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Galaxy S24 series: Turning Galaxy into Android’s iPhone - the worst and best thing Samsung did

By Martin Filipov

Published: Oct 14, 2023, 7:54 AM

38comments

This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.

Galaxy S24 series: Turning Galaxy into Android’s iPhone - the worst and best thing Samsung did

The Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra are now expected to make their official debut some time in January, but we already have a pretty good idea of what the phones are going to look like, and even the specs they should be packing.

Steve H.McFly (a.k.a. @OnLeaks) revealed the design of Samsung’s upcoming flagships a few weeks ago via a series of realistic-looking renders, which depict a set of phones that look suspiciously similar to the Galaxy S23, S23 Plus, and S23 Ultra we already know and like.

Tech Twitter’s reaction followed immediately and was pretty clear - “What is Samsung thinking?”. Of course, what the phone nerds are referring to is the design of the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra, which doesn’t only look almost identical to that of the Galaxy S23 series but also, pretty similar to that of the Galaxy S22 from last year.

Unlike iPhone users, those who buy Android phones (especially expensive flagships) are used to a certain degree of design novelty, which has been absent from Samsung’s phones in the past three years, which might explain the critical reactions.

Instead of focusing on flashy new features and designs, the South Korean giant has been taking a different approach to upgrades for a while now, very reminiscent of Apple’s tried and true strategy of “slow innovation” with the iPhone.

But why has Samsung's attitude towards making phones become so different, and could becoming “Android’s iPhone” be a good thing for the Galaxy? Let’s have the talk.

Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra: Samsung's new flagship phones are the epitome of Apple’s iPhone in the world of Android

The Galaxy S24 series look like the Galaxy S23 series, which look like the Galaxy S22 series.

At least judging by the early renders we have, the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra look almost identical to their Galaxy S23 equivalents.

Interestingly, Samsung seems to be making the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus even flatter, with more square edges, reminiscent of the iPhone 14 series (while the iPhone 15 series finally moved towards a slightly more ergonomic design with “contoured edges”). But other than that, it’s almost like looking at the Galaxy S23 series of flagships.

If this consistent adherence to a single design language reminds you of another phone, that’d be Apple’s iPhone, which has looked pretty consistently “iPhone” since 2020. To be more precise, Apple kept virtually the same design for the iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and iPhone 14, with the iPhone 15 finally looking and feeling somewhat different than its predecessor.

Despite Apple’s “all-new design” claims during the unveiling of the iPhone 15, looking at the back of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 (without holding them) makes it pretty much impossible to tell the two apart. The only giveaway are the muted colors of the iPhone 15.

Galaxy S24 Ultra software support, camera and design take some inspiration from Apple and the iPhone 15 Pro Max: Apple can be positive influence to Samsung

After the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is now rumored to get a new 5x zoom camera and a titanium frame. It's also expected to be the only Galaxy S24 flagship powered exclusively by the most powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

However, if the “boring” design consistency isn’t your cup of tea, rest assured, Apple can also be a positive influence on Samsung.

For example, the argument for Samsung’s “Apple phase” becomes even stronger when we start looking at Samsung’s newly-found focus on turning the Galaxy into the reliable Android flagships it wasn’t five years ago.

The Galaxy is now one of the absolute best Android phones to get if you seek consistent and extended software support, which is a massive shift in virtue for Samsung - the same company that used to be known for slow software upgrades, and even sluggish performance due to the excessive nature of Samsung’s old UI on top of Android, TouchWiz (a word that still gives OG Samsung users major chills).

Say what you will, but you can bet Samsung’s desire to catch up to Apple’s legendary software support has played a massive role in bringing the Galaxy where it is today. And that’s why competition is awesome.

Galaxy S24 Ultra switch from 10x to 5x zoom might be the perfect metaphor for Samsung’s new, Apple-like philosophy

But I can get a bit more specific with the examples (because my life is phone specs).... How about that new 5x zoom camera in the Galaxy S24 Ultra we’re hearing about? Coincidence or not, Samsung is now expected to replace the iconic 10x optical zoom lens that’s been present in the company’s Ultra flagship for three years with a new, 5x zoom camera, similar to the 5x zoom lens from the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The surprise switch to a 5x zoom camera from the (technically more impressive) 10x zoom lens is the perfect metaphor for Samsung’s newly-found philosophy of “less is more” - which (of course) has been Apple’s own mantra since the beginning of time.

Samsung likes Apple’s idea of using titanium for the iPhone 15 Pro’s design; Galaxy S24 Ultra will have a titanium frame too

Perhaps the most obvious iPhone 15 Pro-inspired design element of the Galaxy S24 Ultra must be the titanium frame expected to debut on the most premium Galaxy flagship for the first time ever.

Apple was rumored to switch to the premium material for a while, and we finally have the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, which are now supposedly more durable, and (more importantly) 20g lighter than their stainless steel-bearing predecessors.

Unfortunately for Samsung users, despite the switch to titanium, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is rumored to weigh practically the same as the Galaxy S23 Ultra. That’s because unlike the stainless steel iPhone 14 Pro, the S23 Ultra already uses a lighter material for its frame (aluminium).

