The Samsung Galaxy S24 could come with an exclusive app feature

The Samsung Galaxy S23 series (Image credit: Samsung)

It feels like we've been waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S24 series for a long time – but it's only been nine months since the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S23. Now the latest leak suggests the Galaxy 24 will get an exclusive social media app feature.

As spotted by developer Alessandro Paluzzi (via 9to5Google), code hidden in the latest Instagram app for Android reveals a splash screen telling users they can "turn on a shortcut to Instagram camera" that appears on the lock screen.

In other words, instant access to Instagram without having to unlock your Galaxy S24 phone. Okay, it's not quite as exciting as a 200MP camera upgrade, but it's something else that might tempt you into buying the next flagship from Samsung.

From what we can tell, this is going to be available to everyone, across the entire Galaxy S24 range – you'll be able to take advantage of it whether you buy a Galaxy S24, a Galaxy S24 Plus, or the top-end Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

#Instagram is working on letting #Samsung #GalaxyS24 users add the shortcut for the Instagram Camera to the lock screen 👀 pic.twitter.com/vlG2uucXn0November 15, 2023

Not a new partnership

This wouldn't be the first time that Instagram and Samsung have worked closely together either. You may remember the Samsung Galaxy S10 from 2019 had a special 'Instagram Mode' inside the built-in camera app.

Meanwhile, Samsung's foldable phones – see our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review for one of them – have been among the first to support the expanded layout for foldable devices that Instagram is currently in the process of testing.

Most of the rest of the rumors we've heard about the Samsung Galaxy S24 phones have been around the hardware components we can expect, but there has also been quite a bit of talk about the on-board AI that these upcoming handsets will boast.

All will be revealed in the next few months: the Samsung Galaxy S24 phones are being tipped to arrive in January, and we will of course bring you all the announcements as they happen (including, perhaps, one about Instagram access).

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.