Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 Hot Takes: Watch Party Recap

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 happened last week and if you have been keeping up with tech events you might have noticed that it happened two weeks earlier than usual – last year’s Unpacked was held on 1st February.

We had a watch party streamed on our YouTube channel where we shared our hot takes. The event generated considerable excitement and positive reactions from tech reviewers and analysts.

We had our very own Dayvee Ngugi, Techweez Channels Product, Nigel from TechSpace Africa and Lord Heizon. Watch below.

Galaxy AI

After much hype leading up to Samsung Unpacked 2024, the company finally unveiled Galaxy AI bringing its suite of AI and Generative AI-powered features to the flagship Galaxy S24 series.

Galaxy AI is powered by Google Cloud, which uses Gemini Pro and Imagen 2 for its cloud-based AI features and Gemini Nano for its on-device AI.

Gemini Pro powers some features of Samsung’s apps including Notes, Voice, Recorder and Keyboard app while Gemini Nano powers some offline functionalities in Google Messages and Magic Compose.

Imagen 2 is used for its text-to-image capabilities in the Samsung Gallery App with features such as Generative Edit.

Galaxy AI will get even more functionalities later this year thanks to the Google and Samsung partnership as the South Korean tech giant will be the first to use Gemini Ultra.

Some of the AI features readily available on the Galaxy S24 series include Live Translate (Call Assist) and Interpreter, Chat Assist, Note Assist, Transcript Assist, Generative Edit and Suggestions(AI-focused editing tricks), AI-powered camera features like SuperHDR, upgraded Nightography, Instant Slow-Mo and Video Stabilization – all accessible by Instagram and Snapchat in-app cameras, AI Wallpapers(with a Galaxy AI icon watermark), and Circle to Search.

All these features look promising and helpful, so stay tuned for our reviews to see how they perform in the real world.

It’s a good thing that Galaxy AI will also be available to other Samsung devices like the S23 series including the S23 FE, the Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 plus the Tab S9 series.

Sadly, these new Galaxy AI features(at least the cloud-based AI features) will get behind a paywall probably with monthly subscription fees at the end of next year(2025) according to Samsung’s product page – it’s unknown which countries will still have free access depending on respective regulatory approvals.

It’s not surprising that Samsung would put a price on its Galaxy AI as other companies like Google, Microsoft and OpenAI already have and or are working on Bard Advanced, Copilot Pro and ChatGPT Plus respectively.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Series

Samsung put the best tech with its Ultra version but the Plus and base model got new features as well.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus(left) and S24 base model(right)

All three models ship with brighter screens that have 2600 nits with the Plus and Ultra sporting QHD+ resolution and the base model has FHD+ resolution.

All three have glass backs with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection for the base and Plus model and Corning Gorilla Glass Armor for the Ultra. This also protects the displays as well.

The three also come with stereo sound and speakers, HDR10+, ultrasonic under-display fingerprint reader, Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX, AKG-tuned sound, Bluetooth 5.3 support for UWB and WiFi 7.

The base and Plus model have aluminium frames while the Ultra has a titanium frame. They have IP68 ingress protection and wireless charging.

The base and Plus model in Kenya will ship with Samsung’s Exynos 2400 chipset with RAM starting at 8GB for the former and 12GB for the latter. The Ultra has Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 12GB RAM. All three start with 256GB storage including the base S24.

The S24, S24 Plus and S24 Ultra boot Android 14 and One UI 6.1 with 7 years of Android OS upgrades which means the series could get upgrades to Android 21.

Samsung Galaxy Ring

In its bid to increase its portfolio of wearables, Samsung announced the Galaxy Ring designed to appeal to those who want to track their health and activities with a more aesthetic and subtle device as compared to a larger wearable.

Samsung is slated to unveil the ring later in the third quarter of 2024 – just around when we expect the Galaxy Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 to be unveiled.

The ring could come with a small display or feature LED lights for notifications. Images of the Galaxy Ring reveal three sensors for fitness and health tracking on the lower side of the ring. Like most other health-focused wearables, the ring will most likely be getting similar features to Samsung’s wrist-based wearables. This includes activity tracking, sleep tracking and possible heart rate monitoring.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Series: Pricing and Availability – Pre-order Details and Goodies

The Samsung Galaxy S24 series is available on Samsung’s official retail stores and Safaricom shops.

Samsung Galaxy S24: Ksh 174,999(8GB RAM +256GB storage)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus: Ksh 189,999(12GB RAM +256GB storage)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus: Ksh 234,999(12GB RAM +512GB storage)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Ksh 274,999(12GB RAM +256GB storage)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Ksh 276,999(12GB RAM +512GB storage)

Pre-orders are now available from 18th January until February 14th. Samsung adds that if you make a pre-order for the 256GB storage version of any of the S24 series, they will reward you with the 512GB storage version of that phone.

And a cherry on top of that pre-order deal is that customers also get access to Samsung Galaxy VIP services which allows you to get same-day repair for your devices.

If you pre-order from Safaricom shops, you get 45GB of free data. JTL Fiber’s subscribers aren’t left out as they will offer free 65GB data and free 50 minutes to other networks.

If you purchase the S24 series, you get free access to Kenya Airways lounges through their Asante Rewards program and one free preferred seating, extra legroom, 75% bonus miles for every flight and a free extra bag.