5 months with the Galaxy S24 - Is it worth it

  • 2 days ago
Transcript
00:00Samsung Galaxy S24 5 months later, it is unbelievable that it's already been 5 months since the
00:08Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra came out.
00:11It feels like yesterday, but no, I've had it for a couple of months, I've been able
00:15to try all of its features, all of its components, use it as my daily phone for a while and of
00:21course compare it to its main alternatives, the S24 Ultra if you want to spend a little
00:28bit more money, the iPhone 15 in the same price range and the iPhone 15 Pro, which actually
00:33I believe is the most similar alternative to the S24, even though it's a little bit
00:38more expensive.
00:39In this video, I'm going to compare it to all of those phones, but mainly what I want
00:42to do is to help you decide if the S24 Ultra is worth it after 5 months or if it's not.
00:49Maybe you should get a cheaper phone, maybe you should get a phone from a different company,
00:52that's what I'm going to try to help you with in this video.
00:55And of course, as always, you have Amazon links with a discount for the S24 and for
00:59some of these phones down below in the description just in case at the end of the video you want
01:03to check it out or buy it.
01:05As always, I want to start by talking about the exterior design.
01:09In this case, it is very, very similar to the one we got with the Galaxy S23.
01:14We have the same simple, minimalistic and also very elegant layout on the back with
01:20the three cameras with, well, basically naked.
01:23In other phones, we have sort of like a camera bump or like a camera module to host all of
01:28the different camera components.
01:29In my opinion, it's going to be sort of like a timeless design that in five, six years
01:33is still going to look good as opposed to other phones that try to be more extreme,
01:38try to be more complex and sure, they are more flashy in the moment, but they tend to
01:43be repetitive, they tend to be boring over time.
01:45So I think Samsung made a really good decision here.
01:48As you can see, I have a very light gray color for the S24, but you can also find it
01:53in gray, in black, in orange, in yellow, in purple, in blue.
01:58There's a lot of colors to choose from, both from Amazon and normal stores and then special
02:04colors from the official Samsung store.
02:07Since this is a five-month later video, I want to touch on the durability of the phone.
02:11I mean, I've been using it for five months.
02:12I have been using it without a case or a screen protector and I have to say, the phone holds
02:18up incredibly well.
02:19There is no scratches, no marks.
02:22As you can see, the glass is impeccable, even though, as I said, I have been laying it down
02:27on desks, I have been using it without a case in my pocket, which usually tends to be problematic
02:33because it can scratch with keys or something and usually that makes the screen start having
02:38a lot of micro scratches over time, but it is simply not the case.
02:42It is impeccable.
02:43And of course, the side frames are also just brand new.
02:47There's no marks.
02:48There's no sides.
02:49If I cleaned it up and put it back in the box, nobody would notice.
02:52It's been used by a human.
02:53It's perfect, in perfect condition, and as I said, even though, of course, I have not
02:58been using it for the five months nonstop because I have a lot of phones to try, I did
03:02use it as my personal phone for a while, like for about a month, and in that time, I used
03:09it without a case.
03:10I used it without a screen protector, put it in my pocket, used it, took it everywhere
03:13I went, and even then, the phone is perfect, perfect condition.
03:17That said, I think nowadays that's what you would expect from a phone.
03:20They have very strong glass, both at the back and at the front, and I mean, it's the same
03:26thing I can say about the iPhone 15.
03:28It also looks pristine, and I've had it for even longer, so it's not a super special thing
03:32that's only going to, you know, be the case with the S24.
03:36You're going to have a very similar experience with the iPhone and other phone companies
03:40like Xiaomi, but yeah, just so you know, it is not a fragile phone.
03:43You can use it without a case, and if you're careful, the phone is not going to, you know,
03:48tear up over time.
03:49Something that really caught my attention here is that the S24, for some unknown reason,
03:54is a little bit bigger.
03:55It has a 6.2 inch display, and the S10 was 6.1 inches, and then the S21 was 6.2 inches,
04:03and then the S22 was 6.2, and then they went back to 6.1, and now they're back to 6.2,
04:07so it's a little confusing.
04:09They just make the phones a little bit bigger, a little bit smaller for, you know, unknown
04:13reasons every like two years, and well, it doesn't really add any functionality or take
04:18out any functionality.
04:19They're pretty much identical, but yeah, just so you know, it's a little bit bigger than
04:23the S23.
04:24I would say it's a little bit less comfortable because the S23 had slightly more rounded
04:29edges than the S24.
04:31Actually, this reminds me a lot of the iPhone 14.
04:34So you can see they both have very, very flat edges with pointy corners that even though
04:39look incredible, I have to say this is one of my favorite design aesthetics with, you
04:44know, it's very industrial, very minimal, the flat sides, they tend to be a little bit
04:48uncomfortable to hold because they sort of like push into your hand.
04:54The pointy corners, if you grab the phone with some force, they just tend to be a little
04:59uncomfortable, something you should probably keep in mind.
05:02Actually, one of my favorite features on the S24, though, is that it has the same processor
05:07we have on the S24 Ultra, and this is something most companies refuse to do.
