Predicting the keywords of the smartphone market in 2024? AI will be on the list. This year marks the onset of AI mobile phones. Major phone manufacturers are actively promoting their products to enter the AI era. Samsung stands out as one of the first brands taking practical actions to propel AI mobile phones forward. Earlier this year, they unveiled the “AI comprehensive empowerment” feature on the new Samsung Galaxy S24 series. For the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, let’s delve into an experience review of the super-sized S24 Ultra. As good as the extra-large cup may be, the price is undoubtedly steep. For those eyeing a flagship phone, opting for the larger Samsung Galaxy S24+ in the series might be a more economical choice. Coincidentally, Gizcoupon has also laid hands on this Galaxy S24+. Today, let’s explore its experience.
Design
The Samsung Galaxy S24+ maintains the design language of its predecessor, with minor details being the only noticeable changes. The three cameras remain vertically aligned, lacking any Deco design for a clean and simple look. The flash, positioned beside the lens, has shifted slightly downward, a key distinction from the previous model.
The model’s color is a light amber-yellow, inspired by natural earth minerals, giving it a fresh aesthetic. The phone’s back, made of soft glass with a frosted texture, feels delicate yet durable. The seamless connection to the middle frame, featuring a slight curve, enhances both durability and sleekness. Crafted from aviation-grade aluminum, the middle frame is known for its lightweight armored material. The phone boasts an impressive IP68 dustproof and waterproof rating.
On the front, a 6.7-inch straight screen with narrow borders captures attention. The small front-facing hole-punch camera sits discreetly on the top, creating a powerful visual impact when the screen comes to life. Examining the phone’s sides, the right features volume and power buttons, while the left side remains button-free, housing only the antenna. The top accommodates the microphone, while the bottom houses the speaker, USB interface, microphone, and SIM card slot. Weighing in at 196g and with a thickness of only 7.7mm, the Samsung S24+ strikes a balance, feeling moderate and comfortable in hand. Despite its right-angled middle frame, it manages to avoid a sharp sensation, offering a solid and pleasant tactile experience.
AI Experience
The focus of the Samsung Galaxy S24 series is on AI experience, with a significant portion of the press conference dedicated to showcasing its capabilities. Now, let’s explore the AI experience on the Samsung S24+. Running on the Samsung One UI 6.1 system, the overall system experience undergoes substantial changes thanks to AI capabilities. This translates to enhanced convenience in our daily office tasks, creative endeavors, and lifestyle. Let’s delve into specific features highlighted during the press conference, such as instant search, real-time call translation, transcription assistance, and picture assistance.
Starting with an instant search, it’s a simple process. Just press and hold the Home button or perform a designated gesture on the screen to circle, highlight, draw, or tap on content of interest. Results, whether text, images, or videos, are readily available. For instance, imagine you come across a picture and use instant search to circle individuals in the image. The Samsung S24+ promptly provides accurate search results. Even when the circled game character partially obscures the face, the identification and search suggestions remain spot on.
Moving on from circle selection, you can seamlessly compile all text and picture information on a page into a document. This exported document maintains both text and image integrity, with negligible layout issues. Additionally, summarizing lengthy text on a page proves beneficial for reading extensive articles. The generated summaries can be exported to the Samsung Notes app for organization and reference.
Real-time call translation integrates into the phone’s call function. While making or receiving calls on the Samsung S24+, options for “text call” and “real-time translation” appear on the call interface. Text calls convert spoken words into text, preserving the conversation history in textual format. This feature finds practical use in situations like meetings where answering a call verbally might be inconvenient, but responding via text ensures no important information is missed.
Real-time call translation, on the other hand, facilitates smooth communication, instantly translating spoken words between languages. This feature supports 13 languages, with an emphasis on local storage to address privacy concerns. However, users should be mindful of syncing with the AI voice rhythm and maintaining a quiet environment to avoid interference. Samsung S24+ extends support for a writing assistant function. Within the Samsung keyboard, users can refine and correct text, with a focus on copywriting and polishing for improved readability and sincerity.
The “Note Assistant” in Samsung Notes intelligently formats, summarizes, corrects spelling, and translates notes. Simultaneously, the transcription assistant proves handy, converting recorded sounds into text, distinguishing speakers, and providing content summaries for efficient meeting record conversion.
Now, let’s discuss the picture assistant. In the photo album application, the Samsung S24+ introduces “intelligent photo retouching suggestions” and “generative editing.” To utilize these features, enter the photo album, edit a picture, and locate the AI editing icon. By circling an object in the photo, such as a pedestrian, and using the eraser button, Samsung S24+ can seamlessly remove the person, generating a new picture that appears untouched.
Hardware and Performance
Now, let’s delve into the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S24+. Equipped with the third-generation Snapdragon 8 mobile platform, it boasts a main frequency of up to 3.39GHz, slightly surpassing the standard version’s 3.3GHz frequency, marking an improvement. Moving on to memory, The presence of 12GB LPDDR5X 4244MHz memory and a 512GB UFS 4.0 storage version.
