Samsung Galaxy S24 vs iPhone 15: Which should you buy?

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs iPhone 15: Design, size comparison, and colors

Both Samsung and iPhones launch their flagships in two phone sizes: a smaller phone and a larger “Plus” model.

The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus look almost like an iPhone 14, with a flat Aluminum mid-frame with sharp edges and rounded corners.

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus revise the iPhone 14 design with a flat but chamfered mid-frame, which makes the iPhone dig less into your palm. All four devices have a flat display, so the end result is quite a flat phone devoid of curves, especially on the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus.

The Galaxy S24 measures 147.0 x 70.6 x 7.6mm and weighs 167g. The iPhone 15 measures 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8mm and weighs 171g. The iPhone 15 is ever-so-slightly larger and heavier than the Galaxy S24.

The Galaxy S24 Plus measures 158.5 x 75.9 x 7.7mm and weighs 197g. The iPhone 15 Plus measures 160.9 x 77.8 x 7.8mm and weighs 201g. The size difference is a bit easier to notice on the larger phones, as the iPhone 15 Plus is larger than the Galaxy S24 Plus by a few millimeters.

As for colors, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus come in pink, black, green, blue, and yellow colors. The Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus come in Onyx Black, Marble Gray, Cobalt Violet, and Amber Yellow as standard colors and the Samsung.com exclusive Jade Green, Sapphire Blue, and Sandstone Orange colors.

When comparing the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus to the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, one of the biggest differences that would pop up on the spec sheet is how the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus have a superior display, especially with the higher refresh rates and always-on display tech (and even the higher resolution on the Galaxy S24 Plus). This is indeed true, but the iPhone 15’s 60Hz display works out just fine for most people. They either don’t know about the higher refresh rate experience or don’t notice or care about it enough.

Similarly, while the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus have the lead when it comes to the display, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus have the lead in the SoC department, but most users will not notice the difference. Apple uses its A16 Bionic SoC in the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, and this is the same SoC used in the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. It’s not the best Apple chip (that would be the A17 on the iPhone 15 Pro), but it’s a great chip that continues to compete strongly and serve well.

On the other hand, Samsung uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy on the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus, but only in the US. The rest of the world gets the Samsung Exynos 2400. Both are good chips, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 being marginally better, but Apple’s SoC is tightly optimized to eke out every ounce of performance. Apple still has the lead here, even though Samsung is using SoCs from a newer release cycle, but most people will be happy with either of the three chips.

Further on performance, Apple does not disclose the RAM on the iPhone, but we know from regulatory listings that the the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus have 6GB of RAM. Samsung has equipped the Galaxy S24 with 8GB LPDDR5X RAM and the Galaxy S24 Plus with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM. iOS uses RAM differently than Android, but your multitasking experience will be better on the Galaxy S24 Plus among these four phones.

Apple also has a better spread of storage variants, with both iPhone 15 and 15 Plus getting 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options. Samsung has two storage variants on each phone, with the Galaxy S24 getting 128GB and 256GB variants and the Galaxy S24 Plus getting 256GB and 512GB variants.

Where Apple loses out is on the data transfer speeds on the USB-C port, being restricted to USB 2 (up to 480Mbps) on the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. Samsung equips the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus with USB 3.2 Gen 1 (up to 5Gbps).

There is a difference in battery capacity across the four phones, but you likely will not notice the mAh differences. The Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and iPhone 15 will last through a day’s worth of use, while the iPhone 15 Plus stretches it out to just about two days’ worth of use (thanks to its lower refresh rate display).

What is fairly different and noticeable is the charging speed across the phones. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus charge really slowly, taking close to two hours for a full charge. The Galaxy S24 is fairly slow, too, taking about 80 minutes for a full charge. The Galaxy S24 Plus, with its 45W charging, is the fastest in this lot, taking an hour for a full charge.

The Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus miss out on MagSafe to properly align wireless chargers and attach accessories like pop sockets, wallets, and more. Instead, they get reverse wireless charging functionality, which is handy for charging earbuds off your phone.

Another big difference between the phones is their cameras. The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus retain their versatility with three rear cameras (wide, ultrawide, and 3x telephoto), while the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus come with only two rear cameras (wide and ultrawide). Apple uses in-sensor zoom from the primary wide camera to prove 2x zoom.

The cameras perform admirably on all four phones — although we haven’t fully tested out the S24’s cameras — and you will have good social-media-ready photos irrespective of the phone you choose. If you prefer versatility, you should choose Samsung, though, and if you are heavy into video recording, then you should choose Apple.

Next, the OS is the most significant difference between the two sets of phones. The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus launch with One UI 6.1 based on Android 14, while the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus run iOS 17. There’s a good chance that which phone you buy is affected more by the OS than any other factor in this comparison, as everyone already has their favorites by this point in the Android vs iOS debate.

When it comes to software support, Samsung has a slight lead. While Apple has supported iPhones for a very long time with frequent software and security updates, the company does not make any commitments to updates, even for the iPhone 15. On the other hand, Samsung has promised seven years of Android platform and security updates for the Galaxy S24. We’ve also seen the company diligently roll out security updates every month and quickly update its flagships to the latest Android version.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus on January 17, 2024. They are already available to pre-order, with general sales kicking off on January 31. Pre-order offers include a free storage upgrade, a $100 Samsung credit (if purchased through Samsung.com), and 20% off on Samsung Care Plus with Theft and Loss plan.

Apple launched the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus on September 12, 2023. They were available to pre-order from September 15, 2023, with store availability from September 22, 2023. You can easily buy the phones these days as they are available everywhere.

The two phone lineups are close in pricing. The Galaxy S24 is cheaper than the iPhone 15 by $30, as Apple misleadingly advertises carrier-locked iPhones with a $799 price tag as the starting price tag, while the unlocked iPhone 15 begins from $829. The difference widens with the higher storage variant. The Galaxy S24 has plenty of advantages over the base iPhone 15 and comes out on top as a better-value product.

The Galaxy S24 Plus has a “higher” price tag than the iPhone 15 Plus, but it is actually cheaper for the equivalent storage model since there isn’t a 128GB storage variant on the S24 Plus. So comparably, the Galaxy S24 Plus is cheaper by $30 than the iPhone 15 Plus, and it, too, emerges as the better value purchase. Once again, if you move up storage, the price difference widens.

Samsung also has better trade-in offers than Apple, so the price comes down further if you have an old phone that you can trade in.

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs iPhone 15: Which should you buy?

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus, and the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, are all excellent smartphones. These phones are meant for the consumer who wants a phone that “just works” without venturing deep into Ultra/Pro Max territory for the overkill of specifications.

That being said, Apple skimps out on a few too many things on the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. The display is still 60Hz, the charging is still slow, and there are still only two rear cameras. However, one can argue that the target audience for the iPhone does not care about these shortcomings.

You should buy the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus if you are okay with not having the latest and best piece of tech in your hand and would gladly be a blue bubble iOS user who owns something familiar and reliable.

On the other hand, the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus are flagships that balance value with a premium feature set. They aren’t overkill, and there are areas where Samsung isn’t the best amongst its Android competitors. But for this comparison, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus zoom ahead with their features and experience. The better display tech, the camera versatility, and the faster charging speeds bring material upgrades to the flagship experience.

Ultimately, what phone you finally pick up will strongly depend on whether you are an Android or iOS user and what ecosystem you are already a part of.