To use Samsung's language, I've been on the fence about the Galaxy Z Flip series for a few years now. I can almost relate to those On the Fence ads from Samsung, save for the fact that, instead of having a hard time choosing between an iPhone and a Galaxy Z Flip, I'm having difficulties leaving my Galaxy S flagship behind. And this year, so far, it hasn't been any different.

I started using the Galaxy S24+ roughly six months ago, and so far, I have no complaints. In my eyes, the S24+ is just as perfect as the Galaxy S22+ was two years ago. Maybe even better, given the super bright 2,600 nits display, which I'm a big fan of, especially now during the bright summer days.

But I'm also a fan of flip phones. I've always liked them, even before they were smart. For the past few years, I kept thinking about switching to the flip side. I haven't done so yet, and that's just a testament to how good the Galaxy S Plus phones have been to me. And I'm starting to wonder if I ever will.

It's hard for a Plus user to get on board with the Flip

If I were in a position where I'd now choose my first-ever Galaxy phone, I'd probably pick the Galaxy Z Flip 6. It's gorgeous, and Samsung's foldable display technology never ceases to impress me.

However, as an existing Galaxy S24+ owner, I find it too hard to hop over the fence and jump into the flip side of Samsung's garden, so to speak.

The story continues after our Galaxy Z Flip 6 review video

You see, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a beautiful foldable phone, and in my book, it is the best of its kind in 2024, hands down! However, compared to the Galaxy S24+, which I think is the closest slab-type phone alternative to the Flip 6, it compromises too much in favor of its dual-screen hinged design.

The Galaxy S24+ has a higher-resolution display, better (and more) cameras, the same chip and memory configuration (except it runs on Exynos 2400 in most regions), a bigger battery with faster charging, support for Samsung DeX support and Ultra Wideband, and a more resilient build with a higher IP68 rating.

My only reasonable choice might be Samsung's other foldable

I'm slowly reaching the conclusion that, as an existing Galaxy S24+ owner, I'd have to really want the Flip and minimalist cover screen experience in order to leave a near-perfect S24+ behind. And as much as I appreciate the Flip series, I just don't think I like it that much.

It might be a lot easier to buy the Flip 6 if you upgrade from an older or lower-end phone — or a different brand — but for me, to exchange the Galaxy S24+ for a Flip is asking a bit too much.

With that in mind, I find it very interesting that the more foldable phone generations get released and the more I sit on the proverbial fence, the more I wonder if the only reasonable foldable phone for me — an S Plus series fan — is a Fold rather than a Flip.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 does look very good to me. It looks better than all its predecessors. It's slick and powerful, and I love its sharp edges and corners. Besides, at least I can say that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 beats the Galaxy S24+ in more areas, has a larger foldable display, and doesn't compromise as much as the Flip 6 in favor of the hinged form factor.

All in all, after all these years of waiting for the perfect time to buy a Galaxy Z Flip, I'm beginning to think that maybe I never will, and I'll eventually end up on the Fold side. I haven't made up my mind yet, and I'll probably wait for the Galaxy S25+ to come out before I make my decision.

The post I’m not ready to give up my Galaxy S24+ for a flip phone appeared first on SamMobile.

Samsung has released new software updates for the carrier-unlocked variants of the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra. They bring the May 2024 security patch, which fixes 45 security vulnerabilities. The company rolled out the software update to the carrier-locked and the international variants of the three devices last week.

The new software updates for the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra carry the firmware versions S921U1UES2AXD3, S926U1UES2AXD3, and S928U1UES2AXD3 respectively. To get the update, go to Settings » Software update » Download and install. That is if your phone hasn’t already notified you about the new firmware.

The story continues after the video

Many people have been complaining that after installing the previous update on their Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra, the battery life of the three devices has decreased. Sadly, the latest update doesn’t seem to carry a fix for that issue. We expect Samsung to release this update in the remaining regions in the next couple of weeks.

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Smartphone GPUs have become insanely powerful over the last few years, but there's no denying the fact that a lot of that power goes to waste when it comes to mobile games. Game developers also don't take advantage of features such as high refresh rate displays.

120Hz displays are quite common on smartphones these days, but there are very few games that support running at that frame rate. PUBG: Battlegrounds, one of the most popular mobile games of all time, is one such title. It came out on Android (and iOS) six years ago, and to this day, it is limited to a 90 fps frame rate.

Story continues after the video

But that's set to change this month. A lot of PUBG players, including those who own a recent flagship Galaxy phone, will soon be able to battle it out at a smooth 120 fps.

PUBG is set to get a new update on May 13 that will add a 120 fps mode, and Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy S24 series, the Galaxy S23 series, and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be among the list of devices that will support that mode.

