Review Summary
Expert Rating
The Plus model in Samsung’s Galaxy S series flagship lineup is a bit of a sweet spot in terms of being the middle child. It offers just a little more than the vanilla model for those looking for a bigger screen or bigger battery, for example, while ensuring it is more affordable than the Ultra model. That’s what the Galaxy S24 Plus does in the newest series. It’s just a little more than the S24 (review) and a little less than the S24 Ultra (review).
Table of Contents
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is the perfect middle child and a solid upgrade from its predecessor. It gets a bigger and brighter display as well as a solid battery life. Moreover, Samsung promises 7 years of software support, keeping it in line with Pixel phones, and excellent performance. The only drawbacks seem to be hit-and-miss AI features and okay-ish cameras.
Design and display
Samsung has kept things extremely minimal in the design department for the Galaxy S24 Plus. The phone features flat Gorilla Glass Victus 3 on the front and back along with a flat aluminium frame with rounded corners, giving a very iPhone-like look to it. It’s easily the most ideal size among the three S24 phones for most people, offering a terrific in-hand feel without being as bulky as the S24 Ultra or as compact as the S24. The soft, matte back panel avoids smudges and fingerprints.
Samsung has bumped up the screen size to 6.7-inch from 6.6-inch on its predecessor by reducing the bezels ever so slightly. You not only get a slightly bigger screen but a brighter one at that with up to 2600 nits peak brightness, ensuring the screen is perfectly legible under direct sunlight. Even the resolution has been bumped to 1440p, which means crisper content on screen while streaming media. The display gets HDR10+ support and 120Hz refresh rate, as expected. Overall, the Galaxy S24 Plus offers a flagship-grade display that is bigger and brighter than the S23 Plus, a clear and much-needed upgrade.
Cameras
The Galaxy S24 Plus’ camera system doesn’t see any major upgrades from its predecessor. You get a 50MP primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. While the hardware remains pretty much the same, the Galaxy S24 Plus gets a bunch of AI-based editing features that allow you to tweak photos in post.
Overall, the Galaxy S24 Plus’ cameras can capture good-looking photos in daylight. Lowlight photography, however, even with ambient lighting around, could have been better. There’s glare and noise to be found in photos in lowlight situations, which are handled better by rivals like the iPhone 15 Plus and Xiaomi 14. Check out some samples and comparison shots below to get a better idea of what the Galaxy S24 Plus’ cameras can do.
In daylight conditions, the Galaxy S24 Plus’ cameras shine with good-looking photos that offer decent dynamic range. The primary camera is the best among the lot and the ultrawide and telephoto lenses also manage to hold up well in daylight. The telephoto camera’s 3x zoom might not sound like a lot (the Pixel 8 Pro offers a 48MP telephoto with 5x zoom) but it does help capture some close-up portraits with good skin tones and depth of field.
Below is a 3x daylight portrait shot comparison between the Galaxy S24 Plus and Xiaomi 14. Here, the Galaxy S24 Plus performs better even though the Xiaomi 14 offers a 50MP telephoto lens. The Samsung phone is able to show more accurate colour of the shirt and skin tone compared to the Xiaomi 14, which seems a bit washed out.
In the low-light indoor comparison shot between the Galaxy S24 Plus and iPhone 15 Plus below, you can see the iPhone does a much better job when it comes to dynamic range, balancing the exposure of the light bulb while revealing the colours and strands of the lamp shade more accurately compared to the S24 Plus. There’s also more noise to be seen in the S24 Plus’ image.
Performance and software
Like the vanilla Galaxy S24, the Galaxy S24 Plus also gets the Exynos 2400 chipset. Samsung’s in-house processor is surprisingly close to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that’s powering the S24 Ultra, at least in terms of benchmarks. On AnTuTu, the chipset managed a score close to 17 lakh, much like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This is aided by 12GB of RAM on board which also helps ensure smooth day-to-day multitasking. Not only is the chipset capable of running regular apps smoothly, but it can also handle graphically challenging games without skipping a beat.
From a software perspective, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus comes equipped with the brand-new Android 14-based OneUI 6.1 out of the box. While the user interface retains much of its look from the previous OneUI iteration, it incorporates various enhancements such as revamped quick settings, a streamlined weather app, expanded customisations, performance improvements, and more. All of these contribute to an exceptionally user-friendly software experience.
Additionally, the company has expanded its software support for the device, extending it from five major updates to seven, bringing it in line with the latest Google Pixel smartphones. This commitment ensures that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus will remain up-to-date and relevant until at least 2031.
The Galaxy S24 series introduces Galaxy AI, a suite of AI features available across various tasks and functions. The most popular is Circle to Search, which allows you to look up anything by long-pressing the home button and then circling the subject/object on the screen. This Google-powered feature works surprisingly well and is quick to throw up information.
Then there’s Live Translation which gives you real-time translation during voice calls or spoken conversation. This feature was a bit of a hit-and-miss and didn’t work quite as accurately as Circle to Search. It might take a few updates to get it right, but there’s no denying the usefulness of it if Samsung can perfect it. There are a bunch of other Galaxy AI features that you can read about in our Galaxy S24 Ultra review.
Battery life
Since this is a Plus-sized model, you get a plus-sized battery of 4,900mAh compared to the 4,000mAh unit inside the Galaxy S24. The added 900mAh is important considering the display size and peak brightness levels it offers. It’s also only 100mAh less than what the S24 Ultra offers. The Galaxy S24 Plus can last a full day with moderate to heavy usage thanks to a power-efficient chipset and large battery. In our PCMark Battery test, the device gave an average battery life of around 13 hours and 45 minutes.
Final verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus seems to be the perfect middle child, offering a substantial upgrade over its predecessor. It brings a larger and more vibrant display along with a solid battery life. Furthermore, Samsung’s promise of 7 years of software support aligns it with Pixel phones, guaranteeing extended relevance and security updates.
In terms of performance, the Galaxy S24 Plus excels, delivering seamless multitasking and smooth gaming thanks to a powerful Exynos 2400 chipset. However, it’s not without its shortcomings. Some users may find some of the AI features inconsistent. Additionally, while the cameras are good, they fall slightly short of what the Pixel 8 Pro and iPhone 15 Plus’ offer in lowlight scenarios.
Despite these minor niggles, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus stands out as a solid choice for users looking for a flagship Android phone with a balanced combination of performance, longevity, and software support.
Editor’s rating: 8 / 10
Reasons to buy Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus
- The Galaxy S24 Plus gets a big, bright, and vivid display along with a good in-hand feel.
- The Exynos 2400 chipset delivers smooth and reliable performance for regular usage and gaming.
- Samsung is promising 7 years of major software upgrades, ensuring longevity.
Reasons not to buy Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus
- The camera system is decent but nothing exceptional especially considering the price tag.
- Some of the AI features don’t work quite as well as advertised.
 | Rs. 89,999.00 | Go To Store |
 | Rs. 99,999.00 | Go To Store |
 Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 5G | vs |  Apple iPhone 15 Plus |
| Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 5G | vs |  vivo X100 Pro 5G |
