Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23: Compact flagships compared

• Samsung Galaxy S24

  Flagship newest

  The Galaxy S24 mixes in Galaxy AI features for the first time in the series, but still brings great performance and great cameras in a relatively compact package for great value. It starts at $800 and you can preorder the device starting today. 

  Pros

  • The latest specs mean superior performance over the S23
  • Slightly larger (and brighter) screen, slightly larger batter
  • Seven years of software updates from Samsung

  Cons

  • Baked in AI is hit or miss, depending on your use case
  • Samsung seems to be sizing up their compact phones

• 

  Samsung Galaxy S23

  Good budget alternative

  The Galaxy S23 was Samsung’s budget-friendly flagship. Making its debut in 2023, it features a great screen and plenty of RAM and storage. The phone was also much less expensive than its larger siblings while still sporting the impressive Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. 

  Pros

  • Samsung’s last no-AI phone, if you want to avoid AI
  • Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is still a great mobile processor
  • Smaller than many, which is a boon for small phone fans

  Cons

  • Last year’s screen, specs, and battery

Samsung has officially launched the Galaxy S24 series of phones, and as with in the past years, they’ll likely be among the most popular flagships for Android users in 2024 with wide availability, three flavors to choose from, and the most up-to-date specs a phone can have. After all, we don’t expect Samsung to relinquish its lofty place atop the Android ecosystem anytime soon.

Of course, one of the first questions people might want to know is how it stacks up to the previous generation, the Samsung Galaxy S23. We were quite pleased with the Galaxy S23’s predecessor, and even called it the best all-around compact flagship phone. Does the S24 usurp that position? Let’s find out.

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• 	Samsung Galaxy S24	Samsung Galaxy S23
  Brand	Samsung	Samsung
  SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or Samsung Exynos 2400	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
  Display	6.2 inches, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 2340 × 1080 (416ppi), 120Hz adpative refresh	6.1-inch, 120 hz, AMOLED 2X
  RAM	8GB	8GB
  Storage	128GB/256GB	128GB / 256GB / 512GB
  Battery	4,000mAh	3900mAh, 25W wired, 15W wireless
  Ports	USB-C	USB-C
  Operating System	One UI 6.1 w/ Android 14	Android + One UI
  Front camera	12MP, f/2.2	12MP, f/2.2
  Rear camera	50MP f/1.8 main w/OIS, 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide (120°), 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto	50MP f/1.8 main, 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide, 10MP f/2.4 3x optical telephoto
  Dimensions	147 × 70.6 × 7.6mm	70.9 x 146.3 x 7.6mm
  IP Rating	IP68	IP68
  Price	From $800	$799
  Weight	168g	168g

Pricing and availability

The Samsung Galaxy S23 saw a broad release all across the world. In the US, it’s available on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. You can also buy it unlocked for $699.99, although you can find it fairly reliably these days on sale for $599.99. That includes online and in-store retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, the carriers as mentioned earlier, or directly from Samsung.

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Samsung didn’t change things for the Galaxy S24. It retails from Samsung for $799.99, just like its predecessor when it launched, and will likely see a price drop later in the year. You can also get it from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Online, you can get it from the same online and in-store retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Samsung itself.

Pocket-lint

Design and display

Brightness, refresh rates, and size

Samsung has stuck with the same general design for its flagships for a few years now as brands maintain their identity. Even though there are some changes to how these two phones were designed, they are both obviously Samsung phones with Samsung’s aesthetic. The S24 series is a bit more squared off, as shown in the image below, but it’s not a huge difference.

In terms of design, the phones are very similar. The front houses a punch-hole camera in the top middle of the display. You get rounded corners along with three camera bumps on the back. The volume rocker rests along the right spine with the power button just underneath it. Both phones sport speakers and a USB-C port along the bottom. Even up close, you’d be forgiven for mistaking one phone for the other.

Pocket-lint

The display is also similar. Both phones sport a 1080p AMOLED X2 panel with a 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate. However, the S24 does have some improvements here. It is 0.1 inches larger than the S23’s 6.1-inch display. It also boasts up to 2,600 nits of brightness versus the 1,750 nits of the Galaxy S23. That should help you see it perfectly in sunlight.

9:56

Read our review

Samsung Galaxy S23 review: The compact flagship to buy

Looking for a powerful, feature-rich smartphone that’s also small and light? The Samsung Galaxy S23 is a superb choice.

Overall, there are two differences between these two phones. The S24 is ever so slightly larger than its predecessor thanks to its larger display, while also having a slightly better display. On paper, the S24 wins out, but in day-to-day use, it’s honestly difficult to tell the difference between these two phones unless you’re using a tape measure or are maxing out the brightness.

Pocket-lint

Performance improvements

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip upgrades

Both phones will get you through day-to-day activities without much hassle. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip in the Galaxy S23 was such a huge improvement over the Gen 1 that it was the biggest difference between the Galaxy S22 and the S23. It can play all the games, scroll through all the social media, and watch all the TikToks without hassle or problems. It can even do some light ray tracing, helpful for gaming.

The Galaxy S24 is even better with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. According to benchmarks, the newer chip scores better in virtually every benchmark by varying degrees depending on the benchmark. Thus, while the S23 had no problems with performance whatsoever, the S24 will reach new heights.

