Samsung Galaxy S24 rumour round-up: What to expect from Galaxy Unpacked 2024

Note: This article was first published on 28th December 2023 and is updated and re-published for relevancy.

Samsung Galaxy S24 series rumour round-up

It's almost time for Samsung to unveil its next generation of Galaxy S flagship phones. Here's a round-up of rumours on the Samsung Galaxy S24 series and which features will likely entice us. 

Design

Like arch-rival Apple, Samsung is believed to keep the design of the Galaxy S24 models largely unchanged from the previous generations. Purported CAD-renders and dummy units of the devices reveal subtle changes to the design, such as a boxier look and thinner bezels.

There is one notable change, though: the switch from a curved display to a flat one. While it looks like the Samsung Galaxy S24 series is going to lose an iconic feature that was introduced a decade ago, the switch to a flat display might benefit consumers as it is easier to hold and use without accidental touch inputs. In addition, almost all screen protectors will work fine on flat displays.

The South Korean company might also make the Galaxy S24 Ultra model more durable with the use of a titanium frame, a move which Apple made in September with the iPhone 15 Pro models. If true, the Galaxy S24 Ultra may be lighter and more resistant to corrosion than the Galaxy S23 Ultra

Display

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is tipped to keep its 6.8-inch display, but it could boast a peak brightness of 2,500 nits, about 750 nits brighter than the Galaxy S23 Ultra (1,750 nits).

The Samsung Galaxy S24+ might get a slightly bigger display at 6.7 inches, compared to the 6.6-inch display of the Galaxy S23+. We haven't heard much about the base Galaxy S24 model, but we reckon it should receive a minor bump in display size, too.

Processor - Qualcomm Snapdragon or Exynos or a mix of both?

The choice of processors in the Samsung Galaxy S series phones has been a contentious topic for many years due to the much-perceived differences of the Exynos chipset when compared to the Qualcomm Snapdragon counterparts.

While the Samsung Galaxy S23 series is fully powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform, a different story might play out for the Galaxy S24.

Qualcomm confirmed last month that the Galaxy S24 series will not be solely powered by its Snapdragon mobile platform. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said his company will have the "majority share", which suggests that some Galaxy S24 models sold in selected markets will come with non-Snapdragon processors.

More recently, this post on X (formerly Twitter) from @WigettaGaming contains an image with possible specifications for all three Galaxy S24 series models: Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra. We can't be sure if this is the real deal, but after 2am on 18th January, all will be revealed.

There are also rumours of a customised Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 designed specifically for the Galaxy S24 series, similar to how the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy was developed for the Galaxy S23. The customised mobile platform is believed to have its prime core and GPU overclocked for better AI performance.

So, which non-Snapdragon processor will be powering the Galaxy S24 models? Well, it will likely be the recently previewed Samsung Exynos 2400. The Exynos 2400 claims to deliver a 1.7x increase in CPU performance and a whopping 14.7x boost in AI performance compared to the Exynos 2200. 

Even more impressive is the fact that it has the Xclipse 940 GPU based on AMD RDNA 3 architecture. The enhanced ray-tracing capability with improved realism will boost mobile gaming on the Galaxy S24 series.

With AI services said to be arriving in the Galaxy S24 series, the choice of mobile processor for the Galaxy S24 series has become more critical for consumers.

Generative AI features - the buzzword 

Thanks to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard, generative AI has become a technology buzzword as of late. Samsung wants to hog some of the limelight with the debut of AI-powered features on the Galaxy S24 series. 

The South Korean company released several announcements last month detailing its work in AI and a preview of some AI-powered features.

The first AI announcement is related to Samsung's own generative AI model, Samsung Gauss, which consists of three sub-models: Gauss Language, Gauss Code and Gauss Image.

The three sub-models offer AI-powered features such as composing emails, summarising text, translating context, generating and editing images, and converting low-res photos to high-res. 

Samsung says it will integrate these generative AI models into "a variety of Samsung product applications to provide new user experience in the near future". 

In an era where smartphone releases are getting iterative, launching generative AI features on the next generation of the Galaxy S series seems like a timely strategy to generate more interest among consumers. 

The second AI announcement is the Galaxy AI, a “comprehensive mobile AI experience” that uses Samsung’s on-device AI capabilities and proprietary cloud-based AI features for Galaxy products and services. 

One known feature from Galaxy AI is AI Live Translate Call. It is a personal translator integrated into the native call capabilities of Samsung phones, where audio and text translations are done in real-time. 

The next is Generative Edit, much like what Google Pixel 8 and Google's Magic Editor on Google Photos offer, which allows you to move or remove objects and fill up the spaces cleverly by studying the surrounding imagery.

To provide these generative AI features on-device, Samsung needs a capable chipset for the Galaxy S24 series. That's where the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Exynos 2400 come into play, as the processor is responsible for the AI parameters needed to power these features. 

The AI Engine of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 supports multi-modal generative AI models and can deliver up to 10 billion "solutions" without having to look beyond the chip.

