After Trying The Galaxy S24, It's Clear Samsung Needs To Steal One Big Strategy From Apple
Phones have gotten big. It seems like if you want the best and brightest features, you need to carry a big phone. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is the only one in the S24 series with 5X optical zoom. The iPhone 15 Pro Max sports a similar 5X optical zoom sensor. The Google Pixel 8 Pro has — you guessed it — a 5x optical zoom.
Meanwhile, I've been carrying the iPhone 15 Pro and most recently the Samsung Galaxy S24 review unit provided by T-Mobile. The reason for that is simple — the 6 to 6.2-inch screen size is my Goldilocks zone for phone sizes. I simply prefer a smaller phone that I can reach with my thumb without having to do any fancy finger gymnastics like I do on larger phones.
Then there's the Samsung Galaxy S24+. The screen and the battery are a bit smaller than the Ultra, there's a bit more RAM than the S24. Sales numbers aren't kind to the S24+ either. It seems like people either buy the small one, or the big one — which is why the S24+ seems out of place.
By the numbers
When you consider the Galaxy S family of devices sales overall, the "plus" device always brings up the rear. In 2023, the Samsung Galaxy S23+ accounted for approximately 18% of sales (of the whole Galaxy S23 family) according to a report from Android Authority.
This year with the S24 it's a similar situation with the S24+ accounting for 21% of all S24 family sales in January and February of 2024 according to a Counterpoint Research report via Yonhap News. So if that's the case, it would make a lot of sense for Samsung to adopt Apple's strategy of just two different-sized phones — the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24.
If Samsung went this way, what would you be missing out on? We've already broken down the biggest differences between the two phones. Aside from the screen, battery size, and RAM, the only other difference between them is the fact that the S24+ supports 45W wired charging. For all intents and purposes, that's it. Meanwhile, Samsung could up the RAM and the charging speed on the S24 and make that its only non-ultra offering. That would tighten up supply lines too, further reducing costs.
This is a strategy that has worked very well for Samsung's chief rival, so it's definitely worthy of some thought. Plus, when you consider that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 sits at the $999 price point, Samsung has a nice middle-of-the-road offering between the S24 and the S24 Ultra.
Using the Samsung Galaxy S24
I've been using the S24 as my daily phone for several weeks now, and it's a pretty positive experience, all things considered. I've been using the base model of the phone — 128 GB of UFS 3.1 storage and 8GB of RAM. I can't say I've seen any noticeable decrease in speed compared to my time with the S24 Ultra.
Of course, OneUI is the same on both phones. It's still not my favorite Android version, but it gets the job done. Switching between Samsung phones is still a delight — Smart Switch copies over all your data and automatically sorts your apps into folders.
My biggest concern was the battery, and it wasn't even that big a concern. When I reviewed the Galaxy S23 last year, I found the battery life to be remarkably strong for its size. If this year has taken a step back, it's a minor one. I'm able to get through a day on a single charge pretty easily on the S24, but anecdotally speaking, it doesn't feel like the same longevity is there.
Cameras perform as expected
The cameras on the S24 are identical in both phones, but of course, they don't measure up to the S24 Ultra in terms of low-light performance and zoom capability. The telephoto lens on the S24 tops out at 3x optical zoom. The main sensor is a 50-megapixel shooter, but the ultrawide and telephoto lenses are 12 and 10-megapixels respectively.
Overall the cameras are pretty good. Of course, daytime shots outside are very good; night shots are also pretty good with minimal grain and loss of detail. You'll want to primarily stick with the main camera at night, but that's nothing new. Video performance is still a bit of a letdown on the S24, especially when compared to the S24 Ultra.
Adam Doud/SlashGear
But the S24 camera set and the S24+ cameras are identical in hardware. You might find a bit perkier performance with the faster storage and additional RAM but when it comes down to it, the extra money you spend on the S24+ won't get you a tangible benefit in this department.
Samsung should just drop the S24+
When you put all that together, there's a strong argument to just remove the "Plus" model is the Galaxy S lineup. Samsung doesn't have to do everything that Apple does (ahem, in-box chargers, anyone?) but when the hardware is basically the same, and people aren't buying the phone in the first place (and haven't for the past few years), then maybe it's time for Samsung to pull that particular trigger.
The only argument against this strategy is the delta between the S24 and the S24 Ultra. There are a lot of upgrades between the two — screen size, battery size, charging speed, Spen, and vastly improved cameras. It's true that S24+ serves as a sort of middle ground between the two devices, but, if sales numbers are any indication, people still don't care.
Of course, ultimately, it's up to Samsung, but I for one would not be surprised to see Samsung unveil a pair of phones in one of these coming winters as opposed to a trio.