Galaxy S24: Samsung’s smallest upgrade in years makes iPhone 15 look more special than it is

We're now a few weeks away from the official launch of the Galaxy S24 series, scheduled for January 18, and (like every year) we already seem to know everything about Samsung's new flagships thanks to leaks and rumors.

Whether leaks about upcoming phones make them less exciting has been a topic of discussion for years. However, as it stands, no phone maker is safe from leaks, meaning that excitement over a phone's launch depends on how new and exciting the phones look …

And at first glance, vanilla Galaxy S24 The flagship might struggle to make a big first impression when seen side by side with the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S22. However, what about flagship phones outside of Samsung's lineup?

I fear that 2024 will be the first year (in a long time) where Apple's flagship seems… newer and more exciting than the new Galaxy.

Galaxy S24 configured to make far fewer upgrades (more than Galaxy S23) compared to the iPhone 15 (compared to the iPhone 14: how did we get here?

The Galaxy S24 should look a little too similar to the Galaxy S23, S22 and even the S21.

To be clear, to what extent the iPhone15 Or Galaxy S24 It entirely depends on your current phone/the phone you are upgrading from. And with that in mind, there's no denying that Apple's latest iPhone is the most exciting upgrade over what we've seen on the Galaxy S24 so far.

In a word, the biggest improvements expected on the Galaxy S24 compared to its predecessors (the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S22) are the SoC and a slightly larger, brighter screen – a 6.2-inch panel versus a 6.1-inch one (IMO, a very welcome but negligible difference).

On the other hand, the iPhone15 is a similar phone but, at the same time, with a very different feel than the iPhone14 and the iPhone 13, and I'd go so far as to say it's the biggest upgrade ever to the vanilla iPhone.

We are talking about a new curved design, which makes the iPhone15 series much easier to hold; the long-awaited USB-C port; a much brighter screen with the new Dynamic Island (which makes the phone look newer than expected); and of course, the new 48 MP main camera with 2x zoom, significantly superior to that of the iPhone14 and the Galaxy S23.

Therefore, it's hard to ignore that at a time when Apple has released what is arguably the biggest upgrade ever for the (vanilla) iPhone, Samsung is continuing its strategy of keeping the same design and the same camera system on its most affordable flagships for a third year in a row. in what could prove to be one of the smallest upgrades to the vanilla Galaxy flagship in years.

THE Galaxy S24 against iPhone15 dilemma: do Samsung flagships still offer better value than the vanilla iPhone, or has the gap narrowed enough for Apple flagships to shine?

Even so, the Galaxy S24's 3x zoom camera and 120Hz display still give it an edge over the $800 iPhone 15. But the hardware gap between Samsung and Apple's flagships is now narrower than ever.

Now, it's one thing how new the iPhone and Galaxy look compared to their predecessors. But what about comparing the Galaxy S24 At iPhone15 directly? Will Samsung's most affordable flagship still offer better value than the base iPhone model?

The short answer is yes. THE Galaxy S24 should still retain three notable advantages over iPhone15. This is how I would rank them based on their importance to me (if I had to choose the Galaxy S24 above iPhone15):

• 3x optical zoom camera (2x counter zoom with sensor crop enabled) iPhone15)
• 120 Hz display (compared to 60 Hz on iPhone15)
• Reverse wireless charging for charging accessories (vs. reverse wired charging on iPhone15)

How important these features are is entirely up to you. Do you take a lot of zoom photos? Can you tell the difference between a 120Hz screen and a 60Hz screen? Do you charge your headphones on the back of your phone?

In my opinion (and you absolutely don't need to agree with this), the difference isn't enough to make me ditch the iPhone's super-reliable camera with auto portrait mode, video from first order and integration of the Apple ecosystem.

I also find the design of the iPhone 15 more attractive than that of the Galaxy S24, which is starting to look a little bland now. This includes the color options, which I find much more attractive on the iPhone15. Matte black iPhone15 is one of the best looking phones I've seen in a while, and I really like the green model too.

Galaxy S24 could prove that Galaxy flagships reached their peak a little too early, making them the norm iPhone15 look more special than it really is: has Apple outsmarted Samsung?

The iPhone 15 is one of the biggest upgrades in Apple history, which is remarkable considering Apple has been making phones since 2007. Has the Galaxy reached its peak? too early ?

So… How did we get here? How come the new iPhone is much more exciting than its predecessors, but the new Galaxy flagship more or less resembles Samsung's last two flagships? Well, it's really not complicated.

It seems that Samsung was a little too late to achieve “slow innovation” and that incremental year-over-year upgrades are the most strategically effective path. Of course, there are pros and cons to offering upgrades faster than the competition.

On the one hand, you're first, and that's always nice. On the other hand, you may reach a climax much earlier, which doesn't leave you much room for upgrades. Of course, unless you're willing to reinvent your phones every year – reminiscent of Huawei in its heyday, or Xiaomi today.

Respectively, Apple's strategy of slow but steady upgrades appears to be paying off today, as the iPhone's upgrade trajectory appears to make more sense than the Galaxy's, which peaked a little too early .

For the first time ever, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 could be a viable and more exciting alternative to the Galaxy S24with little or no compromise

Getting a Galaxy Z Flip 5 rather than the new Galaxy S24? Cheaper and more exciting.