Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23: What's new?
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Intro
Samsung has just officially unveiled its new compact powerhouse, the Galaxy S24, so this is a perfect opportunity to look at the new features and compare it to the previous Galaxy S23.
What's new and what has changed? And is it worth upgrading?
It all starts with a slightly tweaked design, a slightly bigger screen, faster chip and even some long-awaited camera improvements.
Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23 specs differences:
| Galaxy S24 | Galaxy S23 |
|---|---|
| New design with flat sides | Slightly curved sides |
| Slightly larger and brighter 6.17" screen | 6.1" screen |
| Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip in the US Exynos 2400 in some other markets | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on all models |
| Faster ultrasonic fingerprint scanner | Older generation ultrasonic fingerprint reader |
| Same configurations with 8GB RAM | 8/128GB base model, 8/256GB option |
| Same camera hardware | 50MP main camera 12MP ultra-wide 10MP 3X zoom 10MP selfie |
| Zoom with Galaxy AI | Traditional zoom |
| 4000mAh battery | 3900mAh |
| Unchanged charging speeds | 25W wired charge 10W wireless |
| Same $800 starting price | $800 starting price |
Table of Contents:
Design and Size
Squared off design and a very slightly larger size
With a triple camera setup on its back, the Galaxy S24 is similar to the Galaxy S23, but look closer and you will spot some changes.
The big difference surely are the flat sides on the new Galaxy S24, which make it feel similar to an iPhone.
While the screen size is slightly bigger now, the physical size of the phone has changed so slightly you wouldn't notice, and both phones are quite compact for 2024.
The two also feature an aluminum frame, but you now have a tougher Armor Aluminum frame on the S24, and the finish is matte instead of glossy. A closer inspection also shows the gap between the rear panel and the frame is practically seamless on the newer phone.
The rest has remained the same between the S24 and S23: both have an IP68 rating and both come with a USB-C port on the bottom.
You have the following Galaxy S24 colors:
- Onyx Black
- Marble Gray
- Cobalt Violet
- Amber Yellow
One thing that has not changed is the packaging: the Galaxy S24 arrives in a slim box with no charger and there is only a USB-C cable included in the box.
Display Differences
The exact display size on the Galaxy S24 is 6.17 inches (rounded to 6.2"), while the S23 had a 6.1-inch screen.
The resolution remains the same at 1080p. We are not bothered by this. Yes, it's a bit lower than the 1440p screens on the S24 Plus and Ultra models, but the difference is so tiny most people won't even notice.
The peak brightness, however, jumps to 2,600 nits, up from 1,750 nits on the S23, so the newer Galaxy is much easier to use outdoors.
As you can see, we run our own display lab tests here at PhoneArena where we measure the maximum brightness on an all-white picture, and the Galaxy S24 scores an impressive 1,345 nits on this test compared to 1,076 nits on the previous generation.
We also measured a minimum brightness at a comfortably dim at 0.9 nits, the lowest from all mainstream phones and those who use their phone at night will appreciate this.
The S24 is also the first vanilla Galaxy S series flagship to support 1Hz-120Hz adaptive refresh rate. The Galaxy S23 could only go between 48Hz to 120Hz, so this newer model is more frugal in terms of power consumption thanks to the 1Hz support with static content.
As for biometrics, the Galaxy S24 relies on a newer ultrasonic fingerprint scanner built in the screen and it's a bit faster than on the Galaxy S23. This sounds like a small thing, but for a fefature that you use dozens of time every day, we really appreciate the change.
Performance and Software
All about Galaxy AI
The Galaxy S24 comes with a new and faster chipset, but the focus has clearly shifted to something else this year: Galaxy AI, which is embedded everywhere in the new Samsung One UI 6.1 software!
A bunch of the key apps are now supercharged with AI. The native Phone app now supports real-time translation of phone calls. It uses on-device AI, so that your privacy is protected too.
The Samsung keyboard also gets the new Chat Assist feature, where with a press of a button you can translate messages and you will also see suggestions for tweaking the tone of your texts.
In meetings or when recording voice memos, Transcript Assist will deliver a summary and even translations if needed.
Samsung is also partnering with Google. The new Circle to Search with Google is as straightforward as it sounds, allowing to search for anything easily.
The Samsung keyboard also gets the new Chat Assist feature, where with a press of a button you can translate messages and you will also see suggestions for tweaking the tone of your texts.
In meetings or when recording voice memos, Transcript Assist will deliver a summary and even translations if needed.
Samsung is also partnering with Google. The new Circle to Search with Google is as straightforward as it sounds, allowing to search for anything easily.
Performance Benchmarks:
At the same time, the Galaxy S23 will also get those same AI features in an update, so you will not be missing out on the AI features for long.