Samsung also says that it has worked with Tencent, the game's developer, on optimizing performance on these devices. The optimizations will be included in the latest version of the Game Optimization Service (GOS) and Game Booster app that comes installed on Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

PUBG is a graphically demanding game, so those optimizations will come in handy, especially for keeping temperatures in check. The optimizations will be complemented by the massive vapor cooling chambers inside the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra, though we will have to wait and see how long these devices will be able to sustain good performance when running in the 120 fps mode.

It also remains to be seen if other flagship Galaxy phones will receive support for the 120 fps option in PUBG. Samsung hasn't said anything on the matter for now, so even if the company intends to bring older devices into the fold, it could take a while.

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For every few great new features and changes in One UI 6.1, there's one that makes me wonder what Samsung was thinking. Don't get me wrong, I love the Galaxy S24+ and One UI 6.1 so far, but some aspects go against my idea of improvement.

As I pointed out before, one such issue has to do with the Notification Categories feature, which One UI 6.1 hides behind a new and arguably useless menu that only serves to make this incredibly useful and streamlined tool unnecessarily obscure. Especially for new users who may not know this feature ever existed.

But, anyway, here's another change in One UI 6.1 that I simply don't understand and bugs me. It's in a similar vein as Notification Categories, i.e., a primary feature that used to be highly accessible and is now inexplicably hidden behind extra menus.

Voice Recorder took steps backward with the Galaxy S24 series

The Voice Recorder app in One UI 6.0 and earlier versions lets users pick between the Standard and Interview recording modes straight from the home screen. In my mind, it makes perfect sense to have these two main modes at the forefront of the Voice Recorder UI. It's sensible to let users choose the best recording mode for each situation with ease.

Here's what the Voice Recorder app's home screen looks like in One UI 6.0, with easy-to-reach “Standard” and “Interview” selection buttons.

Voice Recorder modes in One UI 6.0

Now, moving on to One UI 6.1. True enough, the Voice Recorder app gained very useful new Galaxy AI features like summarize, transcribe, and translate — at least for the Standard recording mode. But for whatever reason, the update also hid the Standard and Interview recording options deep into the app's settings menu. These modes are now four taps away instead of just one.

Voice Recorder modes in One UI 6.1

Needless to say, if you want to record audio with your Galaxy S24, you better go through the app's settings menu and make sure you have the right option selected for the occasion every time you want to start a recording. It's convoluted for no reason, and I'm adamant that the old UI design was superior.

Perhaps Samsung moved the two recording modes to a new menu to ensure that people read the detailed information about each one and understand the Interview mode's AI limitations. Even so, the execution is far from ideal. If you ask me, a new “Recording Mode” shortcut button on the app's home screen would have been much better than hiding this new mode menu deep into the settings screen.

With the next big update, I'm hoping Samsung will address some of these odd UI shortcomings that cropped up on the Galaxy S24 series. I do love the Galaxy S24+, but sometimes, it feels like One UI 6.1 took a few steps back, and it's hard to understand Samsung's decision-making process.

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Samsung announced its Discover Spring Sale 2024 event last week. Officially, the event starts this Monday and ends Sunday, March 10. However, we have some good news for Samsung fans who might want to start doing discount shopping this weekend. The Early Access Discover Spring Sale event is already underway until March 3.

These exclusive Early Access deals are available when you use the links below. You can save on watches, tablets, smartphones, and monitors. Here's all you need to know:

• Save up to $70 on the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.
• Save up to $120 on the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra.
• Get up to $1,000 enhanced trade-in credit on the Galaxy S24 Ultra or S24+, in addition to $100 extra credit. Available for AT&T and T-Mobile variants.
• Save up to $600 on the 49-inch Odyssey OLED G9 curved gaming monitor.

As usual, the deals work whether you buy these devices outright or through a monthly installment plan via Samsung Financing. Do keep in mind that these exclusive deals are available only throughout the weekend, and make sure you use the links above.

In case you miss out on these exclusive discounts, fret not. Samsung will launch new ones for other products throughout the week. We will highlight the best deals every day, so stay tuned.

The post Grab Samsung phones, tablets, and monitors cheaper with Spring Sale Early Access deals appeared first on SamMobile.

The Galaxy S24 series is chock-full of Galaxy AI features, some of which have not even been advertised. Nevertheless, these clever Advanced Intelligence technologies from Samsung exist and can open up new and interesting possibilities if you know where to find them.

Here's one you might not be aware of. Samsung added a new AI-powered Gallery feature that can turn any Motion Photos captured with the Galaxy S24 into long-exposure photos. Here's all you need to know.

Motion Photos can now be long-exposure photos

When the Motion Photo option is turned on in the Camera viewfinder, your Galaxy S24 captures a short video alongside your photo. And now, with the power of AI, these short videos, a.k.a. Motion Photos, can be turned into long-exposure photos via the Gallery app.

Below is our short TikTok video demonstrating how you can take advantage of this AI tool on your Galaxy S24. Make sure you check it out and stay tuned for more tips and tricks.

