Samsung Galaxy S24 256GB Purple 5G

The Samsung S24 is a small, fast smartphone with impressive cameras. I expected a little more from the battery life and charging speed.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 is a small smartphone. I can therefore easily operate the device with one hand and it fits in my pocket without any problems. The S24 also has a sleek design with straight sides. This makes it feel good in my hand. I do notice that the device is quite slippery without a case. I therefore recommend buying a case for the S24. Prevention is of course better than cure.

New on the Samsung S24 is Galaxy AI. Thanks to various gadgets with this artificial intelligence, the device is very user-friendly. With Circle to Search I can circle anything on my screen at any time. It does not matter which app is open. The S24 then searches for the circled object via Google. This works very well. For example, I saw where my colleague bought his beautiful drinking bottle and I quickly knew the name of the actor from a Netflix series.

Galaxy AI also takes photo editing to the next level. For example, I remove reflections when I photograph through a window or I remove people or objects from a photo. In many cases, the Samsung S24 fills in the gap perfectly based on the background. This means you cannot see that anything was ever in the photo. However, I notice that the software does not always work properly. Then, for example, the S24 does not fill the hole, but replaces it with another random object.

With Galaxy AI you can also have live telephone conversations and chat messages translated. Unfortunately, this is not yet available in Dutch at the time I write this review.

I notice that the battery life is very dependent on my use. On a working day where I hardly touch the S24, the battery lasts until the evening. On days when I use the smartphone more, I usually have to charge it in between. There is no charger in the box, so I use my own Samsung 25 watt charger for this. This is the fastest charger for this device, but the charging speed is still disappointing to me. The battery is 50 to 60 percent full in half an hour. That is a lot slower than many other top-end smartphones.

I am impressed with the cameras. Even in poor conditions, such as low light, rain and fog, the Samsung S24 takes razor-sharp photos. With the telephoto lens I can also zoom in 3 times without my photos becoming less sharp. Also in terms of speed, the Samsung S24 does exactly what I expect from a top-class smartphone. The device is lightning fast and I can use the most demanding apps and games without any problems.

I bought the Samsung S24 as an upgrade for the S23. My main motivation for buying the S24 was the improved screen, the S24 has an LPTO screen with higher brightness. Moreover, the screen is slightly larger (6.2" compared to 6.1" in the S23), while the size of the device has hardly changed due to smaller bezels. The screen is fantastic and a nice upgrade over previous models.

I expected Samsung AI to be mainly a gimmick, but so far it's not disappointing. The ability to summarize web pages is very useful and I now also use the AI features for photo editing and slo-mo video.

Furthermore, it is what you expect from a flagship device - fast (the Exynos 2400 is a very big step forward compared to the Exynos 2200 in the S22) and beautifully finished. And of course the device works well with other products from the Samsung ecosystem (such as my Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Buds, and SmartTags).

There are also some minor downsides: it is a pity that the device still charges a maximum of 25W and not, for example, 45W. It is also poor that the S24 still comes with a 3A USB-C cable. As a result, for Super Fast Charging you not only have to buy a PPS charger, but also a 5A cable. You would say that Samsung could have included a 5A cable for the price of a flagship, which would have avoided a lot of potential confusion.

Clear upgrade from my almost antique S9. The speed of the device is a relief. Plus, in my case also excellent battery life with normal use, 3 days. I'm not really into battery-guzzling apps, so for me it's a great device, especially since there are €100 worth of Samsung products to choose from.