In the practical test, AnTuTu evaluated the device, yielding an overall score of 2,026,359 points. The CPU secured 460,077 points, while the GPU achieved 878,869 points. Following this, AnTuTu’s storage test was employed, with the UFS 4.0 flash memory garnering a score of 161,792 points, featuring 4031.3MB/s for sequential reading and 3087.3MB/s for sequential writing. GeekBench 5 results showed a single-core score of 1684 and a multi-core score of 6180.
The editor tested the Samsung Galaxy S24+ in “Honor of Kings” with maxed-out settings, excluding the 120fps frame rate. The device smoothly handled the game, maintaining a stable 59.91fps. After gaming, the editor checked the body temperature of the Samsung Galaxy S24+, reaching a peak of 34.7°C with no noticeable heat sensation. Next up was “Genshin Impact,” played for 27 minutes at extremely high quality and a maximum frame rate of 60fps.
In this test, the average frame rate recorded for Samsung S24+ was 59.44fps, exhibiting minimal fluctuations. No frame freezes or drops were observed, ensuring overall smooth gameplay. Analyzing the core scheduling of the third-generation Snapdragon 8, the Cortex-X4 ultra-large core and the A720 large core operated intermittently, while the two A520 small cores fluctuated between 0.8GHz and 1.6GHz.
Throughout the test, the average power consumption of the third-generation Snapdragon 8 stood at 5.6W. Notably, the Samsung Galaxy S24+ exhibited a gradual increase in body temperature during gameplay, with the hottest point near the rear camera reaching 42.7°C, providing a slightly warm touch.
Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S24+ features a rear three-camera module, comprising a 50-megapixel wide-angle main camera, a 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera.
Now, let’s examine the camera performance directly through sample photos. In a well-lit daytime environment, photos from the Samsung Galaxy S24+ exhibit cool colors, and clear and sharp images, with a sky that appears bluer than the human eye perceives.
In the same scene, the ultra-wide-angle mode samples maintain good consistency without noticeable distortion. Moving on to the three-fold optical zoom lens, the imaging style remains consistent, tending towards cool tones, and the sky appears bluer than human eyes see, while red walls may not be as vivid.
The S24+ supports a 50-megapixel full-pixel mode for the main camera, producing more realistic-style pictures with enhanced details. Comparing the standard mode and the 50-megapixel mode, there’s visible improvement in the details, such as the office building’s door. The dynamic range performance in standard mode is good, with clear details and no over-darkness or over-exposure in different areas.
Now, let’s delve into night photography. The photo taken in front of a shopping mall showcases good brightness, purity, and dynamic range. The color reproduction at night is accurate, presenting a picture as bright as what the human eye perceives. Samsung has incorporated AI image processing in the Galaxy S24+ imaging system, enabling bright and detailed photos in low light conditions, even at 2 or 3 times zoom. AI also aids in other functions like eliminating reflections and enhancing the overall photo quality.
Battery
Moving on to battery life, the Samsung S24+ boasts a 4900mAh battery, an improvement from the previous generation. In theory, this should result in good battery performance. During the test, the phone maintained 50% screen brightness and system volume, with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and location services turned on.
Playing “Peace Elite” for 30 minutes consumed 5% of the battery, slightly higher. Watching a 45-minute 1080P high-bitrate movie on “Bilibili” consumed 3%, showcasing good power consumption control. Browsing Weibo for 15 minutes consumed 1%, and an additional 10 minutes of play and 20 minutes of TikTok streaming consumed 1% and 2%, respectively. In total, the S24+ consumed 14% of power during the 120-minute test, leaving 86% of the battery remaining. This indicates generally good battery life, sufficient for normal daily use throughout the day.
Verdict
In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy S24+ offers a sneak peek into the potential of an “AI phone” in the AI era. This involves seamlessly integrating AI capabilities throughout the system, enhancing imaging, performance, and overall user experiences.
Moreover, the Galaxy S24+ introduces creative assistants and transcription tools powered by generative AI, streamlining everyone’s work for greater efficiency. Instant searches further enhance information retrieval efficiency, while AI-driven picture assistants elevate the efficiency of our photography endeavors. All these features, fostering creativity and tranquility, have been seamlessly integrated into the One UI 6.1 system, closely tied to the mobile phone hardware. This signifies a deep integration of AI and mobile phones.
However, as this marks Samsung’s initial venture into Galaxy AI, there is undoubtedly room for improvement in the AI experience on the S24+. Yet, with the right direction, these areas can be refined in subsequent products, demonstrating continuous iteration and technological upgrades.
In terms of other aspects, the Samsung Galaxy S24+ upholds the high standards set by its predecessors. While the system’s interactive experience may not match the nurturing approach of domestic counterparts, it maintains its unique style. Notably, for enthusiasts of Samsung mobile phones, this “big cup” offering a balanced experience and competitive pricing is indeed a product worth exploring.
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