Samsung Galaxy A24 4G review

Design, build quality, handling

The Samsung Galaxy A24 4G is a beautiful and comfortable smartphone. In terms of materials used, it's entirely made of plastic (aside from the front screen glass). The Galaxy A24 has no ingress protection, unlike the Galaxy A33 and A34, but it sure nails the design.

The front glass and the rear plastic panel are both flat and glossy, while the frame is slightly curved and has a matt finish. You can buy the A24 in many different colors - Black, Blue, Dark Red, and Lime Green (ours). The frame is always painted in the same hue as the back.

The glossy exterior does offer a good grip, unlike a matt/frosted finish. And we are indeed quite happy with the overall grip and the handling experience with the Galaxy A24 - it is a phone handled care-free.

Last year, Samsung promoted the Galaxy A30 series to the waterproof leagued, and somehow, we expected the A20 to get the same treatment. Alas, it did not happen. The Galaxy A24 is completely unprotected against water and dust, at least according to the official specs.

Don't get this wrong, it's understandable not to have IP67 protection for a €200 smartphone, but IP53 could have helped bridge the gap between the A30 and A20 series.

The front is home to the 6.5-inch Super AMOLED panel of extended 1080p resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. It's an upgrade over the Galaxy A23 models as both offered LCD screens. The notch keeps the same old-school waterdrop shape.

The bezels are alright for an entry-level smartphone, with the most prominent one being the chin.

There is a 13MP selfie camera inside the notch and just below the earpiece. The Galaxy A23 modes came with 8MP front cams, so that's another update.

There is an ambient light sensor on the Galaxy A24, but there is no real proximity one, like many other Samsung models. Having a real proximity sensor would have been better, but we are glad to see the algorithm slowly improving with each generation.

The rear design has changed a bit since the previous models. It is still made of plastic, but there is no prominent camera island here. All three cameras have silver rings around them, barely jutting out of the glossy surface. It is one of the cleanest back panels we've experienced lately, and we did like it. Oh, and the wobbling is minimal, if any, when used on a desk or table.

Now, we are going to explore the Galaxy A24's frame.

There is a lonely microphone at the top.

The bottom accommodates the primary microphone, the 3.5mm jack, the USB-C port, and the (single) loudspeaker.

The tri-card slot is on the left side. It can take two nano-SIM cards and a microSD one.

The volume and power/lock keys are on the left side. The power key also doubles as a fingerprint scanner - one that is always on, fast and reliable. If the always-on function is an issue for you, there is an option to disable it.

The Galaxy A24 4G measures 162.1 x 77.6 x 8.3mm and weighs 195 grams - that's 3mm shorter than the Galaxy A23 4G and 5G as those models had 6.6-inch screens.

The Galaxy A24 4G offers a solid build and great handling experience, which is enough for an affordable device. But it's even better than that - the A24 is also a very good-looking phone, clean, no-nonsense, and it can be colorful if that's your thing. And that is all you need to know about its design.