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As another year comes to an end, it’s time to reflect: to review the past 12 months and anticipate the upcoming year. In this piece, we will focus specifically on Samsung, one of the largest technology firms globally, known for producing many of the most prominent devices of 2024 (alongside numerous components used in other non-Samsung devices).
This has been an extraordinarily busy year for Samsung. We’ve witnessed the usual surge of smartphones, laptops, and televisions, and the company managed to unveil a new smart ring and a premium smartwatch.
Which of these offerings impressed us at TechRadar, and which fell short? Let’s explore.
The Samsung highlights of 2024
This year, Samsung delivered a plethora of excellent products. Among the flagship smartphones released in January, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra stood out as the clear favorite: we referred to it as a device that “provides more than any other phone while somehow enhancing last year’s Ultra in every aspect” in our review (awarding it 4.5 stars out of 5).
Later in the year, we were equally impressed by the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. Our evaluation hailed it as “an outstanding foldable” bringing the form factor “closer to perfection”: it’s powerful, robust, adaptable, and, of course, quite pricey (again, 4.5 stars out of 5). We also appreciated the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, although perhaps not sufficiently to categorize it as a standout.
Unveiled at the Galaxy S24 reveal in January and subsequently launched with the foldables revealed in July, we had the Samsung Galaxy Ring. This undoubtedly qualifies as a triumph, owing to the device’s quality and the excitement surrounding it. The market for smart rings was in need of revitalization, and the Galaxy Ring certainly delivered – scoring 4.5 stars out of 5 in our review.
Regarding nearly flawless review scores, the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra also achieved this rating, categorizing it as a notable success for Samsung in 2024. This contender against the MacBook Pro was described as “exceptional” in terms of its build quality, performance, and battery longevity in our review. Additionally, we were thoroughly impressed with the 16-inch OLED display (a notable specialty for Samsung).
Samsung also had a strong year in the television sector: the Samsung S95D OLED TV secured our TV of the Year award, and we dubbed it the “ultimate OLED TV” in our 5-star review. Credit also goes to the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8, which matched the full 5-star rating in our evaluation – it’s an exceptionally impressive 4K gaming monitor.
All in all, it was an outstanding year for Samsung. Most flagship products received highly favorable reviews from both tech critics and consumers, and the company once again proved to be very competitive across various product categories – even taking the opportunity to introduce several new Galaxy AI features for its smartphones.
The Samsung low points of 2024
However, it wasn’t all positive news for Samsung in 2024. We wouldn’t label any of its product launches as outright failures, but the year included both low points and high points – for instance, the ongoing jabs at Apple through advertisements are not a favorable look. You’re capable of better, Samsung.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra represented a bit of a miss for Samsung this year, even though our review was largely positive. Its battery performance leaves something to be desired, it doesn’t offer many new features, and it appears to be attempting to mimic the Apple Watch Ultra 2 – which is one reason why Samsung should reconsider using its marketing budget to criticize Apple for a lack of innovation.
There are a few software shortcomings worth mentioning. The Samsung One UI 6.1 software update resulted in several significant bugs on older devices that took time to resolve, while the Samsung One UI 7.0 update (based on Android 15) faced delays for quite some time – or so rumors suggest. The beta version is currently available and should be released to the general public in January.
Overall, Samsung’s 2024 record is quite decent, and while it may not have sold as many smartphones as intended, a glance at the Samsung product reviews on TechRadar shows that they are largely positive. The company is in a relatively strong position as it heads into 2025.
What to anticipate from Samsung in 2025
As we look forward to what the upcoming year holds for Samsung, we can expect more of the same – plus the unveiling of some entirely new product categories in 2025. Anticipation is high for the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series in January, with three models again expected to be introduced.
be en route. Anticipate enhanced RAM, quicker performance, and likely a plethora of fresh AI capabilities with One UI 7.0.
During the same January Unpacked gathering, there are speculations that the long-anticipated Samsung Smart Glasses could also be showcased – although it appears they won’t be available for purchase until much later in the year. These intelligent spectacles are rumored to resemble the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses in both appearance and features, and we’re expecting a larger Samsung XR/VR headset to be unveiled eventually.
By mid-year, we are almost certainly poised to see the Samsung Galaxy Fold 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Flip 7. Rumor has it that Samsung plans to broaden its foldable series during 2025, possibly featuring a more affordable flip foldable and perhaps a higher-end tri-fold foldable to compete directly with the Huawei Mate XT. All these foldables might be revealed at another Unpacked event around July.
The mid-year timeframe is a strong possibility for the Galaxy Watch 8 and potentially even a Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 – although Samsung may determine that the Galaxy Watch Ultra is sufficient for another year. The same applies to the Samsung Galaxy Ring: we might see a Galaxy Ring 2 at some stage during 2025, but it isn’t necessarily in need of an update (as previously mentioned, we rated it 4.5 stars out of 5 in our review of the Samsung Galaxy Ring).
The One UI software should begin rolling out to more televisions and speaking of software, expect a significant expansion from Galaxy AI. There’s no more dynamic area in technology right now, and Samsung will aim to ensure it keeps up with the likes of OpenAI, Google, and Apple in this sector. Keep an eye out for a substantial Bixby AI upgrade as well. Samsung will certainly have its hands full across its various product lines, from gaming monitors to refrigerators. There’s much to eagerly anticipate.
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