Samsung Galaxy Unpacked
It is official: the “newest additions to the Galaxy mobile device portfolio” — better known as theSamsung Galaxy S24 series— will be debuting on January 17, but you can reserve one today. The actualGalaxy Unpacked launch eventwill take place in San Jose, California, but 99.5% of us will watch the live stream from the comfort of our couches and comfy slippers.
While a more than year-long rumor mill and river of leaks have told us basically everything about these phones already — except whether it’s going to have Qi2 wireless charging (aka MagSafe for Android) — Samsung’s announcement and likely much of the launch event itself are focused on Galaxy AI, Samsung’s take on the same AI-leveraging that Google packed into the Pixel 8 and Apple slipped into iOS 17. Other upgrades projected for this generation involve the Galaxy S24 Ultra finally ditching the curved screens and jumping up to 2,500 nits of max brightness, the Galaxy S24+ jumping up to the same WQHD resolution as the Ultra, and all three phones going to titanium frames. (Because, of course, Samsung would hop on the titanium bandwagon.)
Preorderswon’t technically open until the 17th, but Samsung will reward early adopters who reserve one between now and January 17 with a $50 Samsung credit “towards one Eligible Device (“Reservation Gift”) when you pre-order and purchase [an] Eligible Device.” While at the initial opening of preorders, the fine print indicated that the credit could be appliedtowards your new phone— as it was during Galaxy Z Fold 5/Flip 5 preorders — those details have been revised to show that this willnotbe put towards your new phone.
Instead, that $50 will have to go towards cases, chargers, and other devices like anew pair of boss Galaxy Budsor a Samsung Galaxy Watch 6. This matches how the reservation bonus has normally worked for Samsung preorders over the last three years, and considering every new phone needs a case — after all, why wouldn’t you protect a new phone you spent the better part of $1,000 on — it’s easy enough to spend that credit on a new cover and extra charger.
Bummer though it is that this credit won’t be applicable towards your Galaxy S24, you’re able to still take advantage of trade-ins to get “up to $1020 in savings” to get things down to a reasonable price. Samsung tends to enhance the trade-in values of recent Samsung and Apple phones the most during the preorder window — and any other deal event — so if you’re trading a Google Pixel, OnePlus, or an older Galaxy, you’ll want to reserve and then take advantage of carrier trade-in offers in order to get the best deal.
And if you’re underwhelmed by Galaxy AI or any aspect of the upcoming Galaxy S24 series, you’re not obligated to purchase a phone; you can just ignore the reminder emails and go on with your life without that $50 credit.
