Samsung Galaxy A24 4G review

The competition

The Samsung Galaxy A24 4G is expected to launch soon at about €200 for the base config. The phone was rumored to get a sub-€200 tag, but we cannot see this happening in the current market. Worse, some retailers are currently selling it for £220 or €250, though this is probably a pre-release (maybe even gray import) price.

Anyway, there are a lot of attractive alternatives offered around the €200 mark, so let's explore a few of those.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G starts at €200 (when not on sale) for the 64GB model. It offers a faster 120Hz AMOLED screen, IP53 splash resistance, a better ultrawide camera, and a bit faster charging, with the 33W power adapter being included in the retail bundle. The phone has a slower Snapdragon 685 4G chipset, though, so you can expect an even sluggish experience, excluding the 120fps UI, of course.

The Moto G53 is an interesting offer priced just below €200. It has a 120Hz LCD screen of lower 720p resolution, a water-repellent design, and equally powerful hardware that should excel under the 720p screen. The G53 omits an ultrawide camera, not that the Galaxy A24 UW cam is useful, but it has 5G connectivity and pretty loud stereo speakers. If you don't mind the lower screen resolution and you want a faster phone with 5G, splash protection, and powerful speakers, this is the one.

The Poco X5 is about €30 more expensive than the Galaxy A24, but it will give you a faster 120Hz AMOLED screen, 5G connectivity, stereo speakers, and IP53-rated design. The Poco X5 also charges faster and has a power adapter inside the box. Indeed, you should seriously consider this offer if your budget allows it.

Finally, the recently released Galaxy A34 is a massive update over the A24, and it will give you plenty more for the extra €70. It is a fully water-resistant smartphone with a faster 120Hz AMOLED, a much more powerful Dimensity 1080 5G chipset, and better-performing cameras with 4K video capturing. There are also stereo speakers and an under-display fingerprint reader, and the base model has 6GB of RAM. If you can grab this phone on sale, or maybe even the Galaxy A33 from last year, you can't go wrong really.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G • Motorola Moto G53 • Realme 10s • Samsung Galaxy A34

Our verdict

The Samsung Galaxy A24 4G is a solid offer and has a nicely rounded specs sheet for its €200 asking price. We did like the 90Hz AMOLED screen - it turned out smooth, color-accurate, and quite bright. And the clean, no-nonsense design could be a potential showstopper for some, too.

The Galaxy A24 4G offers outstanding battery life, and its charging speed is adequate for its price range. The battery, coupled with the energy-saving chipset, could be a real treat for many users who value longer runtimes on a single charge.

The Galaxy A24 also surprised us with a good photo and video quality from the main and selfie camera, while its ultrawide and macro shooters turned out to be more of a gimmick rather than a useful feature.

What we missed on this phone is 5G connectivity and basic ingress protection. The single speaker is notably quiet and has unimpressive sound quality, too, and the phone is a bit sluggish, maybe due to its 4GB RAM.

Still, at that price point, we really can't expect more, and we think Samsung has put everything that's possible at €200 into the A24 4G model. And should you decide to get it, it surely won't disappoint you if you apprioach it with the right expectations. It's a great smartphone on a budget - with a very nice screen and long battery life. And if it doesn't tick all of your checkboxes, there are a couple of interesting alternatives that might do it.

Pros

• Eye-catchy classic design.
• Bright 90Hz Super AMOLED, color accurate.
• Top-notch battery life, adequate charging speed.
• Adequate performance, great stability.
• Good photo and video quality from primary and selfie cams.
• Most current One UI, 3.5mm jack, NFC.

Cons

• No 5G.
• 4GB RAM may be insufficient for a lag-free experience.
• The ultrawide camera is barely usable.
• No ingress protection, not even IP53.
• Quiet single speaker, poor audio.
• No charger in the box.