There’s a fundamental difference between Samsung’s latest flagship phones in Europe and North America, but it’s nowhere near as big as you may have heard.
While the Galaxy S24 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy everywhere, the cheaper Galaxy S24 and S24+ only get it in the US, Canada, China , Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the UK and Europe, these phones use Samsung’s Exynos 2400 chipset instead.
Much has been made of this decision, with consensus that UK and European buyers are having a worse experience as a result. But is this really true? To find out, we extensively tested the Exynos and Snapdragon versions of the Galaxy S24+, including running benchmarks on the CPU, GPU, and battery.
Our conclusion? The Snapdragon model East better overall, but not by much. If you’re based in the UK or Europe, there’s no need to try a major one from the US or elsewhere. It’s simply not necessary.
Even for power users who demand the most from their smartphone, you’re unlikely to notice the difference in the real world. Both versions are some of the most powerful Android phones you can buy, rivaling the latest iPhones.
Do you play Top Trumps on your smartphone with your friends at the pub?
In our usual Geekbench 6 test, which measures processor performance, the Exynos S24+’s score of 6945 was actually higher than the Snapdragon model’s 6840.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
There’s a bit more variation in scores from GFXBench, which analyzes graphics performance – we use on-screen testing for close to real-world results. However, only the most dedicated mobile gamers will notice FPS (frames per second) differences of 12fps or less. Either model is a great choice for mobile gaming.
However, a chipset is not all about performance. Much has been made of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s power efficiency, which benefits battery life. So, is this an area where he clearly has the upper hand?
No. In PCMark’s battery test, which simulates real-world tasks with 200 nits of brightness (which is pretty typical for most people), the Exynos 2400 model achieved a very impressive 16 hours and 4 minutes of battery life.
That’s even better than the 15 hours and 52 minutes recorded on the Snapdragon S24+ and means both rank among the phones with the best battery life on the market. For most people, two days of battery life on a single charge is within reach, no matter which version you have.
Here are the full results in a handy table:
S24 Exynos vs Snapdragon: which is better?
So this is it. The Exynos 2400 version of the Galaxy S24+ (and probably the Galaxy S24 as well) is a small step down in performance from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 model for Galaxy, but nowhere near enough to make it meaningful. And actual battery life might actually be slightly better.
Even with rumors that Samsung would equip the entire Galaxy S25 line with Exynos (probably the Exynos 2500) turning out to be true, this shouldn’t be a cause for concern.
As you might expect, the S24 phones top our list of the best Samsung Galaxy phones, but there are plenty of great alternatives.
