Should you buy the Galaxy S23 or wait for the Galaxy S24?

If you’re looking to pick up a new flagship phone, the Galaxy S family is one of the best Android phones of 2023. Launching in February of 2023, the S23 series has been available for about five months and shouldn’t see a successor for a little over half a year. Still, is there any reason you should consider waiting for the Galaxy S24? In this guide, we take a look at everything we know about the Galaxy S23 vs Galaxy S24 to help you answer that question.

Galaxy S23 vs Galaxy S24: Expected differences

Let’s be upfront here, there aren’t many substantial rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S24 just yet. Still, we can speculate on a few things. Let’s discuss some of the biggest potential differences we might see from the Galaxy S23’s successor.

Last year was a major change for Samsung as the company ditched the Exynos chips in all regions for the Galaxy S23 series. Instead, the whole line received an overclocked version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 as a timed exclusive. It’s very likely we’ll see a similar situation with the Galaxy S24 family. Whether the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will also be overclocked? That’s less certain.

Although we don’t know everything about the upcoming Snapdragon flagship yet, rumors claim it will be 64-bit only. It’s also likely to feature new AI features and use the latest ARM CPUs: the Cortex-X4, A720, and A520 CPUs.

Galaxy S24 Ultra could have up to 16GB of RAM

The Galaxy S23 family currently has 8GB of RAM, though a variant of the Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with up to 12GB of RAM. According to at least one leaker, the Galaxy S24 Ultra could offer up to 16GB of RAM. This wouldn’t be too shocking, as the Galaxy S21 Ultra had a 16GB version, though the S22 Ultra took a small step backward by offering up to 12GB of RAM instead. There are also a growing number of high-end phones with 16GB of RAM.

The same claim suggests the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus will also bump things up with 12GB of RAM across the board and 256GB of storage. This one is a little harder to believe. That’s a lot of RAM, especially for the base Galaxy S23. Still, Samsung tends to push the envelope here so that it wouldn’t be completely shocking.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra saw a pretty big upgrade with its ISOCELL HP2 Imaging sensor for its primary camera. Considering Samsung tends to keep its sensors for a few models, it’s likely the next Ultra won’t make a change here. It is also very likely the S23 and S23 Plus will also keep their existing ISOCELL GN3 sensor.

An earlier rumor claimed the Galaxy S24 family would have a 5x telephoto lens and an improved secondary telephoto lens on the Ultra models. Since then, tipster Revegnus has disputed this claim saying the 3x telephoto lens will remain. That said, we could still see changes to the 10x periscope lens on the Ultra. Reportedly it will trade this lens in for a variable folded lens that would deliver lossless zoom at any level from 5x to 10x.

Even though it may not make massive changes to its camera hardware, prominent leaker Yogesh Brar suggests the software will see “massive improvements.” The leaker doesn’t get into any specifics, but we imagine AI might play at least some role in things, as the next Qualcomm processor is expected to push AI features further. This could help the Galaxy family better compete with the upcoming Google Pixel 8.

Charging speeds were one of the sore spots for the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, but this could be changing finally. According to a report via Twitter tipster RGcloudS, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and Galaxy S24 Plus will have a stacked battery design similar to what’s found in electric cars. This design will reportedly allow for faster charging up to 65W.

Now, we’ve already seen phones with speeds this fast before. Still, it’s a big win for Samsung. A stacked battery configuration could also have a few other advantages, including an increase in energy density, allowing manufacturers to pack larger batteries into a small space. This type of battery also has a better battery cycle life and improved performance.

Now for the bad news. The Galaxy S24 may stick with the 25W charger from its predecessor, though it’s possible Samsung could keep its current battery design will still allowing 45W charging.

Will the Galaxy S24 family get any design changes?

As we said, we’re still a ways off from the Samsung Galaxy S24, and we have a lot to learn. Still, there are several rumors that suggest the design will largely stay the same for the entire portfolio. There could be some small material changes, but there aren’t many substantial rumors about that yet. We’ll update this post with renders and other details when they emerge.

The Galaxy S24 series may cost more

The Samsung Galaxy S family hasn’t changed prices in the US in three years, though the Galaxy S23 did see a price hike in the UK and the majority of Europe. This means it’s very possible that the Galaxy S24 series will see a price increase in the US in 2024, especially as the economy continues to struggle.

Reasons to consider waiting for the Galaxy S24 family

The Samsung Galaxy S23 still has plenty of life ahead of it. For those needing a new flagship this year, there’s very little reason to wait unless you want to see what others like Google do in the next few months. Still, there are a few scenarios where you might want to wait off:

• Your current phone still does the job okay. Even if it’s a few years old, many flagships are still more than capable of providing a high-end Android experience. If your phone still has software support and is working well, waiting until next year could save you money. This leads us to our next point.
• You want to take advantage of Galaxy S23 discounts. Even if you don’t care much about the Galaxy S24’s upgrades, the arrival of a new model means pricing will go down in the lead-up to the S24’s launch and after. If you want the absolute best price and you don’t absolutely need a new phone today, waiting might not be a horrible idea.
• You want to know more about the S24 first. We still don’t have all the S24 details on design, display, and so forth. In the next couple of months, we will likely see plenty of new leaks, which could paint a more complete picture. Waiting just a tad longer will ensure you are more informed and won’t regret purchasing the Galaxy S23 series now.

The Galaxy S24 family will no doubt have its share of upgrades, and there could be plenty of surprises in store. Of course, that doesn’t matter for everyone. Here are the reasons you might want to get a member of the Galaxy S23 series now:

• You need a phone now. If your phone no longer gets security updates or is on an ancient version of Android, waiting til 2024 might not be an option. The same goes if your phone is busted or is barely hanging on (such as a dying battery.)
• The idea of a price increase puts you off. If the Galaxy S24 series sees a price increase, it might also mean that Galaxy S23 discounts won’t be as substantial this time around. That means you might not save much by waiting and could end up disappointed if the Galaxy S24 does raise its prices.

If you aren’t interested in waiting, you can pick up a member of the Samsung Galaxy S24 family through the widgets below.