05:13Like Apple, for example, they included last year's A16 on the 15 and the new A17 Pro exclusively
05:20on their Pro and Pro Max models, or Xiaomi or a lot of companies, they refuse to include
05:26the best of the best, unless the phone is the best of the best and the most expensive,
05:30but Samsung just decided to include a Snapdragon Generation 3 on their $1,500 phone and a Snapdragon
05:388 Generation 3 on their $900 phone, so we're going to have pretty much the same performance
05:42on both of these phones, and that's amazing news.
05:46This phone feels incredible, both when you're just using it for day-to-day activities, navigating
05:51the system, and of course, using more demanding apps.
05:55Of course, when you're playing casual games like Subway Surfers or any other, you know,
05:59typical phone game, the performance is going to be stellar, it is going to be amazing.
06:04The phone works incredible, the game takes like 2-3 seconds to load up, it never fails,
06:10there's no bugs, there's maximum graphical fidelity, maximum visual fidelity, maximum
06:15frame rates, everything works incredible.
06:17I just, I don't want to sound repetitive, but yeah, the experience on casual phone games
06:22is just, I don't, I really don't know how it could get any better, and the experience
06:28we get with more demanding games like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty, even though it is
06:33still not top-notch, like we still cannot play at ultra settings at 120 FPS, it is getting
06:39very, very close.
06:41With the S24, I actually have been able to play it at high settings at 120 FPS, which
06:46is insane, like a couple of years ago, this game only ran at medium settings at 30-45
06:52FPS on top-tier phones, so the fact that we've gotten to a point where we get the same experience
06:58we get on a PC with a phone is remarkable, it's incredible, and it really says a lot
07:05about the future of phones, I feel like in the future we're going to be able to play
07:09console-level games like we can start seeing on the iPhone on phones with no issue, we're
07:14going to be able to play the new Resident Evil, the new Call of Duty at high settings
07:18and 120 FPS on our phones that are in our pockets, that's insane.
07:23As you can see, the phone is running Android 14 and One UI 6.1, which right now are the
07:28latest version of Android and One UI, both.
07:33I think Android 15 is starting to roll out for Google Pixel phones, but it's not available
07:38on the S24, so I cannot really show you that operative system here, and it's not really
07:44that different from Android 14, but yeah, if you buy it right now, you're going to get
07:49a chip with this, Android 14, One UI 6.1, and the experience is absolutely stellar.
07:57For the past couple of years, I don't really know how and why and what are they doing,
08:02but Samsung has been able to turn their launcher from a little bit of a mess that was kind
08:07of like not as smooth, not as premium as either a naked Android or other launchers from other
08:13companies into what I feel like is one of the best phone experiences rivaling iOS, clean
08:20iOS on an iPhone, which is something I never thought I would see, because in my eyes, five
08:25years ago, I thought, okay, so Apple's making the software, Apple's making the hardware,
08:30Apple's pretty much making everything on this phone, so they can make it be as smooth, as
08:33optimized as possible, but comparing the performance and the experience I get with my iPhone 15
08:41and my Galaxy S24, I have to say, the S24 feels better.
08:46It is faster, it is more smooth, and even though neither of them gives me any issues
08:50or any bugs, I feel like the S24 is just, it's a faster feeling phone, partially because
08:55it has 120 hertz display, which we'll talk about later, but in a lot of ways, it's because
09:00the operative system just flies through, giving you absolutely no issues in the process.
09:07It's very well optimized.
09:08Quickly, I also wanted to touch on battery life on the Galaxy S24, and I want to talk
09:14about it from the perspective of someone that's trying a lot of phones.
09:18I have an iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, 14, 15, S24, S24 Ultra, I've had a bunch of other
09:25phones in the past, and I can tell you that if you want the best battery life in the market,
09:30you're going to have to go for a big phone.
09:32There is a physical limitation in batteries right now in this 6.1 inch form factor that
09:38prevents these phones from getting any better.
09:41Even though I feel like the S24 is going to be better than the iPhone 14 or the iPhone
09:4715 Pro because it's a little bit more optimized or it's a little bit better, they're not that
09:53different.
09:54I mean, all of these phones give you, I feel like around seven to eight hours of decent
09:59normal use in a normal day, and the bigger phones like the S24 Ultra or the iPhone 15
10:05Pro Max would give you 10 to 11 hours.
10:08If you buy a 6.1 inch phone right now, whether it is Apple or Samsung, whether it is the
10:13latest version or last year's version, you're going to have a very, very good experience
10:17and a very similar experience to any other 6.1 inch or 6.2 inch device.
10:23But anyways, let's move on to my favorite component on the S24, and it's not the best
10:28component.
10:29I feel like the best component on the S24 is the cameras, but my favorite component
10:35on this phone is the display, mainly because it has a 2600 nit brightness panel, which
10:42is absolutely insane.
10:44Back in the day, I think two years ago, Apple surprised the world with 2000 nits of brightness,
10:51which at the time was insane, was like a super crazy evolution from 1200 nits, which was
10:58the standard back in 2021, 2020.
11:02Now Samsung is giving us 600 nits more.
