Samsung Insiders confirm three surprising decisions about the Galaxy S24 Ultra

Updated December 25: article originally published December 23.

Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 series will set the standard for flagship smartphones in 2024. As the launch approaches, three key decisions reveal the future of the Samsung Galaxy.

These three critical decisions are about key specs, chipset choice and launch window… how the handset performs day-to-day, ultimate performance and when you can get your hands on it.

First, the basic specs of the headphones. Several networks around the world have listed model numbers and options, so unless there’s a last-minute Samsung store exclusive, your options are:

“The Galaxy S24 will come with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage, the Galaxy S24+ will come with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra will come with 12GB of RAM and 256GB , 512 GB or 1 TB of storage.”

The Galaxy S24 Ultra has been spotted on various benchmarking sites over the past few months, and a 16GB model was reported. With only 12GB of RAM worldwide, the community is wondering how much of an impact this lower level of RAM will have on performance.

If you want to talk about performance, the elephant in the room is Samsung’s chipset decision across the Galaxy S24 line. Unlike the Galaxy S23 family, where every handset sold was equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, the Galaxy S24 family will feature a combination of Qualcomm’s custom “Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 For Galaxy” and Samsung’s latest Exynos 2400 .

Traditionally, Exynos-based Galaxy handsets have had lower performance and battery life. Not by a significant margin, but one that is noticeable, especially by consumers looking for premium experiences. To compensate for this, every flagship Galaxy S24 Ultra handset will come with a Snapdragon chip, but the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ will come with a combination of Snapdragon and Exynos. The model you get will depend on the region you’re in—and we’re waiting to see what distribution decision Samsung has made.

Finally, there is the start date. While Samsung has yet to announce details of the next “Galaxy Unpacked” launch events, January 17th has long been considered by the community as the launch date for the Galaxy S24 family. Several sources have repeated this date during December. The last one this week came from well-known tipster Evan Blassciting marketing material that had a start time of 3am. KT on January 18, which would have been January 17 at 10 AM. PT and at 1 p.m. ET.

As Forbes’ Janhoi McGregor points out, the hardware has the tagline “Galaxy AI is coming,” which is perhaps the most significant sign that Samsung will be part of a trend that pushes AI as the smartphone frontier that everyone will explore in 2024.

Update: Sunday, December 24. The earlier than usual launch of the next Galaxy S handsets has a positive effect on the final smartphone in the S23 family. The Galaxy S23 Fan Edition was announced in early Octoberhowever Samsung is already offering significant discounts on the handset.

Mihai Matei reports the latest offer. Those who buy through Samsung’s website will get $100 off the ticket price directly, bringing the 128GB model to $529 or the 256GB model to $589. Samsung is also offering a trade-in rebate of up to $300, depending on which Samsung model you want to trade in (and Samsung will also consider many phones from competitors, including Google Pixels and Apple iPhones).

The Galaxy S23 FE is a good all-round smartphone. It doesn’t push for the ultimate in performance—it uses the Exynos 2200 or Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which is the same mix as the Galaxy S22—but it looks to offer as many Galaxy S features as possible at the lowest price. Branding is key here, and using the same S23 badge as the regular S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra gives it a significant advantage in retail environments.

An advantage that will disappear when Samsung moves on to the S24 brand. Even though it’s less than three months away, it makes perfect sense to get the sales now and get as many consumers into the Galaxy ecosystem as possible.

Update: Monday, December 25. One of the timeless areas in which a smartphone is judged is the camera. New hardware and software will be scrutinized when the handsets are released. Samsung is bringing its ‘One Game’ to the camera, with the Galaxy S24 Ultra leading the way.

Writing for SamMobileAdrian Farooqui picks leaked images of the new camera units before being assembled into the premium handset, and the hardware matches well with what we already know about the quad-lens main camera, namely that it will come with a 200-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide, a 10-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 50-megapixel telephoto lens.

Last year, the Galaxy S23 Ultra received a very high DXOMark score of 140, although some areas that could be improved were highlighted. These include zoom results that fell slightly short of contrast with comparatively high noise, low-light white balance, and lower contrast when subjects are backlit. Expect these areas to be looked at carefully when the S24 Ultra is reviewed.

Read now how Samsung will bring artificial intelligence to the Galaxy S24 Ultra…