@sammobileofficial

Galaxy S24 Long Exposure HACK! #galaxys24 #samsungtips #samsungmobile #samsunggalaxy #galaxyai #fyp #foryoupage

♬ original sound – SamMobile Official

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Samsung already has the second software update for the Galaxy S24 lineup ready to go in some parts of the world, two weeks after the first one was released. The second update is all about security fixes: the only thing it is bringing to the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra is the March 2024 security patch.

Technically, the second Galaxy S24 update came out a few days back, but it was limited to South Korea and was bundled with the February 2024 security patch. The update that started rolling out today, on the other hand, is available in many more markets.

Galaxy S24's second update is all about security enhancements

Europe appears to be the first region where the latest Galaxy S24 update–featuring a firmware version with AXBG as its last four characters–has been released, but here's hoping it doesn't take long to go live in other regions. And if you haven't yet received even the first update, you may directly get the second one, though this is just speculation for now.

To check for the update on your Galaxy S24 series smartphone, open the Settings app, navigate to Software update, and tap Download and install. Once the new firmware is available in our database, you can download it and flash it manually on your phone using a Windows PC.

As mentioned earlier, this update is exclusively about enhancing the device's security. That shouldn't be surprising considering it comes so soon after the previous update, which brought notable display and camera improvements and didn't begin rolling out in earnest until just a week ago.

The post Second Galaxy S24 software update is out, find out what’s new appeared first on SamMobile.

Included in the Galaxy AI suite for the Galaxy S24 series is a Generative Wallpaper tool. You may have heard of it, and it is one of the funner sides of Galaxy AI for Samsung's latest flagships. If you already have used Generative Wallpapers on your Galaxy S24, here's a neat little trick you might want to try.

Fun fact: The wallpapers generated by the AI on the Galaxy S24 are wider than they appear. They're not precise 19.5:9 rectangular images. They contain more AI-generated scenery than it seems, but they're cropped to fit the Galaxy S24's home screen.

Unfortunately, because Samsung doesn't offer an option to save these Generative Wallpapers as image files, and because they don't appear in the Gallery, you can't view the whole AI-generated picture at once. But if you are having fun with these AI wallpapers, there is a way to see more than meets the eye.

View Generative Wallpapers in landscape mode

It turns out that Generative Wallpapers for the Galaxy S24 series are optimized for both portrait and landscape modes. Better yet, landscape wallpapers are not just cropped versions of portrait wallpapers.

If you allow your Galaxy S24's home screen to show content in landscape mode and rotate your phone 45 degrees, you will see that your AI-generated wallpapers are wider than they appear in portrait mode. Take a look at the examples below.

Wallpapers viewed in landscape mode are cropped at the top and bottom, but they will show more content to the sides — content you'll never see in portrait orientation.

As far as we can tell, this is the only official way to get a more complete view of the wallpapers you can generate with the help of AI on the Galaxy S24 series. But hopefully, Samsung will add more settings and options soon.

Until then, if you want to have a bit more fun with your AI wallpapers, you can try this trick by pinching the home screen, accessing “Settings” by tapping the cogwheel icon, and turning on the “Rotate to landscape mode” option.

If you are going to generate more AI wallpapers on your Galaxy S24, keep in mind that there is a limit of 15 wallpapers you can create before old designs are replaced by new ones.

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This year, Samsung continued its three-pronged strategy for Galaxy S flagships and released three variants of its S24 series, including the base model, the top-tier Galaxy S24 Ultra, and the middle-of-the-road Galaxy S24+. Now, it's time to present our video review of the latter.

We believe the Galaxy S24+ might be the default choice for many prospective Samsung flagship buyers who don't want a foldable phone or the Ultra model with an S Pen. And thankfully, for these customers, this year's Plus model just got a bit more premium flavor, separating itself further from the base variant.

Ultra-grade screen, great design, fantastic battery life

Samsung's new S24+ has a higher QHD resolution, just like the Ultra model, and can achieve 2,600 nits of brightness, again, just like the Ultra.

The phone is decently sized and has the same high-quality build you'd find on the rest of the series, save for the fact that it doesn't have the Ultra's titanium frame or Gorilla Armor glass. Nevertheless, the Galaxy S24+ looks and feels exquisite.

On the more practical side of things, the Galaxy S24+ is bigger than the base model, which makes it a better multimedia device. Besides, it is a battery monster. The 4,900mAh battery with 45W charging really stands the test of time and offers fantastic autonomy on a single charge.

Without further ado and spoilers (assuming you haven't read our full written Galaxy S24+ review), check out our video review below for all of our thoughts and conclusions on this device.

