Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus Review (Exynos 2400) – Balanced flagship AI phone

Launched alongside the compact Galaxy S24 and the huge Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Galaxy S24 Plus combines aspects of both designs with the cameras and chassis and design of the former and the large display of the latter but does the formula work?

We previously unboxed and shared our first impressions of the phone. This time around, we put the middle child of the new triumvirate of flagship AI phones to the test – here’s our Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review where we share if it is worth your money

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review – Specifications and Performance

Our Galaxy S24 Plus review sample resembles an upsized Galaxy S24 and uses the same Armor Aluminum 2 for its chassis and the same Gorilla Glass Victus 2 to protect its display and backplate while retaining a similar robust IP68 dust and water resistance rating. Even its colourway options – Cobalt Violet, Amber Yellow, Onyx Black and Marble Gray along with its online exclusives Sapphire Blue, Jade Green and Sandstone Orange – are identical. 

The Galaxy S24 Plus also shares the same Exynos 2400 processor with its more petite sibling though the top of the line Galaxy S24 Ultra uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset.

As it stands, the Exynos 2400 is the default chipset for the Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 for Malaysia and all regions outside of selected a selected few like China and the United States. Regardless, the Exynos 2400 compares favourably with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy across all scenarios expected of a smartphone.

The similarities also extend to its front and rear camera array which are the same for both the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus – you get a rear triple camera array built around a primary 50MP camera with OIS, a secondary 12MP ultra wide angle camera and a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and a front-facing single 12MP selfie camera. Here’s how our Galaxy S24 Plus review unit stacks up on paper:

Price	RM4,899 (12GB RAM/256GB), RM5,399 (12GB RAM/512GB)
Display	6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, Quad HD+ (1,440 x 3,120 pixels) resolution, HDR10+, 2,600 nits peak brightness, 1 -120Hz adaptive refresh rate
Processor	Exynos 2400 (Malaysia)
OS	Android 14 / w/ OneUI 6.1 (7 years OS and security updates)
Memory	12GB LPDDR5X RAM / 256GB (review unit) or 512GB
Cameras	50MP F/1.8 w/ OIS and Dual Pixell AF, 12MP F/2.2 ultra wide angle camera, 10MP F/2.4 w/ 3x optical zoom [rear] / 12MP F/2.2 w/ Dual Pixel AF[front]
Battery	4,900mAh w/ 45W wired fast charging, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless charging
Size/Weight	158.5 x 75.9 x 7.7mm / 197g

Chipset aside, the base Galaxy S24 and the Galaxy 24 Plus differ on a number of subtle but key points. The Galaxy S24 Plus has a large 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a sharp (1,440 x 3,120 pixels) resolution while retaining the same 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate and 2,600 nits peak brightness common across the entire Galaxy S24 series line-up, which makes it a closer match for the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s display whereas the smaller Galaxy S24 maxes out at a FHD+ resolution display. 

The larger size of the display and enhanced resolution make movies and games look good though this is with the tradeoff of higher power drain on the battery though the Galaxy S24 Plus has a larger 4,900mAh battery to compensate.

Rather than fiddling about with different RAM options, Samsung has ensured that the Galaxy S24 Plus sticks with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM across the board with your choice of either 256GB or 512GB UFS 4.0 storage depending on how deep your pockets go. The Galaxy S24 Plus also has a 1.6X larger vapour chamber than the one used in the prior Galaxy S23 Plus.

To keep it powered, the phone has a large 4,900mAh battery with 45W wired fast charging akin to the Galaxy S24 Ultra along with 15W wireless charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.

Closer inspection also reveals additional subtle differences that make it superior to its smaller sibling, chief among them the fact has the same Ultra Wideband (UWB) support as the Ultra. In comparison, the base Galaxy S24 utilises a smaller 4,000mAh battery with 25W wired fast charging, sticks to the current WiFi 6E standards and lacks UWB. 

Under the hood, our Galaxy S24 Plus review unit runs the latest Android 14 with OneUI 6.1 overlaying it with a guaranteed 7 years of security and OS updates. Of note with OneUI 6.1 is the ability to assign storage as virtual RAM that Samsung has designated as RAM Plus that can be assigned in 2GB increments all the way up to 8GB. 

For benchmarks, our Galaxy S24 Plus review unit’s RAM Plus was maxed out to the full 8GB and used the latest build number versionUP1A.231005.007.S926BXXU2AWM9. Here’s how it stacks up in benchmarks…

3D Mark Solar Bay	4,747
3D Mark Solar Bay Unlimited	5002
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme	2,246
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited	2,254
3D Mark Wild Life	7,871
3D Mark Wild Life Unlimited	8,020
Geekbench 6 Single Core	1,994
Geekbench 6 Multi Core	6,612
Geekbench 6 OpenCL	10,410
Geekbench 6 Vulkan	10,760
PCMark Work 3.0 Performance	16,876
PCMark Battery Life	14 hours 19 mins

The Galaxy S24 Plus scored slightly higher in synthetic benchmarks compared to the base Galaxy S24 and has better stability especially in stress tests with the Solar Bay Stress Test Unlimited benchmark netting it a best loop score of 4,971 with the lowest loop score being 4,526 while having 91% stability and frame rates up to 22fps.