In addition, the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU boosts the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3's AI speed and efficiency, which is stated to be up to 98% faster than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with 40% better performance per watt. 

As for the Exynos 2400, Samsung demonstrated text-to-image AI generation for upcoming phones with the processor's reference board.

Camera - Let the zoom war begins

Samsung is tipped to have modest upgrades for the Galaxy S24. After all, the rear cameras on the Galaxy S23 are already quite impressive by today's standards, and Samsung can afford to go slower on this aspect.

Samsung is said to still use the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor for the main camera, which was announced earlier this year (2023). 

On the software front, Samsung will likely introduce the Zoom Anyplace feature, which it previewed with the Exynos 2400. Zoom Anyplace uses the 200MP mobile image sensor to shoot up to 4x close-ups of moving objects without any loss in image quality. This feature was also talked about during Qualcomm's announcement of its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset.

The Galaxy S24 is rumoured to keep the same 12MP Sony IMX564 sensor for its ultra-wide camera.

Things get a little complicated regarding the telephoto lenses on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Tipster @UniverseIce shared that the second telephoto lens will be upgraded to the 12MP Sony IMX754+. TheElec reported differently; the Galaxy S24 Ultra would be upgraded to a 50MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom.

Though Samsung announced the new 50MP ISOCELL HNK sensor last month, it remains to be seen how the new mobile image sensor will fit into the company's plans for the Galaxy S24. The ISOCELL HNK is stated to have a higher dynamic range and better video capabilities.

Satellite Connectivity - From the sky above

With Apple's Emergency SOS feature proven its worth in at least three actual incidents, it is no surprise that the rumour mill is speculating that Samsung is planning for a similar feature on the Galaxy S24. 

John Yong-In Park, the head of Samsung Electronics SLSI Business Division, reportedly shared during the 2023 Semiconductor Expo (SEDEX) that the company will enable satellite connectivity on its smartphones in 2024.

While Apple partnered with Globalstar and made a massive investment to provide the critical infrastructure to support Emergency SOS via satellite, Samsung took a different path. 

The South Korean company unveiled two-way satellite connectivity for smartphones earlier this year. It developed and simulated the 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) standard-based satellite technology with its Exynos Modem 5300 reference platform. 

Samsung says the two-way satellite connectivity can support text messages, and high-defintion image and video sharing on future Exynos modems.

How about Qualcomm's Snapdragon Satellite, which was announced at the start of the year? Well, Snapdragon Satellite was dead even before it arrived.  Qualcomm terminated its partnership with Iridium effectively this month due to the lack of interest from smartphone markers to include the technology in their devices.

Qualcomm says it is still working with Iridium on "standards-based solutions" as smartphone makers have "indicated a preference towards standards-based solutions" for satellite-to-phone connectivity.

Based on the sudden decision to terminate Snapdragon Satellite, it is highly unlikely that Samsung will be working with Qualcomm and Iridium to offer satellite connectivity on the Galaxy S24. 

RAM, Storage and Colour Options

Aside from the choice of processor, the RAM, storage and colour options are probably the next items on the checklist for potential buyers. 

Only one Galaxy S24 model is said to be receiving a memory boost and it's not the Galaxy S24 Ultra. In addition, the top-end model also does not get a 16GB memory option, according to a tipster. So, what are the purported memory options for the Galaxy S24 series? Check out the list below: 

Samsung Galaxy S24

• 8GB RAM + 128GB internal storage 
• 8GB RAM + 256GB internal storage 

Samsung Galaxy S24+

• 12GB RAM + 256GB internal storage
• 12GB RAM + 512GB internal storage 

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 

• 12GB RAM + 256GB internal storage 
• 12GB RAM + 512GB internal storage 
• 12GB RAM + 1TB internal storage

If the tipster is right, this would be the first time that the Plus model comes with a 12GB memory option. Samsung has always equipped the previous generations of Plus models with 8GB memory option. With the memory boost to 12GB, Galaxy S24 users should be able to access and switch between apps faster.

As for the colour options, the Galaxy S24 series is tipped to come in grey, black, violet and yellow. Samsung might even offer exclusive colours for the Galaxy S24 Ultra to differentiate it from the rest of the pack.

Galaxy Unpacked 2024

Samsung has planned for an early January launch for the Galaxy S24 series, making it one of the earliest anticipated new phone launches of 2024.

Unveiling on 17 January, in San Francisco, the Galaxy Unpacked keynote is happening on 18 January 2024, 2 AM Singapore Time.

The launch event will unpack here on Samsung's page.

Pre-orders and Retail Availability

You can register your interest (ROI) for the upcoming Galaxy AI-powered mobiles via Samsung or our local telcos.

The page for ROI via Samsung can be found here. Samsung is offering an exclusive S$88 e-voucher (promo code) valid for one pre-order transaction on the Samsung Online Store or Samsung Shop App between 18 and 30 January 2024. 

This indicates that pre-order promotions are from the 18th to the 30th of January, while islandwide retail sales will commence from the 31st of January.

For the full ROI details and tips to save more, head over here.

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