On a final note, in case you might be wondering, the Galaxy S24+ does ship with One UI 6.1 and the same Galaxy AI tools as the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

These Galaxy AI features open up new possibilities and even break down language barriers. They let users translate voice calls in real time, transcribe audio, summarize documents and webpages, edit photos faster than ever, and search the web for anything on their screens through Circle to Search.

If all this sounds tempting and you're considering buying the Galaxy S24+, make sure you dig into Samsung's online shop for potential discounts, trade-in deals, and bundle offers. You may also want to try the Shop Samsung mobile app, where the company sometimes offers exclusive deals.

The post Our Galaxy S24+ video review is up. Is this the best flagship without S Pen? appeared first on SamMobile.

One very unexpected side effect of using the Galaxy S24+ for the past few weeks is that I'm no longer interested in Samsung's vivid display mode. I know! The vivid mode is iconic among Galaxy phone users, and like many others, I have used it exclusively for years. It was my default setting for Samsung's AMOLED panels, even if it made them unrealistically colorful.

At some point, using Vivid mode was a way to show off the uniqueness of AMOLED and remind yourself that you're using a Galaxy phone rather than an iPhone or a boring Android device. Vivid wasn't necessarily better than the natural screen mode but stood out in a world of Android phones whose LCD panels were neither vivid nor natural but only dull.

However, many things have changed over the past half a decade, and that time's long gone. I must admit I feel like I've been stuck in an obsolete mindset for the past few years without even realizing it, and I am just now, ahem, recalibrating my perception, all because Samsung's Galaxy S24 series does things differently.

Natural is more beautiful

Samsung calibrated the vivid mode differently on the Galaxy S24 series, making it look less vibrant. And after weeks of using the Plus model, I feel like I've seen the light and snapped out of a colorful fever dream.

Whether willingly or by mistake, Samsung converted me to using more natural colors on my Galaxy phone after years of staring into oversaturated tones. And even though the company has been working on recalibrating the S24 series' vivid mode for customers who miss those accentuated colors, I'm no longer among those interested.

I'm not suggesting Samsung should not update the vivid mode for Galaxy S24 users who want their displays to have an extra splash of color, but I am saying that Samsung (willingly or not) tricked me into not caring about vivid mode any longer. And I think it's for the better.

Within my sphere of natural colors rendered by my Neo QLED TV, PC monitor, laptop screen, and even smartwatch, it's hard to understand why I thought the vivid color mode on my Galaxy phone was the only reasonable option. I now realize that it was probably out of force of habit more than anything else. And, let's face it, Samsung's marketing magic from many years ago may have also lingered in my subconscious and played a role.

Nevertheless, it feels as though the Galaxy S24+ dispelled that magic for me. And now that I have used the latest flagship with a more natural color profile, I am not looking forward to reusing bright and vivid tones. I won't. I have already switched to the natural color mode on the Galaxy S24+. And once the vivid color mode firmware update reaches my phone, it won't make a lick of difference to my user experience.

The post Samsung tricked me out of vivid display mode and I am thankful for it appeared first on SamMobile.

Samsung is getting ready for springtime and has announced a new Discover sales event for the season. The company says spring is “the perfect time to gear up and get moving on your goals,” and wants to help its customers on that task with new deals, starting the week after next.

For the first time, this year's Discover Spring Sale event will offer “Mystery Deals” across four categories — mobile, monitors, home entertainment, and monitors. But today, the company also offered a sneak preview of some of the deals you can expect during the week starting March 4.

Regarding Mystery Deals, Samsung will host four hidden images on its official website every day, starting at 9 am ET. Visitors will be able to click these images to discover that day's Mystery Deals before they expire the following morning at 8:59 am ET.

Discover Spring Sale — what discounts can you expect?

Samsung is offering a glimpse of some of the deals it has prepared for the upcoming Discover Spring Sale event, including discounts on Bespoke home appliances, smart TVs, and even the Galaxy S24+.

• Throughout the entire week, starting March 4, Samsung will cut $500 off Bespoke Ultra Capacity Electric Dryer and Ultra Capacity Front Load Washer.
• On March 4, the Bespoke 4-door French Door Refrigerator in Charcoal Glass and Matte Black Steel will cost $1,500 less.
• March 4-10: 50-inch The Frame TV gets $200 cheaper.
• On March 9, the 49-inch Odyssey G9 Curved Gaming Monitor will be $500 cheaper.
• The 65-inch S90C OLED TV gets a $900 discount for the entire week starting March 4.
• March 4-10 the Q900C 7.1.2 Wireless Dolby Atmos soundbar gets a $400 discount.
• On March 6, you'll be able to save up to 73% on the 512GB Galaxy S24+ through an enhanced trade-in offer, $50 Samsung Credit, and a free memory upgrade.

If you're planning on gearing up this spring and want to save some cash while you're at it, stick around. We'll keep our eyes peeled on Samsung's online store for more Discover Spring Sale 2024 offers and bring you extra details as soon as they become available.

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