Samsung’s Galaxy S24 and AI event: all the news

One of the most impressive parts of Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 Ultra is the anti-glare display, which is made of Corning Gorilla Armor glass that Samsung touts as its “most scratch-resistant yet.” Although it’s easy to dismiss that claim as marketing speak, a new durability test from JerryRigEverything proves Samsung really isn’t exaggerating after all.

During his video, JerryRightEverything tests the S24 Ultra’s durability by scratching the screen with different picks according to Mohs hardness scale — ranging from the softest materials at level one and the hardest at level 10. The YouTuber’s pick only started leaving scratches at level seven, but it didn’t create grooves in the glass that typically start appearing at that level.

As expected, Samsung introduced the new Galaxy S24 phone lineup during its Galaxy Unpacked event on January 17th. The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus start at $799.99 and $999.99, respectively, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra starts at $1,299.99. All of the phones are available starting on January 31st, 2024, though you can preorder them now.

We’ve yet to wrap up our testing, so we can’t comment on how well the phones perform in reality. However, in the limited time we’ve been able to try them out so far, it seems Samsung made mostly minor hardware updates. Along with brighter displays, the new lineup features larger S24 and S24 Plus models, while the S24 Ultra features what should be a more durable titanium frame.

Instagram will be able to display HDR photographs taken with Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 phones, the two companies have announced. “Every photo and video you take, or view, will be shown in its full range of color and contrast, from the moment you snap the content, to the moment you post,” said Samsung’s VP of Intelligent Imaging, Dr. Hamid Sheikh, onstage at the S24 launch event. “In fact the Galaxy S24 series will be the first ever to have HDR enabled for photos on Instagram.” The app already supports HDR videos.

HDR support was one of a handful of social media photography-focused features Samsung announced for its new phones, the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra. The smartphone manufacturer also announced that Instagram, as well as rival Snapchat, would be able to make use of Samsung’s native camera features when taking photos directly from the social media apps. 

Following a spat of leaks, Samsung has unveiled its forthcoming set of flagship phones, detailing the new Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra at its latest Unpacked event. The new smartphones officially launch on January 31st and are available for preorder beginning today, with the base model starting at $799.99, the Plus model starting at $999.99, and the high-end Ultra handset going for $1,299.99.

In our early hands-on time with them, we haven’t noticed anything groundbreaking about the Galaxy S24 family’s hardware, though each phone boasts a slightly bigger battery and display than its predecessor. The Ultra now further justifies its premium price tag with a titanium build, and all of the displays are noticeably brighter. Instead of reinventing the design wheel, Samsung has instead focused on building out a suite of AI features that rely on Google’s Gemini foundational models, many of which sound genuinely helpful, while others are meant purely for fun.

The cover glass on our smartphones has grown durable enough to withstand more than a few drops nowadays. Whether you’re talking about Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus or the iPhone’s “ceramic shield,” displays have gotten pretty tough. But one common complaint remains: phone screens are still all too easy to scratch. Sometimes, it feels like it’s even easier to scratch a premium phone than it used to be. Screen protectors are still a booming business, after all.

But today marks some promising news. During Samsung’s Unpacked event, Corning announced a new kind of cover glass called Corning Gorilla Armor that it claims makes big strides on several fronts. It’s debuting on the brand-new Galaxy 24 Ultra. First, and as to be expected, the company claims this is its toughest display glass yet. Wonderful. I’ll leave drop tests to the YouTubers. But more intriguingly, Corning says Gorilla Armor is its most scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass yet and up to four times better at avoiding scratches than competing glass options on the market.

Samsung just announced that it’s working on a smart ring. The ring, called the Galaxy Ring, was teased at the very end of today’s Unpacked showcase, and the company briefly described it as a “powerful and accessible” health and wellness device.

Outside of a brief video showing off what the Galaxy Ring looks like, Samsung didn’t share much more about the ring. The company didn’t say when the device is coming out or what it might cost, for example.

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus don’t have the bigger screen or 5x telephoto camera of the more expensive Galaxy S24 Ultra, nor do they have its stylus. But in a year when “Galaxy AI” is almost all Samsung wants to talk about, it feels like those differences will matter a little less than usual when these phones start shipping on January 31st.

Yes, Samsung’s suite of new AI-infused features is here, and perhaps the single most important thing to know about Samsung’s new S24 lineup is that these are the same whether you opt for the $799.99 Galaxy S24, the $999.99 Galaxy S24 Plus, or the $1,299.99 Galaxy S24 Ultra. In the US, the phones are all using Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processors, meaning the performance of the on-device AI features should be similar.

Ever wish you could have the most phone? For several years running, Samsung’s S-series Ultra has been that device, and the company is going just as big with the Ultra for 2024. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is here with a new titanium finish, lots of AI tools, and a higher starting price: $1,299, up from an already high $1,199.

One of the most immediately noticeable new features of the Ultra is how it’s built. This year’s model has a titanium frame — like Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro — which Samsung says allows for better durability. Unlike Apple, Samsung hasn’t used the material in an attempt to make the phone lighter; titanium is heavier than aluminum, but it’s more durable so you can use less of it. In this case, Samsung has just gone for the durability factor. The S24 Ultra weighs about the same as the S23 Ultra (8.22oz or 232 grams) which makes it slightly heavier than the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

It’s hard to think of a more self-explanatory feature than Circle to Search: it does exactly what it sounds like it does. You circle something on your phone screen, tap a button, and voila! A page full of Google search results telling you about the thing you circled. Easy, right? The new feature is launching on five phones to start — the three members of Samsung’s brand-new Galaxy S24 series, as well as Google’s Pixel 8 and 8 Pro — before it comes to other “select, premium” Android phones.

Well, maybe it does need a little explaining. If the feature sounds familiar, you might be thinking of Google Lens, which is similar. But instead of opening up the Google app, you can use Circle to Search anywhere on your device. Just long-press the home button if you’re using three-button navigation — or the navigation handle if you’re using gesture nav — and it will appear on top of whatever app or screen you’re currently using. You can circle, highlight, or tap a subject, including text as well as images.

It’s almost time for Samsung’s winter Unpacked event, where we’ll see the launch of the Galaxy S24 lineup and some splashy new AI features to go along with them. The event will cap off months of leaks of the new devices — plus some teases directly from Samsung itself.

Just before Thanksgiving last year, Samsung announced a new mobile AI experience it’s calling Galaxy AI, which it said was scheduled to debut in early 2024. We should get the lowdown on Galaxy AI at this year’s event. The company is also rumored to be partnering with Google on some AI features, too.