Samsung chose an NHL arena in the middle of Silicon Valley to show off its new phones. Galaxy Unpacked was held in San Jose, at an arena called the SAP Center on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, with a 10AM local start. Out came three phones: the S24, the S24 Plus and the S24 Ultra.
The venue was no accident, according to The Verge, which noted that the event sat right after CES and a short drive from the headquarters of some of Samsung’s biggest rivals. Its writer called holding the show in Apple’s backyard “probably no coincidence.”
A bigger price for the biggest phone
The S24 Ultra starts at $1,299 for 256GB, up from $1,199 for last year’s model. For that money you get a titanium frame, which Samsung says helps durability, and a flat 6.8-inch 1440p screen in place of the old curved edges. That should mean fewer accidental S Pen swipes off the side of the display. At 232 grams, it is no lighter than last year’s S23 Ultra.
Zoom changed too. Samsung swapped the earlier 10-megapixel 10x lens for a 50-megapixel 5x one, then uses a lossless crop to reach 10x. Samsung representatives told The Verge that quality at 10x should in fact be better than before. Preorders opened on the day of the show, and the phone ships from January 31.
Not every model gets the same chip. In every market, the Ultra runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The S24 and S24 Plus get that Qualcomm part only in the US, and an Exynos chipset elsewhere. Samsung says that will not affect the AI features. All three phones lack Qi2 wireless charging.
Galaxy AI is the headline
The software is what Samsung pushed hardest. It branded its suite Galaxy AI, and TechRadar counted 12 key features at launch, among them Live Translate, Note Assist, Generative Edit and Circle to Search. Circle to Search was built with Google. You long-press the home button and draw a ring around anything on screen to look it up. It also arrives on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro on the same day the S24 range goes on sale.
One demo stood out for The Verge: an Instant Slow-mo tool that turns any video into 120fps slow motion after the fact by filling in missing frames with AI. Samsung’s Drew Blackard said the company plans to bring Galaxy AI to select older devices, including the Galaxy S23 family, the Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5, in the first half of the year.
What it means for buyers
For families weighing an upgrade across the region, the practical points are these. Samsung is promising seven years of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates for the S24 series, which makes the higher Ultra price easier to spread over a long ownership. Those keeping an older Galaxy may get some of the AI tools without buying anything.
The phones go on sale January 31. Samsung’s $50 reservation credit is available to anyone who signs up for a preorder, with no obligation to buy.
Sources
- Samsung's 2024 Galaxy Unpacked will take place in Silicon Valley – The Verge
- The Galaxy S24 Ultra is smarter, pricier, and just as big as ever – The Verge
- Everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S24's new AI features – TechRadar