 

While the higher end Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy in the Galaxy S24 Ultra does perform better overall in benchmarks and has higher loop scores in the Solar Bay Stress Test Unlimited benchmark, it is also less stable with an 68.7% stability rate.

On the performance front, our Galaxy S24 Plus review sample handled everything asked of a flagship phone with ease. It managed swapping between multiple open browser tabs in Chrome and the default Samsung browser with deft aplomb, easily handled 4K CapCut video editing and managed to chunk through both Google Docs and Sheets easily.

In gaming scenarios, the Exynos 2400 chipset in our Galaxy S24 Plus review unit did not disappoint and it is comfortably able to tackle heavy gaming without issue. Call of Duty Mobile was able to comfortably run on Very High settings as well as Genshin Impact on medium graphics settings. The chipset’s innovative new Fan-out Water Level Package (FOWLP) helps to ensure better sustained high performance under load and kept the heat manageable with the whole phone remaining mildly warm to the touch even with extended gaming sessions.

The larger and sharper Quad HD+ display on the Galaxy S24 Plus lends it better utility for watching movies and gaming as it offers more screen real estate on top of offering higher resolution while the larger sized chassis offers a slightly better grip especially for those with large hands or those who find the Galaxy S24 a bit too small.

Visibility under direct sunlight is excellent with the phone’s Vision Booster tech helping to ensure viewable screen clarity even under Malaysia’s blazing noonday sun and the Adaptive Colour Tone toggle that uses the phone cameras to intelligently adjust colour temperature based on ambient lighting made watching movies in dim lighting more pleasant to the eye. Flanking the display at the top and bottom are a set of stereo speakers which offer a good level of detail without distortion even when cranked to maximum volume.

Like the rest of the Galaxy S24 series smartphones, our Galaxy S24 Plus review sample has full access to their new Galaxy AI that offers a number of helpful features in terms of generative edits of images, intelligent slow motion of recorded footage, easier post editing and removal of subjects in shots and, more importantly, live translations for phone calls, texts and conversations for selected languages like Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

The interpreter mode especially came in clutch when I went to a traditional Chinese hotpot restaurant solo where the staff didn’t speak English and the Galaxy S24 Plus with its interpreter mode managed to help get dinner ordered without undue stress.

In terms of battery life, our Galaxy S24 Plus review unit surprisingly had slightly poorer endurance than the base Galaxy S24 despite having a larger battery, with 14 hours and 19 minutes of battery life in the PC Mark battery life test on account of its larger and sharper display.

In more practical tests, our Galaxy S24 Plus managed to last a good day and a half of regular usage including texts, web browsing, constant use of emails, Whatsapp and social media through the day as well as a few minutes worth of phone calls. Fortunately, the 45W wired charging comes in handy here and assuming you have a charger that supports PD 3.0 like the UGreen 65W Nexode fast travel charger at about an hour and 10 minutes of charging time.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus Review – Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus has an identical set of cameras to the smaller Galaxy S24. You get a 50MP F/1.8 primary camera with optical image stabilisation and Dual Pixel autofocus, a 12MP F/2.2 ultra wide angle camera and a 10MP F/2.4 camera with 3x optical zoom.

This setup also features the new Samsung ProVisual engine for enhanced image quality especially for zoomed in shots and in low light.

Ultimately, the rear triple cameras are capable of up to 8K@30fps video capture with up to 5x zoom and a more reasonable 4K@60fps video with up to 10x zoom. For stills, the rear camera setup offers up to 3x lossless optical zoom and  all the way to 30x digital zoom.

Results on our Galaxy S24 Plus review sample were comparable to the Galaxy S24 with excellent daylight performance and solid low light image quality though the larger display and size of the phone affords it a better grip and, in effect, a bigger sized viewfinder of sorts. You can check our prior review of the Galaxy S24 for more details here.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus?

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is a flagship design that combines the best aspects of the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the base Galaxy S24. The efficient Exynos 2400 processor combined with its large Quad HD+ 120Hz display make it a better choice for prolific gamers and content consumption while its new Galaxy AI features lend it new applications for work and play.

If you find the Galaxy S24 a bit too small and the Galaxy S24 Ultra a bit on the pricey end of things, the Galaxy S24 Plus is the flagship AI phone to get.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review sample courtesy of Samsung Malaysia. For more details check out https://www.samsung.com/my/smartphones/galaxy-s24/buy/