The conclusion from January 2024
With its 6.7-inch screen, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus offers great technology in large format. The Plus can shine in almost every test category. The very sharp QHD display delivers a pleasant 120 images per second. The battery lasts around 14 hours, and at 60 Hertz it can even last almost 18 hours. The new processor surpasses that of its predecessor and shines in all areas. The triple camera of the Galaxy S24 Plus also scores points with great photos and 8K videos, although night shots could be better. It's also a shame that the facial scan is still superficial. The “Galaxy AI” offers practical functions, but does not turn the Galaxy S24 Plus into an AI smartphone. Full Android updates for seven years are very commendable. In terms of price, Samsung is at the usual high level at 1,149 euros to start with.
Advantages
Strong 6.7-inch display
Great performance
Very long battery life
Great photos with the triple camera
Android updates until 2031
Disadvantages
AI functions not yet fully developed
Account requirement for “Galaxy AI”
Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus: More pixels in (slightly) more area
With the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus, Samsung once again has a model in its range that has a slightly more difficult time as a middle child. If you're considering a Galaxy S24 (test) but would like more screen space, the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is the right choice. But you also pay more money for it and don't get any other advantages apart from an increase in display size and battery life. So the Galaxy S24 Ultra (test) ultimately steals the show from the Plus, because Samsung no longer makes any compromises here - but it also costs even more money.
The case of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus sits securely in the hand with its clear edges and flat sides. The weight of 196 grams is pleasantly low for this size. Despite its large dimensions, there is no screen pen like the S Pen, which is integrated into the S24 Ultra.
The content looks great on the Galaxy S24 Plus' OLED display. Not only are the images crisp thanks to the QHD Plus resolution, but they also score points in the laboratory test with a very wide color palette, very clear contrasts, and extremely high brightness. We measured an impressive 1,696 cd/m² (also “nits”) – only a few cell phones shone brighter at the time of testing.
If you choose the smoother display of 120 Hertz, you have to expect smaller losses in terms of battery life. During normal use, our Galaxy S24 Plus' lights go out after 13:55 hours when operating at 120 Hz. If we settle for 60 Hz, we can get a whopping 17:48 hours. We recommend keeping the adaptive default setting, in which the Galaxy fluctuates between one and 120 Hz depending on the situation so that you will achieve an average between the runtimes we mentioned.
The Galaxy S24 Plus stayed on the USB-C cable for 81 minutes in the test. Other Android devices, especially those from China, sometimes charge in less than half an hour, but cannot keep up with the battery life of the Galaxy. After 30 minutes on the cable, the Galaxy S24 Plus can finally be used again for 11.5 hours. Electricity also travels wirelessly to the Galaxy.
Powerful Exynos processor from Samsung
Samsung's move away from the Snapdragon processor of the Galaxy S23 (Plus) to its own Exynos processor for the two "smaller" Galaxy S24 came as a surprise. But our test shows that when it comes to performance, the Galaxy S24 Plus is in no way inferior to its predecessor. Quite the opposite.
In the benchmark, the Exynos 2400 delivers great results that are just behind those of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The difference to the S23 Plus, on the other hand, is very clear. At least on paper, because the performance boost is only really noticeable in extreme cases.
Android 14 also runs very smoothly on the Galaxy S24 Plus. We even experience complex 3D games like “Genshin Impact” smoothly at high graphics levels, and extensive media editing is also possible. And as the previous battery tests have shown, this top performance does not come at the expense of battery life. Hats off, Samsung.
Great photos in almost every respect
The triple camera of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus consists of a 50-megapixel main lens as well as an ultra-wide-angle and a telephoto zoom camera. Thanks to this there is an optical 3x zoom. We digitally enlarge our motifs 30 times. Even then, our test images still look reasonably good.
But we particularly like the photos from the main camera of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus. Even in comparison, they shine with beautiful details, little background noise, and clear colors that are closer to reality than before. However, the recordings at night differ from the premium competition. Although the S24 Plus brightens the surroundings appropriately, it swallows up some details.
We shoot videos in 8K resolution at 30 frames per second (fps) or in 4K at 60 fps. Here too, the quality is impressive. Optical and digital image stabilization enables pleasant, smooth camera movements. The 12-megapixel selfie camera still delivers beautiful self-portraits.
The AI doesn't always know what it's doing
Samsung’s “Galaxy AI” in the Galaxy S24 Plus doesn’t stop at photo editing. Artificial intelligence has also found its way into the keyboard. If desired, she can check our messages grammatically, translate them into a more formal style, or translate them into a foreign language. The Galaxy also displays incoming messages translated, at least in Samsung Messages - everything else also works in WhatsApp or Telegram.
We have problems with live translation during telephone calls. A robot voice can switch on and convey 13 languages at the start. She speaks translations into the phone line as soon as we finish speaking. It doesn’t matter which cell phone the person we’re talking to uses. We speak, the AI speaks, the partner speaks, the AI speaks - this drags out the phone call.
Although only the AI can speak, this is less recommended due to its high susceptibility to errors. Anyone who turns “I'm glad” into “I'm not happy about you” should, to be on the safe side, not be used for important dialogues. Samsung definitely needs to improve here.
The new “Circle-to-Search” feature is also practical. This allows you to circle any part of the screen and enter it into the Google search engine. The function has already found its way onto the current Pixel phones, and a large part of the “Galaxy AI” range will one day also be available on the S23 family. According to Samsung, the AI will remain free until at least the end of 2025. The South Koreans also promise full Android updates by 2031 - longer than almost any other cell phone manufacturer.
Modern top equipment with few cosmetic gaps
Although the other features of the Galaxy S24 Plus cover all modern standards, Samsung fans will look in vain for a memory card slot in this generation. Our test device had 256 GB on paper, of which 222 GB remained after setup. A nano-SIM slot allows two physical SIM cards, and the Galaxy also supports the digital eSIM.
The casing of the S24 Plus is of very high quality. It is protected from dust and water according to its IP68 certification. The well-known fingerprint sensor is located under the display, which responded quickly and reliably in the test. Facial recognition via the selfie camera is still only very superficial; a spatial infrared scan like on the iPhone is missing. Samsung also lags behind when it comes to satellite emergency calls.
The Galaxy S24 Plus relies on modern standards for radio communication. Wi-Fi 6E, 5G mobile communications, Bluetooth 5.3, and NFC for mobile payments are on board. First-generation USB-C 3.2 serves as the main interface. There is no separate headphone jack. The built-in stereo speakers deliver a pleasant sound, but they can rarely replace external speakers.