The Galaxy S23 reached New Zealand in early 2023 and the Galaxy S24 followed in early 2024. On today's refurbished market those two generations often sit close together in price, and that overlap is the whole decision: when the newer phone is not much dearer, does it deserve the premium, or is the older flagship the smarter buy? This guide works through the comparison in the order buyers actually need it — what genuinely changed, how to judge the price gap, what to inspect on the specific unit, and where each phone stands on software updates.
If you already know you want the older phone, our Galaxy S23 buying guide covers that model end to end, including storage choices and the full inspection checklist. Here the focus is strictly the head-to-head.
What actually changed between the S23 and the S24?
The honest headline is: not much that shows up in daily use. Samsung kept the design language nearly identical — a flat AMOLED display, the same general size and weight class, USB-C at the bottom, and no memory card slot on either phone. Both start from the same base memory, so neither is the phone that runs out of headroom for current apps, banking, navigation, streaming or games. The S24's hardware improvements are the refinement kind: a brighter display that is easier to read in sunlight, slimmer screen borders, better efficiency under sustained load, and a new wave of software features Samsung introduced with that series.
Two things did change more meaningfully. First, Samsung's extended software-update commitment began with the S24 series, so the S24 sits a generation newer inside the company's per-model update policy — and that policy, not a reviewer's summary, is the authority on what still gets updates. Check the model-by-model list on the Samsung support site for New Zealand before you rely on it. Second, many of the S24's headline software features were later backported to the S23, which shrinks the day-to-day gap further. The camera differences are real but incremental: both take excellent photos, and in ordinary conditions neither will lose a shot to the other.
Is the Galaxy S24 worth the premium over the S23?
Treat it as a price-gap decision, not a spec decision. If the difference between the two phones in front of you is small, take the S24: it starts its remaining update runway and its remaining battery life one year further ahead, and that is the one advantage age cannot be talked around. If the S23 is substantially cheaper, it wins — you are buying nearly the same experience and banking the difference.
Then weigh the unit against the badge. A well-cared-for S23 with a high battery tier will beat a heavily used S24 in daily life, because on phones of this age the previous owner's habits matter more than one generation of silicon. At EcoLoop every phone we sell holds at least 80% of its original capacity, and both models are stocked at 80%, 90% or 100% battery health, so you can pay for the longevity tier you actually want instead of gambling on a stranger's charging habits. Read the asking prices side by side in the refurbished Samsung collection and on the Galaxy S23 model page — see current prices there, because stock and pricing move constantly and old numbers will mislead you.
What should I inspect before buying either phone?
Battery health comes first. Android does not put the percentage on a settings screen the way an iPhone does, so use the diagnostics in the Samsung Members app or ask the seller to show you the reading; our explainer on how to check battery health before buying a used phone covers what to do when a listing stays vague.
Then three account and network checks. The previous owner's Google account must be signed out and the phone factory reset, or the device sits on factory-reset protection and no amount of hardware testing will clear it for you. The phone should be carrier unlocked so it works on Spark, One NZ or 2degrees with any plan — our unlocked-phones explainer shows how to verify before money changes hands. And read the condition grade as a description of the specific unit, not a marketing word: our condition guide spells out what each grade means and where the marks sit.
When the phone arrives, run the obvious checks while your 15-day change-of-mind window is open: the fingerprint reader in the display, both speakers on a call, every button, wireless charging on a pad, every camera including the flash, and 5G on your own carrier plan. Treat the original water resistance of a several-year-old phone as faded with age rather than assumed intact. If a component fails later, repairs are usually the cheaper path, and the FAQ page answers the questions buyers send us most.
Do the S23 and S24 still get Android updates?
Both have been well past launch, but the two phones sit at different points in Samsung's published policy, and the answer you can rely on is the policy itself: the Samsung support site for New Zealand lists update expectations model by model, and it is worth checking before you buy rather than trusting anyone's rough memory — including ours.
How much that matters depends on your replacement habit. If you keep phones for several years, the S24's newer position in that policy is the single strongest argument for choosing it. If you refresh every couple of years anyway, the S23's remaining runway covers your ownership period comfortably and the saved money is the better feature.
What if I want something newer or bigger than the S24?
The S-series refreshes annually, so both phones in this comparison have younger siblings. The Galaxy S24 FE model page is the middle path: most of the S24's software story at a lower price tier, worth a look if the gap in the head-to-head bothers you. At the top end, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is where Samsung's biggest screens, strongest zoom cameras and longest battery days live, for buyers who would rather buy once than compare.
And if a different brand is on the table at all, the refurbished smartphones collection spans the whole used market, Apple and Pixel included.
Where you buy matters more than which of the two you pick. A private listing can suit a confident inspector, but dealer sales carry stronger consumer rights than private ones, and a certified dealer answers the risk questions for you: every phone in our refurbished Samsung collection is tested and graded in Auckland, ships with a 12-month warranty and free NZ-wide delivery, and is backed by 15-day returns if the phone simply does not suit you. See current prices on those pages rather than reasoning from memory.
If an old device is funding the upgrade, our trade-in page explains what we accept and how the quote works — just sign out of the accounts on the old phone before shipping it, because a device with an active account lock cannot be bought.
