Samsung’s latest Galaxy S24 trio will hit store shelves this week, though judging by comments on Reddit, it’s already started making its way into the hands of customers who preordered. We’ve only published our review of the Galaxy S24 Ultra so far — the other two are on the way — and long story short, it’s exactly the phone you think it is. One conversation has been dominating social media since these phones launched, though. How important is it to see a refreshed design in new smartphones anymore? Do consumers care, or are they just looking for an overall improved experience?
Now, to be fair, I’m not sure the Galaxy S24 Ultra even goes that far. Even putting the design aside, using this phone feels pretty damn similar to using a Galaxy S23 Ultra. Aside from the lack of a curved display — and excellent upgrade, to be sure — most of the “new” features on Samsung’s $1,300 smartphone quickly fade into the background. It’s a good overall device with excellent performance and some camera imperfections, but then again, so was last year’s device.
The two smaller S24 units fare a little better in the design space, thanks to newly matte, flat edges that, well, look right out of Apple’s playbook. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a nice change of pace, but still, it’s barely enough to qualify as a fresh look when placing its predecessors next to each other.
I don’t want to rag on Samsung too much here — I think they’ve taken recycling designs to the extreme, but everyone from Apple to Google are keeping things so consistent, upgrading your smartphone starts to feel like an exercise in déjà vu. This week’s Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro leaks are perhaps the most radical redesign we’ll see for a phone in 2024, and that’s not saying much. At their core, both still look close enough to the Pixel 8 series not to make too much of an impact. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 12 looks right in line with its predecessor — give or take a new pattern for its green back glass — and Motorola’s successor to last year’s Razr seems to be keeping its look and feel virtually unchanged.
It’s easy for phone reviewers to get caught up on this stuff. When you’re constantly jumping between handsets, looking for something new and fresh to keep you interested is, in my opinion, a natural reaction. Still, I don’t expect to see OEMs switch up their look and feel every single generation — the Wild West days of mobile are long gone in that regard. But with companies seemingly locked into pre-existing designs for three, four, or even five years now, you have to wonder if that starts to impact how people feel when upgrading their smartphone. Even if you get a faster, fresher software experience, refreshed styles are often what drives people to actually swap out hardware. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at Apple’s titanium-driven ad campaign for the iPhone 15 Pro.
So, does a refreshed look and feel go into you making a decision on when to upgrade your smartphone? Or does it not really matter when the overall core experience — performance, display, cameras, and battery life — is usually better across the board?
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