Galaxy S24+ up there with best
New TV box brings amazing Sky Glass features to any telly
I RECENTLY reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and hailed it as the best smartphone you can currently buy.
I’ve since tested the Galaxy S24+ for one month and enjoyed it immensely. If you don’t need an S Pen stylus or the absolute best in cameras and processor, then this second-tier flagship still delivers a compelling set of features.
S24+ is a premium build quality device with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Both front and rear are protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2. It weighs just 196g and feels good in the hand.
The device comes with 12GB of RAM as standard and in Europe it uses Samsung’s own Exynos
2400 chip rather than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chip which American consumers get. In everyday use it felt just as smooth and fast as the S24 Ultra – but some benchmark tests I ran produced inferior scores to the Snapdragon chip.
Galaxy S24+ runs the latest Android 14 overlaid by the firm’s own user interface (One UI 6.1), which includes the new Galaxy AI. Highlights include Circle to Search — circle something on any screen and instantly search for it on Google.
Tools
The main optically stabilised
50MP wide angle camera has a large 1/1.57in camera sensor and f/1.8 aperture that produces consistently pleasing bright and colourful images.
You also get a decent quality
12MP ultra-wide with a
125-degree field-of-view and f/2.2 aperture, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom and f/2.4, and a 12MP f/2.2 frontfacing selfie camera. All three cameras produce pleasing images in good lighting — but none as sharp as the main camera.
The 6.7inm AMOLED display panel features a refresh rate of 1Hz to 120Hz so you get a fluid and fast experience when you need it. The dazzling screen is almost identical to the S24 Ultra’s and has a similar peak brightness of 2,600 nits.
Battery life is impressive – most people will get a full day of use from the 4900mAh power pack.
Overall, S24+ stands tall when compared to 2024 Android flagships such as OnePlus 12, Xiaomi 14, Honor Magic 6 Pro and ROG Phone 8.
■ Samsung Galaxy S24+ is available with 256GB storage and 12GB RAM for €1159 from Samsung.ie. You can get up to €580 off with a trade-in and you can buy in instalments from €39.51 per month.
IF YOU want all the compelling features of Sky Glass but don’t need to buy a new TV, then you can now avail of Sky Stream.
This powerful palm-sized set-top box brings all the best Sky Glass features to any and every TV. It’s especially attractive to anyone unable to install a satellite dish (perhaps because they live in rented accommodation or a block of flats without a communal dish).
Sky Stream is simple to set up and install and its compact size looks tidy no matter which room you use it in. The tiny black box arrives in the post with a step-by-step guide to get set-up and you will be streaming in seconds: just plug it in, connect to your WiFi and your binge-watching can begin.
There’s no need for any engineers to call in to your home.
Sky Stream enables seamless viewing between multiple rooms in your home and supports all the major streaming services as well as more than 100 Sky HD live channels, 500 on demand box sets from the likes of Sky Atlantic and Peacock along with access to premium subscriptions such as Sky Movies and Sky Sports.
Superb
And you get a Netflix subscription to watch on your new box (along with anywhere else you can access a Netflix app).
Sky also bundles a Discovery+ subscription (worth €6.99 per month) at no extra cost for all subscribers.
It comes with a superb backlit remote that supports voice control that is so effective and a game changer when you are looking for something new to watch.
The excellent on-screen menu design looks great and makes navigating your TV system easy.
The traditional TV Guide, with access to all live channels, is there alongside a Continue Watching carousel that brings together all your in-progress TV shows from Sky’s own catalogue of on-demand box sets, as well as platforms such as Prime Video, paramount, Apple TV+, RTE Player, Disney Plus and All4.
Without a satellite dish to rely upon, Sky Stream needs a decent broadband connection. Everything you watch, including live TV, is beamed over the internet, so you’ll need to check if your Wi-Fi can take the strain before you place an order with Sky.
But unlike some other TV boxes, Sky Stream works with any broadband provider and not just Sky Broadband.
You need speeds of at least 10/15Mbps for a stutter-free experience, but that minimum requirement rises to about 25Mbps if
ALL IN ONE: Sky Stream combines live TV with all your favourite apps you want to watch box sets and blockbuster movies in stunning 4K.
Sky customers can fit up to six Sky Stream boxes in a single home for multi-room viewing but I’d recommend broadband of at least 100Mbps if you are going to run boxes in that many rooms.
Your Stream includes a Playlist function that uses cloud recordings on Sky’s servers and pulls shows from catch-up services to offer TV shows after they’ve aired. It doesn’t work with BBC content, incidentally. You can create up to five Playlists on a single Sky Stream box.
And if you miss the start of a show, you can instantly rewind back to the start – even if your Sky Stream wasn’t on when the programme began.
Verdict and pricing
If you’re looking for a set-top box that won’t clutter up your living room, it’s so easy to recommend Sky Stream as it offers a truly compact way of watching some of the best channels around.
This is the future of TV, signalling the end of the satellite dish in the process.
The record-low starting price of €25 for Sky Stream with Netflix makes this dishless box one of the best Sky deals available right now.
New customers pay €25 a month for 12 months including Netflix or €50 for Sky Stream, Netflix and broadband.
There’s also an out of contract option €30 a month for 12 months or €55 for Sky Stream, Netflix and broadband.
In comparison, Sky Glass starts from €40 per month.
If you are happy to pay a bit extra (€10 per month), Stream also offers 4K Ultra HD quality streaming with Dolby Atmos audio support. You get the first two months free.