Photo of TPU cases for Galaxy S24 series shows no obvious design changes for the three phones

Based on a picture allegedly showing transparent thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) cases for the Galaxy S24 series, it would appear that we should not expect any major design changes for Samsung's 2024 flagship line. The photo, shared by tipster Ice Universe on "X" and published by techradar shows the case for the Galaxy S24 Ultra being held up by someone's hand on the left side of the screen. The iconic Galaxy Note look remains with the squared-off corners.

Similar to the Galaxy S23 Ultra, based on the case, the sequel will continue to sport the vertically mounted triple camera lenses along the left side of the rear panel. We could see one of those lenses backed by the ISOCELL HP2SX 200MP image sensor, an enhanced version of the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 used on this year's phone. Speaking of the rear camera array, Samsung is said to be getting rid of the 10x optical zoom camera and will settle to match the iPhone 15 Pro Max's 5x optical zoom.

Why would Samsung do this? Apple has said that it stopped at 5x optical zoom with the Tetraprism periscope camera on the 15 Pro Max because of the lack of image stability at 10x. This makes sense and Samsung might have been waiting to see what Apple would offer before it eliminated 10x optical zoom on its top-of-the-line flagship phone. Next year's Ultra model would be the first opportunity Samsung had to adjust to Apple's first periscope lens on an iPhone.

Ultra high-quality renders of the Galaxy S24 Ultra that we showed you last September also show small and subtle changes between the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Galaxy S24 Ultra such as thinner bezels on the screen. The body itself seems flatter and sharper as we noted in the original story. Samsung is expected to use high-quality titanium to replace the aluminum on the Galaxy S24 Ultra which should make it lighter.

With the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+, Samsung is keeping the same design for the triple camera setup. Last year, Sammy got rid of the metallic camera housing for the three lenses on the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ and it appears that the design will remain the same with the three lenses mounted vertically down the left side of the rear panel. For the third consecutive year, Samsung is expected to equip the non-Ultra models with a 50MP GN3 image sensor.

The big question is what chipset will Samsung use on each model. The consensus at this point is that everywhere but the U.S. and China, the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ will be powered by the decacore Exynos 2400. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy is expected to be used on the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ in the U.S. and China and will power the Galaxy S24 Ultra everywhere. This year, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy powers all Galaxy S23 series phones.

We should see Samsung get off to an earlier start this year with a January Unpacked event introducing the Galaxy S24 line.