The Samsung Galaxy S24 landed in early 2024, but how does the smartphone compare to Apple’s latest iPhone 15?
We’ve put these two smartphones head-to-head to help you to decide on your next upgrade. Keep reading to learn how the two phones compare when it comes to key areas like design, display, cameras, performance and battery life.
Design and display
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and iPhone 15 are two similarly-sized smartphones with smooth glass backs and slim profiles. The Galaxy S24 is available in four colours – Cobalt Violet, Amber Yellow, Onyx Black and Marble Gray. The iPhone 15, meanwhile, is available in Black, as well as Blue, Green, Yellow and Pink pastel finishes.
Both phones also take advantage of IP68 water resistance ratings.
When it comes to their respective displays, the Galaxy S24 has the brighter screen, however the iPhone 15 is the higher resolution of the two. The Galaxy S24 also features an always-on display setting for checking the time and notifications at a glance, whereas the iPhone 15 includes the Dynamic Island which helps the notch to seamlessly blend in with the UI.
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S24 features a triple camera array, whereas the iPhone 15 sticks with two cameras. The main difference here is the telephoto camera found on the Samsung handset, though that doesn’t necessarily make it the better camera phone.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 includes a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The phone is also capable of recording 8K/30p or 4K/60p video and packs a 12-megapixel front camera with 4K/60p video support.
We found that the best results came from the 50-megapixel sensor, which proved capable in various lighting conditions offering pleasing shots with bright, vivid colours perfect for social media. Detail can feel oversharpened at times but that’s Samsung’s style and comes down to personal preference.
The iPhone 15, meanwhile, includes a 48-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. The iPhone is capable of capturing 4K/60p video and, like the Galaxy S24, includes a 12-megapixel front camera with 4K/60p video support for snapping selfies and joining video calls.
We found the iPhone 15 to be capable of capturing sharp and vibrant shots which can be zoomed in on without sacrificing too much detail. The camera also creates lots of natural bokeh when shooting up close, allowing for a softly blurred background behind your subject.
While the Galaxy S24 wins when it comes to zoom, we found that the iPhone 15 captured far better quality images and videos compared to the S24.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and the iPhone 15 are powered by two different chipsets. The iPhone runs on Apple’s own A16 Bionic with up to 512GB of storage and 6GB of RAM, whereas the S24 features the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the US or the Exynos 2400 in Europe with up to 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.
We found that the iPhone 15 outperformed the Galaxy S24 when it came to its Geekbench 6 single-core score, whereas the Galaxy S24 came out top for its multi-core score, as well as GFXBench Aztec Ruins and Car Chase.
Battery life
Moving on to battery life, the Samsung Galaxy S24 packs a 4000 mAh battery while the iPhone 15 features a slightly smaller 3349 mAh battery.
This translated to a full day of use for both the Galaxy S24 and the iPhone 15, with both smartphones requiring a recharge at the end of the day.
Both smartphones support USB-C charging with speeds that should result in 50% charge in about 30 minutes, though the iPhone is quicker to charge in the first 15 minutes.
Both phones also offer wireless charging, with Apple including support for Qi2 and its own MagSafe standard and accessories as well as the Qi standard supported by both phones.
