Past the Alphabet
Past the Alphabet is a weekly column that focuses on the tech world each inside and outside of the confines of Mountain View.
You may need seen by now, however I’ve picked up a brand new pastime over the previous few months. I am unable to get sufficient of devoted gaming handhelds regardless of having a few foldable telephones and a plethora of slab telephones. However, there was one factor that the Galaxy S24 Extremely is being touted for, and it has me fairly intrigued.
Throughout Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung acknowledged that your entire Galaxy S24 sequence would help ray tracing. As detailed within the announcement put up, “Ray tracing allows lifelike visuals with superior shadow and reflection impact.” Cellphone corporations attempting to implement this is not something new, because the Galaxy S23 sequence additionally supported the expertise.Â
Extra not too long ago, Apple’s iPhone 15 Professional and Professional Max embody help, and a few fairly large titles can help you reap the benefits of it. Notably, Resident Evil Village is already out there, and Demise Stranding will arrive on January 30. Nevertheless, there have been solely a handful of titles that have been talked about when Samsung spoke about ray tracing on the Galaxy S24.
There is a fairly good likelihood that you have not heard about three of the 4, however Diablo Immortal already helps the expertise. The others are Racing Grasp, Evening Crows, and Enviornment Breakout. I could not inform you something about these video games off the highest of my head, and that is type of the place I really feel like Samsung missed the mark.Â
Samsung invested an untold sum of cash to convey Pokimane on stage and to have Mr. Beast document a video showcasing the S24 Extremely. However, when it got here to the gaming portion, it wasn’t like Samsung introduced somebody like Hideo Kojima on stage to disclose a significant launch for these new telephones. To not point out that Samsung was a accomplice of The Sport Awards whereas additionally showcasing the Samsung Gaming Hub.
So, for those who have been to ask me whether or not ray tracing issues on the Galaxy S24, I might need to say no. That does not imply that this would possibly not, or cannot, change transferring ahead; it is simply that I really feel if Samsung actually cared extra about this, it might’ve proven us. And I do not imply within the lip service that is been paid or the numerous commercials displaying off gameplay on the S24 Extremely with out truly displaying off one thing recognizable.
This might have been the most important and most necessary Galaxy Unpacked ever, however Samsung missed the mark with its ray tracing announcement.
That is the place I really feel as if Samsung swung and missed. The primary Galaxy Unpacked of the yr may have been arguably the most important ever if Samsung had managed to announce one thing like Demise Stranding coming to Android. Throw within the Galaxy Ring teaser on the finish of the presentation, and we in all probability would’ve misplaced our minds.
In the end, I am left feeling like Samsung solely talked about the ray tracing capabilities as a result of Apple did with the iPhone 15 Professional. This in all probability implies that we cannot hear something about it once more, exterior of commercials, till gaming is “reimagined” or “reinvented” with the Galaxy S25.
I am nonetheless excited for the potential
You may need made it this far and are questioning why I bothered mentioning the Android gaming handhelds in the beginning. Nicely, it provided a pleasant segue to speak about how I am nonetheless excited and intrigued to see what the Galaxy S24 Extremely is able to with cellular gaming.Â
With out going into an excessive amount of element as a result of “grey space” nature of the topic, I have been discovering myself enjoying Swap video games on non-Swap gadgets. The Pimax Portal is only one of them, whereas there are a few others that I am within the technique of reviewing.Â
I’ve additionally gone down this path with the OnePlus Open and Galaxy Z Fold 5 paired with a gaming controller, experimenting to see what works and what does not. One may argue that the state of recreation emulation on Android has by no means been higher, and I am hoping that it solely continues to enhance.
The Galaxy S24 Extremely might be the penultimate answer to cellular gaming. A single machine that may deal with ray tracing with heavy titles and Nintendo Swap emulation in a single fell swoop. At present, none of my Android gaming handhelds can provide that, even the AYN Odin 2 with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC.Â
It is also clear that Samsung’s not the one participant right here, as each ASUS and RedMagic have not too long ago launched gaming-centric telephones. Sadly, I have never been capable of finding the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional in inventory, and if it weren’t for the S24 Extremely, I might in all probability have already got the RedMagic 9 Professional.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is claimed to supply 30% extra efficiency whereas being 20% extra environment friendly in comparison with its predecessor. That is fairly a powerful enhance, and that alone has managed to make me change my thoughts about buying and selling in my Galaxy S23 Extremely for the one which’s new and glossy.
