[REVIEW] Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Flagship Performance Without the Premium Pricetag

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is the latest addition to the Galaxy S24 series, set to be succeeded by the new Samsung Galaxy S25 series in the coming three months.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Specifications

I’ve had the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE for about a week now, and here’s my review. Should you get the Galaxy S24 FE, the Galaxy S24, or go straight for the Galaxy S24 Plus?

Galaxy S24 FE vs Galaxy S24 Plus

In my short preview video, I mentioned that the Galaxy S24 FE is a budget version of the Galaxy S24 Plus. To clear the air, let’s look at the key differences between these two:

The most substantial difference, of course, is the price: the Galaxy S24 FE starts at RM 2,999 for the 256GB variant, while the Galaxy S24 Plus costs RM 1,000 more, at RM 3,999 for the same storage capacity.

The higher price tag comes with a more advanced and brighter QHD+ LTPO display at 2,600 nits, an extra 4GB of memory, better telephoto and selfie cameras, a slightly larger battery capacity, and faster charging speeds (45W vs. 25W).

There are also minor differences, such as a faster ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, stronger glass materials, and symmetrical yet thinner bezels.

In terms of operation and user experience, you will get the full-fledged Samsung flagship experience, just like the Galaxy S24 series, with access to all of Samsung’s Galaxy AI features.

Design & Build

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE has received significant upgrades over its predecessor. The display is now bigger at 6.7 inches, featuring a more robust Gorilla Glass Victus+, an updated processor, and a larger battery capacity.

The aluminum sides with rounded corners have a unified feel, wrapped in a pastel-colored Corning Gorilla Glass 5 back. This model is available in Blue, Graphite, Gray, Mint, and Yellow.

There is no microSD card slot, but it features a physical dual SIM card slot and supports eSIM.

One thing I couldn’t stand with the Galaxy S23 FE and the Galaxy A-series was the silver rim around the front camera. Thankfully, Samsung has removed it, but oddly enough, it now has a larger punch hole.

Display

At a glance, you can tell this isn’t a flagship display due to the thick bezels and a large chin.

Don’t get me wrong; the Samsung 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X display is good and can output 1,900 nits of peak brightness. With a resolution of 2,340 x 1,080, it boasts a decent pixel density of 385 ppi. The display is bright, sharp, and vibrant.

Exynos 2400e

For the Malaysian market, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus come equipped with the 4nm Samsung Exynos 2400. So, what’s the Exynos 2400e all about?

Based on tech specs, the Exynos 2400e shares the same Samsung Xclipse 940 GPU based on RDNA 3, but with a slightly lower clock speed on its performance ARM Cortex-X4 core – 100MHz lower.

This minor difference doesn’t significantly affect the phone’s performance in fact, it paired the same fast LPDDR5x memory and speedy UFS 4.1 storage. The Exynos 2400e remains a flagship chip, offering performance comparable to the standard Galaxy S24. It can easily handle daily tasks and games and will continue to run smoothly for years—especially since the Galaxy S24 FE will receive 7 years of operating system and security updates.

Camera

It is equipped with the same camera setup as the Galaxy S23 FE: a 50MP f/1.8 dual pixel PDAF with OIS primary, a 12MP f/2.4 ultrawide, an 8MP f/2.2 PDAF with OIS 3x telephoto, and a 10MP f/2.4 front selfie camera.

Despite having the same camera setup, its performance is impressive in both well-lit and low-light environments. It maintains Samsung’s signature contrast-rich color science, evident in its image processing. The image “enhancement” feature can be turned off under the settings – Intelligent Optimization – Scene Optimizer.

The Galaxy S24 FE can shoot video at up to 8K at 30fps, unlike the 24fps limit on the Galaxy S23 FE.

Overall, the camera offering and performance are flagship-tier, covering all the important focal lengths with excellent results.

Here are some photos taken with the Galaxy S24 FE:

Full resolution photos: Gdrive

Galaxy AI & DeX

I’ve heard that some people are switching to Samsung because of its Galaxy AI suite, which the Galaxy S24 FE has access to. It includes every feature available on the more expensive Galaxy S24 series.

From my day-to-day use of Google’s Circle to Search, which lets you draw a circle on anything displayed, including in the camera app to perform a search, scan QR codes, and even translate foreign languages.

There’s also Samsung’s generative AI, Sketch to Image, which creates a photo-realistic version of anything you doodle on an image within the Gallery app.

Bored with your current profile picture? Spice it up with Samsung’s Portrait Studio, which helps you create different kinds of sketches, including Comic, 3D cartoon, Watercolor, and Pencil Sketch.

In addition, Samsung’s Interpreter feature listens and translates to your preferred language and vice versa.

Of course, there are more features like Chat Assist, Call Assist, Note Assist, Live Translation, and Summarize, which are integrated into the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE.

The Samsung DeX feature which is only limited to its flagship S and Z Fold, is also made available on the Galaxy S24 FE. This feature allows you to turn your phones or tablets into a desktop-like computer by connecting them to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Samsung Dex can be used wirelessly on compatible monitors like Samsung M-series and Samsung TVs.

Battery Life

I was puzzled by the battery capacity of the Galaxy S24 FE. Although it has a smaller battery at 4,700 mAh compared to the Galaxy S24 Plus, which has 4,900 mAh, the Galaxy S24 FE is 17 grams heavier and 0.3mm thicker. I suppose this helps differentiate it as a more budget-friendly flagship device.

Thanks to its more efficient SoC and lower pixel count compared to the QHD+ display on the Galaxy S24 Plus, it can deliver comparable and even longer battery life. Based on the PCMark 10’s Work 3.0 battery life test, it can deliver closed to 14 hours.

All Galaxy S-series devices feature Qi 15W Wireless Fast Charge and PowerShare (reverse wireless charging). It supports 25W wired Samsung Super Fast Charging.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE may be positioned as an upper midrange device, but it offers similar performance and experience to the Galaxy S24 or even the Galaxy S24 Plus, with minor compromises in exchange for a more reasonable price tag.

This is a great value option for someone looking for a phone that will run smoothly for years and isn’t concerned about having the latest specs. It has a fantastic display, a great camera setup, excellent performance, and full access to Samsung’s Galaxy AI features.