Samsung is about to copy one of Apple’s sneakiest ideas in desperate attempt to solve the “Exynos vs Snapdragon” chip problem on Galaxy S24 series

Samsung is about to pull an Apple, giving only its most expensive Galaxy S24 Ultra flagship exclusive access to the best new Qualcomm chip.

In case you haven’t heard, the latest leaks and rumors say the Galaxy S24 Ultra might be the only S24 model that uses Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 flagship chip exclusively. Meanwhile, the vanilla Galaxy S24 and S24+ are said to go back to the “good old days” of regional chip discrimi… I mean division - Exynos 2400 for some regions of the world, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for others.

In case you’re wondering where Samsung got this sneaky idea from, it might help remembering that Apple pioneered this “genius” plan last year, with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro. The former stuck with Cupertino’s flagship SoC from 2021 (the A15 Bionic), while only the Pro model gained the new A16 Bionic.

Sure, it’s not quite an “Apples to Apples” comparison since Samsung’s Exynos 2400 is technically a new chip we haven’t seen before. However, considering Exynos’ history of inferior performance compared to Qualcomm’s chips, Samsung’s plan to keep the best SoC for the most expensive Galaxy S24 Ultra really wouldn’t be all that different from Apple’s “the best chip for the Pro iPhone only” strategy.

The two different paths to success: Apple and Samsung are now sharing the top spot in the smartphone business but their paths to success couldn’t be more different

Apple and Samsung took very different paths to where they are today but the iPhone and Galaxy are now more similar than ever.

In the end, although few seem to realize it, there’s been a massive shift in strategy over at Samsung during the past 3-4 years. On one hand, this has resulted in a less exciting product portfolio, which some tech enthusiasts find to be a bad thing.

But on the other hand, a Samsung flagship phone (the Galaxy S23 Ultra) has entered the top 10 list for best-selling smartphones for the first time since the Galaxy S9. Moreover, Samsung sells more folding phones than any other company despite the less impressive hardware of the Fold 5 compared to something like Honor Magic V2.

The irony is that Samsung spent years trying to beat Apple by offering more and extra features, while the secret to success was to be more strategic, and prioritize offering less but more reliable features and products.

On the other hand, when you think about the iPhone, Apple’s flagship has been getting more and more Android-y for the past 3-4 years. Now offering tons of customization options (in certain areas, more than Android), USB-C, and arguably the most capable camera system, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is no longer as locked down, boring, and held back due to older hardware as iPhones used to be…

Samsung conquered the Android world by finally focusing on reliable software support instead of super-flashy hardware upgrades, and now makes profit by attracting new “users” instead of “fans”

Slowly but steadily, Apple is turning the iPhone into a more open, user-friendly, customizable, and fun phone; not to mention we now get 4-5 new iPhones every year instead of only one which was the case up until the iPhone 5S

Is Apple a negative influence on Samsung, or is the boring iPhone the perfect role model for the once overwhelming Galaxy?

Like it or not, this is the state of Samsung, and it's not necessarily a bad one.

Android’s biggest phone-maker is doing business like Apple now, and as much as I hate saying that (as a tech enthusiast), commercial success trumps everything at this level of business. However, at the same time, my “hot take” is that Apple’s influence on Samsung’s business model (which is now reflected in the company’s phones) has been mostly positive.

If you really think about it, “being more conservative like the iPhone” is the best thing that could happen to the once overwhelming Galaxy phone, which came with a sluggish version of Android, loaded with excess features and elements that were poised to eventually make way to something cleaner and more cohesive.

Today, One UI is a reflection of Samsung’s incredible progress in turning TouchWiz into a desired Android version that people don’t only tolerate, but prefer over Google's own version of Android (found on the Pixel). This was pretty much unheard of back in 2015, when everyone seemed to be dreaming of “Google’s clean Android on Samsung’s awesome hardware”.

And sure, the tech nerd in me doesn’t necessarily love the fact that the Galaxy S24 looks like the Galaxy S23, which looks like the Galaxy S22 - just like I don’t love the fact that the iPhone 14 looked like the iPhone 13, which looked like the iPhone 12. Yes, that’s… boring - it literally makes my job more boring. But many would argue people don’t upgrade their phones every year anyway, and this design upgrade cycle, which focuses on consistency, starts making more sense.

I suppose the only burning question right now is… How far is Samsung’s “becoming Android’s Apple” journey going to go? Perhaps we’ll start seeing fewer Galaxy releases? Another push towards turning Exynos into the only chip for Galaxy? Maybe even Samsung’s own OS? Place your bets.

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Martin, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, brings a unique blend of humor and insight to his work. His fascination with smartphones began with a Galaxy Young and evolved through a series of trades and upgrades, making him a self-proclaimed smartphone nerd. Martin's content often combines current analysis of market trends with historical references and future predictions. Whether it's a deep dive into technical issues or a first-person commentary on industry events, Martin's articles are designed to inform and engage. His critical perspective is driven by genuine curiosity and a desire to keep readers informed, not by any corporate sponsorship.

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