When does the Galaxy S24 Unpacked event start?
- January 17, 2024, at 10AM PT / 1PM ET / 6PM CET
The Galaxy S24 lineup will be announced at Samsung Unpacked, which is scheduled to take place on January 17, aired live from San Jose for a change.
How to watch the Samsung Galaxy S24 announcement
The 2024 Unpacked event will start at 10:00 Pacific Time / 13:00 Eastern Time / 18:00 Western European Time and will be streamed online in real time via Samsung’s official YouTube channel. You will also be able to watch the announcement unfold though our extensive live coverage here at PhoneArena.
Galaxy Unpacked 2024: What to Expect?
Samsung Galaxy S24 series announcement
It goes without saying that the highlight of Galaxy Unpacked will be Samsung’s newest high-end smartphones. The S24 family will consist of no less than 3 devices – the Galaxy S24the Galaxy S24 Plus, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra with the flat screen you see in the leaked video below. All three of them will be making their debut at the end of January or beginning of February, but you will be able to pre-order them immediately after the announcement.
The Galaxy S24 will be powered by a custom version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, as well as by Samsung’s homebrew Exynos 2400 in some markets. This means that the smartphones will offer top-notch performance, and could likely be one the most powerful Android devices on the market at launch.
In addition to the impressive processor, the Galaxy S24 will likely bring a slew of updates to the battery life and the display quality. We will be especially looking for the inclusion of an LTPO panel this time around that will allow a more granular refresh rate than the 48Hz-120Hz that the lower members of the clan typically come with.
Beside the battery life improvements this switcheroo would bring, an added benefit could be much brighter and more frugal screens, too. As for the Galaxy S24 Ultrathere will be a very impressive camera kit, most likely offering a high-res periscope camera that should improve low-light zoom shots significantly.
One UI 6.1 software update
Alongside the new hardware, we expect one major software announcement from Samsung – namely, the launch of One UI 6.1. For reference, this is the user interface developed by the Korean tech giant exclusively for its smartphones.
The Galaxy S24 will feature One UI 6.1 out of the box, but the newest version will also likely be making its way to other Samsung devices sooner rather than later. As leaked, One UI 6.1 on Android 14 will be all about AI and anticipating every need and move of the S24 phone user, a new Samsung AI era indeed.
New Galaxy S24 AI features
- Meeting notes and translation: 10-voice identification
- Circle Search: circling something on the screen will launch automatic AI search
- Title writing: the S24 Ultra will be able to do a whole essay on a topic, ChatGPT style
These are all new AI-powered features that will be coming to the Galaxy S24 Ultra with the One UI 6.1 interface by Samsung. Needless to say, they are also made possible by Google’s Android 14 update and AI-focused Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset that target AI calculations, while Qualcomm’s tailored the processor specifically for Samsung, just as it did with the S23’s Mobile Platform for Galaxy chipset based on Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
Samsung One UI 6.1 Android 14 update feature screenshots
The One UI 6.1 interface update that will come with
Android 14 on Samsung Galaxy phones also has other tricks up its sleeve in terms of the new AI-driven features like generative wallpapers, Google Pixel style. According to X users
Bennett Buhner and
WigettaGaming (subsequently deleted), this is how they may look like.
The One UI 6.1 could also bring weather effects on the lock screen, the Magic Editor-styled photo retouching, as well as the Circle Search and Meeting Notes functions explained above.
That’s not to mention the live translation during calls or meetings, and the smart battery defense system, all thanks to Samsung’s new generative AI model that it calls Gauss and which is making a cameo next month on January 17 when the Galaxy S24 series Unpacked event will be held.
Galaxy Unpacked 2024: What NOT to expect?
New foldable phones
Currently, Samsung has only 2 foldable lineups, both of which are updated annually, with a successor usually released sometime in August. Hence, with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 being about half a year old, there is no indication that a new foldable launch is due before Summer 2024.
New Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Buds Models
By the looks of it, there will be no announcements of wearables and headphones at Galaxy Unpacked. After all, Samsung released the current Galaxy Watch 6 series last August, so it is safe to assume that it, and its Watch 6 Classic version will have to wait more for a successor.