11:06So if you're using your phone in an exterior space and you're facing the sun, you're just
11:12basically not going to feel any difference from using your phone indoors or at night.
11:16It's incredible.
11:17Beyond this, of course, it is a very good display, very similar to what we got last
11:21year with the S23, same resolution.
11:23We have the same top tier panel.
11:27Samsung makes the panels on their phones, so they're always the best of the best.
11:30And of course, 120 Hertz, which is not special.
11:35It's a feature we have on pretty much every normal phone nowadays, but when you compare
11:39it to its main rival, the iPhone 15, that doesn't have 120 Hertz, it kind of becomes
11:45an advantage.
11:46I mean, the iPhone should have 120 Hertz, but for the past five, six years, it has been
11:51stuck at 60.
11:52People refuses to include high refresh rate on their normal phone.
11:57And I feel like it's making a lot of people that maybe were in the fence between the 15
12:01and the S24 going for the S24 because nowadays, 120 Hertz, it has become sort of like a standard.
12:08Every phone has 120 Hertz.
12:11So the fact that the iPhone doesn't have it makes a lot of people, especially geeks and
12:14techies like me that appreciate those things, just not even consider this phone because
12:20it's just, why am I going to spend almost a thousand bucks on a phone that feels like
12:23it's from 2019?
12:25But anyways, let's move on to the most important component on the S24, the cameras.
12:30In this case, we have, as you can see, three beautiful cameras on the back.
12:33We have a 12 megapixel ultrawide sensor, we have a 50 megapixel main sensor, and we have
12:39a 10 megapixel 3x telephoto sensor, which is very interesting because its main competitor
12:45only has two cameras, a 48 megapixel main sensor and 12 megapixel ultrawide.
12:50Its bigger brother has four cameras.
12:52It has the same 12 megapixel, 10 megapixel, and well, not 50, 200 megapixel main sensor,
13:01but it also has a 5x telephoto.
13:03And if you want to find something similar, I guess, that's not the S24, you would have
13:07to go for the 15 Pro.
13:09iPhone 15 Pro has 12 megapixels, 48 megapixel main sensor, and 12 megapixel 3x telephoto.
13:16So it's the most, the closest thing in terms of cameras I found to the S24.
13:22Here you have some samples of what you can achieve with the S24, but I feel like it's
13:27kind of repetitive.
13:28I mean, it's not that different from what we saw last year.
13:32We have insane levels of detail, even on interior spaces, which is probably the most mind-blowing
13:37thing about this phone.
13:38Because back in the day, you could take decent photos with a phone if you were outdoors,
13:44because the sensors on the phones were so small, you needed a lot of light to fill in
13:49the sensor and get a decent result.
13:50But nowadays, you can take very good photos in indoor spaces, and you're not really going
13:56to see that much noise.
13:57As you can see, we can barely notice that noise in like, what, 3000% zoom in a photo
14:04that was taken with very little light inside of my house.
14:08So it's very, very impressive.
14:09I'm actually very happy with the results that I've been getting with the S24, but it's really
14:15not that different in terms of quality from what we can get on an S23.
14:19What I feel like is the biggest selling point on the S24 is that it has a 3x telephoto as
14:26opposed to the iPhone.
14:27If you have an S23 or S22, you're not really going to notice that big of a difference.
14:30But if you're on the fence between these two, I feel like the S24 is the clear choice because
14:35it has, well, the same ultrawide and main sensors more or less, but it has one more
14:39camera and it also has 8K video recording.
14:43It also has, let me show you, it also has a pro video feature that the iPhone doesn't
14:49have included on the main camera app.
14:52So you don't have to download a third party app that probably charges you a monthly payment
14:58or something like that.
14:59And it's probably not as reliable as a first party alternative like this.
15:04So yeah, ultimately I believe if you want to have the best camera possible and you're
15:09trying to decide between these two, the S24 is clearly the better choice.
15:13But anyways, going back to the sort of like the question that I wanted to answer in this
15:17video, is the S24 worth it five months later?
15:20Well, it is a very complicated question to answer because nowadays we have a lot of options
15:26in the sort of like high end phone space.
15:30We have the pro, the small pro iPhone, the basic iPhone, last year's iPhone, the S24.
15:37We have S23.
15:38There's a lot of choices and they are all good choices.
15:41I don't think any of these phones is bad.
15:44Any of these phones is going to give you a bad experience.
15:47They're all great.
15:49But what I can tell you is that if you have an old Samsung Galaxy phone and you want to
15:53update to the S24, it is an amazing update and you're going to love it.
15:57If you're trying to decide between the S24 and iPhone 15, I probably would go for the
16:02S24 and you're going to love it.
16:04And if you're trying to decide between getting the S24 now and waiting for the S25 next year,
16:10I would also encourage you to get the S24.
16:13It's going to be like what, seven, eight months until we see that S25 phone and it's probably
16:17not even going to be that different.
16:19So just get the S24 now, enjoy it, and it is an amazing phone.
16:23So I said you have links for the S24 and some of these phones down below in the description
16:26just in case you want to take a look or buy them.
16:29And yeah, I hope you enjoyed the video and I see you all in the next one.
16:33Bye bye.