Samsung will be holding its next Unpacked launch event on January 17, at which the Samsung Galaxy S24 and its siblings, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, will almost certainly be announced.
Among the most excited about this news will be Samsung Galaxy S22 owners, many of whom will be coming to the natural end of their 24-month contracts. That’s right: it’s upgrade time. But just how much of an upgrade can Galaxy S22 owners expect from the Galaxy S24? While we’ll need to wait a few more days to be sure, there have been a number of Galaxy S24 leaks and rumors swirling around the internet in recent months.
As a result, we have a pretty good idea of what the Galaxy S24 will look like, as well as its likely specs and features. Based on all this speculation (and there’s rarely any smoke without fire in the smartphone business), this is how we think the Samsung Galaxy S24 will stack up against the Samsung Galaxy S22.
Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S22: Price and availability
We expect the Samsung Galaxy S24 to be announced on January 17, 2024, at Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event. It’ll likely land in shops at the end of January, or very early February.
There’s no solid news on Galaxy S24 pricing at this point, but leaked reports suggest that it’s likely to be similar to the Galaxy S23, which started at $799.99 / £849 / AU$1,349 when it arrived in early 2023.
The Galaxy S22 landed in shops on February 25, 2022. Pricing for the 8GB / 128GB model began at $799 / £769 / AU$1,249. In other words, we’re expecting US pricing to remain consistent between the S22 and S24, but non-US territories will feel the hit.
Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S22: Design and display
Leaked renders point to a Samsung Galaxy S24 that will look broadly similar to the Samsung Galaxy S23, which itself wasn’t a million miles away from the Galaxy S22.
There are likely to be a couple of key differences between these two phones, however. One is the camera module, which was raised and heavily stylized in the Galaxy S22, but which looks set to be flat and featureless in the Galaxy S24.
Another big difference will be to the rim of the Galaxy S24, which appears to be much flatter than the slightly rounded Galaxy S22 edge. The display bezels could be smaller on the newer phone, too, which should make it seem more premium.
As for Samsung Galaxy S24 colors, we’ve heard that the Galaxy S24 is going to come in four shades: Black, Gray, Violet and Yellow. The Galaxy S22 initially shipped in five colors: Forest Green, Phantom Black, Phantom White, Pink Gold, and Bora Purple. Don’t count out some Samsung.com exclusives over the coming months though: orange, light blue, and light green have already been tipped.
Some Samsung Galaxy S24 screen size rumors point to the Galaxy S24 having a slightly larger 6.2-inch display to the Galaxy S22 and its 6.1-inch equivalent. We’re expecting exactly the same 2340 x 1080 resolution, however.
While the Galaxy S24 will likely share a 120Hz maximum refresh rate with its older brother, certain reports have claimed that the newer phone will switch to a more advanced LTPO panel. This would mean that it could drop as low as 1Hz where appropriate, thus saving power. The Galaxy S22 screen can only drop to 48Hz, by comparison.
Indeed, the Galaxy S24 might even adopt a newer, more efficient M13 OLED panel.
Another key difference could be brightness. While the Galaxy S22 could hit a peak brightness of 1,300 nits, it’s been claimed that the Galaxy S24 display will be able to hit a staggering 2,500 nits.
Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S22: Cameras
While we’re expecting some noticeable design differences, the Samsung Galaxy S24 cameras could end up being very similar to those of the Galaxy S22.
Once again, we’re talking about a 50MP wide camera, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP telephoto with a 3x optical zoom. The main hardware difference with this year’s model could be a 12MP selfie camera, in place of the 10MP selfie camera on the Galaxy S22.
Expect the Galaxy S24 to be able to take Expert RAW shots at 50MP, like the Galaxy S23 before it.
The big advance to the Galaxy S24’s camera system over older models is likely to be Samsung’s focus on AI. Samsung is known to be going big on artificial intelligence with its new phones – and indeed everything else in 2024 – and it has applied for trademarks for the terms Magic Pixel, Flex Magic and Flex Magic Pixel.
One rumor claims that the Galaxy S24 could allow you to move or remove people and objects from photos, as well as expand the background of images, not to mention the everyday AI benefits of reduced graininess and improved stabilization.
Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S22: Performance and software
Last year’s Galaxy S23 made great performance strides over the Galaxy S22 by offering the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in all regions. The Galaxy S22 offered a split chip provision, with most territories getting the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, and the UK and Europe getting the less impressive Exynos 2200.
Unfortunately, rumors suggest that the Galaxy S24 is going back to the bad old days of split processor offerings. Certain sources assert that while some territories will get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, others may receive the Exynos 2400 chip.
Another claim is that every Galaxy S24 will get the Exynos 2400, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 going to the Galaxy S24 Plus and Ultra models.
Either way, it seems certain that the Galaxy S24 will be faster than the Galaxy S22. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is proving to be a huge jump over last year’s chip, so the jump over the Galaxy S22 should prove fairly significant.
Some sources are claiming that the Galaxy S24 will come with 12GB of RAM, which would be a significant increase over the Galaxy S22’s 8GB. Others reckon that this will merely be an upgrade option, and that there’ll still be an 8GB base model.
Another source claims that the Galaxy S24 will only come in an 8GB variant, with the only choice being 128GB or 256GB of storage. What we’re saying is: we don’t really know how much memory the Galaxy S24 will have. It could even be country-dependent.
Software is likely to be broadly consistent between these two phones, with the Galaxy S22 eventually set to receive an upgrade to the same version of One UI that’ll ship with the Galaxy S24. What the Galaxy S22 probably won’t benefit from, however, is the S24’s new AI smarts.
As already mentioned, Samsung is going to focus on AI in a big way in 2024, and it’s already applied to trademark the terms ‘AI Phone’ and ‘AI Smartphone’. Rumor has it that this will manifest itself in such features as AI wallpapers, live voice call translations, and of course those aforementioned AI camera tricks.
Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S22: Battery life
One report claims that the Galaxy S24 will have a 4,000mAh battery, which would make it a fairly substantial 300mAh bigger than the Galaxy S22 cell.
You have to balance that out with reports of a bigger, brighter display, but also the fact that the display and the new processor should be more energy efficient. In any case, we’re still hopeful that the Galaxy S24’s stamina will be an improvement over its predecessor once removed.
However, the Galaxy S24 is likely to be stuck with 25W maximum wired charging, just like the Galaxy S22. Expect Samsung to stick with its stance of omitting a charger from the box, too.
Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Samsung Galaxy S22: Early verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S24 is shaping up to offer a solid, if hardly seismic upgrade for those coming to the end of their Galaxy S22 contracts. It’s looking likely to pack a sharper, more premium design and a bigger, brighter, more efficient display.
We’re also expecting the kind of performance boost that comes with the territory when you’re talking about the passing of two smartphone generations.
There might not be a huge advance in camera technology, but rumors of Samsung focusing heavily on AI suggest that the Galaxy S24 will learn a few neat new photographic tricks that place clear daylight between it and the Galaxy S22. This should also mean flat-out better image quality.
With prices looking likely to be broadly similar, the Galaxy S24 could be close to a no-brainer of an upgrade – albeit a relatively unexciting one.
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