Speaking of the processors, the Galaxy S24 comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor in the United States, but in most other countries it runs on the Samsung-made Exynos 2400 chipset. You also get the same 8GB of RAM (same LPDDR5X type as on the S23). That's a bit disappointing, considering the high RAM requirements of the One UI interface.
The model that we test has the Exynos chipset and you can see it still beats the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on the previous model in benchmarks, with a big advantage in gaming performance.
We, however, noticed an occasional stutter on the S24, so typical for the Samsung One UI interface, which was disappointing.
You have two storage options, just like before: a base 8/128GB model and an 8/256GB version too.
Very impressively, the Galaxy S24 comes with SEVEN years of OS upgrades and security patches, a big leap over the 4 year software suppot (for major updates) on the Galaxy S23.
Camera
Same hardware, but more realistic colors and better photos overall
The cameras on the Galaxy S24 look exactly like the ones in the S23, meaning you get three separated, raised camera lenses with the following characteristics:
- 50MP main, f/1.8
- 10MP 3X zoom, f/2.4
- 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2
- 12MP front camera
This looks like the same 50MP ISOCELL GN3 main camera sensor that Samsung has been using in the past few years. But while the camera hardware remains the same, Samsung has improved image processing a great deal.
Main Camera
The big change is in the way the Galaxy S24 processes detail. Gone is the excessive sharpening on the S23 and it is replaced with softer and much more natural looking detail.
There are slight tweaks to exposure too. The older Galaxy S23 occasionally captured slightly overexposed shots, and the S24 fixes that. Colors are also a tiny bit less saturated, so overall we have a less "crazy" look to pictures.
In night photos, the Galaxy S24 is able to resolve a lot more detail and that is a big improvement. Pictures are still not perfect: occasionally you get these inky blue skies at night that are very far from reality and colors occasionally come out way too saturated.
Zoom Quality
When it comes to zoom quality, both phones have a 3X zoom camera, so the hardware is the same. You see all the same trends: the excessive oversharpening from the previous model is gone and colors are improved and feel more dynamic.
Ultra-wide
Ultra-wide photos also benefit from less oversharpening and richer colors.
Selfies
Selfies turn out just a bit better and in the above example you can see the S24 go for slightly warmer tonalities.
Video Quality
And this is what video quality looks like on both.
Audio Quality and Haptics
One area that has not changed much is the audio system or haptics too for that matter.
The Galaxy S23 sound quality was fine, but not quite the best out there. The loudspeakers output sound which is a bit "thin" for a flagship phone, with less deeper tonalities than we'd like to hear, and the situation has remained practically identical on the S24.
Battery Life and Charging
Slightly bigger battery, same charging speeds
With the slightly larger overall size of the phone, the Galaxy S24 gets a modest upgrade in battery size to 4,000 mAh, up from 3,900 mAh on the Galaxy S23.
That's a change of 2.5%, not enough to really make a difference.
We run three battery tests here at PhoneArena and there is a very slight uptick in battery life on the browsing test, but not much else.
What remains the same for sure, however, are charging speeds. Using a cable, you can hit a maximum rate of 25W for charging, while wireless charging works at 15W. There is no support for the fancy Qi2 magnetic wireless charging standard on the Galaxy S24.
Samsung just refuses to add faster charging to this smaller model, and if you want truly fast charging rates, you still have to import a phone from the Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Oppo or Huawei.
Specs Comparison
Check out the main differences between the two in the table below:
| Galaxy S24 | Galaxy S23 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size, weight | 147 x 70.6 x 7.6 mm 168 grams | 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6 mm 168 grams |
| Screen | 6.17" OLED 1-120Hz 2600 nits max brightness | 6.1" OLED 48-120Hz 1750 nits max brightness |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in US Exynos 2400 in RoW 4nm | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 4nm |
| RAM, Storage | 8/128GB - $800 8/256GB - $900 LPDDR 5X | 8/128GB 8/256GB LPDDR 5X |
| Cameras | 50MP main, f/1.8 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 10MP 3X zoom, f/2.4 12MP front | 50MP main 12MP ultra 10MP 3X zoom 12MP front |
| Battery | 4000 mAh | 3900 mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 25W wired 15W wireless | USB-C 25W wired 10W wireless |
You can also find a detailed Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23 specs comparison here.
Summary
The Galaxy S24 is an incremental update.
Sure, you have the updated design, slightly faster chipset and fingerprint scanner, brighter screen, and camera upgrades.
But the fundamentals have not changed too much. Battery life remains mostly the same as before, charging speeds haven't improved and the coolest new feature, Galaxy AI, is coming to the older Galaxy S23.
Put this way, it does not make much sense to upgrade if you already own the Galaxy S23. However, if you come from an older phone, the Galaxy S24 features a good amount of improvements and all of them come at the same reasonable $800 price tag.
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