All eyes are on the possible Samsung Galaxy S24 announcement likely happening in January, as it should set the tone for all other phone releases in 2024. All of the leaks and rumors in the last few months paint a picture of what’s in store for the series, but thanks to a recent FCC filing, we can confirm some key specs.
In what could be yet another benchmark defining moment, all three versions of the Galaxy S24 have been uncovered in the FCC’s database — revealing some interesting differences between the global and stateside variants. For the US-bound version of the Galaxy S24 (SM-S921U) and Galaxy S24+ (SM-S926U), the filings show them accompanied by a Qualcomm modem, which inevitably means they’ll be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. That's good news for U.S. phone shoppers, though it’s still up in the air whether we’ll see a mix of Exynos and Snapdragon chipsets for the global version of the Galaxy S24 and S24+.
Qualcomm’s latest mobile chipset was officially announced in October during the company’s annual summit, with a strong emphasis on AI improvements thanks to an updated onboard AI Engine. Given how Samsung has already announced its dedication to bringing AI features, it would make sense for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 to help power these new experiences.
And the Galaxy S24 Ultra? Well, the FCC filing indicates it’s also running a Qualcomm modem, which means it’ll most likely also be packing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 as well. This, of course, mirrors how this year’s Galaxy S23 lineup all featured the same chipset — so it shouldn’t be a surprise Samsung’s doing the same here.
Interestingly enough, the team at Android Authority uncovered the S Pen meant for the Galaxy S24 Ultra because of the identical EJ-PS928 model name in the FCC filing. Again, this comes as no surprise given how the advanced stylus has been included since the Galaxy S22 Ultra. However, the filing doesn’t allude to any new tricks that this updated S Pen could be packing.
There’s extra good news for the Galaxy S24 Ultra based on the FCC filing, as it looks like Samsung's phone will be getting the proper upgrade treatment of Wi-Fi 7 support, reverse wireless charging and ultra-wideband support. The filing also reveals ultra-wideband support for the Galaxy S24 Plus, though it’s unknown if the standard Galaxy S24 will be getting it. At the very least, the two entry-level options should have Wi-Fi 6E support, Bluetooth 5.3, and reverse wireless charging.
These are key specs that confirm past rumors, but the FCC filings still leave out a lot of unknown. Most notably, we don’t know if Samsung will be upgrading the charging speeds of its upcoming phones. Considering how this is one area where other phones have surpassed Samsung’s flagships, you would think this would be a priority to address. On top of that, the filings don’t give us any details around their cameras.
Fortunately for all of us, we may not have to wait long because the next Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event is tipped for mid-January. Given how these new listings appeared at the FCC, it makes the prospect of Samsung hosting its Unpacked event next month even more likely.
