Samsung's official Galaxy S24 announcement took place less than a week ago, and consumers have been wondering if the Korean giant's latest flagship phone is worth buying. The Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra will go on sale on January 31, but we're already seeing various tests being performed on the new phones that check things like their performance, battery life, camera quality, and more.
Early testing has revealed shortcomings, such as inconsistent camera performance and lower picture quality at zoom levels higher than 10x on the Galaxy S24 Ultra compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The Ultra model also seems to have considerable thermal throttling when pushed to the limit for long durations despite the presence of a 1.9x larger vapor chamber to whisk the heat away from the new Snapdragon chip, which is surprisingly not a thing on the Exynos-powered Galaxy S24 and S24+.
However, it seems many experts and reviewers don't have access to the retail units yet, which could be the cause of some of the issues that are coming to light. Thankfully, it appears Samsung is already aware that software updates are needed for the latest Galaxy S flagship lineup to perform optimally. It will release the first update later this week.
According to AllAboutSamsung's Max Jambor, Samsung will release a Galaxy S24 series update on January 23 to “enhance performance and improve camera functionalities”. This update will likely come pre-loaded on the retail units that will reach customers over the coming days, but if not, it should be downloadable out of the box.
As the Galaxy S24 series comes with several major upgrades, especially on the Ultra model, and launched earlier than usual, Samsung may need to release more than one software update before the new devices work as intended. We'll let you know as we learn more about the company's Galaxy S24 update plans, so stay tuned. If you're thinking of picking up a Galaxy S24, S24+, or S24 Ultra, hit the link after the video below to take advantage of the many pre-order bonuses on offer.
Expert's Note: It's standard fare for Samsung's new phones to have less-than-ideal performance in some areas in the days between their announcement and the release date, but those are usually fixed with a few software updates, and the same will likely be the case for the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra. As mentioned in the article, the Galaxy S24 series brings some substantial changes, including a return to Samsung's Exynos chips, so it may take a little longer for the company to iron things out.
