Samsung Galaxy S24 vs. Samsung Galaxy S24+
The Galaxy S24 family is here, and if you ask us, each device of the trio has its own spot under the sun. Traditionally, the Plus model tends to get the least attention from buyers, and honestly, we don't expect things to be any different this year. However, as we've already said on a few occasions this year, the S24+ is arguably closer to the Ultra than even in terms of features. A large QHD display and an almost identical-size 4,900 mAh battery sound pretty enticing. All the while, the S24+ is still quite a bit cheaper than the S24 Ultra, while the upsell from a vanilla S24 to an S24+ isn't quite as bad.
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Still, the Galaxy S24 maintains its clear advantage if you are after a compact flagship device. And even if you don't mind a bigger device, the S24 is still the cheapest way to get into the shiny new S24 family with its Galaxy AI and seven years of software updates. Let's do a bit of a comparison for anyone out there wondering between the Galaxy S24 and the S24+.
You can check out our editor's assessment in the following video or the text below.
For starters, you can compare the complete specs sheets or directly continue with our editor's assessment in the text further down below.
Size comparison
Samsung didn't substantially change the footprint of either the S24 or the S24+ compared to last year. The Korean giant managed to fit slightly larger displays (6.2-inch and 6.7-inch, respectively), mostly thanks to the space savings afforded by LTPO tech.
The difference in size between the pair is pretty substantial. The Vanilla Galaxy S24 remains one of the few compact modern flagships on the market. All the while, the S24+ has a display almost the size of that of the S24 Ultra. The S24 is both thinner and shorter than the S24+. They are about the same in terms of thickness, and the difference in weight between the two is about 30 grams. Speaking of which, it is perhaps interesting to note that the S24 Ultra weighs a whopping 232 grams, which is a good 36 grams more than the S24+, making the S24+ a good option for a large-display Samsung flagship that saves on both weight and size.
The styling is identical between the vanilla S24 and the S24+. Other than the size difference, the two are externally identical. They even have the same color options: Onyx Black, Marble Grey, Cobalt Violet, Amber Yellow, Jade Green, Sandstone Orange and Sapphire Blue. Some of these are only available straight from Samsung's store.
This year's new design detail, shared between the S24 and S24+, is the matte finish. It is particularly visible on the middle frame of the phone.
Speaking of the middle frame, its material has been upgraded from the S23 generation and is now Armor aluminum 2. It is supposed to improve both drop and scratch resistance. Besides that, you still get the excellent Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protective glass on both the phones' front and back. The new Gorilla Glass Armor remains exclusive to the S24 Ultra this year. Both phones also enjoy a full IP68 ingress protection rating.
Display comparison
Both the S24 and S24+ have excellent Samsung-made, Dynamic AMOLED 2X panels. Both are from the same generation and advertise a whopping 2,600 nits of maximum brightness.
In our standardized testing, the S24 managed 785 nits on the slider and 1,401 nits in auto mode, while the S24+ did 781 nits on the slider and 1,452 nits in auto mode. Once we started to shrink the white patch, the brightness went north of 2,000 nits, so we have no doubt the advertised values are achievable.
Both phones also get LTPO tech this year, which not only helped Samsung fit slightly larger panels in what is basically the same footprint as the S23 and S23+ but also means better dynamic refresh rate control. Samsung's LTPO tech is excellent, and so is the company's refresh rate switching logic, even going as far as to match video playback framerate with the display refresh rate.
The only blemish on the otherwise excellent display record seems to be the fact that the S24 and S24+ still rely on 8-bit panels while many competitors have moved on to 10 or even 12-bit panels. But that's honestly very hard to notice in practice.
Battery life
The Galaxy S24 and S24+ both have bigger batteries compared to the S23 generation. The vanilla S24 has a slight bump of 100 mAh, and its battery is now a nice round 4,000 mAh. The S24+ has added 200 mAh over its predecessor, and its battery pack is now 4,900 mAh. That's almost as much as the 5,000 mAh of the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Samsung didn't really increase battery capacity this year to achieve better battery endurance, though, but rather to combat the seemingly higher power draw of the new generation of Exynos 2400 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips.
Still, compared to the older S23, the vanilla S24 saw a slight bump in its Active Use Score. 12:06 hours out of such a compact phone is good.
As for the S24+, it only managed a slightly higher Active Use Score than the S24, clocking in at 12:30 hours. That might seem odd on the surface, but it starts to make sense once you consider the added strain of driving QHD resolution on a much bigger display.