Samsung Galaxy S20 vs Galaxy S24: Should you upgrade?

Samsung Galaxy S20 vs Galaxy S24: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S20 vs Galaxy S24: Price and availability

It’s been four years since the Samsung Galaxy S20 series launched, with the S20 costing $999 and the S20 Plus costing $1,199. Nowadays, you can buy them for significantly less on the second-hand market, but if you’re still hanging onto yours, don’t expect to get much. Trade-in values at Samsung are anywhere from $100 to $200 toward a new device, provided it’s in good condition.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 series went on preorder on January 17, 2024, with wider sales starting at the end of the month. It retails for significantly less than the Galaxy S20 did at launch, despite having far better specs and features. The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus feature the same price tags as their predecessors in the Galaxy S23 lineup, although the S24 Ultra did see a price increase of $100. To learn more about the Ultra models, check out our guide to the Galaxy S20 Ultra vs the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

The Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus are available worldwide, although US models ship with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, and global models ship with the Exynos 2400. After testing both, we found that it won’t matter for most people which model you get, but you can read the full Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Exynos 2400 comparison to learn more.

Samsung Galaxy S20 vs Galaxy S24: Should you upgrade?

The Galaxy S20 was a very capable device when it first launched, but as of 2024, it’s no longer receiving active updates. It was just beyond the cutoff date when Samsung announced it would offer four years of Android updates and five years of security updates, meaning it received its last Android update in 2022 with Android 13.

Samsung has upped its game even further with the Galaxy S24 lineup, promising a full seven years of Android version and security updates. This will take support into 2031. If you’re reading this and still hanging on to your Galaxy S20, odds are you don’t like upgrading your phone often, which is a huge selling point of the Galaxy S24 lineup.

There are plenty of other benefits to upgrading, of course. Everything from camera hardware to build materials has been substantially upgraded, resulting in a much better overall device. Following Google’s lead with the Pixel 8 devices, Samsung has also added many new AI features to the series, most of which won’t be available on any older flagship phones from the company, let alone phones from 2020.

The Galaxy S24 is one of the best small phones you can buy, but the larger Galaxy S24 Plus has faster charging speeds, a larger battery, and more RAM. In terms of future-proofing, it’s the one we recommend picking up if you don’t mind the extra size. However, the SD card slot found on the Galaxy S20 series is no longer found on the S24 series, so make sure you get the right size because you can’t expand it later.

Samsung Galaxy S20 vs Galaxy S24: FAQ