While the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra gets all the limelight, it’s worth noting that the other two devices in the S24 series are also very capable flagship smartphones. After all, both the standard Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ are packed with Galaxy AI smarts, enabling some truly useful AI-centric features.

Aside from that, the Samsung Galaxy S24+ also has some noteworthy hardware, including the return of Samsung’s very own Exynos chipset in the Malaysian market. While Exynos processors aren’t quite as popular as Qualcomm’s chips, the Exynos 2400 powering the S24+ is actually quite a capable flagship-tier SoC.

Without further ado, let’s get to the unboxing and hands-on of the Galaxy S24+.

As is the case with Samsung’s other flagship smartphones, the packaging of the Galaxy S24+ is very minimalist. No charging brick is bundled with the phone, so the box is slim and compact. The first thing you’ll see when you open the box is the back of the phone, and it has a black protective sheet on the display (which is very satisfying to peel off).

Of course, a USB-C to USB-C cable is also provided with the Galaxy S24+ for charging and data transfer purposes. There’s also a SIM pin – it is as nice as ever – and the usual paper manuals. That is…basically the unboxing experience of the S24+. Very straightforward, very minimal use of material.

Under the hood of the Galaxy S24+ for the Malaysian market is the aforementioned Exynos 2400 chipset instead of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 option, which is actually offered in certain regions. Nonetheless, from what I’ve tested so far, the Exynos 2400 can deliver flagship-tier performance in both gaming and day-to-day use. Rest assured, I’ll be sure to put it to the test thoroughly in the full review.

Chipset aside, the Galaxy S24+ also has a 12MP selfie camera and a triple camera setup on the back made up of a 50MP main shooter, a 12MP ultra-wide sensor, and a 10MP telephoto lens that can do 3x optical zoom. Yes, this is a largely similar camera system as last year’s Galaxy S23+, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can still take great-looking shots in all kinds of lighting conditions, even if the camera isn’t quite as far-reaching or as sophisticated as the S24 Ultra’s quad camera configuration.

In the display department, the Galaxy S24+ still features a Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, though it now supports adaptive refresh rate from 1-120Hz with a much brighter peak brightness of 2,600 nits. On top of that, it also gets a bigger (and sharper) 6.7-inch 3120 x 1440 panel. To match the bigger display, the S24+ is packed with a larger 4,900mAh battery too; that’s a 200mAh upgrade.

Now that the Galaxy S24+ has a larger, sharper, and brighter display, it is without a doubt a very pleasant screen to look at. Colours are vivid, viewing angles are wide, and black levels are excellent as well. Samsung makes some of the best displays in the market now, and the S24+’s panel quality is really a testament of this.

While we’re still on the topic of hardware, I really like how the Galaxy S24+ feels in my hands. Although it doesn’t get the S24 Ultra’s fancy titanium frame, the Armor Aluminium frame of the S24+ still feels great to the touch. Its flat sides also make it very easy to get a good, comfortable grip on the phone; more so than the slightly rounded sides of the S24 Ultra, in my opinion.

Last but not least is Galaxy AI on the Galaxy S24+. All of the AI smarts that are offered on the S24 Ultra are available on the S24+, including the ability to do AI photo editing, translating a conversation in real time, and the very useful Circle to Search feature to easily look up anything on my screen.

Galaxy AI is really one of the best reasons to get the Galaxy S24+ – or any device in the series, really – and it’s great to see Samsung not limiting the feature to just the highest-end S24 Ultra.

Now, prices. Compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S24+ is a tad more costly. Now retailing at RM4,899 and RM5,399 for the 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB models respectively, this is a RM200 price increase. While this is not quite as drastic as the RM600 price hike for the range-topping S24 Ultra, it’s still a price increase.

That being said, the Galaxy S24+ does bring a number of notable upgrades over the Galaxy S23+, such as a sharper, brighter display; bigger battery; and of course, Galaxy AI, even though the AI-centric features – but not all of them – will be trickled down to the S23 series as well sometime in the first half of this year.

The Samsung Galaxy S24+ may not have the fancy hardware of the S24 Ultra, but it is still unmistakably a refined flagship smartphone that shares many software features as its higher-end sibling, including Galaxy AI. I’m personally looking forward to using the S24+ as my daily driver in the next couple of weeks; stay tuned for the full review!