Pocket-lint

In practice, this won’t mean much if all you do is browse the web, scroll through social media, or watch videos on YouTube. Both phones can do that without any hiccups, and it’s hard to notice improvements when nothing is wrong to begin with. However, gamers will appreciate the extra frames and significantly increased ray-tracing capabilities that the S24 can generate. Qualcomm also boasts increased battery efficiency on the Gen 3. That, plus the extra 100 mAh in battery size in the S24, should translate to better battery life as well.

The other big difference here is the NPU. Qualcomm beefed it up significantly in the Gen 3 versus the Gen 2 and boasts improvements of nearly 100%. That’s great news since the NPU is what handles AI and the S24 comes with plenty of that, which we’ll discuss later. Thus, while both phones look the same, internally, they are anything but. The S24 is objectively more powerful, efficient, and better equipped for AI workloads than the S23.

Pocket-lint

Cameras shine with zoom

Telephoto lens, quality, and night mode

We were quite impressed with the Galaxy S23 when we took it for a spin last year. The cameras were one of the reasons for that. It sports a 50MP wide-angle, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, a 10MP telephoto lens (with up to 3x optical zoom), and a 12MP selfie camera. That’s quite a lot of hardware, and Samsung made the most of it.

For the S23, we were impressed with the camera. It does the typical Samsung thing where it saturates colors, so the grass is extra green and the sky is extra blue. You can turn off auto mode and shoot in manual if you want to get more accurate colors. Night photography is not as good, but still has punchy colors and is relatively sharp, although we think the Pixel 8 can do it better.

The Galaxy S24 has similar specs with a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, 50MP f/1.8 wide shooter, a 10MP telephoto camera (with 3x optical zoom), and a 12MP front camera. On paper, these are identical to the S23, down to the f-stop and optical zoom. They’re even in the same layout as the prior generation.

As you can see from the two galleries above, the camera performance is fairly similar between the two phones. That was expected since the two share virtually every piece of hardware on all of its cameras. Those looking for a noticeable bump in camera quality won’t get it here. However, the Galaxy S24 is still fairly young and Samsung has released at least one update to improve camera quality. It may win out once Samsung is done optimizing the software.

Pocket-lint

Software and AI

Search help, generative AI, and all the buzz

Samsung has been a lot better about updates over the last few years, so both the S23 and S24 run the latest version of Android and Samsung’s One UI, although the S24 gets One UI 6.1 over the S23’s 6.0. That means both devices largely benefit from features from Android 14 along with the features from One UI 6. Hit the links for all the details, as there are quite a few features from both OS versions.

That said, the S24 has some extra benefits, like a translation feature built into the main call app and keyboard that lets you translate whatever you need. Samsung also boasted that it’ll cover the S24 series for seven years’ worth of OS and security updates, so while the S23 will eventually fall by the wayside, the S24 will still get software updates beyond the year 2030, which is an impressive feat.

Pocket-lint

In addition, the S24 comes with Galaxy AI baked in, and Samsung made a big deal about this. It uses Gemini Nano, which is Google’s most advanced AI model designed for smartphones. Samsung added it to the Samsung keyboard, various stock apps, and even in Android Auto, where it’ll summarize group texts while you drive. There isn’t anything crazy or complicated. Samsung added AI in places where it can help in minor ways.

However, Samsung has announced it’ll soon start updating the Galaxy S23 lineup (among others) with the same Galaxy AI features that the S24 series has. Making Galaxy AI somewhat of a moot point of comparison between the two.

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The S24 is the more advanced smartphone in terms of both software and AI. That much is obvious. However, the S23 still gets more than 90% of the same features as a function of being on the same Android and One UI version. The only things you’re not getting are the extras that come specifically on the S24 and the Gemini Nano AI. Whether or not that’s worth it is up to you, but the S24 does have a longer list of features.

Verdict: Is the S24 worth the upgrade? Or should you stay with the S23?

When it comes to directly comparing which is “better,” the S23 or its successor, the S24, the newer version is the clear winner as it naturally has more to offer. The S24 adds the latest Snapdragon CPU, which improves, among other things, efficiency, and gaming by fairly wide margins and nearly doubles the performance of AI applications. The battery and screen are both slightly bigger, and the screen is 550 nits brighter than its predecessor. The software is more advanced with Galaxy AI and some extra One UI goodies.

Samsung Galaxy S24

Editor’s Choice

That said, it’s not so far ahead of the Galaxy S23 that the S23 has become unusable. The S23 still does ray tracing in games, it still takes very good pictures, and it still runs the latest Android 14 and One UI 6. The Galaxy S24 is an incremental upgrade with some really neat new software tricks and better internal hardware. However, the S23 can still do virtually everything without hiccups or issues. Both phones support your carrier’s 5G network, with the S23 at a lower price currently.

Samsung Galaxy S23

Best Value

So, here comes the big question: should you upgrade to the S24 if you have the S23? If better gaming, better cameras, a larger battery, and a brighter screen appeal to you, then the upgrade could be worth it. Samsung has great trade-in programs and your carrier will likely have the S24 for a reasonable price as well. It should be a worthwhile upgrade provided that the improvements are in the areas you care about. If not, there’s no shame in sticking with the S23 for another year and waiting for the Galaxy S25.