last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra starting price. While price increases in one region don’t always mean across-the-board hikes, that doesn’t bode well for S24 Ultra pricing in the U.K., the U.S. or elsewhere.
If it’s any consolation, the Dutch rumor indicates a €50 price drop for the S24 and S24 Plus. We’ll soon see if either forecast is accurate.
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