Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus review: slightly bigger and brighter displays with flat edges, and the AI features are occasionally great but sometimes weird
Allison Johnson / The Verge :
Context & Ripple Effects
Samsung’s prior non-Ultra flagships were already described as an incremental move toward flat displays, while the S22 generation paired strong core hardware with complaints about battery life and cluttered software. The S24 and S24 Plus continue that hardware refinement rather than resetting the product formula.
The notable change is the addition of AI as a daily-use layer. Early testing found Circle to Search accurate and convenient but other tools less dependable, while the S24 Ultra’s mixed AI experience suggests the issue spans Samsung’s flagship range rather than one model.
First-order effects
- S24 and S24 Plus buyers get modestly improved display hardware and flat-edged designs, but must judge AI features tool by tool rather than treating them as a uniformly reliable upgrade.
- Samsung’s mainstream flagships gain a clearer software-led selling point, even as inconsistent AI behavior limits how strongly it can support the purchase decision today.
Second-order effects
- The uneven results raise the bar for Samsung to improve reliability and clarity around individual AI functions; a broadly advertised AI label is less persuasive when the practical value varies by task.
- The standard and Plus models move closer to the Ultra family’s software story, leaving display treatment, cameras, and physical scale as more important points of differentiation within Samsung’s own lineup.
Third-order effects
- If AI remains a recurring but inconsistent layer in phone reviews, flagship competition will increasingly turn on execution quality—latency, accuracy, and usefulness—rather than simply whether a device includes AI features.
- The product arc points to a maturing smartphone market in which small display and design refinements are paired with software services to create upgrade rationale; sustained adoption depends on those services becoming dependable.
The trend: Flagship smartphones are shifting from hardware-only iteration toward AI-assisted experiences, with reliability becoming the key differentiator.